Biggest Newb

Live coral costs what ever you're willing to pay for it. Most frags (fragments) are about $20, but it depends on what type and how rare. Other frags cost upwards of $1500, which is ridiculous. However, before you start thinking about coral, you will need to do a lot of research. This isn't one of those hobbies where you can just jump right in and succeed. Also, keep in mind that salt water fish tanks are very expensive and require a lot of time and maintenance to function properly. My 55 gallon reef tank has cost upwards of $2000. Many people don't realize the knowledge and money required to run a tank like this. Now, don't let this discourage you, if you really want to set one up, start by research and asking questions. There is some basic equipment you'll need and there is a lot of extra stuff you can do and buy too. Decide what size tank you want, mainly this involves figuring out what type of fish you want, how much room you have and how much money you'll willing to spend. The best advice is to go as big as you can. Smaller tanks are harder to keep due to various reasons. A brief basic equipment list is as follows.

- Tank
- Sump (recommended, but you can use a canister or hang on back filter too)
- Protein Skimmer
- Lights (big choice, all different types of setups, mainly depends on what you want to keep. Some corals require more light then others)
- Heater
- Salt
- Substrate
- Rock (I recommend all base rock, not pre-cured live rock. The process of the cycle will turn the base rock in live rock)
- Test Kits (at least need ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph, for reef tank also Ca, Mg, Alk, phosphate)
- Power heads for flow within the tank

I'm sure i've forgot something, but that should give you an idea as to what you need. As far as what each piece of equipment does, do a little research or buy a good book on marine aquariums and that should really help out. Good luck.

 

what is live rock exactly and how do you turn that other rock you mentioned into live rock and im planning on spending about $2000 and getting a 100 gallon tank post some links guys if you have any in mind where i could read about all of this

 

Between Livestock and Supplies my 120G tank has dragged about 9,000$ out of the bank. And I dont even have a sump. I run canister filters.

A lot of the info you can find on here. just by using the search option in the uper right corner.

Cycling a Tank, Lights, Powerheads, Sumps, Filtration, Skimmers, Tank Types (Glass and Acrylic) Heaters, UV Steralizers (Optional). Live rock, Base Rock, Sand or Crushed Coral Are basic things to start reading up on.

 

cant seem to find much on what base rock is

 

Try searching Tufa Rock

 

I strongly suggest you get a good book on starting marine aquariums.

Base rock is just rock. Live rock is base rock that has gone through a cycle and has aerobic and anaerobic bacteria growing on it. That bacteria population converts ammonia and fish waste into nitrite and then nitrate so it's safe for the fish and corals. There are many different ways to go about a cycle. If you want, you can get some base rock, put it in the tank with salt water heated to the correct temp. and let it sit there for a few weeks. You will need the test kits to know when the cycle is over. You should see an ammonia spike, then nitrite then nitrate. At the end, there should be no ammonia or nitrite, that's how you know that your cycle is done. You can then add livestock, but slowly to allow the bacteria to grow to accommodate the new bioload. Another method is to put 1 piece of raw shrimp into the tank to act as an ammonia source, or some people use 1 damsel fish to cycle the tank. Many people will tell you to "seed" the base rock with live rock, IMO there's no need to do this. The cycle will happen on its own.

 

so can i use the coral i gatherd from mexico and use that as base rock that will turn into live rock that will then act as a natural filter of sorts

 

can anyone recomend any book in particular?

 

Here are a few sites i was looking at when i started learning about live rock;
Live Rock - The Free Information Society
Live Rock
Saltwater Fish Aquarium Setup

Also if you kinda scrounge around the forum you'll find a lot of knowledgeable posts by other people and experts on here. I have learned 95% of what i know from this site. Its great for beginners like ourslves

 

Welcome to 3reef.