Beginning to start the SW hobby.

[Kevinguyen]

Hello,i am new to this forum and also the SW hobby. I will be going to have corals and maybe a clownfish in my tank. Some things that confuse me about keeping corals is :How do they eat? Do they move around the rock? Will some corals just stick on the rock when placed? I also have questions about rocks. I will be receiving some dead rocks. How will I be going about curing this? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks for all the help!:D

 

[little_fish]

Hello and welcome!

You will cure your live rock by cycling your tank. Just toss a dead shrimp in there and let it rot and let the bacteria do their business! Just monitor your levels so you know what is going on.

You glue the corals to the rocks, or sometime you can stuff them into a crack. Corals that are non-photosynthetic have to feed, usually mysid shrimp via a turkey baster when their feeding tenticles are out, but the vast majority of corals are photosynthetic.

Soft corals, like leathers, mushrooms, zoas, green star polyps dont need to be fed at all, they will get everything from the water column and light.

Large Polyp Stony corals can be feed stuff like mysid when their feeder tenticles are out, but they dont have to be fed, they just grow faster if they do because they are also photosynethic.

Small Polyp Stony corals will take everything they need from the water column and the lights.

Having good enough lights to keep corals is very important. Make sure you get quality lights. These lights would let you keep anything you want:
Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Current Nova Extreme Pro Saltwater T-5 Fixtures

But here are some very important articles to read before you start! Research, research and then research some more! Its the best way to prevent disasters down the road.

https://www.livingreefs.com/water-chemistry-t31270.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/basic-equipment-list-t19611.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/why-using-tap-water-bad-idea-t19865.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/ideal-books-reef-keepers-t19535.html

 

[Kevinguyen]

Thanks for the reply! Hmm. For the dead rock. Is it best to get live sand and cycle it with the dead rock in it or..??

 

[little_fish]

No, live sand is a waste of money IMO. Just get the dry sand, it will become live over time just like your rock. All you need is just a little bit of live rock, a bit of rotting food to start the cycle and all of your rocks and sand will be live in no time. "Live" simple means that it has a population of bacteria on it that are capable of breaking down wastes into less toxic substances.

With the live sand sitting in the back for who knows how long, im not sure its going to have very much live bacteria still in there. No food, no bacteria.

 

[Smitty]

Welcome to the site...no need to get live sand neither. It will eventually turn live with the rock. And to make everything live sooner than later, add a small piece of live rock to the tank of dead rock.

 

[ErinCahir]

Everyone has you covered! Welcome to the site!

 

[Kevinguyen]

Thank You everyone soo much!

 

[sen5241b]

You really, really need to read this:

https://www.livingreefs.com/marine-aquarium-disasters-and-prevent-them-t20514.html

 

[Kevinguyen]

I also have one more question. So I might be getting an 8 gallon from a friend.Hopefully. And I have a powerhead that pumps 250 GPH.Is this good enough?

 

[little_fish]

I think that would be a ton of flow for an 8 gal tank, i would look for something smaller.

 

[Bifferwine]

I disagree. I had a 295 gph MaxiJet on my old 10 gallon tank.