Hi there
As soon as I know what Im doing I want to have my 46gal tank as a saltwater tank and I cant remember who but someone told me you have one and know a lot about them. I have no clue about anything on salwater fish and tanks so I was wondering if you could help me out I would really really appreciate it!

I'd be glad to help!

The best advice I can give you besides reading, is to take the time to sit down and really think about what you want from this tank. Is there a particular species of fish, coral or other invert that you really want to keep? Do you think you might want to start out with fish only, but later on you are sure you will want corals?
The reason I'm asking is that there are different expenses with different set ups. And it is cheaper in the long run to get what you need right from the start. (An example: when I first started I knew I wanted to keep some corals but decided to wait to upgrade my lighting. But I ended up buying another regular strip light for the tank, then later, added on PC's. I could have saved myself the money on the extra strip light if I had just gone for the PC's to start with.....)
Another reason to think about what you want is compatibility issues. Some fish don't get along with other fish, some fish will destroy coral, etc.....

I didn't know if you saw my response to your thread in the Chatter Box so I thought I'd link it for you. There are links to some good sites and also the titles of some good books too.



http://kokosgoldfish.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=328

Are corals somewhat easy to take care of? Cuz Ive never had luck w/ live plants in my freshwater tanks! I would like some coral, not too much just to kind of decorate the tank. But I mostly want just a lot of room for the fish.
Thanks for all the help! I'll check out those sites you gave me in the other post

Some corals are easy, and some are very hard....depends on the coral!

Some corals are incredibly easy like mushroom corals, button polyps, yellow polyps. However, there are a couple of things you should know about the above. Some shrimp and crabs will eat the yellow polyps, and mushrooms can spread, some people have a problem with this. Then there are the various button polyps (called zooanthids), they carry the most toxic substance known to man. Here is a thread on reefcentral about this subject....... http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=158663

not trying to scare you but to inform you. I have button polyps in my tank and all I do is make sure I wash my hands well after working in it (which you should do anyway!), and I am careful when handling the rock the buttons are on.
The above corals don't require intense lighting and depending on what lights you already have on the tank, you may only need to add another strip light or can rig something up using shop lights with the correct tubes of course.

Other corals in the soft coral family, like leather and toadstool will need more and better lighting like PC's (power compact) or VHO's (very high output). Corals of the LPS family (large polyp stony) like bubble, frogspawn and hammer will need lights like this too.

Hard corals like staghorn also known as SPS corals (small polyp stony) are some of the hardest corals to keep and will need MH's (metal halides). They are also the most demanding with regards to water quality. Clams need MH's too....I know they aren't a coral but threw them in there too since we are talking about MH lights.

Anemones are another story entirely. I will NOT recommend them to any new saltwater hobbyist. They can be very difficult to keep, they need intense lighting (MH) and probably most of all, they need an experienced owner who can find out exactly what they need. Most LFS's will say oh no, they're easy, but they are lying to you. About 75% of anemones die within the first 3 months of being bought. These are animals that can live for hundreds (yes, HUNDREDS of years in the wild) so 3 months is rather dismal. ****getting off soapbox now****

All corals and anemones can and will fight one another with stinging cells, tentacles, etc....and also with chemical warfare. It is a good idea to use a skimmer in your tank, and also to run carbon in your filter to help remove these chemicals.

Even though it sounds kinda scary with all the fighting, stinging, toxic, spreading corals, they really are very neat to have.....a real slice of nature in your living room, complete with the struggle for life on the reef.

Wow thanks for all of the info. Just to let ya know I dont think Ill be starting my saltwater tank for a while
Ive got too mcuh going on right now, barely have enought time for my other fish, and am having a hard time w/ my new goldie. But thanks for all the help and eventually I will get around to it!