Reef Aquarium Questions!?

You have some great answers so far. Here are some additional thoughts:

On the lighting, a halide system is ideal for that large of a tank. You could go low light coral and get some nice T5s, but a T5 and halide combo light would be ideal. On my 200 gallon reef display tank in my store, I use 400 watt halides and some T5s for highlights. A replacement bulb alone costs about $100.

The live rock and the light will be your largest expense.

I know the guys at liverocknreef (I use them sometimes as one of my wholesalers of high quality live rock). They have the best rock I have run across as far as life and hitchhikers. You often get urchins, coral, etc, on the rock. I even had a clam come in once. It is worth the price for some nice show pieces. It is not cured, though, and can be a bit troublesome and stinky from the die off in shipping. It is always better to buy locally where they have the rock cured, or can cure it for you. Trust me, I cure a lot of rock and it is a stinky ordeal.

You might get a better deal buying in bulk form one place. Expect on any live rock from $4-$25 a pound, depending on quality and origin of the live rock. Many base rocks are only about $1-$3 a pound. For a 300 gallon tank, about 200-400 pounds would be about right. Expect the rock to cost you around $1000+/- (on up)! Like I said, not cheap. Cutting all corners, using base rock and PCV, you might get the total rock cost, and still have a nice looking tank, to about $500+/-.

Also, there are many places that sell aquaculture rock, which is cement, or other man-made rock (like Petco Live Rock). It works well too, but you won't get as much life as you will from the actual ocean debris that has been made over hundred or thousands of years from coral dying off and regrowing over and over again. Most live rock is layers and layers of old coral growth. The tonga branching rock is very nice, and you can clearly tell it was once coral. Some people manufacture man made live rock, and while it is live with bacteria, it is not quite the same thing. Some of the Fiji live rock, is ocean cultured man-made stuff, but is still fairly nice (but heavy).

Base rock is usually old live rock that has no growth on it, and no color. You can also get dry base rock (live rock that has been dried out). This is a cheaper rout and certainly something to explore since you don't want to be spending hundred of dollars on prime rock that will just be buried under other rock. The base rock helps you build up a base, and then the show pieces are placed on top of that since they are prettier.

Some people do build frames to make the most out of less rock. It can be very rewarding, but also a pain. It is certainly something to research. It does help make the rock a better filter since it exposes more faces of the rock to the water, rather than creating stagnant pocket where the rock is pressing against other rock. People who do the frames tend to have cleaner water with less detritus in the rock pile and sandbed.

On something that large and expensive, you will want to read a lot of books.

Also, if you have the cash, many places have setup and maintenance services, or if the LFS does not, there may be a quality maintenance guy in the area. With as much money as you are putting into this, some companies might offer free delivery or something too. Be sure to ask.

Know that in my store someone coming to me with a shopping list as long as yours, I would require at least half down before placing an order. A store once city over went under because a guy ordered all this stuff for a 300 gallon tank like you are talking about, including the tank, stand, etc (about $10,000 in all) and never payed for it or picked it up. The local store owner was out all that money (more than his rent even) and never did recover from the hit and closed down three months later. I bought much of his displays and sales tanks, and learned a lesson from his mistake.

So do not be surprised if you have to pay all or a part up front.

OK, LOTS of questions, but here it goes:

What exactly is live rock?

Live rock is ocean rock. It has life on it and beneficial bacteria colonies in it. It is very essential to a reef tank as it is a key tool to eliminating nitrates in a saltwater aquarium. They also are made from organic material and do help maintain the buffer in the tank and calcium levels. Most live rock is made from dead coral skeletons, mud, rock, encrusted coraline algae, etc. It can be fairly porous which is why it is such a great place for the beneficial bacteria cultures. In such a large tank, you can use base rock and PVC frames to help reduce the amount of live rock needed to accomplish the aquascaping you want and to save some money at the same time. The live rock will seed the base rock and make it "live" eventually as well. There are many different types of live rock, and you can mix it up a bit. Fiji is one of the cheapest rock, but is also more dense than some, so less volume per the weight. Vanuatu is really nice rock. (check some out at liverocknreef.com as they have some nice rock, but can be pricier than some depending on where you live)

Does each plant and coral organism require similar amounts of lighting?

NO. Some prefer very little light, some NEED a lot of light. Too much light can bleach a coral and cause problem because it might kill off the zooanthelae and end up killing the coral. You can however, place the lower light coral in shady sports, caves or lower in eh aquarium (further from the light)

Can I keep hard and soft coral together in the same tank?

Yes, to a limit. Many softs and LPS (large polyp stoney) coral have the same requirements. Some SPS (small polyp stoney) can do fine as well. They prefer some nutrients in the water, and the moderate flow of water. Many SPS will not do well with the rest because they hate certain nutrients, and need strong flows that the LPS or softs might not enjoy. There are also aggressive corals and they will fight! Some corals will reach out and sting other corals, some will release toxins into the tank and conduct chemical ware fare, some will simply overgrow the neighboring coral and smother it. You need to research each coral. A good coral book will help you greatly. Get the PocketExpert Guide to marine invertebrates for a nice simple guide to get you started and then get more specific books from there.

And as far as growth, I can't seem to find any information on the growth of coral, but at some point it will stop right?

Not exactly, but you can trim many coral, or deprive some elements to make them grow slower, or get things that will eat the coral if it gets really out of hand (a great and rare problem to have).

Would it be fine to get some colorful shrimp and\or snails or nudibranches(which I guess is like a sea slug)?

Yes. Avoid the slugs at first as they don't do well in the aquarium and can release toxins if dying or threatened. The Sea Hare can also ink! (They are super cool though, and eat algae, btu can be troublesome)

Snails and shrimp are GREAT. There are many different kinds, just make sure to get REEF SAFE as some eat coral.

Could those live in a community with fish, or would they just get eaten?

Yes, they do well with many fish, some fish will eat them though. Get reef safe fish, and double check that they are also invertebrate safe.

But I keep hearing about a protein skimmer. Is that a filter or separate?

It is a separate unit, but many sumps and other filters will have one included. They are great, and necessary for an SPS tank, but some softs and LPS actually can do fine without one. I would get one on that large of a tank though. I cannot stress how valuable they can be, especially if keeping fish.

And I'm assuming I have to get a heavy duty filter for like a 300 some gallon tank. However, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the cleaning organisms?(the shrimp, snails, or slugs i might put in the aquarium).

The filter cleans the water, the critters clean the tank (algae, left over food, detritus). There is a big difference.

Also, would the filter be different because it's a reef? And I herd that the live rock and actual reef system kind of filters the water. Is that true?

The filter is not necessarily different from other tanks, but avoid biological filtration as it work against the rock in a way (makes it harder to remove nitrates) but the filter is a great place for mechanical media (sponge) and chemical media(phosphate reducing media, carbon if needed, etc, etc, etc).

Look into SUMPS with refugiums (not bio balls) as they are the best.

Live rock is a biological filter. All my sumps also use live rock and plants, a deep sand bed and plenum modification. There are a million difference methods and you should research each. Things to look into: "sump", "refugium", "plenum", "deep sand bed" method, "Wet/Dry" (I hate but you might like, seems to produce more nitrates), "Berlin Method", "Modern Berlin", "Jaulbert Method", etc.

Also, water movement is VERY important with reef tanks. You will want some decent flow from multiple water circulation pumps or powerheads. Koralia is a great brand of circulation pumps.

A good book is "The New Marine Aquarium" to get you started. It just covers the basics. Then once you know which direction you are going, there are more detailed books to get.

Well the best course of action is to KNOW your tank is completed the cycle. You need to test for Amon. Nitri, and Nitra and when they are all with-in save levels then start adding things gradually. If the clams are opening and extending their mantels, then it sounds ok because they are pretty sensitive; but if they are not opening and are just spewing white stuff; they very well could be stressed out and about to die. The worms sound like bristle worms but without a pic it would be hard to identify. If they are bristles then they are good for a reef tank. If this is the 7 gall mentioned above, don't add too much. I would personally stick to snails in that small of a system and maybe 1 or 2 small hermits. As for the green that sounds like an algae bloom which is common during and after a cycle. If you test and see all levels are completed and were they are suppose to be in the cycle, then do a small water change and cut back on feeing to get the algae under control.

Live rock is one of the most important things for your reef tank.It helps filter the water ,gives good bacteria to your tank........etc!For a 300 gallon tank you will need about 150 to 200 lbs of live rock!(its not cheap )

This will help for your cleaning............http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-s...

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