scholesy Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Yeah jump in the car and head south to sunny Wellington. There're heaps of people here living not far apart, you could do something of a tank crawl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 I can definitely recommend picking one person off the forums who lives close, and going to visit them for a chat/look at their tank. Then do this with another, and another etc I found that it was _far_ easier to get advice and information when every conversation didn't turn into a huge discussion about stuff I didn't understand :lol: Seeing people's tanks in the flesh gives you a great appreciation for the costs involved, and the reasons for doing things the way they have as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazymranch Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey Poppy, I am also a relative newby as I started just before Helifax. I will echo his recommendation to read the Paletta book, and add one of my own as I found it extremely helpful. "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner was my bible to start with. Bob Fenner is a renowned expert in the field and writes for Wet Web Media, which is also a helpful website. You may be able to get a multiple book deal for these two books on Amazon, but as you are a dealer you may have better sources for both or either. My advice is to read the Fenner book cover to cover, and that will give you an idea of what is involved in keeping a Marine tank as well as alot of the biology of Marine animals. Understanding what these animals (your pets) need to live will help you figure out what you will need in order to provide for them. Then, the Paletta book will give you step-by-step instructions on how to get your tank started. Reading Fenner first will give you the theory required to make your own modifications to Paletta's method, in my opinion, and both are written in relative lay terms. Several websites are golden, including Reef Central and especially this forum as reef keeping in NZ is very different due to the availability (or lack thereof) of various things. You will get differing opinions in answer to your questions and please do not be discouraged by your initial outing as the people here are very helpful and knowledgeable. As you have noticed, you may not always get the response you were hoping for, but it all comes from a good place and the strength of response is due to a passion for the hobby. Sorry for the length of this, but it is easy to get discouraged in this hobby, but the hours you spend staring into your tank in amazement as it comes alive before your eyes is worth every bit of effort getting there. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevron Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Hi Poppy, Try some of these books to get you started on your journey: Natural Reef Aquariums - John H Tullock Reef Secrets - Nilsen & Fossa The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium - Vincent Hargreaves The Marine Aquarium Problem Solver - Nick Dakin The Marine Aquarium Society of Australia is also a useful reference site that has helped me out many times. Here's a link to the starter's guide: http://www.masa.asn.au/masa/component/o ... Itemid,49/ Good luck and happy reefing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warick hearn Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 hi Poppy go into town and visit "WET PETS"in tramaine avenue they have a marine tank in there and might be able to help you localy. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppy Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I want to thank so many of you for the encouraging words and suggestions of help and assistance. Much of it I have taken on board. Read screeds, looked at other tanks, and surfed around looking at all sorts of stuff. I have come to a number of conclusions. 1. I knew it was going to be time consuming but I was more prepared for an ongoing weekly/daily input, not quite the long startup period. 2. The 280 L tank I have is a corner unit and has a lot of depth however having looked around I think I would like to do this on a bigger scale to do it credit. All that work seems a shame to limit the options with the smaller tank. 3. For what I had in mind I was not prepared to need the extras like sump etc (which I can see is very beneficial). Thus the space factor is a new problem I had not envisaged. 4. Quite simply I was not prepared for the hugeness of the subject. I was prepared for it to be very different but not this. It has however not put me off, merely made me change tactics. I will now set up this tank as freshwater for the grandchildren to enjoy. I will set aside all the dead coral, bio filters and stuff for another day when I am better able and prepared to go into this with full knowledge. With this I thank you all enormously. I can now see perhaps why I got off on the wrong foot in this forum, but hopefully before too long I will be back. Much much wiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 sad to hear but at least your still keen in the future. 1. This is true but in some ways untrue! The advantage of SW is that you can (and usually end up having to) take care of a lot of the work with technoledgy, for example because of good skimmers and live rock you don't need to do weekly water changes like you do with FW, I aim for monthly but don't really get too worried unless I go for a couple of months with out doing one. BTW the long start up period doesn't stop you from adding a fish etc after a couple or so weeks, the main problem is the different stages of algae which make the tank look bad. 2. Have to agree here and with SW bigger is far far better, plus if the tank is deep you would have problems getting enough light in it. Of course the good news is that custom tanks a cheap, there's a good chance you would have spent more $ on live rock along than a tank costs. 3. yep, the sump is pretty much a must have, there is so much extra gear required. My first tank didn't have a sump, by the time I had live rock and the skimmer in there, I couldn't fit any fish! 4. It does seem huge, but the basic's aren't that hard and most of the rest is about keeping difficult stuff or getting color from the corals, it is possible to get a long way with out driving yourself nuts. Have you concidered doing a Nano tank? Jetskisteve made and sold one resently, I'm sure it was under a $1000, complete, cycled, already to enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I definately think any size can be cool. Some nice smaller size tanks from people here on the forum for good examples. Jettin's http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/1-vt8848.html?start=0 Helifaxs - http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/14-vt9 ... &start=195 from start to finish in this thread. I love it, Only 100L main display and its fantastic. Or you can go real small, Tom Gunners really nice Pico 8L tank. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/7-vt86 ... c&start=90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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