New to SWF..Need Info

[Mishy]

So if anyone of you know me, know that I work at THEE only LFS in town and I am taking over the fish dept. Problem is this...I know NOTHING about SW....

Can you guys give me list(to which I will print) of "How to begin" what not/to do in beging of SW? Plleeaaaseeee.

I do know how to feed the fish and the aneama<(sp) and how to check the salt level but I dont know the basics and can't help customers if I don't know. I was also told, you can only start either with fish or coral first, not both....is this true?

I don't like books because they give me the first hand account like you guys/girls could.

Mishy/Michelle

p.s more info you can give me, the happier I will be, i suck info up like a sponge, including the contrversial stuff.

[afss]

Ok.. I will take a shot at this one.

During the time that I have been involved in sw I have learned a few things. The biggest thing that I have learned is that there are very very few hard facts when it comes to what is necessary to run a successful setup. I have seen many different tanks, most of them set up differently, most of them very nice displays. Of course some tanks will be nicer than others because of the different equipment methods used.

When it comes to tank setup you will quickly discover that everyone has an opinion of what the best method of setting up a tank is. Some people are high tech, others low tech. Just because people use different methods doesn't make them wrong, or necessarily mean that their set up won't work. The one big beef I have with hobbyist is that some people will tell you that you HAVE to use certain methods, or you NEED a certain piece of equipment when in fact you mat not. The equipment they are suggesting may bet a better option, but that doesn't mean you don't have other options. They are just regurgitating what they have absorbed from other hobbyists and lfs etc etc and aren't always open to other options.

Myself I try to stay away from word like NEED, or HAVE TO. I find that when I go to a lfs and I get someone telling me that I need or have to do something that I lower my opinion of their knowledge. When I talk to people about a sw setup I may offer suggestions as to what I do, or what the popular opinion is. The first thin I tell people is that anything I say is in my opinion and may not go along with their ideas or popular opinion.

The only things that are NEEDED are some sort of container to hold the water, a method of keeping the water at the desired temperature, some sort of circulation, and some sort of filtration (live rock, dsb, etc etc etc) and saltwater that has an appropriate specific gravity.

When doing a setup the first thing people should consider is what creatures they are interested in keeping. Once this is established a suitable sized tank and setup can be chosen.
Depending on what a person wants to keep will also, to some point, govern what type of lighting is used. For years I used only NO ( Normal Output) fluorescent. I kept lps and softies along with a bubble tip for about 2.5 years with this setup. I can say that it worked for me, I can't guarantee that it would work for others. I was told by many that I NEEDED to have a Metal Halide to keep what I was keeping. Now a Metal Halide would probably have let the corals thrive more than just exist, but they did live and grow under the NO's. I still have many of my original corals from when I started back in 99.

Other option for lighting can be VHO, PC, HQI, MH, OVRNO (overdriven normal output). In my opinion MH is probably the best. I now have one and am very happy with it, but I am still of the opinion that you don't need mh.

I currently have 2 ovrno actinics and one 250 watt mh on my setup. The halide has definitely added to the growth and coloration of the corals but before I had it I ran 2 ovrnos and 2 no bulbs. With this setup I was keeping sps, lps, and softies. All corals were growing and propagating. I ran this setup for about 7 months.

Other options for a tank include running skimerless or with a skimmer. Many people claim that you need a skimmer, again I ran my setup for 2 years with out one, and the one I currently have does little more than airate the water.

You can put a refugium in a setup. I have 20 gallons of refugium space but this is only been running for about a year now. Advantage to the refugium are that it gives smaller critters a place to hide, grow and breed( pods, worms etc) and with calurpa growing it helps to soak up excess nutrients.

There is also the issue of turnover/ flow rate. I am not familiar with what popular opinion is on this, my tank has about a 4 times/ hour turnover rate.

There are also different types of substrate to use. Some people use bare bottom, others crushed coral or rubble others deep sand bed. There is also debate over what is ok and what is not ok to use for a dsb. Personally I use a dsb and have for a few years. I personally like it and think that between it and my refugiums are the key to why my setup works for me. I do however use southdown sand. Many people say that it’s not good to use, many other say it is, all I know is that it works for me.

Another thing to consider is how much live rock you want. I think the general "rule" is 1-2 lbs per gallon. I personally have about 1 lb per gallon.

I am sure there are many other things to consider. Temperature, salinity, hours of lighting, color spectrum of lighting, RO water or other, testing parameters, water changes (how much how often), type of filtration and the list goes on and on.

Basically if you have an existing customer they probably know what they want. If you have a new customer suggest they do some reading and internet searching before they dive in. Try to educate newbies on the importance of taking their time and researching what they are doing. SW tanks go thru the ammonia nitrite nitrate cycle and this cycle can be done without using live animals. This cycle can take a few weeks to a month before everything settles out. If a person is interested in saltwater but can't wait that time period before they start to stock their tanks then they may be in the wrong hobby and are more than likely going to have many problems. Stocking should also be done slowly so the system has a chance to adapt to each new arrival.

I am sure I have rambled on quite a bit but hopefully you find some of the info useful. If you have more questions let me know... hopefully someone else will offer up their opinion on how things should be done.

[ajx22]

Thank you Scott - that was VERY well put!

Mishy - You can check out the Beginning Reef Keeper (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86) thread her for some more info...

Also...if you have a NEW customer come in, and they don't know (and I mean really know) what they want and intend to do - honestly - direct them to buy a few books (list to follow) and also see if they have internet! If they do - then direct them to AquariumPros.ca Forums (http://www.aquariumpros.ca/index.php) and Reef Central Forums (http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php). People will LEARN more in these two places then they will anywhere else!

For a good list of books worth buying:
Click Here (http://www.reefcentral.com/books/)

HTH,

[Ocean Images]

Scott,

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Mishy]

Ajx...

Thanks a mill.... I did a quick read and helloooo...wow....ok so any way. I printed the 1st link, I hope you don't mind as I would like to study it, to know it. Anyhow.....the info was amazing, to me, i hope I can learn lots about SW so I can help others.

I know what you guys are saying about "different" opinions, been there with my FW passion. I too let customers know how I feel and if there is any contrvesy(sp) on a particular subject(eg:Cycle, I am a non believer in in it, unless they are a Newbie). If the boss finds out she might kill me-thats another story.

I do stress to customers to research things BEFORE buying on ALL our live creatures and let them know the best way is to use the net if they are connected and never take 1 persons opinions as law but allow their own ideas and opinions to develop.

Again thanks guys.....:)

Mishy/Michelle

[ajx22]

Glad to see that you are following in the path of being a "GOOD" LFS. :)

They really do exist - glad to see that there will be yet another one!

Good luck & THANKS from all the fishies! :fish2: