Hi all.

[judochop]

I am new to the forum and new to the salt water hobby. I initally started a 10 gallon freshwater tank for my two autistic children (ages 5 and 3). They responded very well to the fish and display a strong desire to interact (watch. laugh, point, etc.) After seeing how much they enjoyed the small freshwater aquarium I decided to try a 55 gallon salt water. They love it. The fish are more colorful and have a more unique response to their environment.

I also noticed that caring for the tank and its occupants was an excellent way to aid in stress relief. Between work and my two little guys, I have my fair share of stress . I have turned to exercise for stress management but aquatics has its own rewards in this area.

I hope to turn my aquarium into a reef tank after I replace my starter fish with new critters chosen by my little ones. I am sure this will take a considerable amount of time due to the cost and care involved but I look forward to the challenge.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what type of fish may prove to be more responsive to people or have a unique characteristic that my children and I can enjoy, please feel free to provide me some guidance and suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

[lcstorc]

Welcom to RS.
How much light do you have on the tank? That can make a big difference for corals and anemones if you are thinking along those lines.
Personally I love gobies and blennys, but you need to be careful with gobies because they can jump out of the tank if it is open. Lots of neat ones to choose from and they seem to have tons of personality. My maroon clown has provided much entertainment as well, though if I had to do it over I would probably get a different type of clown since the maroons are pretty agressive.
I'm sure you will get lots more suggestions, but figured I would throw a few out there.
I love just sitting and watching my tank and can totally lose track of time doing it.
Peace
Lynn

[judochop]

Thanks for the reply Lynn.

Currently I have a two hood assembly for the 55 gallon tank. I bought it at Wal-Mart and I think the hoods are the same as the regular 10 gallon tanks. I believe each hood has one flourescent bulb but I am not sure. At what point would I need to use special lighting? Do certain invertebrates require different lighting? I heard that once I start adding live rock I will need to start adding chemicals like iodine to the tank.

[lcstorc]

I don't add anything that I can't test for and have heard very mixed reviews on iodine in general.
You will need to find out the wattage on the lights. It makes a big difference particularly w/most coral and all anemones. Some of the soft corals are good with power compact lighting, but the hard coral and anemones will require much more light than I suspect you have.
Have you tested the water in your tank?
Particularly for PH, amonia, nitrites, and nitrates? If so, what are your readings? If not, that would be the first thing I would suggest. Also, you want to get on a regular water change schedule. This will help reduce your amonia, nitrites, and/or nitrates as well as help replace nutrients that are absorbed by the life within your system. Be sure to do all water changes with r/o water as well. Very important.

There is a lot of good information on RS about what you need to know when setting up your tank. I would probably go to the SW beginners forum and read the "stickys" first. Those generally contain lots of good information with lots of general knowledge for people starting out.
Here are a couple of good links to get you started.

Setting up a successful marine aquarium.


Helpful Background Information for New Reefers


Also there is lots of information in the links within the posts so check those out as well.

That should keep you busy for a while. Lots to learn, but you found a great place to get information. People here are really friendly and love to help out.

I could add lots more, but don't want to overload you just yet.
I'm sure others will chime in as well. Lots of people log on when they get home from work. (I'm on vacation so I could jump in early.)

Also take the kids on a tour through the photo gallery. There are lots of really cool tanks for them to see at least on the computer.
Definitely look up Vanquish, Woodstock, Witfull,Gina, oh my I could go on forever. Just look at as many as you can. They are all really cool and lots of different set-ups.

Peace
Lynn

[billyr98]

Welcome to RS!!

[Gina]

Welcome to RS!

I think the Clownfish would be a good first fish. Mine follows me around the tank and will come up to eat food right out of my hand.

I take it you haven't added any LR yet?
Do you have anything in the tank yet or is it still empty?

A rule of thumb that alot of the members follow is to never add anything to your system that you can't test for first.
You will replace alot of your minerals that have been lost with regular water changes anyway.

You should be using RO/DI water to fill your tank and do water changes with.
Or at least test your tap water for impurities first.
You can pick up a RO/DI unit from either one of our sponsors or check on line and see what you can find. You can also do a search here for RO/DI and check the threads for links to suppliers.
Alot of the soft corals and fish can do quite well with just actinics but, if you want to get into the more difficult corals to keep you will have to upgrade your lighting to Metal Halides.

[Rougiem]

Originally Posted by Gina

Welcome to RS!

I think the Clownfish would be a good first fish. Mine follows me around the tank and will come up to eat food right out of my hand.

I agree with Gina on that choice and I think a Royal Gramma is another...my 2 cents worth...

to the Sanctuary!

Cheers!

[Witfull]

Welcome to RS~