leximommy

ok now that i have your attention, i was wondering.... ive seen picks of "new" live rock which is dull and brown, and then ive seen pics of older live rock which is bright and colorfull.... well heres my question... do you have to have certain lights (the ones for corals and anemones.) to have the rock grow like this? or does it do it no matter what light you have?

bhcaaron

Ooh! I know this one! The regular bulbs that most canopies come with are fine. Just for the live rock regular flourescent bulbs will do fine. The brighter more powerful lighting are generally only needed for reefs.

leximommy

lol THANK YOU! now i know for a fact that ill get live rock... and now i just need to figure out if i should live sand......hmmm delimas delimas....

bhcaaron

Actually several of the fish I'm thinking I'm going with will need it. Gobies etc. Also, i can't remember the name, but the yellow head/white body jawfish

this one
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=193

actually live IN it. It burrows! Then it sticks out of the stand like a flag above his doorway just hanging about and staring at you lol no joke

leximommy

yea i noticed something at the store today with those hawkfish, when i stood by it , it just sat on the bottom of the tank but when i walked by it it went up then down..... when i walked by again it went up then down...and kept doing that.... i dunno why....lol but it was cute....

bhcaaron

Did you see what I'm thinking of keeping now?

leximommy

the hawkfish?

bhcaaron

I'll leave a list tomorrow Gnite

leximommy

goodnight

leximommy

when your on next.....i found a few sites where they have "specials" every few days on there live fish,.....

bhcaaron

I'm on! I'm on! lol

I saw the post of plants. Like I said, not much to choose from. The two grape plants are nuisances and potentially dangerous (as they release a quemical to mate if you are not careful). The halimeda can't thrive in high nitrate. That's what I want them fore. The biggest help is Turtle weed. I'll be getting plenty of that. Second best is Shaving brush, but, must be placed in sand bed. I guess I can have that as hiding places for my sand dwellers, so I'll have that too.

bhcaaron

I forgot the Ogo plant. Basically hiding place for shrimp and Tang treat. I'll get that only if needed later.

leximommy

i read that having live plants is just a nitemare waiting to happen....like it helps algae grow real fast....is this true? what are the pros and cons of live plants and are there any "rules" needed to have it not overrun your tank?

bhcaaron

Well, from what I've read, plants eat up the nitrates and other minerals or nutrients in the water that algae need to survive. So they actually help in controlling algae growth. Not all though. Like I said of the halimeda or what ever that was called, it really only serves a decoration. The grapes also fight for the same sustenance as algae so they help control it, but, they grow rapidly and can quickly overwhelm your tank, from what I read. Hence the need for added maintenance in having to prune then regularly, I believe weekly. They are such a nuisance they are illegal to dump in marine ecosystems in some states.

I really want the Turtle weed because they seem to have no down side to them. They are toxic to eat to other fish except Tangs, so fish wont bother them, which is good because I don't want to have to keep buying such an expensive treat for fishies so often.

They provide good hiding places for fish and are soft enough for the fishies not to be harmed. Since they are only toxic if eaten, and fish aren't that stupid, no harm will come directly from them in any other way.

They are also a lively green color. You kow me, I love and want lots of color in my tank. So I'll probaly cover most of my live rock with it so that I don't have the usual purplish color that seems to be common in tanks. I love the color and will have some, but, I will have a carpet of turtle weed if I can on much of it. Just imagine the soft bristles of bright, grassy, green swaying in the currents back and forth with some little fishy heads poking out every once in a while.

leximommy

off subject but we went and got lexi her pet today.... lol...its a biggie.....lol

oh and yes i know you want lots of color..... im the same way...but i dont want colors just thrown in there...i want a "scheem" to mine...like pastels, or rainbow.... something like that...

bhcaaron

Ugh! You're such a woman lol... Schemes are good though. I don't have the patience for that. What did you get Lexi? I'm anxious to find out. So, just like ten minutes ago, I came home from picking up the freebie tanks. I got two ten gallon and a smaller one. I don't know what size, I'm going to guess five gallong. I can use the tens as sump and fuge and the five as a Q. But, eeeww, their nasty dirty. Just hard water stains. I think the tens are plexi and I know the five is glass. Any Idea how to clean them?

leximommy

k...NO CHEMICALS!!!! go to your petstore or order it online.... ill find a link....and they have glass cleaner for aquairiums...you have to use that, and just use a scouring pad...but no copper...i dont know if that will leech into the tank or what, but i know alot of fish are sensitive to that....

leximommy

oh and we got her a blue heeler....lol i said it was a biggie!