tlo86;1004627 said:
id love to have a fish tank like that
how come the rocks were so pricey? is there something special about them? or was it like a looks thing
It's called "live rock". It's really made up of the calcium carbonate skeletons of long dead corals, or other calcareous organisms, which in the ocean form the majority of coral reefs. That's what we're building, a small coral reef in our living room. When taken from the ocean it is usually encrusted with Coralline algae and inhabited by a multitude of marine organisms. The many forms of micro and macroscopic marine life that live on and inside of the rock, and which acts as an ideal habitat, give it name "live rock." There are a lot of things living in our tank that we didn't put there. We assume they came along with the rock.
It functions as a superior biological filter that hosts both aerobic and anaerobic nitrifying bacteria required for the nitrogen cycle that processes waste. Live rock becomes the main biological nitrification base or biological filter of a saltwater aquarium.
Our tank has a protien skimmer and no filters whatsoever. As you can tell by the pics, the water stays very clean.
tlo86;1004627 said:
and in
http://dreamertheresa.com/feesh/DSC01873.JPG what exactly do you call that? is that the coral?
That's a Colt Coral. It's a leathery soft coral. We've got a few other corals in the tank but it doesn't look like Theresa took pics. I'll get some when I get home.
tlo86;1004627 said:
i remember seeing a lot of similar things like that (like if you goto an aquarium or zoo fish area) at a fish store in texas but i dont remember them allowing them to be sold to just anyone *shrug*
You really need to do a lot of homework as to compatibility with each other, the tank environment, feeding, care, etc. There's a lot to know. Most reputable pets stores would question you about your tank before selling you some of this stuff.
One of our corals is poisonous, and potentially deadly if you were to stick your hand close to it with fresh cut on it. After next weekend (we're getting some new coral and fish in) we'll have even more toxic (but beautiful) stuff in there.
tlo86;1004627 said:
the setup does look sweet
Thanks, we've been working on it for about a year and a half now I think. It takes a lot of patience to setup a salt water tank. Things happen over the course of months and years, not days.
