How to get started the simple, and natural way.

[Bob I]

The reef hobby has the last few years become a haven for expensive toys. I have found that it is not a necessity to have all the toys to have a successful reef tank.

I will outline what I have found to be the essentials for reef keeping. The most important thing to pound into your head is the simplest. It is PATIENCE, and more patience. Rome was not built in a day, and neither was a good reef tank. Now to the other important things.

#1 - Most folks today will agree that a Deep Sand Bed is a necessity. A well established sand bed provides a very large area for colononisation by nitrifying bacteria. The deeper areas of the sandbed will contain the anaerobic bacteria that will handle the conversion of Nitrate to Nitrogen gas. See the sandbed FAQ by Ronald Shimek.

#2 - Some good live rock is also necessary. A good porous live rock will also provide a place for nitrifying bacteria to inhabit. A goodly amount of biological filtration will take place in the LR. Good LR will provide your system with other critters that are good for the tank, thus providing biodiversity. It is not a necessity for all the rock to be live rock. There is good base rock on the market that will do fine. You may be able to get Calcium Carbonate rock. This is basically an old reef broken up. It is possible to get nice porous and nicely shaped CC rock. Tufa Rock also makes nice base rock.

#3 - Chaotic circulation is a common aspect of reef tanks. This can be achieved in a number of ways. Some use sumps with large return pumps, but a number of reef keepers who keep thing simple usually use a number of powerheads. Using the larger Aquaclear filters will provide high circulation with modest cost.

#4 - Lighting is the final necessity of a reef tank. This also tends to be the most controversial. The least expensive to buy are Fluorescent lights. The problem is that you need an awful lot to give you enough light on a full blown reef. You can, however, keep the less light demanding Mushrooms, Polyps, and a number of Soft Corals under normal fluorescent lights. Should you want the more demanding Stony Corals, and clams, you will need VHO, Power Compact, and if you have deep pockets you can get Metal Halide lights.

The last, and probably the most important thing about reefkeeping is the acquisition of knowledge. To get this knowledge you can buy books, or spend a lot of time on the well known reef forums, such as Reef Central, or this board.

[Canadian Man]

Very well said Bob!