starting a new tank

[Tacoyaki]

ill check it out tomorrow thanks for the great advice =], btw im contemplating with getting a heater. Since it's summer and it gets pretty hot will i need a heater? I haven't installed one in the tank but i've been closely watching the water temp. During the day it goes into the 28-30c and at night it falls down to 24-26. Would this be good enough? or should I go for a heater?

[Lampshade]

That much opf a temprature swing could hurt a lot. 2-3degree's F is enough to cause chaos in some tanks. heaters are one of the the cheapest part of your tank, and also one of the easiest ways to lose everything(I've had it happen )and throw a $10 walmart mini fan on the top that turns on when your lights turn on.

You've been given great advice about the baserock, a clean start would be great. With the cost down now it's a cheap way to start aswell.

[Tacoyaki]

oh okay ill invest in that then

[Aquattro]

From an alternate viewpoint, I would never use dry rock myself. I've bought over 500 pounds of live rock, and only once got a worm I had to get rid of. I removed the rock and put it in the garden.
The diversity of life that comes on live rock is to me, one of the best reasons to use it. The brittle stars, mysids, the snails and crabs, etc, all make for a reef. Unless you have a source for all this variety off the rock, you could be missing a lot, or at least wait a very long time for it to get introduced to the tank on something else.
Starting with dry rock, IMO, leaves you with rock that is colonized with some bacteria for filtration, but it isn't live rock. Just my opinion....

[Dez]

I went with a bit of a combo. I got live rock from many sources and made a few custom pieces out of cement and I have a couple of pieces of dry tuffa rock. I think I sort of got the best of both worlds. I was VERY selective in picking my live rock from sources that I trust (no aptasia, nuisance algae, mantis shrimp etc....) Hope this helps.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Dez

I went with a bit of a combo.

Probably the best compromise. Minimize the risk while still introducing the life from live rock!

[Tacoyaki]

well the tank im doing is only 10g, so im guessing 7lbs base rock and 3lbs liverock would do?


also about the temp again. I'm really scared to put a heater on the tank, It's been at 77.4F all day. My house doesn't have any ac so it's hot all day. Can i get away with this till the summer ends anyways? I just dont wanna go cook any fish i get.