ACk, SpS's with colour, I can't find any....

[andrewsk]

Can I PLEASE make a suggestion to you. Before you go any further, buy this book and read it from front to back:

Concientious Marine Aquarist
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...uct_ID=lit-cma

It is only $30.00 and will save you a ton of $ in the long run.

You really need to take a step back and do some reading. You are coming at Salt Water with an understanding of Freshwater and that can be dangerous

If you love that book and have a few more $ to spare, then read the following.

The Reef Aquarium Volume 3
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ct_ID=lit-tra3

[rigger11]

i agree with der iron and digital. a 5 gallon sps dominated tank for your first attempt is going to be way to hard to keep in check. ive been playing this salt game for the last 3 yrs and have just recently added my first few sps corals..... if i were you id hold off on the sps and take a look at going bigger. the lighting alone that is required for sps on that tank would be way too much for the tank. how would you keep the temp stable let alon ethe water quality???? used 30g tanks are cheap man id look into that as your first tank.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

@ Drew - you beat me to it

Mwaaa ha haaa.

[IceTurf]

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

Mwaaa ha haaa.

OK uhh quoting a link is easier then going back and quoting the person in the quoted the idea, er said er nvm, anyways what if I put live sand in my filter instead or with ammo-carb?

[andrewsk]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Ammonia carb is for Fresh water tanks.

[IceTurf]

Just a pondering thought, but why is the filter system I got bad for a reef tank? It gives bacteria/small organisms space to thrive and do their job...It also takes out small particles and obviously large ones and it contains locations for ammo-carb. Its huge for the tank its going to be used on. Am I missing some important point here?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

For maintaining a reef aquarium--in particular an SPS-dominated reef aquarium--the water quality must be very high. Dissolved organic waste (aka-fish poop) will not be filtered out by the type of filter you are describing.

It's definitely possible to have a 5G "pico" like you're describing, but I think it would be difficult, especially for someone just beginning saltwater. The ability for something very small (a snail dying) to foul up a 5G aquarium is very strong. Things can go bad in a hurry and there is very little water to absorb whatever it is.

That said, if you still want to make the effort, it IS possible....but I would recommend asking a lot more questions and doing a lot more research first. After all, these are living creatures we are talking about! We don't want to kill anything, if we can help it.