Follow up does anyone have any negative opinions about tenecor reef ready aquariums? they are acrylic and not glass so I know about the scratching.. but anything else I should know before purchasing one?

You can use Tap water, the mix probably has declorinaters in it. Now what a lot of people don't know is how to properpy mix saltwater.

Do not put the mix in the aquarium and add water, when you do that chemical reactions occur, that will alter the make up of the water. Fill the aquarium most of the way leaving room for the salt and then add the salt mix stiring and circulating the water and checking the specific gravity as you go, the water tempeture should be between 78 and 84 degrees F. I got this information form one of the manufacturers, and from one of the employees at a public aquarium.

Sorry I can't help on the tank.

When I worked for a tropical fish wholesaler, we made up the mix in a 30 gallon plastic trashcan, with an airstone in it. Anyways, we used water from the tap and the saltwater mix and stirred. I monitored the salinity with a gauge and poured the mixed water into the tanks, as needed. Also used trace elements as needed.

I keep my house anywhere from 62-70 degrees, is this a problem for a saltwater aquarium, I obviously will have the lamps to heat the water but was wondering if this might be a problem that I do keep my house so cold. It doesnt seem to affect my freshwater aquarium or fish.. try to get all the newbie questions out of the way before I spend 3,500 on a nice setup.. Any information is helpful on new setups and maintenance.. So far I am leaning toward the tenecor 90 gallon 1/4 circle aquarium as it really does look the best that I have seen.. I am also in the market to buy used live rock or coral or anything else needed for the setup.. prefer local Dallas area though.. thanks.. Kevin, kevip@excite.com

Hi
Why don't you get a good book on the subject or check out some of the good on line groups. Reefcentral is fantastic. Slow down and do your research before you even start. Decide what filtration theory your going to use and what type tank you want. Your going to spend a lot of money
and do a lot of work so might as well do it right ??
Tenecor makes great tanks but maybe a bit expensive. But I would start with a reef ready tank.
There is an good article on reefcentral called "So you want to start up a salt water aquarium" Great step by step advice. gary

Temperature will effect the SPECIFIC GARVITY, I would suggest using a good heater to keep the water at a constant temperature. 70 degrees is a bit cool and the lights will not probably be on 24/7 to keep the water warm. If your spending all that money to setup a reef tank another $25.00 for a good heater is not much. There are a lot of things you can cheat at with freshwater aquariums, but with the cost of the fish, invertebrates, corals, and live rock I would suggest not skimping, it will only cost you more in the long run.

Tenecor makes a reef ready with all the trimings needed, does not have a heater though. I agree I would hate to lose plants or fish due to temps, I am doing all the research now before I buy anything. I visited a good aquarium place today and got alot of questions answered. I did hear one employee mention that acryllic can turn white, this worries me, has anyone ever heard of such a thing? I am not to worried about the scratching as I will try to be extra careful, I am even considering hiring a pro to hook everything up at the beginning so its all done correctly. Anyway still looking for all the info I can before I spend a dime as I made some mistakes with my pond due to not doing my research before hand. The prices on some of these rocks, reefs, fish is mind boggeling, I am sure I am going to start out with a few clowns as all the fish cost as much as my koi but about 1/20 the size. I need to switch careers to fish catcher as some of these things are crazy expensive. Thanks!

Hi
Again go to some of the sites dedicted to Marine. reefcentral .com is really good. Look at some of the tanks of the month.Check out the equipment they're using then check the prices of similar equipment. A hundres gallon tank will easily run 3 grand much more if a "reef" setup.
You also get to look at all the fantastic setups Ask questions of very informed people and methods for DIY to save a buck or two lol gary

Yes, I am a member, a bit tedious to find what I am looking for but good source of info. I expect to spend around 2,500-2,900 for the tank and about 1,500 for the rocks and some fish and intervtabrae. Looking at tenecor anyone have an opinion on them, its says not that good for coral so was a a bit concerned..

bambi, can you explain how adding water to salt is different than adding salt to water? You should run the tank without fish for a few days. The clorine will disapate within 24 hours, no need for declorinators. Tenecor is a well know brand but i never owned one, i'd check for the thickest acrylic tanks avail, i've seen them bow if too thin. Good luck.

According to a chemist that worked for a manufacturer, when the salt gets wet chemical reactions begin to occur which can alter the final make up of the saltwater. I didn't ask exactly what happened, but when a chemist for the manufacturer tells me something I listen. I was also told the same thing by the lead aquarist at a public aquarium. I did notice once when I put the salt in the aquarium, added water and began mixing the salt with my hands the mix was warm to touch, warmer than the water I was mixing. I also noticed it dissolves better when you add it to the water vs. adding the water to it. I used to mix it 300 gallons at a time for the 5 systems at the wholesaler I worked for in a big vat using a PVC paddle. One time the kid we called "hoser" because his job was to siphon off the "stuff" on the bottoms of the freshwater aquariums put 2 150 gallon mixes in the vat and turned the water on, something definately happened. He had trouble getting the salt to mix and there was a really hard residue on the bottom of the vat when it was emptied.

Being the newbie that I am I am going to start with live rock, live sand and premixed salt water. This way I can start to introduce invertabrae and fish in a few weeks and make less mistakes. The tank design I purchased I may have to change the lighting as it doesnt support coral that well but I think I will wait a bit on adding and doing to much till I have a good understanding of the salt water nitrification process amoung others as well as the fish and animals I will add. I know this isnt the cheapest method to go but making newbie mistakes could cost me just as much in the long run. Thanks for the advice you guys have given me so far.. will post a pic of the aquarium once I have it up and running. I am sure I will keep a week by week or month by month photo on my web site for those who are interested in seeing the progress. Thanks, Kevin

One final bit of advice, you mentioned Clownfish in an earlier post, buy Tank Raised ones if at all possible, they will live and thrive for you. More often than not the wild caught Clownfish do not do well. I have seen thousands of wild caught Clown, and lots of them were dead, on the other hand I have seen thousands of tank raised clowns, and very few if any died while we had them. They are smaller, a bit less colorful (they do color up eventuly) but you will enjoy them more. Good Luck!

One final bit of advice, you mentioned Clownfish in an earlier post, buy Tank Raised ones if at all possible, they will live and thrive for you. More often than not the wild caught Clownfish do not do well. I have seen thousands of wild caught Clown, and lots of them were dead, on the other hand I have seen thousands of tank raised clowns, and very few if any died while we had them. They are smaller, a bit less colorful (they do color up eventuly) but you will enjoy them more. Good Luck!

I will try and get all farm or tank raised.. Excited but have to wait several more weeks..