Hello, had a quick couple of questions

[bobstone]

I saw a small living rock or reef tank ( I am not sure it might not have been either of those ) that had an almost instant reaction to light.

I was hoping someone could give me an idea what I saw. when the light was out it just looked like rocks but as soon as the lights where turned on, everything came alive within in minutes. it was really amazing and I am now in a position to be able to dedicate the time to maintain a tank.

on that same subject, if I can get stuff at cost ( I have a friend who owns a pet store ) what would I be looking at to start up something like I described and what type of costs would it have on a monthly bases ? a 10 gallon or less sized tank.

also I am not to big on having fish in it, just the whatever it was that I saw. I might do fish a lot later but... no plans for them at the beginning.

Any ways thanks for any info you all can give me.
Bob

 

[daugherty]

the smaller the tank the harder they are to maintain. but on a ten gallon reef you would need 10-20 lbs or live rock a good light like a 70w metal halide would be good and lots of Patience

 

[Smitty]

I agree with Daugherty...also, welcome to the site.

 

[reeffreak]

I gree with Daugherty so I won't anything to it.

Most corals deflate when the lights are out.They are less noticeable and when the lights come on they expand to even 10x the size.The fish comes out and the tank looks alive.If that is what you saw then thats common with just about every reef system.

 

[dcantucson]

I agree with reeffreak and Smitty saying that they agree with what Daugherty said. I would recommend starting with a 30-55 gallon tank. It will be much easier and you won't have to upgrade so soon. Much more satisfying than a 10 gallon.

BTW Welcome to the site!

 

[bobstone]

thanks for all the info eveyone.

reeffreak.

the one I saw expanded in a mater of 1-2 mins tops, but everthing I see on the web about it seems to be quite slower to expand.

could you further explain it a bit for me?

thanks
Bob

 

[Bifferwine]

There are hundreds of different corals in this hobby -- 99% of them react that way to light. It would be impossible to say from your description exactly what type of coral that was. We would need a picture.

 

[reeffreak]

I don't know of anything that expands that fast Bob.

Maybe pics like Biff suggested might help us.

 

[Bifferwine]

Feather dusters and clams will expand and contract in an instant.

 

[bobstone]

ahhh. it was probley just thoes then.

also I am not in a situation that would allow me to have a tank much over 10g's also I dont think I am prepared to spend the money that I would spend on a larger tank, I dont plan to skimp ( at least not where it counts once I figure all that out ) so getting such a large take to me would involve way to high of a start up cost while I can do a 10 g tank in style from what I have seen on prices.

 

[Bifferwine]

A 10 gallon tank will cost you about $12. That's the cheap part :D. Depending on what kind of stand you buy, that will cost between $40 and $100.

Figure in about $150 for lights. Then you will need up to 20 lbs of live rock, at around $10 per lb, that's about $200. You can save money there by buying half live and half dry rock, and dry rock will run you around $2 per lb. Toss in another $20 for sand.

With a 10 gallon tank, you can get by without using any sort of filter -- I have a 10 gallon and I just do a 30% water change once a week.

But you can't use tap water. You will either need to buy an RODI unit (~$150 for a cheap one) or buy RO water at the grocery store or Walmart.

You will also need to buy a powerhead and a heater, which together will run you around $50.

 

[yote]

I agree with all of em.
Welcome to the site.