Buying online

burnsachris

Is buying online ok? What are the best stores? I have 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 blenny, 1RBTA, some snails and hermits.29gal 20lb LR 30lb LS, 30" orbits power compact light, aquaC protein skimmer, Hydro Koralia 1, and a marineland penguin bio wheel200, I want some polyps and mushroom. Is liveaquaria.com a reputable store.

Kellsindell

welcome to the forum!

live aquaria is a great place to purchase, as well as marinedepotlive.com and reeftopia.com. I've ordered from all of these and have had much success. Though fish you may want to get from a local pet store as you might have issues with the fish, and ORA sells some things that are tankraised and there are many vendors that sell them such as liveaquaria.com.

onefish2fish

welcome.

i would loose the bio wheel. they are great in freshwater but cause nutrient build up in saltwater. infact i personally would put another hydor 1 on the opposite side facing the other one.

look in your area for a local reefing club. my clubs yearly dues are $12 and we have meetings, group buys, sell/trade corals for fractions of the price, meet people with the same interest, learn constantly and have a good time. its worth looking into.

burnsachris

So I dont need any other filtration than the protein skimmer? I will get another power head and look into the clubs. Thanks for all the advice.

Kellsindell

Clubs are great, i'm kinda in 2.

Filtration will inclue the Live rock and sand you put into the tank, but yes a skimmer will be the main filtration. You may also consider getting a refutium on the system. If you don't see that as an option, then the LR will aid quite a bit and the aquaC is a good skimmer, so it'll be pretty safe without one.

johnnynuke

Buying online is fine. The prices are generally cheaper than your LFS and most places offer you a 14 day warrantee on the livestock purchase. The only downsides are the shipping expense (anywhere from $20 - $40), and that fact that your purchase doesn't always look like the picture.

I've dealt with Saltwaterfish, ReefHotSpot, Marinedepotlive and LiveAquaria. I think LiveAquaria is the best.