When buying your first Salt Water Tank

[bc-matty]

Hey there guys! Just a couple of questions for you all!

When buying your first Salt Water tank, what should you be on the look out for in regards to lighting, the canopy, and power heads?

I am thinking of going with a 30-40g tank.

Do I absolutely need a sump for a tank that size? I am only keeping clowns, corals, the cleaning crew, as well as live rock, maybe an anemone in the future. What exactly is a sump and can you buy ones, or do you need to make your own?

 

[reefsRcool]

I think it is a good idea to put a sump under most every tank. it's a great place to stick all the clutter and easy add top off. i would advise against any cannopy at all. not needed IMO. i like being able to look down into my tank pluss it helps with overheating problems. lighting is all budet and livestock dependent. if you want to have an annenome and corals you cannot mess around you will need VHO or halides. i like hallides, but many are succesfull with vho. I have never liked power compact lights, they are expensive for what you get. I would get a halide pendent and hang it above the tank. Circulation is important, but individual to individual tanks. it's hard to give a blanket recomendation as to what is best. I like systems that utilize "squids". a closed look is impracticle on tanks that small i think.

Good luck and keep reading, in this hobby knowledge is as needed as money

 

[fishfanatic2]

I advise that you do get a canopy. Don't get one that seals off your system from the rest of the world, though. The last thing anyone wants to see is a fish wriggling or dried up on the floor after they have jumped. A small, 10-20 gallon sump with lots of sand and maybe some Calurpa would be good. That way you can get the heaters and skimmer out of the main tank. Just keep the sump under the tank stand if you have one.

Good luck!

 

[goofyreefer]

Get a bigger tank because in a year or to your going to wish that you did it in the first place. Buy a good skimmer, halide light(s) and yes have a sump. You can use another fish tank for a sump.

Good Luck

 

[liquid]

Have you read thru the Reefs.org Beginners Guide FAQ? http://www.reefs.org/library/newbieguide.htm Lots of good info there.

Shane

 

[bc-matty]

Thanks for the insight everyone! I did take a look at the beginners guide after your suggestion Liquid. Thank you. I am still a little confused about the sump. I suppose the best bet is to go to a pet store that specializes in Marine Fish and have them show me how they work. Ie. The drilling and pumping of the tank to the sump and back. Thank Poseidon (Fish God) that I don't have power outages. Maybe one a year at the most. So I will look into this. Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Even if you don't have power outages, the system needs to be configured to allow for this. After all, you will probably need to turn off your pump someday, to replace or service it.

The only decent choice for a reef tank is to have it drilled. The sump is just another aquarium and you can place a submersible pump right in it and pump the water up to the main aquarium. The water will the spill over into an overflow box and return to the sump. When the pump stops, the water stops overflowing to the sump.

 

[Hal1]

I'll second goofyreaders comment: go with a bigger tank. Rule of thumb is to get the absolute biggest tank you can afford, cause 6 months from now, you'll be saving up to buy it anyway as an upgrade.

A 75 gallon tank is not a whole lot more than a 40 (maybe $100 more?), and you'll really appreciate its 4 foot of length (think more fish, corals). Plus, the 18 inches front to back make aquascaping much easier. Lastly, if you're considering a tang of any type, a 4 ft tank is the absolute mininum size.

 

[baseman]

I'll third the bigger tank. I was going to get a 55. My wife talked me into a 75. I've had it for nine months and it looks small. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Definetly get a drilled tank. Make life easy.

I just recently upgraded from a 46 to a drilled 58. Not much a difference but worth it. I would have went alot bigger but I live in a condominium and donw have the room or support for it.
_________________
Mercedes Benz C112

 

[Anonymous]

I'll third the bigger tank. I was going to get a 55. My wife talked me into a 75. I've had it for nine months and it looks small. 8)

Good gravy, if all of us could be so lucky, to have a wife trying to talk you into spending more money! 8O :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the insight everyone! I did take a look at the beginners guide after your suggestion Liquid. Thank you. I am still a little confused about the sump. I suppose the best bet is to go to a pet store that specializes in Marine Fish and have them show me how they work. Ie. The drilling and pumping of the tank to the sump and back. Thank Poseidon (Fish God) that I don't have power outages. Maybe one a year at the most. So I will look into this. Thanks!

Basically, all a sump is is a smaller tank (usually) beneath your main tank. It adds a little more water volume to your system and allows you to put some equipment like heaters and protein skimmers there instead of in your main display tank. Some people have a section of their sump divided off with plexiglass and keep a deep sand bed and caulerpa growing in it (gotta put a light over it then). That just allows for more substrate area and a nice, low-flow area for the caulerpa and some microorganisms to grow unmolested by the residents of the main tank.

Water leaves your main tank via a drain hole (drilled tank) or an overflow box, goes down into the sump via gravity, then is pumped back up to the main tank with a (go figure) pump. :-D

 

[fishfanatic2]

You can also turn the sump into a kind of miny tank. With a DSB and Caulerpa, you could throw a few mantis shrimps in there if you wanted.

 

[baseman]

Sharkky :lol:

We only have room for a 4 ft tank. I had a 55 back in my freshwater days an d the depth of the 75 made more sense. FWIW the skimmer cost more than the tank. 8)