new to saltwater

[flameseeker574]

Hello everybody, I'm new here but it seems like everybody is knowledgeable and friendly so I decided to post.Anyways, onto the meat of the post.

My father and I have always wanted a salt water aquarium, when I was just a little kid (5-6) we got a 10-15 gallon FW aquarium, which we set up and the little tank preformed well for about 8 or so years, being the home to a lot of fish and generally rousing biological interest in me. After a while the tank started leaking and we had to trash it.

Its been a few years since than and we are itching to get a SW reef tank system. Being new to SW and rusty on my FW I naturally come with questions.

First off, how big of a tank would you recommend for a beginner? I hear alot of people recommending 50+ gallon tanks and was wondering what everyone's opinion is.

Second, How much work is a full reef tank, I see people saying that you have to check the water pretty consistently for PH and salinity. What exactly would we have to check for, and how often?

Also, turns out one of our friends had a saltwater aquarium but stopped the hobby a little while ago. He has offered to give us his 30 gallon tank with all of his filters and extras for free. This seems like a pretty good deal, but after all this research we are wondering, is a 30 gallon tank doable for us newbies? We have no idea about the quality of the stuff we are getting so we have continued to look into alternative tanks. While looking we found this red sea aquarium tank that has been advertised on the internet.

They are advertised as "plug and play" systems BUT first off I know that this is blatantly untrue because we would have to cycle the tank and whatnot before even considering adding a fish, and second off we are wondering about the "upgradeablity" of the tank. The thing looks pretty fixed and I doubt we could add much. Also the little thing costs 800 bucks which seems like a massive rip off to me.( advice on this red sea/JBJ thing is greatly appreciated)

another question is will costs even out( when taking into consideration how much coral and LR I would need) if we bought a larger tank on craigs list for say $450 (70 gallon tank that comes with what seems like everything that we would need)?

We bought a book of amazon about setting up a salt water aquarium, which should come on Wednesday. And when that comes I'm sure it will answer some of these questions, but I'm sure that it will generate even more!

here is the link to the book we got
Amazon.com: The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide: Michael S. Paletta, Edward Kadunc, Scott W. Michael, John Goodman: Books

P.S. sorry if this post seems a little jumbled, It's a post-bash of my first and second post on another site. Figured if we are going to spend money on an aquarium we should get as many opinions as possible. (second half is after a weekends worth of intense research)
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[ElMonoCalvo]

Hi and

I too started out with a 29 gal and believe I had that exact book. It had some ok stuff in it but take it all with a grain of salt, especially their first fish recommendations (i.e. avoid the Damsels).

You found a good site to help you get started and I wish you nothing but luck.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll try to synopsize, I must admit I've only perused your post.

First, the thing with tank size has to do with stability--larger tanks are more stable. This allows you, the noob, a buffer or cushion for mistakes. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with smaller tanks, they just require more diligence.

That's a good book you got to start, but you're going to need more. The most difficult thing I think you'll find about keeping salt isn't the monitoring, plenty of FW systems require lots of monitoring and plenty of SW systems require little to none. The most difficult aspect of keeping marine fishes is acquiring the knowledge.

Another site to use (be ready, it's extensive) is http://www.wetwebmedia.com

Best of luck and happy reading! (I do hope you like to read)

 

[flameseeker574]

hey everybody, the book came a bit early and I must say that It's quite informative. My father and I have decided to steer away from the pre-packaged/ready to go nano tanks and are now
looking at more traditonal options. Over the next few days we will be combing craig's list looking for deals on tanks 50-80 gallons in size. As of right now our primary concern is finding
someone who is selling a tank+ a stand/hood combo, Anything else is extra and we will inquire with you guys about the quality of any lights,skimmers,filters,whatever that we might
get in the process. So we are now wondering once we get the tank+stand+hood what will it cost us (roughly) to pick up everything else we will need (say we get a 70 gallon tank)

As far as I can tell we would need (this is the sketchiest part of my research so remind me of anything I have forgotten)

A filter of some kind, I see most people talking about canister filters, are these the best type?
A protien skimmer
Lights (this is something I'm struggling with, I have heard of metal hlyide (sp.?) VHO and HO, for a tank that will hopefully include corals what is best?)
2 heaters (you are spoosed to have two incase one bruns out right?)
2 powerheads with some sort of device that randomly turns them on and off to create currents (name of device/reccomended model would be very helpful)
and overflow box +piping to pipe tank water to the sump
a tank for the sump ( would the above mentioned 30 gallon be big enough?)
a water pump + piping to put the cleaned sump water back into the tank.

also I'm abit confused in regards to the plumbing of the sump.

1) do I put the overflow box on the rim of the tank, then connect the PVC pipe to the box, then run the pipe below the tank into the stand, and then into the sump?
2) what do I put in the sump? Im asumming I'd put everything but the lights and powerheads in it (heaters,fliter, and skimmer?)
3) I hear alot of talk about reguriums (sp?) to my understanding I dived the sump into two sections, one for the macro algae and one for the cleaning equipment. The macro half is
like a mini tank just for the algae, which I have to have a light for ( recommendations?) and the algae filters the water and grows, and every one and a while I collect some of the
algae and throw it in the tank for tangs or other herbavoires to eat? Are they worth the hassle?

Also as a more general question, what brands should I be looking for when buying these things, and more importantly which ones should I stay awayfrom. My Father and I feel strongly
about have quality fliters and the like and and we're wondering which brands you guys use?

Thanks for your patience, I know that explaining things to noobs can get tiring but I'd like to tell you that I appreciate the help alot.

 

[Brian5000]

Mechanical filters aren't really necessary in a saltwater setting. A good protein skimmer, live rock and a lot of flow does a pretty good job.

Metal halide lighting is the best for coral or T-5 (size of the lightbulb) setup with a large number of bulbs (x6 or 8 ) seems to work. Coralife and Current USA both make good stand-alone units for the mechanically declined (like me).

A lot of people do use 2 smaller heaters as opposed to 1 big one in case one should fail. I find that the powerful lights do heat the tank quite well too.

The thing that alternates flow is called a "wavemaker."

30 gallons is a good size, but make sure everything under your stand can be easily accessed and removed for mantanence and replacement (the standard 29 is quite tall).

In the sump:
1) correct (as opposed to a hang on overflow, a drilled tank with a built in overflow is more reliable. If you can find one of those on Craigslist, go for that.)
2) also correct (plus the pump that returns watter to the tank)
3) Lighting needs for algea are pretty basic. I think a single flouescent strip will do. Refugiums are worth it.

 

[Sea Turtle]

:welcome:

Setting up a tank is a load of fun. I was so excited when all my stuff started coming in the mail, specially the live rock. I would recomend buying quality products right off the bat. I skimped on a few things here and there when I started and basically not only did they cause stress and problems for me but they cost me more money because I eventually replaced them to keep my sanity. I also recomend two heaters, skimmer, live rock and good lighting system (halides or T-5's), also a LiterMeterIII will make your life a lot easier.

Happy reefing.