Need help starting 36 gallon saltwater tank

[hiltymj]

Ive had a brackish tank for about a year and a half now and I just moved my brackish fish into a 75 gallon tank and so i want to make my 36 bow front into a saltwater tank but I have no clue where to start and what I will need and also what kind of fish I could put in there. Any help will be appreciated! Thank you

 

[Adam051290]

Ive had a brackish tank for about a year and a half now and I just moved my brackish fish into a 75 gallon tank and so i want to make my 36 bow front into a saltwater tank but I have no clue where to start and what I will need and also what kind of fish I could put in there. Any help will be appreciated! Thank you

Are you planing on doing reef or fish only? There's a big difference of where you need to start depending on which one you wanna do

 

[hiltymj]

I am planning on doing a reef I just have no clue with what

 

[Adam051290]

Okay so you need to start off with a light. I would recommend a nice
4 bulb t-5 light or a metal halide(Viper makes a 150watt clamp on metal halide that would be perfect for your tank) once you get a light you need to figure out what you want to do for filtration. I would recommend a sump but you can also use a good h.o.b.(hang on back) filter. If you decide to use a h.o.b. filter I would suggest buying a hang on protien skimmer as well. Once you get these items let me know and we will go from there

 

[carey]

In my experience with smaller tanks you can probable get away without a skimmer. You just really need to keep up on your water changes.

As stated above i would definitely go with your lights first, it will be the most expensive part of the setup and its good to get it out of the way.

A 4 bulb T5 would be your best bet most likely and allow you to keep most any corals and maybe even an anenome once day in the future.

here are good fixtures for a starter tank and cheap too

fish need it;lights; food;Sponge

Other than that you'll need sand and some rock. You'll need about 50lbs at least so I'd get say 50lbs of base rock from say, ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Rock, and then get some Live rock from a local fish store to seed that base rock.

If you don't already have one, an API master test kit will be a necessity.

I also agree you don't need a sump unless you want one, I get away using hob filters, canisters and a hang on skimmer for my 55g reef.

Hope that helped!

Good luck!

 

[hiltymj]

Ok wow thank you so much! I'll let you guys know when I get the lights

 

[hiltymj]

I have a couple of 20 gallon aqueon power filters and I only used one in my brackish tank and it was always perfect would that do the job? Also I have a 55 gallon aqueon filter that I'm not using. Would that one be better?

 

[carey]

I would go with the larger filter for the tank. Alwasy better to go bigger, even if it's not by much.

 

[hiltymj]

Ok sounds good thank you

 

[Adam051290]

Post some pictures as you start buying stuff. And if you have anymore questions please ask. I love following along with tank builds, it's exciting to see how they turn out

 

[hiltymj]

Ok I will sure do that!

 

[hiltymj]

hey guys! i finally found a t5 ho light for my 36 gallon on ebay so I just ordered that.

any suggestions on what hob protein skimmer to get?

 

[Ibrahim]

I recommend Octopus Skimmers .

 

[carey]

I am currently using a remora hang on which I love! If you have the cash a skimmer is cool to have. You could probably get away without one if you do enough pwc's and regularly. I have 2 29g running without a skimmer right now.

 

[Adam051290]

CPR bak pak skimmers are pretty good and non-expensive. I am currently using one on my 40 gallon frag tank and I love it. As listed above reef octopus skimmer are really good too they just cost a little more

 

[hiltymj]

Ok thanks for all the advice! How much watt should my light be? I believe I bought a 75 and I feel like that's not enough at all so I'm worried

 

[Ibrahim]

100-120 watt will do you better because you can keep most corals. But it really comes down to par. If you want a cheap skimmer you can get an Oddysea one for about 40 dollars. It's not the best skimmer but since you have a nano it should get the job done.

 

[hiltymj]

Is a 36 gallon considered a nano? Just curious I have no clue what makes it a nano exactly.

And so should I be mad at myself for not realizing it was a 75 watt or will I be ok with my corals and stuff?

 

[Ibrahim]

I was guessing it is since a 29 is considered a nano. I thought any aquarium under 55 was a nano

 

[hiltymj]

Ok cool as long as the light is going to
Be strong enough