Begginer

[Eternal]

Hi everyone i would like some help on getting started on a saltwater aquarium. I have worked with freshwater fish for about 7 years but now i want to get into saltwater. So what do i need to start my saltwater tank?

 

[zacheyp]

well it really depends, are u looking for corals and what fish are you looking for?

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Well you have three options
Fowlr(fish only with live rock)
FO(fish only(not Recomended)
And reef(live rock and corals)
Fowlr is probably your best bet for success. And if you like your fowlr you can upgrade lights and turn it into a reef down the road. If you do a fowlr you need:
Live rock(1-2 pounds per gallon)
Protein skimmer(optional)
Lights(duh)
Substrate(aragonite or crushed coral)
And some sort of mechanical filter.

 

[Eternal]

What kind of light and subst

 

[Mrc8858]

^ a powerhead too

 

[SwimsWithFish]

^ a powerhead too

Ahh thanks I knew I forgot something

 

[Eternal]

What kind of light and substrate would i be needing? Is there any recomended brand? And how would i adjust the water with salt?

 

[SwimsWithFish]

What kind of light and subst

Well if you do fowlr or FO then any lights will do. As long as your fish can see and you can see them. I would recomend a double lamp t5. If you do reef you'll want a four lamp t5ho or compact florescent or if you want MEGA power you can get metal halides. As for substrate you can get aragonite sand or crushed coral.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

And how would i adjust the water with salt?
What do you meen by that?

 

[Eternal]

Well someone told me i had to add salt to the tank. I dont know anything about saltwater so im just trying to figure everything out before i do a mistake =)

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Well someone told me i had to add salt to the tank. I dont know anything about saltwater so im just trying to figure everything out before i do a mistake =)

Ahh I see! Haha well basically before you do a water change you take a bucket, fill with ro/di, add salt to water until it has a specific gravity of 1.023-1.025 make sure the water is mixed then add to tank

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Also, this forum is FILLED with good info for beginners!!! Just look around a bit

 

[Eternal]

Alright thanks for your help

 

[SwimsWithFish]

No problemo!

 

[AquaRick]

A good first step is to read the articles on AA:

Articles

 

[huma-huma]

Before buying anything at all for your first sw setup, I would recommend firstly reading the articles provided above, then try to get as specific a gameplan as you can for this tank. Try to decide if you want coral or not, community (peaceful) fish or aggressive. Etc.... there's simply way too many options for us to tell you what's necessary.