First saltwater tank I need advice

[KillerKeegan12]

This will be my first saltwater tank it is a 35gal what do I need?




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[reef_junkie]

First of all you need a filter. For that size of tank I wouldn't worry too much can about what brand (personally, I like Marineland). I would go with a canister filter. When looking into any kind of filtration I'd definitely go over what they say the filter is recommended for. So for your tank I would probably go with a filter that is recommended for a 55 gallon tank.

Another thing you need is a heater. You can go with a heater that is recommended to the size tank you have.

You also need lights, especially if you get corals. Personally I wouldn't get them at a pet store because they can get pretty pricy. The way I did my lights is much cheaper but you need a little bit of DIY initiative. I went on superbrightleds.com and bought NFLS-X3 led light strips. You get get them in a variety of colors including UV for the corals. You get get them in different lengths, and if they're still too long, you can also shorten them with scissors. On my lights I went with white, blue, and UV. For power I went with the 50W 12V power adapter and also got some mini dimmers. I suspended the lights with an aluminum bar hooked up to some chains that were attached to the ceiling. Just make sure if you go this route to not put the lights too close to the water because there can sometimes be little drops of water that splash and can ruin the lights. (I speak from experience)

Good luck with the tank!!!


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[Reefing Madness]

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon. You can use Fully Cured Live Rock, and have the tank cycled in just a few days also. Other way is to use just a couple of pounds of Live Rock and the rest Macro or Dry Rock.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 1-2" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.
Skimmers & Pumps
Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle | Cycling Methods | Ammonia & Nitrates
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Live Rock: Live Saltwater Aquarium Rock
Fish & Aquarium Supplies: Marine Substrates, Sand, Crushed Coral, Live Sand
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Macro Algae: Your Source For Quality Marine Plants and Macroalgae | Gulf Coast Ecosystems
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Aquarium Salt Mix: Salt for Saltwater and Freshwater Fish Aquariums
Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Reef Master Liquid Test Kit
Reef Aquarium Care: Kent Marine Liquid Calcium Supplement
Saltwater Aquarium Buffer: Kent Marine Superbuffer-dKH pH Buffer and Alkalinity Builder
Aquarium Chemistry: A Homemade Two-Part Calcium And Alkalinity Additive System — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
what your coral needs | Successful Reef Keeping

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com