Hello!

[Jermz79]

First let me start by saying hello, and thank god I found this site. I am new to the world of saltwater aquariums and am eager to get started!

I just bought my first house and decided "Hey what better way to spruce up the living room, but with a nice SW tank!" ... I have had FW tanks all my life but never SW. I figured since I am going to be in this house for a while this would be the best time to start one!

O.K. so now, Let me tell you what I have planned ... I have a 30 gallon tall, dimensions are 30x12x17.5, was a FW tank and was recently drained and is now just sitting! I have read, read, and read some more then I took a break and read some more ..... NOW I am just confused!

I want to get everything that will best suit my tank size, and be able to setup a healthy thriving tank. I understand the cycling process and water testing stuff, I am just stuck on exactly what products would be best for my tank. Filters, Lighting, PH, Sumps, Skimmers etc. etc. etc. do I need all of this if not what do I need? what brands? how big?
Are you starting to get my drift?

Money is tight, but not really an issue. Just remember I am a beginner and don't want to spend the New Mortgage payments

Thanks in advance,
Jermz

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

Welcome to AA!!!!!! First thing I would suggest is get a bigger tank! You'll have to decide if you want a reef tank(corals and such) or just fish. Once you make that decision we can get more into detail of what kind of equipment you will need.

 

[Jermz79]

Bigger tank is outta the question! Not a whole lot of room in my new house and this tank has sentimental value!

As for what type of tank I want? I want to do a FOWLR tank, just a few little clowns and maybe a Gobbie (sp?), and a clean up crew! Am I out of mind for this tank or should I be o.k.?

And then for equipment ...... I would absolutely appreciate if everyone could give me some pointers!

Thanks

 

[JPloman]

I would strongly suggest the purchase of a skimmer. This will help with the bioload you will have in fowlr tank. You will missing some of the key elements that make a reef tank easier (IMO).

Do you intend to get an anemone to host your clowns? If so you will need really good lighting. I suggest getting the power compact lighting systems with both white and blue lights.

On the sump issue, it is up to you. If you ever want a mandrin dragonet or seahorse you need one so you can get your pod population up, otherwise I personally do not think you need one. They are great filters though.

You need maximum water flow. I have a much larger tank, thus I do not have any clue how many power head you will need. I have seven in my tank right now.

Your lr will act as a filter as well as your skimmer. Wet/Dry filters are another great way to go and can double as a sump. Its really about personal preference and the amount of money you have to spend.

Maybe some DIYers could help you out with a design for a Wet/Dry filter/sump. That is what I run with.

HTH!

Welcome to AA!!!

 

[Jermz79]

Thanks!

Yeah I plan on getting an anemone and have looked at PC lighting, seems to be the best for my little setup and the most cost efficient!

I don't know if I understood correctly or not, but with the live rock .... I don't run any type of filters or skimmer????
I was looking at some BIOwheel filters, but not sure what size would be sufficient for 30 gallon tall!

 

[JPloman]

Oh no, you should run a skimmer no doubt! Live rock acts as a natural filter for the water as well. It will help your filtration to have the live rock.

The different kinds of filter you might want for a sw tank are; biological filter (Live rock, live sand), chemical filter (nitrate sponge, charcoal) and mechanical filter (skimmer, wet/dry filter).

The BIOwheel filters, explain this to me, are they the ones that have the cartriges? If they are, you might not want to get one of those. They tend to trap bad stuff.

 

[aquanaut]

Welcome Jermz79... I hope you find this forum as helpful as I have. These guys are a great bunch and we'll all try to help you with any questions. I am fairly new to saltwater and got great advise

Dont forget to vote for A.A. Rob

 

[Jermz79]

Here is a link direct to a BIOwheel filter, I think these are for both FW and SW?
would one of these with a skimmer be sufficient or should I run a cannister type?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3619&inm=1&N=2004+22769+113565

 

[Jermz79]

and also with LR and LS are filters neccessary or do I just need to run a skimmer?

 

[Jermz79]

O.K. here is what I can put together .....

Emporer BIO-wheel 400 (link provided above)
2- 1200 PH
Visi-Jet Protein Skimmer
5" DSB
30lbs of base rock
30lbs of Live Rock (probably Keys from liverocks.com)

Does this sound like a good start or is there anything I'm missing?

NOW .... lighting is the only thing I'm missing? Do I need to buy a completely new
hood or can I convert the one I have now? I wanna go with PC lighting good
enough for an eventual anemone!


Man I wanna thank everyone for the input already recieved!
THIS BOARD ROCKS

 

[JPloman]

The canister is the bad kind of filter. They trap bad bacteria in them and can eventually cause problems for salt water. I would not purchase the BIO wheel filter if it was me.

I would start with just with the skimmer and work from there. If you end up needing more filtration you can add in a sump and/or wet/dry filter in a few months.

It is amazing how great skimmers will remove the bad stuff from your water. Just make sure you have enough power heads to keep the water moving really well in the tank.

 

[lando]

First off...Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!
You know, your list looks pretty good. I had an Emperor 400 on my first reef tank and loved it. Threre is a catch with them however. The bio-wheels can tend to be a nitrate factory. This is generally not a problem if you stock light, feed little and have PLENTY of other biological filtration. But they ae not really needed. It does give you some good mechanical filtration and a nice place for any chemical filtration (carbon...).

and also with LR and LS are filters neccessary or do I just need to run a skimmer?

Not really needed, but as mention, you can benifit from it.

NOW .... lighting is the only thing I'm missing? Do I need to buy a completely new
hood or can I convert the one I have now? I wanna go with PC lighting good
enough for an eventual anemone!

You will need a lighting up-grade in the future for an anemone. However, this does not need to be done now. Ideally, you should wait several months before attempting an animal likethis. they require excillent water conditions and a mature, stable tank. You will need to get a new fixture, the light you have now will not be able to be converted. What are the top dimenstions of the tank (length and width)?

 

[Jermz79]

Regarding stocking ... I idealy only want 2 clowns and maybe a goby or something of the sorts haven't really got into the fish yet, I wanna do a proper setup first ... although I do know setup requires somewhat of an idea for what you want to put in! My tank will not be overcrowded as I am not one for crowds myself so I can only imagine being stuck in 30 gallons with too many people
I know with the live rock all sorts of things may start popping up so I want to be careful with that!

I do plan on waiting for the anemone, but will this also require I wait for the clowns? If so what type of hardy beginner fish would you suggest?

I'll have to wait until I get home for the top measurements. The tank dimensions are 30L x 12W x 17.5H, But figured I would need different fixtures!

 

[JPloman]

Clowns are a form of Damselfish and are pretty hardy. You should not have any problems with them as starter fish. Just make sure that you have fully cycled your tank prior to adding them.

 

[aquanaut]

Hey there

Anemones need lots of light. I have 192 watts of PC in a 30 Gal. I prob need more They will die without good quality light and water..

 

[Phyl]

You want your tank turnover to be 10-20x your tanksize an hour and you're going to want 3-5wpg of light over your tank for the anemone (which means you'll have enough light to keep most corals as well). I went with a SSB in my main and a DSB in my fuge (the fuge is to help keep nitrates down because corals hate nitrates). 60# of rock is going to be GREAT. You should be able to pick up your LR yourself from LR.com if you're close enough. Very cool. I don't know anything about the skimmer that you picked. Mine is built into my wet/dry. I have a wet/dry for my "filter system" in addition to the 150# of live rock I have in my tank.

Rather than the emporer I'd get an overflow and put a sump in the bottom of the stand. That makes a good place for your heater, PS, etc. without cluttering up your main.

Make sure you add in the test kits: Ammo, trite, trate, pH, Ca, Alk.

You're going to want an RO/DI unit to make sure you're using pure water (and a bucket of salt for mixing it up). You can get one on ebay for 100$ (FilterDirect). You don't have heaters on your list. You'll want at least 1 if not 2 of these. A refractometer for measuring salinity (again ebay this). You'll need an extra heater and powerhead and garbage can for mixing water in for water changes.

Before you get fish you should get a 10g basic tank, bubble filter, & heater to use as your QT tank. You don't want fish in your main that have gone through the QT process for at least 4w.

Welcome to AA!

Good luck!

 

[EJS4]

www.liveaquaria.com has fish sorted by beginners (easy to care for) and also nano fish (smaller fish). This would be a good place to get ideas. Look in Fish Marine for icons.

 

[Jermz79]

Thanks for all the info everyone, I think with this info I should be able to put together a pretty nice setup!

A couple other questions I have are ... what size heater would be sufficient for a 30 gallon tall, 50w/100w or would I need more. And as for a overflow/sump setup is there any good sites that have these for sale? I like the idea of having everything under the tank with more room in the tank!!!!!

I looked at liveaquaria.com and that site is awesome for beginners, I like how they give recomendations for type of filters, lighting, heating, fish and all the good stuff!

I can't wait to get started only 1 month till I close on my house and then I can setup. I live maybe 25 minutes from Liverocks.com and absolutely love the Keys rock. I'm gonna do 30 pounds of Base and 30 pounds of Keys LR!

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

 

[seve1]

I bought a retro-kit and built a wood canopy in order to put in the lights I wanted have it look nice. Much cheaper than a pre-built option.

 

[EJS4]

On the heater 2- 50 watts would be better than 1- 100watts, for a number of reasons, but both should be sufficient for florida.
Liveaquaria does provide alot of info but use it as one of many sources. I like to start there because its quick and easy but then I confirm what they say with other sources.