Megan's first Saltwater Tank

[Lilmack07]

Petco is having their dollar per gallon sale and I finally got to go check it out today and of course I came home with a new tank! I ended up coming home with a 40 gallon breeder tank. I'm am currently working on getting a 55 gallon freshwater tank up and running( upgrading my 20 gallon to it). But in the mean time I figured I could start planning out this tank since I believe saltwater tanks are a lot more work and I'd like to have a nice solid plan so I can start this tank off right.

First I would like to know what all I need equipment wise. I know I need a filter, heater,and a lighting system.
Filter- Some type of canister and maybe a HOB for water agitation?
Heater- Would 200 watt ok?
Lighting- Wanna use a t5 HO fixture with the ultra sun and coral sun light bulbs
Skimmer- Don't know anything about these yet
RO/DI system- Ive seen 3 stage, 4 stage, how do i know which one i need?

40-50lbs of live rock
40lbs of live sand

Fish I have no clue about at the moment
Corals I have no clue about at the moment

Background: was thinking about maybe just painting it black like I did with my 55. Not sure yet thou. Any ideas of what looks good with a saltwater tank?

 

[22engine]

Blue looks nice on a saltwater tank. I am actually in the process of getting ready to switch to a 40 breeder I got from Petco as well. Just painted it last night. Here is what it looks like. Just used acrylic paint from the craft store. Cost under 3 bucks.

 

[Lilmack07]

Oh that is pretty! I even like the shade of blue you picked. I will keep that in mind but I like that a lot. I wish you luck with the setting up of your tank good choice on the size.

 

[Convict2161]

Blue looks nice on a saltwater tank. I am actually in the process of getting ready to switch to a 40 breeder I got from Petco as well. Just painted it last night. Here is what it looks like. Just used acrylic paint from the craft store. Cost under 3 bucks.

Nice!! Keeping that a secret huh?

 

[Psychocircus91]

Blue and black both work well. I personally like lighter blues as well. I think it also depends what coral and fish you like. You'll find your filtration will be different in saltwater

 

[Lilmack07]

I'm really leaning towards trying out a blue background. Fish and corals I'm not sure of just yet. How do you mean different? I know I am going to need good filtration. I'm not sure if I need a skimmer or not either.

 

[Psychocircus91]

I'm really leaning towards trying out a blue background. Fish and corals I'm not sure of just yet. How do you mean different? I know I am going to need good filtration. I'm not sure if I need a skimmer or not either.

Most of us don't use any kind of hob filters. You could get a sump and or a skimmer, but could go either way with this size tank. Definitely can help though

 

[MyR6Rocks]

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[MyR6Rocks]

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I went blue spray paint as well.

 

[ktomminello]

Most of us don't use any kind of hob filters. You could get a sump and or a skimmer, but could go either way with this size tank. Definitely can help though

I don't quite agree, my higher power hobs (I have 2 on each of my salt water tanks- 40g and 10g nano) are an important part of my water circulation. I am using 6X the filtration on my 10g and 5X filtration on my 40g along with circulators (500gph for my 40g and 300gph for my 10g). This is not a good idea for larger tanks, though, without at least a protein skimmer or an excessive amount of live rock.

 

[Bearchumjs]

I'm really leaning towards trying out a blue background. Fish and corals I'm not sure of just yet. How do you mean different? I know I am going to need good filtration. I'm not sure if I need a skimmer or not either.

My best advice is to research all you can and then ask specific questions about things you don't understand. It took a while for me to understand that I didn't need a HOB filter. I was like what? That's impossible! But it's true. I have 2 on my 10 gal tank anyway to create water flow and I simply put live rock rubble in rather than typical filter media. I figured since I had them I would use them instead of buying power heads for the water flow.

You need plenty of live rock and plenty of water flow, a good clean up crew, probably a protein skimmer, really good lighting if you want coral-they require different lighting than freshwater systems. Sumps are the way to go I think, but not sure if you'd need one for a 40 gallon tank.

 

[ktomminello]

My best advice is to research all you can and then ask specific questions about things you don't understand. It took a while for me to understand that I didn't need a HOB filter. I was like what? That's impossible! But it's true. I have 2 on my 10 gal tank anyway to create water flow and I simply put live rock rubble in rather than typical filter media. I figured since I had them I would use them instead of buying power heads for the water flow.

You need plenty of live rock and plenty of water flow, a good clean up crew, probably a protein skimmer, really good lighting if you want coral-they require different lighting than freshwater systems. Sumps are the way to go I think, but not sure if you'd need one for a 40 gallon tank.

40g is right on that hairy edge- if you don't go with a sump, refugium or skimmer you will need to do quite a bit of hard labor without the right clean up crew, I learned the hard way, and I keep on going what you save in hardware costs you make up for in dedication.... Research the heck out of what you want from your tank and for your tank....

 

[Lilmack07]

MyR6Rocks- Your tank looks really great with the blue! Thank you for the picture to give me a better idea. :]

Thats a good point, saltwater seems like it can be a bit overwhelming, but from the tanks i have seen i know its worth it. As far as filter wise i know for sure i will be going with a canister filter, i may throw a HOB filter on it just to have more water agitation, but im not sure that will be necessary. From the sounds of it i will also be getting a protein skimmer and as far as lighting i will be going with a t5 HO fixture so i can get the light needed for corals. I had looked at petco at a fixture and some bulbs for it was going to go with the ultra sun and the coral sun.

 

[Psychocircus91]

MyR6Rocks- Your tank looks really great with the blue! Thank you for the picture to give me a better idea. :]

Thats a good point, saltwater seems like it can be a bit overwhelming, but from the tanks i have seen i know its worth it. As far as filter wise i know for sure i will be going with a canister filter, i may throw a HOB filter on it just to have more water agitation, but im not sure that will be necessary. From the sounds of it i will also be getting a protein skimmer and as far as lighting i will be going with a t5 HO fixture so i can get the light needed for corals. I had looked at petco at a fixture and some bulbs for it was going to go with the ultra sun and the coral sun.

Most are going to tell you no on the canister filter. Especially since you are getting a skimmer, it's not necessary. They tend to harbor nitrates.

 

[Lilmack07]

Ok I'm missing something then you told me no on a HOB filter and now no on a canister filter. Do I only use the skimmer and water changes? Confused. XP

 

[ktomminello]

Keep your HOBs lol. In all seriousness though, in a situation like yours I would want my live rock to do most of the filtering with the help of water motion, which your HOB can provide along with a powerhead.... I swear it's ok

 

[Lilmack07]

Oh ok I wasn't getting that the live rock will work as filtration also. So if I go with a HOB with a power head would I still want to go for a HOB with 5x the filtration amount?

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Hob or canisters are fine just do your maintenance on them. I run 4 hob on 4 different tanks75,46,36 an20. 75 has a sump I use them for chemical,biological and polishing the water.cant have enough filtration. Key is maintenance and wc.Its not really that complicated, key is patience and maintenance.

 

[Lilmack07]

Hob or canisters are fine just do your maintenance on them. I run 4 hob on 4 different tanks75,46,36 an20. 75 has a sump I use them for chemical,biological and polishing the water.cant have enough filtration. Key is maintenance and wc.Its not really that complicated, key is patience and maintenance.

And when you say maintenance on the filter you are meaning just cleaning it once a month like I do with my freshwater filters? Water changes I am confident about just have to learn how to mix up my saltwater.

 

[ktomminello]

Remember to use RO/DI water, or distilled to mix your salt with. It's a good little thing to remember- live rocks with macro algae are definitely your friends when it comes to a happy 40g. I think by maintenance it's just implied that you keep an eye on your parameters and what's going on in your tank....