New tank

[Joeball2007]

I'm starting my first salt water tank and I was wondering what I should get. I have a 30 gallon tank

 

[Ingy]

Rocks?
What kind of lighting?
What kind of filtering/sump?

It all matters so much more in SW

 

[crister13]

Really depends what your planning to keep. Reef? FO? FOWLR?

 

[Joeball2007]

I want to have a reef with some fish but I have a little filtration system that came with the tank but I need to buy everything else.

 

[200 gallon reef]

Post a few pics of what you currently have. That always helps us visualize your potential setup and makes it easier to recommend. I have a 200 gallon reef and a 54 gallon reef. I spent a great deal of money on a good skimmer, return pump, and lighting. If you are doing a reef tank, those are some items you don't want to cut corners on.

 

[Joeball2007]

So right now I have a freshwater tank that I will be moving to a different tank. But those are the only tools I have so far.Celt me know if you can't see them clearly

 

[crister13]

Your going to need powerheads and a good lighting fixture. I would recommend leds. If you can afford a $750 light, go with the radion. You could keep any coral, anemone, anything that's photosynthetic. Also, live rock or base rock with some live rock. That's going to be your main biological filtration. Sand also. Test kits, a refractometer, and other things still. Best of luck, be patient, and ask any and all questions you have.

 

[Joeball2007]

How much would this cost me roughly. And do you recommend any places to go to to get the stuff.

 

[Mrc8858]

CL should become your best friend if you begin the journey into reefing which I wish I would have found out sooner lol but a tank can cost anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars for a 30 gallon. Just depends on what you want and how patient you are on waiting for deals though fellow reefers

 

[Joeball2007]

I have a 30 gallon tank already I'm talking about how much the live rock and the skimmers etc

 

[Mrc8858]

Ya I know you have the tank that's the cheap part lol we are better off knowing your budget for this tank then we can work around that

 

[Joeball2007]

Well I don't want to spend more than 400

 

[200 gallon reef]

You should be able to get what you want to at least start cycling the tank. lighting is going to be the bulk of that.

 

[Joeball2007]

Ok and is there any place online I should go or any stores that are the best and what is the best lighting
Sorry about all the questions

 

[kdpuffer]

As far as lighting goes there is a more budget brand of led out there that has worked well for other members, I believe it was taotronics brand. Another worthwhile investment is a rodi water filtration system but that can come later but be sure to buy rodi water as tap water is big factor for algae growth. In reality all you need to get into a reef tank is a tank and water mixed with salt(proper marine reef salt not table salt or regular aquarium salt) add some live rock ( dry base rock works also and will become live, best bet is to add 5 lbs of live rock to 25-30 lbs dry base rock) and power heads for flow. You will about 600+ gph of flow likely from two powerheads so a couple 300 or 350 gph powerheads should do you well, you can add higher flow powerheads which isn't a bad thing but I would suggest no more than 2x 500gph. A skimmer isn't mandatory but it helps so you could get away with buying that a little later just make sure to monitor your water parameters and perform regular water changes. That leads me to the most important thing which is a test kit, I use and API reef master test kit and it is entry level for reef tanks. Next big ticket item is lights, led is best but a 4 bulb t5ho light would be good for most coral a 6 bulb is enough for pretty much anything. With all those items and regular maintenance you can have a very happy and healthy reef with or without a skimmer. I would also suggest going on YouTube and looking up BRStv they have a great bunch of informative videos and they have one series that guides you through starting a basic reef tank and progresses through all the upgrades you may want to do down the road.

 

[Joeball2007]

Any online stores to look at or any stores to go to

 

[kdpuffer]

Well depending what your wanting to buy online and where you live. For hardware bulk reef supply is good, jl aquatics also which is a good alternative for us Canucks. There always good ole eBay and amazon too. For livestock there are numerous but liveaquaria is well known and reputable, also a good place for researching livestock.