Newbie to SW

[Natescuba]

I have had a freshwater tank for a while now and am considering a FOWLR SW tank. What would you say the best "ready to go" kit out there is (ie: biocube),
with a budget of less than 400. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

 

[Digital Man]

I am a long time freshwater enthusiast who just started a fowler tank a few months ago. I would say that in order to do things right, it will be hard to stick to a $400 budget. I have found that the advice of bigger is better for saltwater to hold true and u should definitely want things like live rock, a sump, protien skimmer, etc. Also need to consider a lot of misc items you will eventually find that you will want and/or need. This forum has been great for advice on getting started but I would also suggest doing a lot of internet research and consulting with a local fish store on what is needed to get started.

Good luck!

 

[Al.Ilgaz]

Your best bet is do what I did. Stalk Craigslist for a couple of months and find someone who is getting out of the hobby. I happened to find a $150 deal which included the tank, lights, skimmer, test kit and a heater. It's a 56 gal tank. Some say it's small but for me it's perfect. I buy small fish and sort of watch them grow. Anyway on top of the tank you'll need a filter. I bought a fluval 406 for 160 bucks, again some say canister is wrong for saltwater but my fish are fine. I do 5 gallon water changes a week and I thoroughly clean my filter once a month and put two new bags of carbon every 3 months. I cycled my tank with 4 damsels and it's the only thing I regret. None of them died and they seemed happy throughout but it takes way too long to see progress. Mine took about 8 weeks and I still was never sure that it was cycled. I lost a long nose butterfly in the process. I was so anxious to put fish in the tank after I started it but if you just suck it up for a week and put a piece of shrimp in the tank to cycle it you'll get to put the fish that you really want in your tank sooner. And you'll know that it's definitely cycled as it is much easier to track the progress with real ammonia source.

So as far as the 400 dollar budget goes, it's definitely doable to get your started. But it's such an addicting hobby that once you get fish in there you'll start searching for ways to provide luxury for them and start justifying the need to spend more money on them. They definitely deserve every penny because they're gorgeous.

If you don't want to spend money then I suggest you stop reading now. Stop going on forums, stop looking at pictures of fish and find another hobby because the more you read on the more you'll burn a hole in your pocket. Speaking from experience once you say you want a saltwater tank and you walk into a LFS it's pretty much too late and you're helpless. Sorry we're all hooked and you are too.

 

[Pisces3473]

I have had a freshwater tank for a while now and am considering a FOWLR SW tank. What would you say the best "ready to go" kit out there is (ie: biocube),
with a budget of less than 400. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Nate follow the link below to Convict2161's BioCube 29G build. There is a ton of knowledge in the thread and you can get one of these for around 250, I think. You may need to shop around a bit. Anyhow this thread is very informative, and the above poster is correct, SW is definitely like, "oh, i gotta get that, ooh, I need that too. What, better lights?" Stick with it and good luck!

29 Gallon BioCube build BTW, Convict is good about answering questions and giving info, he takes a lot of pride in that thread!