Noob wants a SW tank!

[Big Tex]

So I have 7 tanks as of now and all are freshwater with africans, south americans, and tropicals, and I've grown bored of freshwater and want to take on a new challenge. I have an extra 20g tall tank and I want to do a sw tank with just 2-3 nice fish in it. I will get a 29g tank it its suggested and i have the stand space as well. But I need all the info and advice you guys can give me. Thanks in advance I'm really excited about this! Ohh and one more thing I'm on a college student/father of one budget so please no high dollar equipment but I will spend some coin on the essentials if need be!

 

[Tkey3425]

I would right off the bat say go 29 gallon due to the space saltwater fish require. Next get 20lbs of live sand, 30-40lbs of live rock, a powerhead or two rated for 350-450 gph each. If you want to go with a sump I would but if your budget doesn't allow I'd go with a hang on filter rated at 75 or more gallon with some filter floss in it to catch poop and uneaten food, skimmers are really nice for nutrient export and can lower water change intervals but they are another initial expense but can used in place of the filter(neither are required but they are highly recommended in my opinion), you'll need a good heater that has low chance of failing on you(research), salt mix, and a few other items I'm leaving out but all of this can be picked up fairly cheap. Look at drs foster and smith, petsolutions, eBay, amazon. All of the websites have good prices. And by all means keep asking questions. Don't make ANY uninformed purchases. LFS will sell you a dig food bowl for your tank if you let them so ask here. Keep this thread going.

 

[Tkey3425]

With a 29 you could look at something like a pair of clowns and a firefish or some other smaller fish. Like I said though make sure you ask some have difficult care requirements

 

[Big Tex]

I would right off the bat say go 29 gallon due to the space saltwater fish require. Next get 20lbs of live sand, 30-40lbs of live rock, a powerhead or two rated for 350-450 gph each. If you want to go with a sump I would but if your budget doesn't allow I'd go with a hang on filter rated at 75 or more gallon with some filter floss in it to catch poop and uneaten food, skimmers are really nice for nutrient export and can lower water change intervals but they are another initial expense but can used in place of the filter(neither are required but they are highly recommended in my opinion), you'll need a good heater that has low chance of failing on you(research), salt mix, and a few other items I'm leaving out but all of this can be picked up fairly cheap. Look at drs foster and smith, petsolutions, eBay, amazon. All of the websites have good prices. And by all means keep asking questions. Don't make ANY uninformed purchases. LFS will sell you a dig food bowl for your tank if you let them so ask here. Keep this thread going.

awesome info! i know all the bad rap of the topfin power 75 but i like it, the noise isnt bad at all, and it does WORK, it cleared up my 46g bow front overnight, i love it and for the price of $40 out the door at my lfs ill go with it. i have heard i need live rock in my hob filters? or do i just do polyfil floss? and i think a 29g would be awesome as well, this tank is for my bedroom so i want it nice and pretty (for the wife lol) i already asked her and she said word for word "OH MY GAAAAWD, I WANT A NEMO!" lol so i guess ill be doing clowns or something similar to them, maybe other "pretty fish" in my wifes words, but i will for sure keep this going, my lfs store sells live rock and live sand, so i guess ill get it there, they also sell premixed saltwater? idk what thats about but they have a $600 setup fee and i wanna stay way under that or ill just pay em to do it

 

[Tkey3425]

I'd use dry rock to be honest with you. It's cheaper and you have no hitchhikers. I bought live rock and got the unfortunate luck of having a mantis shrimp get into my reef tank. You can easily be under $600. Go to petsolutions.com and price out the items I listed and you'll be surprised how low the cost is. Catch a petco on their $1 per gallon sales if you have one local and then you could step up to a 40 gallon breeder for $11 more lol the size really doesn't affect the cost of equipment until you get into the really large tank but I started with a 55 gallon and right now I have a 210 gallon looking for a bigger tank again lol

 

[Dav3]

Check Craigslist for Liverock. Also a good idea to look for any local reefing clubs. You can sometimes get rock for cheap and good used equipment for cheap or free.

 

[Big Tex]

I'd use dry rock to be honest with you. It's cheaper and you have no hitchhikers. I bought live rock and got the unfortunate luck of having a mantis shrimp get into my reef tank. You can easily be under $600. Go to petsolutions.com and price out the items I listed and you'll be surprised how low the cost is. Catch a petco on their $1 per gallon sales if you have one local and then you could step up to a 40 gallon breeder for $11 more lol the size really doesn't affect the cost of equipment until you get into the really large tank but I started with a 55 gallon and right now I have a 210 gallon looking for a bigger tank again lol

i knew it! lol the petco sale just ended in July here for us, and i wanted a 40gb and i was going to get one but i didnt have a reason to, and i have a 36g bow front with a SINGLE green texas cichlid in it, with a topfin power 75 filter, sand, and dual t5 lighting already, i COULD go sw in that tank, BUT im still iffy on it because i love my texas, it took me forever to get him to 6" but im still thinking on it, and i know i have the small tank syndrome too lol

Check Craigslist for Liverock. Also a good idea to look for any local reefing clubs. You can sometimes get rock for cheap and good used equipment for cheap or free.

i do check craigslist, but where i live sw tanks are pretty private and theres no clubs for it, my lfs "Reef Valley" is the closest thing to a club we have, im very good friends with all the guys because i get all my african fish and supplies there, food, weekend treats, feeders, equipment etc.

 

[Tkey3425]

Addiction is so bad that I've quit smoking but cant quit buying coral frags and new little fish for my tanks haha

 

[Big Tex]

ok guys, would a royal gramma, a 4-stripe damsel, and a clown fish fit in the tank? my wife wants the finding nemo tank lol i know the angel and puffer wont fit though.

 

[Dav3]

What size tank will you actually use? I'd stay away from damsels in smaller tanks as they are aggressive fish. Clown will be fine and royal gamma as well if you go with a ~30 gal tank.

 

[Mebbid]

You could easily fit 4 fish in a tank that size. Probably even 5 if you have a sump / refugium.

I will agree to skipping the damsels. They are aggressive fish that terrorize their tank mates.

Just be sure to quarantine EVERYTHING before going into your DT. Even if it's your very first fish. I didn't and ended up having to keep my DT empty for 6 weeks because of it.

 

[Big Tex]

well guys ive decided to do my 37g bow front as my first sw tank, and keep my 20g tall as my convict tank.

so no damsels, ok got it.

what else do i need guys? i have a sum of money burning a hole in my pocket it might not be much but i wanna get this going already!

i have a top fin power 75 filter, dual t5 lighting, and the tank of course.

 

[Mebbid]

All you NEED is a source of water flow, live rock, salt, water, and a hydrometer.

Everything else is just to make your life easier.

List of some general salt water equipment in the order I would buy them:
RO/DI filter
Powerheads
Refractometer
Refugium / sump (Easy to DIY the bigger the better 50% tank volume recommended)
Protein Skimmer

After this the list gets more extensive when you get into coral keeping but this is a good set of equipment.

If you have the money I would look into getting some lighting so you can start keeping corals whenever you want. These chinese leds are highly recommended, affordable, and very very powerful.

New Dimmable 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Fish Tank White Blue LED Light White US | eBay

 

[Big Tex]

All you NEED is a source of water flow, live rock, salt, water, and a hydrometer.

Everything else is just to make your life easier.

List of some general salt water equipment in the order I would buy them:
RO/DI filter
Powerheads
Refractometer
Refugium / sump (Easy to DIY the bigger the better 50% tank volume recommended)
Protein Skimmer

After this the list gets more extensive when you get into coral keeping but this is a good set of equipment.

If you have the money I would look into getting some lighting so you can start keeping corals whenever you want. These chinese leds are highly recommended, affordable, and very very powerful.

New Dimmable 120W Aquarium Coral Reef Fish Tank White Blue LED Light White US | eBay

The ro/di system would be hard because I live in an apartment, and I'm still getting used to all the lingo, I have 2 koralia powerheads I believe 325's and I wanna do a hang on back system if possible I don't want a canister system or refugium. That's a little too advanced for me.

 

[Mebbid]

The ro/di system would be hard because I live in an apartment, and I'm still getting used to all the lingo, I have 2 koralia powerheads I believe 325's and I wanna do a hang on back system if possible I don't want a canister system or refugium. That's a little too advanced for me.

You can buy adapters to fit a ro/di system onto a sink faucet. That is exactly what I will be doing when I buy mine (I have excellent tap water so it hasn't been a priority for me)

The refugiums aren't nearly as complicated as they seem. You can buy a HOB overflow and with a few pieces of pvc, submersible water pump, and some flex tubing set up is a breeze. The only problem with a HOB filter is that they only really do anything when the tank size is small. The larger the refugium the more impact it will have on the water parameters.

 

[Big Tex]

You can buy adapters to fit a ro/di system onto a sink faucet. That is exactly what I will be doing when I buy mine (I have excellent tap water so it hasn't been a priority for me)

The refugiums aren't nearly as complicated as they seem. You can buy a HOB overflow and with a few pieces of pvc, submersible water pump, and some flex tubing set up is a breeze. The only problem with a HOB filter is that they only really do anything when the tank size is small. The larger the refugium the more impact it will have on the water parameters.

so i wont be able to use my hob filter system then? and im good with pvc piping and junk i just have never understood the mechanics and stages of the filtration of a refugium/overflow system. i wanna keep it simple with some low light corals and maybe 3-4 fish and i'll call it a day guys.

 

[Tkey3425]

You don't have to have a sump or refugium. Throw some shaving brushes in the sand bed behind your rock so you'll never see them. They will absorb nitrates as well when the grow. I'd invest in a skimmer before I did a sump if I had to choose but that's just me. You want some type if filter and I would personally go with something like a fluval 306 or 406. Make sure it's rated for double your tank size though. I would get powerheads, rodi machine, HOB skimmer, canister filter, a refractometer ( my hydrometer was showing 1.023 and I bought a hydrometer and it showed 1.031) hydrometers are hit and miss in accuracy, sand, rock, salt mix and then enjoy the hobby for a while. Most corals require a stable tank and it will take you and the tank sometime to get in sync with each other enough to keep things stable. Keep it simple to begin with and add as you go. You can always add a sump later. I run my 55 gallon without a sump and have for the last 5 years with a fluval 406 on it and powerheads. It's not rocket science like some people make it out to be. Just do weekly 10% water changes or 20% every other month and you'll be fine. Lighting would be the next thing I'd upgrade after you've had the tank up for a while and are wanting to grow corals. I personally am getting rid if my corals and going back to a fowlr since I don't have the time for a reef anymore.

 

[Tkey3425]

so i wont be able to use my hob filter system then? and im good with pvc piping and junk i just have never understood the mechanics and stages of the filtration of a refugium/overflow system. i wanna keep it simple with some low light corals and maybe 3-4 fish and i'll call it a day guys.

I would go with a canister. The tubes hanging in the tank look bad to me in tanks. Put you a canister on it. You won't regret it. Just use hose clamps and you won't have any leaks. Mine is 5 years old and I haven't had the first leak and I'm not even going to knock on wood lol.

 

[Big Tex]

You don't have to have a sump or refugium. Throw some shaving brushes in the sand bed behind your rock so you'll never see them. They will absorb nitrates as well when the grow. I'd invest in a skimmer before I did a sump if I had to choose but that's just me. You want some type if filter and I would personally go with something like a fluval 306 or 406. Make sure it's rated for double your tank size though. I would get powerheads, rodi machine, HOB skimmer, canister filter, a refractometer ( my hydrometer was showing 1.023 and I bought a hydrometer and it showed 1.031) hydrometers are hit and miss in accuracy, sand, rock, salt mix and then enjoy the hobby for a while. Most corals require a stable tank and it will take you and the tank sometime to get in sync with each other enough to keep things stable. Keep it simple to begin with and add as you go. You can always add a sump later. I run my 55 gallon without a sump and have for the last 5 years with a fluval 406 on it and powerheads. It's not rocket science like some people make it out to be. Just do weekly 10% water changes or 20% every other month and you'll be fine. Lighting would be the next thing I'd upgrade after you've had the tank up for a while and are wanting to grow corals. I personally am getting rid if my corals and going back to a fowlr since I don't have the time for a reef anymore.

good info, good info, im definitely feeling more confident now!

ok time for the "duh" questions guys, you all knew it was coming, lol

whats a refractometer and what does it do?
whats a hydrometer and what does it do?
what is a protein skimmer and what does it do?
what will the hob filter have in it? live rock? polymer floss? regular carbon cartridge?

how long does cycling take before i can add fish?
how about an android app to keep me on track?
parameters i should keep stable?
whats considered stable?

anything else im missing?

 

[blert]

Unless you are ok with cracking a canister filter open and cleaning it AT LEAST once a week then stick with the HOB filter. You should still be cleaning the HOB filter at least once a week but it is so much simpler it's stupid. A big AquaClear is just about the perfect HOB filter for saltwater tanks as you can just stuff it with polyfill and change it every couple of days. Then, when you upgrade to a sump, you can use it as an HOB 'fuge.
Best of luck.