Where to Begin?

[Sakuri]

Hey everyone! New to the foum, so be nice lol

Recently I found a part-time job at a local Garden Centre which has alot of tropical/marine/fresh water fish. On my breaks I stroll over to the pet centre and watch the fish. I guess since your all registered members of this site you will agree, a good aquarium is a beautiful thing to watch, very calming

As a gift idea for my GF's birthday, I decided to get her one of the freshwater "starter kits" which consisted of the tank, filter and lighting. (I had to buy a heater as she wanted a couple of Neon Tetras ). Now its all set up, I am overly and jealous and have decided- I want 1!

So what do I do once I have an interesting new hobby? Find a reputable forum and leech from their expertese of course

I am looking into buying a larger tank, with more quality components than provided with a starter kit. I intend to have saltwater fish this time round- Clown Fish particularly, maybe one day when I have enough experience I will introduce an anenome!

I have a few hundred pound to spend, and was hoping somebody could advice me on what would be best to start with.

What components are best? (Filter Systems, Lighting, Do Saltwater setups have heaters?)
What is the best way to begin the "water cycling" for a salt water tank?

I will undoubetly have more questions as I progress, but if anybody could help me out in these early stages im sure my life will be alot easier down the line!

Thanks for reading.
[/b]

 

[malkore]

First off, welcome to AA.com!

Second, I highly recommend you read The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, by Robert Fenner. Its an excellent book that a beginner can still easily understand, but you won't outgrow it in 6 months either.

It's gonna cover all the questions you've asked, and a ton you didn't even know you should ask

Lastly, SW can be very spendy. If you want a reef tank, and since you say "anemone" that does mean a reef setup eventually, expect to spend $20 (US currency) per gallon of tank size to get it setup...not including any fish.
To give you an idea, my 40gallon ended up running me close to $900 US dollars to setup, and it's not even a super high-light tank.