Can someone help me with starting a saltwater tank

[nikki_kaiser]

I would go with a protein skimmer that can do more than what your tank is. Honestly, that's a pretty important piece to the aquarium puzzle so my advice would be to get the best one you can afford. People have opinions on which ones work the best. Octopus is rated well and I think coralife is. Create a thread and ask what people would recommend for that size tank. That's what I would do just to get some ideas

 

[Mike jones]

Well what should I put my money toward first

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Between a sump and protein skimmer, go with the protein skimmer. What are you using for filtration?

 

[Mike jones]

Um 75 gal hang on the back

 

[nikki_kaiser]

You should be good there then! LOL! I say go for the skimmer then. A sump shouldn't cost you much to build. You have a long way before corals and I would see how you like this first to be honest. I'm finding out pretty quickly that even a small reef tank is expensive!

 

[Mike jones]

Yeah I probably won't do corals for a long time or atleast a few months I'll have to do lots of studying on them

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I agree. Corals require research and just like each fish has different requirements, each coral does as well. You've got some homework though with your tank you have now! So moving forward, have you started your cycle on your tank? I know you have the water in. Did you throw a raw piece of shrimp in for the bacteria to feed on? You don't have to have live rock to start the cycle however it's better to put all the live rock you want in now. When you add live rock later sometimes it can cause a mini cycle.

 

[Mike jones]

No I haven't yet I'll have to I haven't gone pump anchorage yet wi

 

[Mike jones]

I haven't gone to anchorage yet I'll have to next week but I'll start the shrimp thing tonight I got some used crush coral substrate from a friend out of his reef tank

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Oh that's good! Ya, I would go ahead and start the cycle. It takes a while.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

If I could chime in real quick... Convict on this forum has a 29 gallon reef biocube, and he just took his skimmer off because it didn't produce skimmate... He just does the proper water changes. I hear the smaller tanks a skimmer isn't as necessary... Just from what I hear/read on here tho

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Does he have a reef?

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Yea, a gorgeous tank too!

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Check it out in the Salt Water Reef Aquaria section, he just posted a video. It's off the hook...

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Oh wow! How does he keep the water so clean? Normally everyone says a protein skimmer is a must for a reef tank. Ask him what he is doing! I'm turning my FOWLR into a reef and want to know what all he uses if you dont mind!

 

[nikki_kaiser]

Ok...his tank is awesome! I want a reef tank that pretty! I wonder how many fish he has and if that makes a difference as to whether or not you need a protein skimmer... I REALLY need to get my lighting issue sorted out!

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Yea I don't really know Nikki... I was helping him troubleshoot his skimmer for about 3 weeks, and he eventually just pulled it. No need apparently?

 

[Beengirl]

If I remember right, I think it was convict that I read uses filter floss, purigen, phosguard, and chemipure in his filter. I could be wrong, but I think it was him. (I'm a little OCD and take a lot of notes when I find something interesting I might wanna use later.) you could always PM him and ask.

 

[Mike jones]

How much water changes do I need to do if I get a protein skimmer and sump I found a skimmer for a 100 gal for $100 and a sump for $100?

 

[nikki_kaiser]

You will still need to do regular water changes. I do mine weekly.