Freshwater to salt water help!!

[Irishrover]

Hello. I am wanting to start a saltwater tank and am completely new to this ecosystem. Any advice I can get would be great. I have absolutely no idea what species I want to keep I just really love the way saltwater tanks look. I love the coral that blows in the water stream, the lights ,all that. I realize all of this is very expensive but that is not my biggest concern. My biggest concern is keeping things alive And doing things right.Should I buy the best of the best of everything or? I don’t know where to start. I keep trying to do research on the Internet but it’s very confusing. So many conflicting ideas that I have no idea which way to go. Canister filter? Skimmer? Sump? I really don’t know what I need. All I know is I want a beautiful reef tank like the one I see at the fish store LOL. Any idea of the Total cost for this? That would help too. Thank you in advance for any info you can provide.

[SaraB]

Just like freshwater, the bigger the tank the easier it will be to keep stable.
Make sure you research the adult size of the fish because some saltwater fish get huge. It's also easier to accidentally overstock a saltwater tank. You have to account for less oxygen.
Corals are extremely picky so maybe start off with some fake ones until you get the hang of the tank.

[wsboyette]

In a fish-only setup, doing saltwater is little different from freshwater, and rather simple. But with a full reef setup as you want, there is quite a bit more to learn. My advice is to get all the beginner info you can find on the subject, and learn all you can before you start.

[Brookster123]

You have to read other peoples journals. If you want something quick and easy I'm sure you can find a local person that builds and maintains.

[wsboyette]

In setting up a reef aquarium, the best setup to use is what we call a Berlin setup. It consists of a particulate filter, some sort of chemical filtration (usually carbon), and a protein skimmer which removes dissolved organic waste from the water. Biological filtration in a reef tank is done by the live rock in the tank, so you will need to get enough of it to do the job. The equipment is usually located in a sump tank down in the aquarium stand, with an overflow box to deliver water to the sump and a strong pump to return it to the tank. Strong specialty lighting is also required for the corals; today the LED lights are a good energy-efficient option. Be prepared to spend some $$ and don't let sticker shock slow you down; reefing is a rather expensive hobby ! As I said, read up all you can on the subject !