Never done saltwater before

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Heck09

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 9, 2014
Messages
473
Location
Florida
Hello salt water side!

I just had a couple questions I was hoping to run by you all really fast

My girlfriend has been wanting a reef tank for awhile now and her birthday is coming up so I thought it would be a cool present for her

The issue is I think the space on the wall where she wants it will only fit a 20 breeder, maybe a long 30 gallon

Is that big enough to where I'm not going to have a ton of issues?




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if your looking at a 30g may I suggest a 36g or 37g bow front they are basically the same size as a 30 but not as cramped , I hope you realize it isn't cheap to start up buying everything you need especially new , so I suggest floating around online to see if you can find a good deal on some good used stuff ,
here is a idea of what you'll need to get started

Tank
lighting/hood (to support coral)
filter of some sort
skimmer
sand aprox 30lbs
live rock / dry rock dry rock becomes live in time and is cheaper
Ro/Di setup
salt mix
heater
power heads
hydrometer
test kit

there are other things you'll need but those can be added over time
I'm sure others will chime in on anything I may have missed .
be sure to read up about saltwater and get to know what your looking at
this is a good place to start
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice
ask lots of questions on the forum learn as much as you can

welcome to the saltwater side :fish2:
 
if your looking at a 30g may I suggest a 36g or 37g bow front they are basically the same size as a 30 but not as cramped , I hope you realize it isn't cheap to start up buying everything you need especially new , so I suggest floating around online to see if you can find a good deal on some good used stuff ,
here is a idea of what you'll need to get started

Tank
lighting/hood (to support coral)
filter of some sort
skimmer
sand aprox 30lbs
live rock / dry rock dry rock becomes live in time and is cheaper
Ro/Di setup
salt mix
heater
power heads
hydrometer
test kit

there are other things you'll need but those can be added over time
I'm sure others will chime in on anything I may have missed .
be sure to read up about saltwater and get to know what your looking at
this is a good place to start
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice
ask lots of questions on the forum learn as much as you can

welcome to the saltwater side :fish2:


Thanks for the input I'll check out the thread after work!

Price is the main reason I want to go with a 20long, I priced out everything I'll need minus stand and it came to around 700$ from the local shops give or take

My boss just gave me a 55 with a sump and my gf wants to do salt in there but it's hidden away in my office and I feel for the money it would be better to just set up a new display tank in the living room


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Don't just check online! I always tell people about how my fiancé found my 110gal tank,stand,glass tops at a local goodwill. Best deal I ever got.

Don't forget a thermometer. And when I was shopping around for all the essentials listed above I found Amazon to easily have the best prices plus free 2 day shipping with a prime membership or 30 day free trial. And It's actually become a habit for me to check craigslist every couple days to see new aquarium related things people post.

I'd only recommend buying dry rock to save yourself from any pests coming in the rock. And personally I hated hydrometers..they work and people use them but saltwater refractometers are much more reliable and I think much easier to use.


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