Newbie

[palechek13]

I've been doing freshwater tanks for about 2 years now and I really want to invest in the beautiful saltwater aquariums. I have 3 community freshwater tanks and I just cleared one out to start my saltwater. It is a 29 gallon tank. It's 8 months established freshwater. I know it's not really to big but I'm not looking for a lot of fish or big ones. I was thinking clown fish with some inverts. The problem is I really have no clue what order to buy equipment. I would really appreciate if someone could help me get this started. I have plenty of money saved up for my new saltwater tank I'm excited to get it going.

[BigRedsReefs10]

Some basics are filtration in a protein skimmer, flow device like a power head or wave maker. Obviously a heater, thermometer, test kits, and lighting. Now do you plan on a sump or no? Reef , fowlr, or fish only?

[palechek13]

I have a heater and a light that's about it. I wanna do some live rocks and one annenome. I basically want a small reef. So in a couple days what should I pick up first.

[palechek13]

Idk what a sump is lol

[BigRedsReefs10]

A sump is another tank plumbed into the display tank to hide equipment or run a fuge. For a reef your going to need good lighting so I would start researching lighting. To start cycling all you need is the heater some flow( for a 30 reef I would go with 2 korilia nano 425's in opposite sides of the tank) rock and sand. You also want to pick up salt and ro/di water, either bought from lfs or a unit( best $200 I've spent in this hobby is my ro unit) don't use tap this will lead to algae problems down the road

[palechek13]

So I'm gonna pick up a different lighting for the tank. An external filter of some sort. The current fans and the salt mix with reverse osmosis water. How much would the cost be on this approx?I live in Wisconsin btw.

[palechek13]

Also I have sand in the tank right now will that be ok or should I pick up new sand?

[palechek13]

Petsmart has jugs of "seawater" would this be recommended?

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by palechek13

Petsmart has jugs of "seawater" would this be recommended?

You can. Those are terribly expensivethough. Do you have a saltwater LFS near you? If you're going premixed route it's better to buy from LFS. Otherwise buy rodi water from lfs and mix the salt in yourself.

[Dav3]

Originally Posted by palechek13

Also I have sand in the tank right now will that be ok or should I pick up new sand?

Only if you wash it very well. Though best if you just used new sand. Aragonite is best. Don't used crushed coral as the grain size is typically to large and becomes a nitrate trap.

[Dav3]

Also, you will want to completely empty the 29 and clean it out. The bacteria is different than saltwater anyways and you will still need to cycle.

[BigRedsReefs10]

Originally Posted by palechek13

So I'm gonna pick up a different lighting for the tank. An external filter of some sort. The current fans and the salt mix with reverse osmosis water. How much would the cost be on this approx?I live in Wisconsin btw.

Lighting is going to be your most expensive purchase most likely. But you don't need a reef grade light to start your cycle so you can wait a little on that. I would imagine you can get everything else ( skimmer, power heads, water and salt) for about $200-250 for decent stuff

[lstimpy]

No to anenome, please! Good luck!

[palechek13]

This Saturday I'm going to my fish store and buying instant ocean mix, live sand, marine land bio wheel rated for up to 55 gallons, a 425 nano circulation pump, and i want some rocks but idk which to get I really wanted a live rock. I'm cleaning my tank completely on Thursday. Is there any other advice I should know before I start everything up I really don't wanna mess this up right away...

[palechek13]

Oh and I'm getting the skimmer

[palechek13]

Also if I go to the store and buy steam distilled water is that gonna be as good?

[BigRedsReefs10]

Only thing I would do is swap out the bio wheel filter for an aqua clear, you don't really use the bio filtration in the filter it tends to trap nitrates and there are lots of easy mods/media baskets for the ac70 or 110's. And no distilled is not better than ro/di but it is better than tap

[Dav3]

Make sure you get a good skimmer rated at least double your tank size. I would avoid coralife brand skimmers that are often stocked on shelves. You will likely need to order one online which is fine time wise as you won't need it while tank cycles for ~4 weeks.

As for the water. The only way to tell if it's good is to invest in a TDS(total dissolved solids) meter(about $10 on eBay) and test the water to make sure it is 0 TDS prior to mixing salt in.

You don't need live sand. You can start with dry aragonite sand(cheaper) and it will become live.

Maybe check Craigslist for rock or start with dry base rock as live rock is often expensive. Though your tank is small enough that it won't cost much in live rock. Just pick out pieces you like. Generally a few bulky rock on the bottom as a base and less bulky pieces to build caves above that.

Don't forget to get testing kits. Liquid not strips.

Don't believe all advice from LFS as they are out to make money. Better to ask for advice here.

And take your time.

[palechek13]

What do I need just so I can start cycling? I already have a heater and nitrate and ph test kits.

[BigRedsReefs10]

To cycle all you need are a flow device LR salt and water (plus the heater). You will also want an ammonia and nitrite test, the api liquid tests for fw/sw are the same for ammonia nitrite and nitrate so if you have a fw kit you can use that, but after cycle if you plan on a reef you'll need a reef test kit and good lifhting