Possiblilty?

[Guest]

Hey guys, i know im a freshie but wanting to be a fralty(freshie and salty put together) and im pretty sure im getting a 55 gal for my bday which that gonna be FW

and my 29 gal im going to make SW FO tank and i want to know, how much is a skimmer and is it neccessary for me to have a skimmer, and a UV sterilzer? cause i was talking to xahx and he said i could make it a SW FO tank and that way i could save lotsa money

i just want to know what i can do, what i need to do, and what is outta my reach?

i have a $100 spending limit but this is gonna be in 2 months i am planning on and i would really like to know what i need to do asap

these are the things i know about and understand:
Ammonia
Nitrates
Nitrites
pH
Copper
Salinity

these are the things i dont understand and would like explained:
Gravity
Calcium


TIA!!!

*EDIT* i would also appeciate knowing what SW fish would sppreciate living in such a small house

 

[Fluff]

Setting up a sw tank with only $100, even if you already have a tank seems almost impossible to me. A skimmer is gonna cost you just about that much alone. Then you should have one or two ph's to move water around, new light bulbs (NO lights will encourage algae), salt, hydrometeor or refractometer, I assume you won't be using any live rock but, just for the record I would add no less than 30lbs. You'll also need new test kits, water mixing ph and container.
Gravity is the thing that keeps your feet planted on earth. lol
Specific gravity is the measure of salinty in your water.
Calcium is only important if you are keeping corals and such. With a FW tank, a good brand of salt should keep your calcium at acceptable levels.
Fish. Hmmm. You could probably fit two or three small nano fish in a 29gal. Maybe a pair of clowns, or a royal gramma, firefish, dottyback. Maybe a dwarf angel for a larger fish.

 

[Guest]

well can you summarize how much its all gonna cost for the ph the lightbulbs the salt the hydrometeor or refractometer whatever that is

and i want to keep like 4 clownfish (a pink, a false clown, true clown, and a cinnamon clown) and 2 anenomes preferably purple and green colors

would really be greatful for some more help on all these SW terms i need to learn up on

TIA!!!

 

[Hara]

Not only will the initial start up costs be substantially more than 100.00, your monthly maintenance costs will not be cheap either. Salt must be purchased for regular water changes, different foods etc. The other thing is you will NOT be able to have what you want to have as far as fish are concerned. The tank is too small to have that many clowns.

 

[Guest]

can i house 2 clowns and a few gobys?

 

[Devilishturtles]

can i house 2 clowns and a few gobys?

Yes to the clowns. If you plan on having no liverock in your tank, I would not get any gobies.

Also, I second the comment for getting liverock. If you do things that way, you can cycle your tank with it, and keep your tank clean via means of natural biological filtration. It provides cover for your fish and protection, and allows places for inverts to hide, feed, etc.

Also, no way in heck you can set up a SW tank on a $100 budget, so I would start saving up your allowance now, Rudy.

Good luck.

 

[Devilishturtles]

well can you summarize how much its all gonna cost for the ph the lightbulbs the salt the hydrometeor or refractometer whatever that is

Well, the two PH's I got were $20 each, so $40 there.
Lighting (which if you want anemones, you will HAVE to get new lighting) was $145 (after shipping and the legs) for my 29 gal tank. It is a 2x 65 watt PC fixture.
For salt, the 50 gallon mix I buy is $13.
A hydrometer is cheap, most places sell them for under $8-10. A refractometer is a electronic hydrometer and is much more accurate when measuring SG. These run more in the $80 range.

So, all in all, about $210 or more, just in those 4 things.

 

[Guest]

well i want to keep an anemone or 2 in the tank

but can they live off natural sunlight? cause like as know my tank is right infront of a window and i would LOVE to keep anemones without having to but expensive lighting

do i really need a refractometer??? the PH i can get for $14 the mix is about $13 so all in all i summarized everything and it is just barely short of $100 with taxes added on

it came up to $99.95

 

[Devilishturtles]

but can they live off natural sunlight?

Nope. Sorry.

do i really need a refractometer???

Not at all, but you asked what one was, and I told ya.

 

[lando]

Hey rudy, $100 to start is going to be a huge challenge. I would hold off on the anemone for several months (8-12). These animals require a very stable and mature tank. The lighting for these is going to cost you a bit. You could certainly have a pair of clowns and a dwarf angel, or goby or royal gramma as mentioned. I think the best purchase you could make for your self now is a great book on SW tanks. I like "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. It will really increase your knowladge and help start you off on the right foot. Ou can buy the other hardware a little at a time until you have what you need to start. This is not a fast process and patence in the key. Welcome to the "salty" side of things!

 

[Guest]

thanks lando


i mean guys im not trying to be rude or uptight but if i need help with the SW #1 i can ask my dad and #2 i can ask you guys

take a look at the getting started sw fourm and look at my topic and it will show the equipment i found

 

[Fluff]

I also wouldn't advice more than one anemone in a tank that size. And only after 8mo-1yr once the tank is stable and you've gotten the right lights.

 

[Guest]

so i cant get one as soon as convert my tank? cause it will be up for 5 months and can i still use my Whipser Power Filter as a filter for a SW tank??? cause if so, then my tank will be fully cycled still....

 

[thelovablebum]

When you convert your tank to SW your tank will cycle. A SW tank has different bacteria then FW tank does. You can use the same filter but it wont help make the cycle go faster if thats what you meant.

So that means that you need to wait to get a anemone because you have to let the tank cycle and the anemones need a stable and mature tank

 

[Guest]

man 8 mo.s
ugh!

 

[Fluff]

Definately. Converting over to sw is a misleading term. Everything will need a good cleaning and started over from scratch.

 

[Guest]

oh now that makes alot more sense

also can i keep my aquarium light and hood fixture or do i have to spend money on the special ones with built in fans for me to be able to keep anemones

i have trouble spelling that word

 

[mastershake]

no offense to be taken but if your dad knows this stuff, wont he help you, also, i woudnt worry about anemones and all that, you should just start by settign up a tank, and all it takes to set up a tank is a filter(id recommend the tetratec 500) it has good bio and good mechanical, and its big and has adjustable water flow and stuff, i have on its good, lighting will be fine with normal flourescents until the day coems when in 8 months or so you decide you want that anemone , then upgrading light will be good idea, you will need a bag of salt, a hydrometer(i recommend the instant ocean hydrometer, all the ones ive used , i work in a fish store ive used a few, have been only .001 point higher then a big glass hydrometer we use, the one i own is the same) maybe a powerhead or 2, get like a 201 or a 301 by aquaclear, they are relatively cheap on ebay, and ive had good luck using them, a heater, i used a won brothers titanium one, and i liked it, and now im currently using a via-aqua titanium heater, and also very good heater, sand or crushed coral, only real signicant difference is in appearance, choose your favorite, rock, base will be fine for a fish only tank, using tufa or bleached corals will be perfectly sufficient for your tank, unless you like liverock, then you can drop the $$ for that, and soem test kits, nitrite , nitrate, ph, ammonia, thermometer, and a way of cycle, i used a hermit crab and fed him monitoring my ammonia and such, once i saw the spike and drop i brought him back to my lfs , we have a rent-a-crab policy, or you cna use a piece of shrimp, it all will take about the same amount of time ,damsles suck, dont cycle with them, and the crab was cool to watch, other than that, you ahve 5-6 weeks to save up more money to buy your fishies once the cycle ends, then a couple months to save for the lights and the anemone, remember
"nothing good ever happens fast in the salt tank"

 

[malkore]

even low light anemone's are going to need stronger lighting than the standard light fixture - single, normal output fluorescent - can provide.

 

[Guest]

ok cool! now if only i can find where i put my $100

can i cycle with some clowns?