Things needed in a saltwater tank??
- Thread starter aj204
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
Moved to Salt water.
cmor1701d
Aquarium Advice Addict
Try starting with this: Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank
fishmonkey
Aquarium Advice Addict
well, since I've got nothing to do, I guess I'll give you a good explanation, although you really should go to the articles section and read up.
I'm assumng that since you have the tank, im guessin it was origionally a FW tank. meaning you should already have the heater, but other than that, you really can't salvage anything else for it.
There are a few types of saltwater tanks. there is FO (Fish Only), which is just fish, with no live rocks or coral or anything. There is FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock), which is pretty self explanatory. Then, there are reef tanks, these are the most saught after taks. they have corals, and fish, and live rocks, but they are also the most expensive, and need some special equipment. Assuming by what you are saying , you want a reef tank, with the live rock, and the fish, and corals.
These are just a few of the things that you are going to need:
-HEATER: (just in case you don't already have one) for this size tank, I would get a 250+ watt heater (get two if you can, always good to have an extra for backup, in case one breaks, and for those cold winter months)
-SALT: some good ones are Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals Reef Salt, and Oceanic (although you are going to want to get more opinions on this one, im not a salt expert)
-REFRACTOMETER: This is an item that is used to measure the salt content of the water in your tank. You can also get an item called a hydrometer, which is cheaper, but I would HIGHLY recomend the refractometer, which is so much more accurate and reliable.
-TEST KITS: kinda self explanatory. Tests the aquarium water for different things, like nitrates, nitrites, Ph, ammonia, and such. I'm sure you have purchased test kits before, but I'm still going to recommend that you go withg the API test kits.
-SUBSTRATE: Whatever is placed at the bottom of the tank, can be crushed rock, or sand. I would recommend sand, but it all just depends on what look you are going for. Oh, and whatever you do, don't buy "live" (bagged) sand. It is more expensive than regular sand, and anything that might have been live on the sand is now long dead. but that being said, I purchased live sand straight from a tank that I knew to be a well taken care of established tank.
-NET: For catching your little fishies. You should already have one.
-BUCKET: Needs WILL arise
-PROTIEN SKIMMER: I dont know if you need one quite yet, but you will need one at some point, so plan on buying one.
-POWERHEADS: get Koralia's
-LIGHTING: what kind of lighting that you get will all depend on what kind of tank you want.
Try, if possible, to get anything you can off of Craigslist or eBay, because this can be a very expensive hobby. Also, you can DIY pretty much everything in your tank.
I'm assumng that since you have the tank, im guessin it was origionally a FW tank. meaning you should already have the heater, but other than that, you really can't salvage anything else for it.
There are a few types of saltwater tanks. there is FO (Fish Only), which is just fish, with no live rocks or coral or anything. There is FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock), which is pretty self explanatory. Then, there are reef tanks, these are the most saught after taks. they have corals, and fish, and live rocks, but they are also the most expensive, and need some special equipment. Assuming by what you are saying , you want a reef tank, with the live rock, and the fish, and corals.
These are just a few of the things that you are going to need:
-HEATER: (just in case you don't already have one) for this size tank, I would get a 250+ watt heater (get two if you can, always good to have an extra for backup, in case one breaks, and for those cold winter months)
-SALT: some good ones are Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals Reef Salt, and Oceanic (although you are going to want to get more opinions on this one, im not a salt expert)
-REFRACTOMETER: This is an item that is used to measure the salt content of the water in your tank. You can also get an item called a hydrometer, which is cheaper, but I would HIGHLY recomend the refractometer, which is so much more accurate and reliable.
-TEST KITS: kinda self explanatory. Tests the aquarium water for different things, like nitrates, nitrites, Ph, ammonia, and such. I'm sure you have purchased test kits before, but I'm still going to recommend that you go withg the API test kits.
-SUBSTRATE: Whatever is placed at the bottom of the tank, can be crushed rock, or sand. I would recommend sand, but it all just depends on what look you are going for. Oh, and whatever you do, don't buy "live" (bagged) sand. It is more expensive than regular sand, and anything that might have been live on the sand is now long dead. but that being said, I purchased live sand straight from a tank that I knew to be a well taken care of established tank.
-NET: For catching your little fishies. You should already have one.
-BUCKET: Needs WILL arise
-PROTIEN SKIMMER: I dont know if you need one quite yet, but you will need one at some point, so plan on buying one.
-POWERHEADS: get Koralia's
-LIGHTING: what kind of lighting that you get will all depend on what kind of tank you want.
Try, if possible, to get anything you can off of Craigslist or eBay, because this can be a very expensive hobby. Also, you can DIY pretty much everything in your tank.
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
If your doing fish only, I would consintrate on a good filter. Go with a canister if you have the money. With fish only tanks, your not going to get any filtration anywhere else in the tank, unless you use live sand, so you need to be able to get rid of the waste effectively. A good canister filter, when cleaned and maintained will do this for you. I have a 46 gal fish only, it has a canister filter with carbon, ammonia pads, biomedia and de-nitrate in it. Also in the tank I have a 20lb bag of live sand and a little plant algea for the fish to pick on.
If your going reef, you want to consintrate on live rock and a good skimmer. You will need about 1.5 lbs of live rock per gal. Get good rock, you will only buy it once so get the coolist of the cool pieces. Feel there weight too, go for the lightest pieces. The lighter the more pours, the more pours the more surface area for benifical bacteria to grow. Go for fully cured live rock, if you can't get it you need to cycle your tank longer to let the rock replenish its bacteria.
next you will need a skimmer. I would invest a little in a good one. I started with a seaclone 100. I don't recommend it, constantly needing adjustments plus doesn't do the best job. Then I made my own downdraft skimmer. It worked but it was hard to clean and I was just waiting for a gasket or a spot with silicone to spring a leak. I finally spent a little more and got myself a coralife needlewheel skimmer. Haven't had any problems yet and it is hassle free.
Other then that you would want a nice bed of sand, don't do crushed coral it just holds stuff and is harder to clean. Powerheads to give you good water movement and good light. With a reef tank light is just as important as good rock and a good skimmer. The general rule is 3-5 watts per gal but they say to not use that anymore. Just get a fixture made for reef lighting that fits your tank, it should be adiquite light. I have a 55 gal reef as well, and the only other thing I have that wasn't listed above is a 20 gal sump. If your interested in what they are or how they work just ask, I think there great and I'm very happy I decided to put one in.
That should get you started, along with what everyone else said you will be off to a good start. Just hold off as long as you can before putting fish or coral in. Make sure everything has cycled and your test levels (parameters) are good. The longer you have the tank the more you will learn, and I'm sure you will make a lot of changes along the way.
If your going reef, you want to consintrate on live rock and a good skimmer. You will need about 1.5 lbs of live rock per gal. Get good rock, you will only buy it once so get the coolist of the cool pieces. Feel there weight too, go for the lightest pieces. The lighter the more pours, the more pours the more surface area for benifical bacteria to grow. Go for fully cured live rock, if you can't get it you need to cycle your tank longer to let the rock replenish its bacteria.
next you will need a skimmer. I would invest a little in a good one. I started with a seaclone 100. I don't recommend it, constantly needing adjustments plus doesn't do the best job. Then I made my own downdraft skimmer. It worked but it was hard to clean and I was just waiting for a gasket or a spot with silicone to spring a leak. I finally spent a little more and got myself a coralife needlewheel skimmer. Haven't had any problems yet and it is hassle free.
Other then that you would want a nice bed of sand, don't do crushed coral it just holds stuff and is harder to clean. Powerheads to give you good water movement and good light. With a reef tank light is just as important as good rock and a good skimmer. The general rule is 3-5 watts per gal but they say to not use that anymore. Just get a fixture made for reef lighting that fits your tank, it should be adiquite light. I have a 55 gal reef as well, and the only other thing I have that wasn't listed above is a 20 gal sump. If your interested in what they are or how they work just ask, I think there great and I'm very happy I decided to put one in.
That should get you started, along with what everyone else said you will be off to a good start. Just hold off as long as you can before putting fish or coral in. Make sure everything has cycled and your test levels (parameters) are good. The longer you have the tank the more you will learn, and I'm sure you will make a lot of changes along the way.
Fishguy2727
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2010
- Messages
- 2,667
Consintrate=concentrate.
Any response form original poster yet?....
Any response form original poster yet?....
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
I guess the auto spell fix on my phone sucks.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
???
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
ahh..it was deleted. forget it...lol
Similar threads
