thinking of maybe a SW tank... help =o)

[lyquidphyre]

I have an empty 29gal that I originally planned on turning into a BW tank with puffers (I love puffers!)

I have a 75gal and another 29gal FW tank... so I have all the FW equipment n stuff... but I am curious how much it would cost to set up a basic SW tank and what equipment would I need to do so?

Also, how much room do green spotted puffers need?

Thanks!

 

[lando]

Cost really depends on what you intend to do. Do you want FO, FOWLR or reef? That will make a big difference in price. Sorry but a 29 gal is a bit too small for any puffer. Let us know what your plans are so we help with the pricing...Lando

 

[quarryshark]

Welcome....to the dark side of the hobby (evil laugh)...just kidding.
Isn't a green puffer a brackish fish?
Any way, what is your equipment list? We could tell you more armed with this info. I like the 75 gallon for SW, gives you many options as far as fish go. Unfortunately you cannot stock a SW like you do a FW, the bigger the better.
One things to consider is fitration. IMO the best way is the natural way with live rock. Here is IMO, the best place to get it.
http://www.liverocks.com
Plan on 1-1.5 lbs per gallon.
Will wait on your equimpent list to give you the rest of the run down.

 

[lyquidphyre]

My dad knows someone who sells live rock... so there is a possibility he could hook me up.
I think it would be neat to have a FOWLR
So lets assume I can get live rock- does that change the equipment I need?
Are there a decent amount of SW fish (variety) I can put in a 29gal?

 

[lyquidphyre]

Ive seen a green spotted puffer in a SW tank before.... so I assumed it was a different species from the BW kind

Well, my 75 is dedicated to FW at the moment so I am gunna use my 29gal

My 29gal used to be a FW tank.. so the equipment I have are FW things.. the filter, the heater etc etc

I apologize in advance for all the (prolly stupid) questions

 

[quarryshark]

Well what do you currently have as far as filtration, water movement, substrate, etc?
Check out our SW fish guide, would give you some ideas.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/SWCompatibility.php

 

[lyquidphyre]

Everything is FW-
substrate- I have Eco Complete, colored gravel and natural gravel (not all together)
Filtration- I think its a HOB whisper
Water movement- none at the moment since it is empty? Not sure how to answer that hehe
The lighting is just a flourescent lighting

and yah :?

Also, i have a magnum canister filter I use to help clear up my 75gal at times

 

[quarryshark]

The lighting is just a flourescent lighting

Would be fine for a FOWLR tank. No upgrades needed unless you went reef.

substrate- I have Eco Complete, colored gravel and natural gravel (not all together)

Need to change that to marine sand IMO. The LR you get will seed it with life.

Filtration- I think its a HOB whisper

Would be OK with the addition of LR, a protein skimmer and good water movement. For SW you target 10 times the water volume of the system per hour. A powerhead would most likely be needed.
The other stuff like a heater and thermometer you already have and could convert.
Also salt mix, water test kits would be needed.
Wouldn't be to bad as far as costs and you could get the LR a little at a time.
Hard to put a price tag on it. I would research the net and you LFS for prices.

 

[lyquidphyre]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=6856&sort=1&size=big&cat=542
is that live rock or reef?
Er, what is the difference?

Hmmm, that is a lot less in price than I expected- especially if I don't need to change my lights

 

[quarryshark]

Thats a reef tank. The base is LR, but corals were added. You can always add that stuff, but it will cost you more and corals require stronger lights so a light upgrade would be needed. Also you would have to choose "reef safe" fish because many fish will eat or pick at corals.
You could choose you FO stock with an eventual upgrade to reef in mind.

 

[Fluff]

Your getting great advice and I agree with all of it. If you do decide to do fowlr, and have your heart set on a puffer, you could get a valentini puffer. Check out liveaquaria for info on them. I believe they require around 30 gal and stay small. Around 4".

 

[Fluff]

Well, I went ahead and looked it up for you. Here is the link.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=250

 

[quarryshark]

Fluff is the best!!
Puffer are cool for a true FO system, but if you want to upgrade to a reef or have mobile inverts such as shrimp, crabs and snails. A puffer may not be the best choice. They tend to snack on these animals.

 

[Fluff]

Thanks QS. You rock!

 

[lyquidphyre]

So many options!

Im just not sure what to do at this point.

I really want puffers... and the one I thought was SW, is in fact BW... but if I get puffers (in SW or BW) I can only keep puffers because they tend to be species only. Unless I get FW puffers which are somewhat difficult to find

Or, I could just have a neat SW tank that is FO

*snarf*

Thanks for all the information guys.. I am definatly going to have to think bout this one!

 

[quarryshark]

Or, I could just have a neat SW tank that is FO

*snarf*

 

[DaveBeaty]

I did my 20 gallon fish only saltwater tank fairly inexpensively (for this hobby ). I got a 20 gallon Marineland Kit that came with 100 watt heater, Liquid crystal thermometer, hood with 15 watt flourescent light, and a Penguin Bio-wheel 125 filter for 80 bucks. If you can find it, you can by tropical playsand (read "aragonite") at home improvement stores for fairly cheap. I added an undergravel filter and Whisper 10-30 airpump (thus earning the name Heratic and making myself a pariah on this board), two fake corals and a resin rock (now joined by a urethane sea anemone), a box of Instant Ocean salt, a Red Sea test kit and a float hygrometer. I respectfully suggest not going cheap when it comes to water quality. With a tank under 30 gallons, you can get a couple of 7 gallon water jugs and ferry the water from a bottled water machine (most of them use a reverse osmosis purification system). $7.50 beats the pants off of a $150 RO unit!