Want to do my first salt water tank need help

[Kitesurfjesus]

Ok I already have three freshwater tanks established and I got suckered into buying the last 29g tank from petco while getting stuff for my dogs. They had a dollar per gallon sale. So it was pretty cheap.

I want to do a salt water tank but don't have any knowledge for it. Ill need to know everything from terms of abbreviations and hardware for a tank. Lighting filtration. Frequency of water changes/cleanings.

I live really close to the ocean can I use that water for water changes?? Can I use the sand off sandbars for my substrate?

What kind and how many fish/coral/anemones can I put in the tank stuff like that I need to know. Water parameters what some mean compared to freshwater.

 

[Murf]

Yes. U can use the ocean water and sand and fish/corals as you wish also make sure u take liverock from the reefs as well

 

[Murf]

I saw a squirrel in my backyard today. To my understanding it was a grey eared squirrel. Apprx. 1.4 feet in length. On a serious note i would live to see a red tree squirrel or perhaps a ground squirrel of sorts at some point. I threw a peanut or two at it. Or eight. But it did not bite down on my nuts; only ran away. Any thoughts on what to do????thanks in advance.

 

[Billbug68]

Whoa man, lets keep the forum hear friendly, sarcasm isn't really needed...

To the op, if you're looking to do saltwater, I suggest you start to do a lot of your own research. It'll be hard for someone to just hand you all the info you need. Once you get a better idea of everything and some general knowledge, you can come here for specifics and start a build thread for the tank.

 

[Bectan01]

Yes, plenty of research is the key to salt water. I would suggest having a think about what it is you would like to keep, just fish or reef? This decision will help you work out what kind of filtration you will need and what kind of lighting. my advice is to start fish only anyway until you get the hang of basic maintenance etc. before you introduce corals.

 

[spoonman]

Yes. U can use the ocean water and sand and fish/corals as you wish also make sure u take liverock from the reefs as well

Bad idea! I wouldnt take anything from the ocean. You dont know what contaminants are in it. As far as taking rock, coral or fish from the ocean, most likely illegal. Check local laws.

 

[cgthebeast]

Bad idea! I wouldnt take anything from the ocean. You dont know what contaminants are in it. As far as taking rock, coral or fish from the ocean, most likely illegal. Check local laws.

+1.......

 

[JustinKBreen]

Ocean water is fine if you have access to a boat. Water near the coast line can have god knows what in it that will cause problems.

I know plenty of people who have used beach sand, but there are some concerns again with contamination. Also most beach sand will be a little darker and uglier than say figi pink sand, etc

 

[Tkey3425]

Parameters for fish only need to be Specific gravity (salt content) 1.022-1.026 (1.025 is ideal) temp 74-78 degrees, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates <10-20ppm, PH i keep mine at 8.2. What they mean is bacteria eats the ammonia and turns it to nitrite, then bacteria eat the nitrite and turns it into nitrates, Nothing eats nitrates so they are exported by way of eekly 10% water changes or bi-weekly 20% water changes. I personally do a 10% every other week and my levels stay as close to 0 as anyone else around. Water changes are done with saltwater that you matched to you tank parameters and temperature. Evaporated water is replaced with Freshwater (at the very minimum it needs to be treated DO NOT USE TAP WATER) I run RODI water in mine because of corals. Saltwater aquariums are an expensive lesson when you mess up or move too fast. Adding a $50 coral/fish just to see it struggle and die in a few days isnt worth not waiting the month or so to let it cycle. Then add fish slowly. I would add maybe 1-2 then wait 2 weeks and add another or 2 more, after the tank is cycled I would not pull anything from the ocean. I would buy some good carib sea or ocean direct live sand and a box of Kent's salt mix that makes 200 gallons ( so youll have enough for water changes) its $45 on fosters and smith. Get you some good dry rock and seed it with a 10 lbs of cured live rock. You will need a filtration method (hang on the back filter or a sump whichever your budget allows, I'd get a protein skimmer that hangs on the back or in the sump if you go that route, you will need some powerheads for circulation. As far as fish anything that stays relatively small can be kept in a 30 gallon, I believe Ocellaris or percula clowns would be ok, NO TANGS before that gets kicked around, if you go with OC or Perc clowns get a Bubble tip anemone after about 4-6 months so the tank is well established. On that not the tank needs to run empty for 4-6 weeks to let the biological system level out. All of this is just my way of doing things in my tank. Everyone has their way that works for them. Get the saltwater aquariums for dummies book, It reaal did help me a lot to begin with. I'm sure there are better books out there. I dont recommend a full blown reef tank to a beginner yet especially in a 30 gal since you will have big parameter swings if you dont stay on tp of you tank maintenance.

 

[Rutledge17]

I use ocean water for my 75 gallon tank, but I always get it a couple of miles offshore or in a rural area to avoid putting pollutants in my tank. I also like to store it in 5 gallon jugs for a while to try and kill off bad pathogens just in case.

 

[Kitesurfjesus]

Having a hard time deciding on a lighting setup was thinking LED but seems cheaper to stick with the t5 HO setup. I'm not doing a 29g I upgraded to a 125g going to use the 29g as a sump.

 

[Budda619]

Having a hard time deciding on a lighting setup was thinking LED but seems cheaper to stick with the t5 HO setup. I'm not doing a 29g I upgraded to a 125g going to use the 29g as a sump.

I would go with leds as they last longer and emits low heat. Unless you want to replace bulbs every 9-12 months and spend more money. Just get the leds and be done with it lol