hey guys, ive been a sucessful freshwater fish keeper for years now, currently have a beautiful red dragon flowerhorn in a 90 gallon tank, but ive always wanted to try saltwater. someone is selling his 180 gallon setup with LIVE ROCK, UV STERLIZER,BERLIN PROTIEN SKIMMER, ELECTRONIC SALINITY METER and AND LIGHTING. LIGHT IS HALIDE AND ATINIC COMBO WITH BLUE LED NIGHT LIGHTS OH YEAH A WET DRYFILTER ALSO. It currenlty only has a unicorn tang in it and the price is great but i dont have a clue about salt water fish, setup or anything else. will i be ok or should i start smaller? what else will i need for the tank? what type of maintaince am i gonna be looking at, i really want a salt water tank but im scared i might screw everything up. everyone says it cost so much money. as per fish and coral i was gonna start slowy just adding each month. any tips on what else i will need and also some advice would be great.
180 gallon salt water tank! need help on buying.
- Thread starter perdeep007
- Start date
Once you get your tank started and set up, it will be as easy as running freshwater...Maybe.
First thing I would do, is if you get this tank, get rid of the unicorn tang. It will get far too big (approaching up to 20" I believe) and needs more like a 300g+.
Basically, from what it sounds the tank seems like it's ready to set up, and all you would need to do is disassemble, reassemble and have fun
Look around on the salt threads for some more specific info about maintenance.
First thing I would do, is if you get this tank, get rid of the unicorn tang. It will get far too big (approaching up to 20" I believe) and needs more like a 300g+.
Basically, from what it sounds the tank seems like it's ready to set up, and all you would need to do is disassemble, reassemble and have fun
Look around on the salt threads for some more specific info about maintenance.
ok will do, yeah i just spoke with the guy he said i really wont need anything except some salt and declorinator chemical, how much on average will maintaince cost on such a tank? i probally will get rid of the uncorn tang. ohh yeah the guy didnt know how to transport live rock? will it have to stay wet in the same water or what will i have to do?
I agree with Mudslinger on this one (sadly as I love them) the unicorn tang will get WAY to big for this tank, FAST, as if fed well these suckers can grow a few inches a year to a max of 2' long, and they need a ton of swimming room.
Transporting live rock, as far as I know, generally is done by wrapping it in many layers of soaking wet (salt water of course) newspaper or packing paper (packing paper better as it has no ink), and placed in a thick bag or two.
Maintenance costs vary hugely on a few things, one type of tank, as in fish only? or corals? or corals/fish? Fish only can be much less expencive... as generally less dimanding systems, corals only isnt as bad as fish/corals as there is less happening in the tank, fish/corals is argueably the most expencive to maintain, due to suppliments, higher filtration requirements, feeding, more frequent water changes etc. So I really can't give you a good estimation on costs, as every setup is different, and sometimes they can be cheaper then others depending on how well the "lifecycle" is working (nitrogen fixation and the like), as better set up systems require less water changes due to macro or micro algea absorbing "polutants" (nitrates/nitrites), that said argueably the waterchange is the cheapest part of the maintenance.
Transporting live rock, as far as I know, generally is done by wrapping it in many layers of soaking wet (salt water of course) newspaper or packing paper (packing paper better as it has no ink), and placed in a thick bag or two.
Maintenance costs vary hugely on a few things, one type of tank, as in fish only? or corals? or corals/fish? Fish only can be much less expencive... as generally less dimanding systems, corals only isnt as bad as fish/corals as there is less happening in the tank, fish/corals is argueably the most expencive to maintain, due to suppliments, higher filtration requirements, feeding, more frequent water changes etc. So I really can't give you a good estimation on costs, as every setup is different, and sometimes they can be cheaper then others depending on how well the "lifecycle" is working (nitrogen fixation and the like), as better set up systems require less water changes due to macro or micro algea absorbing "polutants" (nitrates/nitrites), that said argueably the waterchange is the cheapest part of the maintenance.
well id like to start slowly and build my tank over the course of a year, its easier financial and also better for the eco system im assuming, id honestly like to have a little of both. coral and fish but just a smal amount. i think it already has alot of live rock so will it still be insanely expensive? i will get rid of the tang as soon as i find out what i wanna do with the tank but im thinking it should be good for cycling the water for now until i find a tank and what i wanna do. do you guys think it will still be hard doing a small amount of coral with some fish. More fish than coral though?
Well, some corals are more tollerant then others, but generally, I've found soft corals to be easier/cheaper maintenance, as they don't very require the regular chemical doseings (calcium, magnesium etc) since they don't have a "Skeleton" to build. So generally speaking, if you go for low ligh/ hardy soft corals, you can keep your costs down a lot, and so long as you don't over do it with the fish, you shouldn't have to do massive waterchanges, especially if you have macro algeas in either the display or sump/refugeum to absorb some or all of the nitrates/phosphates. But if you want to go for stony corals your costs will go up, not only with chemical doseing, but more waterchanges, more expencive/powerful lighting, more/better filtration etc.
ok cool thanks, ill let you guys know what i actually have once i get it, i think he does have alot of good equipment, i know he has a sump, protien skimmer, uv light but im not sure on specifics.