First Saltwater Tank... Need Advice

[beastykato]

I am planning on making my first reef tank out of a 29g or 40g breeder depending on which one I can get my hands on. I read through a lot of information on setting up a saltwater tank and have a few questions.

As far as live rock is concerned I would like to make as little impact as possible on the environment. I was recently at the aquarium at disney world and they commented on how the entire reef was man made. If this would be a possible alternative, especially if it's cheaper, I would like to go that route.

For filtration, I would like it to be as natural as possible. Plenum, live rock and deep sand bed methods all appeal to me. It seems having a protein skimmer than I can run weekly or a few times a week to aid the natural filtration would be beneficial though.

Because of the natural filtration only I expect I should keep my stocking levels below average for the tank size. Since, this is my first venture I only really plan on having a couple clowns and maybe 3-6 other fish depending on which size tank I go with.

So, basically does anyone have any input? What's the best way to go about this and where should I purchase my rock and sand from? There aren't too many dependable LFS in my area so I plan on going online for most of my needs.

 

[ArcherintheBimmer]

I am planning on making my first reef tank out of a 29g or 40g breeder depending on which one I can get my hands on. I read through a lot of information on setting up a saltwater tank and have a few questions.

As far as live rock is concerned I would like to make as little impact as possible on the environment. I was recently at the aquarium at disney world and they commented on how the entire reef was man made. If this would be a possible alternative, especially if it's cheaper, I would like to go that route.

You can make your own live rock with cement and rock salt. Its not the easiest thing and it takes a long time to get it seeded. I would just buy live rock especially if you intend on using it as a main source of filtration. IMHO Time > Money esp. when you want to get a tank started sooner then later.

The aquarium makes man made reefs because over time pretty much any pourous rock in an aquarium will become live rock with the right bacteria and such. Even things like sunken ships eventually become reefs.

For filtration, I would like it to be as natural as possible. Plenum, live rock and deep sand bed methods all appeal to me. It seems having a protein skimmer than I can run weekly or a few times a week to aid the natural filtration would be beneficial though.

You should always be running a skimmer in my opinion, esp if your only relying on live rock and sand. Realistically, you would need like 60-80 lbs roughly in the 40 gal tank to achieve this with no skimmer. Wouldn't you rather just get like 40-50 lbs and have a skimmer??? I would....

Because of the natural filtration only I expect I should keep my stocking levels below average for the tank size. Since, this is my first venture I only really plan on having a couple clowns and maybe 3-6 other fish depending on which size tank I go with.

With no skimmer, I would say 3 max in your 40. With skimmer, 6 is doable.

So, basically does anyone have any input? What's the best way to go about this and where should I purchase my rock and sand from? There aren't too many dependable LFS in my area so I plan on going online for most of my needs.

Check www.saltwaterfish.com for both fish and LR. There are other cheaper places I believe for LR, but I'm not sure who sells it online. Good luck!