I need help I wanna start a salt water setup

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oscarpris

oscarpris

Exodon
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2013
83
21
23
Orange County Ca.
I have a 30 gallon acrylic tank and I wanna try salt water now what kind of filter I need and live rock and stuff you need to start it?

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You don't need to get everything at once. All you need to start off is live rock and a water pump because you'll have to leave it empty for 3 months for all the die off from the live rock. Just do weekly water changes to keep all the parameters in check and once you have 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia, that's when the fun begins. This is when you add a heater and for a tank that size, all you really need is a protein skimmer so get the largest you can fit. You can put a hob filter if you want but a sump is better. That's way you can hide everything in the sump. Are you trying to start a reef or fish only?


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I just wanna start a fish only have much money will.I drop to.start a 60 gallon tank just with fish?

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Im still new to salt but have been doing fowlr for a year now. just strating to go reef now. A Skimmer is a must. For a 30 gallon u don't need much. Just eBay everything lol. Also do lots of research. It def help me a lot. Btw saltwater is almost the same as doing fresh beside mixing the salt and skimmer.

Here's a basic list of things u need.

1*protein skimmer*
2Heater
3Fan/chiller if ur water get hot from summer season
4 light. T5 would be good enought. Try the odyssea t5 quad.$89 on eBay.
5 filter- hob/canister/sump will do.
6 saltwater test kit.


That's all u need for a simple fowlr. Get lots of clean up crew to help control the algae if ur not using rodi water. Follow the live rock curing stage and one that's done. Add one fish to help start the tank then slowly add more. Hope this helps.



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if the temps don't really change all year long in your house, then you could save your money and not get a chiller or heater. on my smaller tanks I don't have either and they have been running for years and 2 are reef tanks(54 corner & 14 bio cube) and 1 is being broken down but it is a 160 shark tank, and my new one is my 500gal shark pond, which does have a chiller, because of the cold-water sharks. everything I said depends on the temp of your house. what is it? as far as lighting you could go lots of ways, depending on price budget. you could go LED's, power compacts, metal halide, or T5's. I personally would get a 75gal wet/dry so your water can be clean with no worries, and plus you can fit and in sump skimmer in side of it which is what I do.
 
oscarpris said:
Thanks for the help everybody is a tang a good fish to.start with

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I would get Something cheaper just to start cycling the tank. Clown fish is pretty cheap. Or can go cheaper like demsels. Problem with demsels is that they are aggressive so when u wanna add good and expendsive fish in ur tank. Sell or give the demsels to ur lfs.


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ookutoo said:
I would get Something cheaper just to start cycling the tank. Clown fish is pretty cheap. Or can go cheaper like demsels. Problem with demsels is that they are aggressive so when u wanna add good and expendsive fish in ur tank. Sell or give the demsels to ur lfs.


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not yellow tail damsels. Tey arevery peaceful and beautiful and stay small. Perfect fish.
 
fish042099 said:
not yellow tail damsels. Tey arevery peaceful and beautiful and stay small. Perfect fish.
Click to expand...

Yellowtails still have a nasty side to them. Mine will attack any fish that comes near it and its even killed a couple.

OP, like freshwater, all you need to do is make sure your params are stable so you can add fish. I'd recommend starting with one. You can start with whatever fish you want as long as you keep up on water changes. Unless, you're gonna upgrade to a 150+, I wouldn't recommend you get a tang. A 30 is too small and majority of them get pretty big.


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The best way to go for everything that your gonna need is right here, you can go cheaper but it's be easier for you down the road.

Equipment -
Protein skimmer - preferably double rated for the size of your tank (60 gallon rating)
Sump - add bio balls and possibly a section for a refugium
Strong heater - 50-100 watts
Strong lighting system - if you plan to keep coral or not, if not the just regular light
Saltwater test kits - possibly a reef master test kit as well
Circulation pumps - the sizes depend on if you plan to keep corals
RO/DI unit - if you can afford a 5-stage, if not at least a 4-stage

Then when you get all this, buy some salt, add 30 lbs of live sand, 10-15 lbs live rock and another 10-15 lbs dry rock and your all set.

Some may say not all of this is necessary but when I started my 20 gallon nano, I had only one weak light, a canister filter, a heater, and a circulation pump. I've added all these thing on the list now just because it makes everything easier and healthier so from my experience this is all necessary and very helpful.


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