I Need Help

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benito1188

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 22, 2008
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los angeles, california
i have never build or even got close to being intrested in salt water(no offense), but my brother asked for my help, and he have always wanted a saltwater tank. so i have to do my research first before venturing towards the dark side lol:D

what exactly do i need? can anyone give a complete check list? why and how do i use it? what do you recommend?

il be using a 100 gallon all glass tank, is that ok? how would i stock it? i want it to look full, natural and colorful, so i was thinking of alot of small fish and alot of those bright plant rubbery looking corals lol.

how long does it take to cycle the tank before adding fish and coral and stuff

lastly, where can i get/buy cheap equipments?? thanks and have a good one
 
well i doubt anyone has the time or patience to give you a COMPLETE run down of everything you'd need (except maybe waterbaby :D), but here are some of the more important basics:

Tank: you've got that covered

Protien Skimmer: removed dissolved wastes from the water, very important in larger or more heavily stocked tanks, as this will be both, i'd go with a BIG one. corallife makes one that's rated for 180 gallons but is generally used on things like a 125, i don't know the actual name/number of it but if you go to their site i imagine it's there, i've heard good things about them.

Powerheads: as most SW fish kept are from reefs and if you've ever seen a video of a reef in the wild, there's water going EVERYWHERE! so maybe 3-4 good sized powerheads to create adaquate flow if you are planning on making this a reef tank, certain corals need butt loads others need very little, so exactly how many is dependant on how many/what corals you want

Lighting: again ostly dependant on what corals you intend to keep. some can make due with regular lighting some need basically miniature suns...

then as for what fish to keep, depends what you like!
start off with a list of fish you'd be interested in and we can tweek it as needed..
 
ok cool. how much do those corals usually range?? and do i need a chiller??---what is that BTW?? would a huge eheim canister filter be good enough filtration aswell as water current???
 
which corals? ??? they can go anywhere $5-10 tp over $200 depends what kind and what quality

luckily most beginner corals are cheap (as they are easy to keep an propigate)

the only reason you'd need a chiller is if where you live is too hot (possible in LA), your lights make too much heat (also possible), or you're keeping coldwater fish (i doubt it)

canister filters work well but as with all filters they need to be maintained well as to not just trap depris and give it a place to rot, but to be removed regularly...
canisters also usually move a fair ammount of water and are great for added flow
 
heres what u need to do

research.

look into the basics of waterchemistry and look at the sticky on how to setup a marine tank.
 
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