Is this enough stuff to start a saltwater tank?

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holmes14

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 9, 2008
197
1
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Menominee, MI
Im looking at starting a saltwater setup, i found a 90 gallon tank with tops, light, HOB filter, and a all in one fluidized bed filter with mechanical, chemical filtration, heater, and uv sterilizer. Then theres a protien skimmer and a r/o unit i believe. Im not sure if its a very special light or anything but im not having a reef tank anyways just come live rock, some inverts and fish. Would i be good to go with this setup?
 
It all depends on what you want to put in it. Sounds good to me...you've gotta watch the fluidized beds though, if they turn off/clog for more than a couple hours na dthe bacteria dies, and then come back on, all that toxic filth blows back into the tank.

I've had several tanks, all with different setups...for instance, my current fish less reef (45 gal. tall) as a 150 w HQI light and three small power heads. THat's it, no filter, heater, skimmer, etc. Also no fish...just leather corals.
 
If you don't plan on having corals then LR, LS and a standard setup will be fine. The HOB filter will work but sumps are much better and less expensive down the road. The lights will be fine for that tank because coraline algae will grow in most all conditions. Use RO/DI water for sure as this will help reduce algae growth and a build up of materials in the water.
 
Should be good for a simple fish setup.

Do you know what brands the items are?
 
sounds good enough. lol you didnt mention salt, which is important. always keep enough salt to make a batch at least equal to the amount in the tank. another good thing to have is a constant backup batch of water in a rubbermaid, with a PH in it.

one thing not mentioned on the list and maybe the most important are your PHs. a tank with dead spots is destined to fail. best of luck
 
good call on the make up water!! you dont have to have equal but atleast enough for a 15% water change if it were needed. Having spare water on hand is fine so you can mix it up after you do a water change. you should let the salt mix for atleast 24 hours before being added to the tank to allow it to stablize in pH, alk, etc.....
 
yeah everything you said sounds good. but it is definitialy worth looking into getting a sump and overflow box. While it isnt as effective as predrilled tanks, it is a h*ll of a lot better than a HOB and bed filter. The sump will also give you a place to put the skimmer which is a great thing to have on any S.W. tank.
 
Sounds like you have an excellent start. You'll probably need more things in the future, but for right now it seems like you are good to go.
 
hey cap... how's your tank going?


yeah sounds like a plan dude, get lots of photos...
 
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