Newbie to saltwater - recommendations for equipment etc?

[VenomousSnailz]

Hey everyone, I use to have a 70 gallon tall Cichlid tank but haven't had aquariums in years. I am going to buy a Red Sea Reefer setup https://fragbox.ca/product/red-sea-reefer-xl-300/ but I would need to buy a lot of other equipment and I am a bit lost.

If anyone could suggest protein skimmer, lights, control system, the whole 9 yards, test kits or devices, fragging equipment for coral propagation etc I'd greatly appreciate it so I don't miss anything important. If you could use the FragBox website that'd be even better since I plan to get everything I need in one swoop from the same place and I've decided FragBox is the best local to me.

Also, how do you recommend cycling a new tank? Live bacteria culture thing and liverock or one or the other?

Lastly does anyone have a list of beginners coral and what fish to keep that control pests that are commonly found in coral?

Thanks in advance,
Much love

 

[tlindsey]

Hey everyone, I use to have a 70 gallon tall Cichlid tank but haven't had aquariums in years. I am going to buy a Red Sea Reefer setup https://fragbox.ca/product/red-sea-reefer-xl-300/ but I would need to buy a lot of other equipment and I am a bit lost.

If anyone could suggest protein skimmer, lights, control system, the whole 9 yards, test kits or devices, fragging equipment for coral propagation etc I'd greatly appreciate it so I don't miss anything important. If you could use the FragBox website that'd be even better since I plan to get everything I need in one swoop from the same place and I've decided FragBox is the best local to me.

Also, how do you recommend cycling a new tank? Live bacteria culture thing and liverock or one or the other?

Lastly does anyone have a list of beginners coral and what fish to keep that control pests that are commonly found in coral?

Thanks in advance,
Much love

twentyleagues

 

[Deadeye]

I’d probably be of no help when it comes to equipment, my tank is more or less bare bones but it’s working well so far.
As for cycling, if you do all live rock, it essentially is an instant cycle (but waiting a few weeks for anything still is good practice). You also can do fry rock and dose bacteria and ammonia. I prefer live rock. You could mix dry rock and live rock (that’s how I did my 40B) cause live rock is expensive.
Pests are a natural part of saltwater, you will be finding all sorts of worms, Arthropods, nems, corals, mollusks, etc., that you never put there. Few of them are actually harmful. Here’s the common ones to watch out for:
Bobbit worm - large growing worm that has the potential to eat all livestock in the tank
Mantis shrimp - large growing crustacean that will kill all fish and inverts over time.
Whelk - eats other snails.
Majano and aiptasia anemone - multiplies fast, stings other corals.
Vermetid snails - sedentary snails that release a mucus net to catch food, which irritates corals.
Fireworm - related to the harmless bristleworm, these guys get larger and can sting/irritate corals, fish, and you.
Flatworms - many eat corals.
Nudibranches - many eat corals.

Good beginner corals are leathers, zoas, green star polyp, pulsating Xenia, clove polyps, and mushroom corals. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, so be sure to research whatever you buy before getting it. As the tank matures, you can look into lps and sps corals, and eventually anemones.
Pests can be controlled in various ways, some require manual removal like bobbits, mantis, and vermetids. Others are easily destroyed with chemicals like aiptasia (though these have natural predators as well). There is a predator for everything though. Number one pest controlling fish is a wrasse of sorts. Coris wrasse are popular for pest control. Many inverts will do this job as well.
Last thing I have to say is to quarantine everything (at least fish). Marine diseases are dangerous, many can wipe out a tank overnight and that’s really bad when you have lots of expensive fish. Following standard quarantine procedure helps to keep most of the diseases out of your system.