So we have always wanted to start a saltwater tank, currently have 15 freshwater. Have heard that saltwaters require a lot of work, any info about starting one would be helpful. Like filter, easy fish, cleaning, etc....thanks 
saltwater tanks...
- Thread starter ballsmcgee1234
- Start date
hmmm.. to start off, the rule of saltwater is bigger the better..hehehe
seriously though, the larger the tank, the more stable it can be and less maintanence in the long run. to start off, you have to decide whether to go with fish-only, fish only with live rock, or full reef tank. that being said, a fish-only system doenst require the lighting as a reef tank. however, I always belive that a good protein skimmer is essential for all saltwater aquarium, use aragonite sand as base to maintain your PH level. good starter fish has always been damsels, they are cheap and easy to care of, the only problem is that they are semi aggressive and are pain to catch once you decide to go with others, aggressive fish such as triggers, puffers, lions, etc are pretty easy to take care of also, but most of them needs balanced meaty diet to have good survival rates. now onto the FOWLR, basically the difference is that instead of using ornamental corals or decorations, you would use live sand and live rock as base, these so call live sand and live rock doesnt mean they are alive and will move around.. it basically means that they contain live benificial bacterias. most people are able to keep some corals inside a FOWLR tanks, such as mushrooms and polyps and of course, the oh so beautiful rock anemones (Aiptasias) lol. as for Reef tanks, you would need the proper lightings, most common now are PC (Power Compact), T-5, VHO and Metal Halides, the rule of thumb is about 4-5W/gallon on lightings, other then skimmers, if would halp for you to have a calicium reactor to maintain your Calcium, PH levels, the amount of LR and sand is 1.5lbs/gallon. there are many other things you can add to your system such as ozon, kalk reactor, phophate reactor, etc, but its really all up to you and your wallet at that point.
I have kept reef tanks ranging from 1.5 gallon Picco to 450 gallon full reef in the past.. and hope my little informations here will help you. GL, and always research before any projects like this.
seriously though, the larger the tank, the more stable it can be and less maintanence in the long run. to start off, you have to decide whether to go with fish-only, fish only with live rock, or full reef tank. that being said, a fish-only system doenst require the lighting as a reef tank. however, I always belive that a good protein skimmer is essential for all saltwater aquarium, use aragonite sand as base to maintain your PH level. good starter fish has always been damsels, they are cheap and easy to care of, the only problem is that they are semi aggressive and are pain to catch once you decide to go with others, aggressive fish such as triggers, puffers, lions, etc are pretty easy to take care of also, but most of them needs balanced meaty diet to have good survival rates. now onto the FOWLR, basically the difference is that instead of using ornamental corals or decorations, you would use live sand and live rock as base, these so call live sand and live rock doesnt mean they are alive and will move around.. it basically means that they contain live benificial bacterias. most people are able to keep some corals inside a FOWLR tanks, such as mushrooms and polyps and of course, the oh so beautiful rock anemones (Aiptasias) lol. as for Reef tanks, you would need the proper lightings, most common now are PC (Power Compact), T-5, VHO and Metal Halides, the rule of thumb is about 4-5W/gallon on lightings, other then skimmers, if would halp for you to have a calicium reactor to maintain your Calcium, PH levels, the amount of LR and sand is 1.5lbs/gallon. there are many other things you can add to your system such as ozon, kalk reactor, phophate reactor, etc, but its really all up to you and your wallet at that point.
I have kept reef tanks ranging from 1.5 gallon Picco to 450 gallon full reef in the past.. and hope my little informations here will help you. GL, and always research before any projects like this.
skinnychinaman said:
That is great starting point. Books are nice too. I have a FOWLR setup right now. It isn't the nightmare that people say they are. You just can't really cut corners.
ok I'm going make a list or must haves for a Saltwater tank.
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#5 - of course the salt mix & a salinity tester (keep it around 1.023)
#4 - you can use any filter that is proportional to the tank size but you must add a Protein Skimmer. (it gets the stuff you can't see out of the water)
#3 - Aragonite for your substrate (it provides a pH buffer and it looks natural)
#2 - tank must be 29gallons or bigger, perferably a 55Gal (mistakes happen way to fast in small amount of water)
#1 - A good information source - Book or LFS (local fish store) You don't want to ever have to let your tank and fish suffer because you can't find the answer to a problem! I recomend reading "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner and checking out his site -->www.wetwebmedia.com if you have any questions you can email him directly with the question, and they answer it quickly and post it on the website for others to learn from!
Another good one is the "Marine Aquarium problem Solver" by Nick Dalkin. This book is probably the best one for a newbie to learn about saltwater-->
Its simple yet acurate and doesn't overwhelm the reader. Not to mention its way cheaper than Bob's book!!
Overall just read and learn as much as you can, it will make the transition smoother and if you need a bigger tank don't forget to check the classifieds, there's always good deals on tanks there.
---------------
#5 - of course the salt mix & a salinity tester (keep it around 1.023)
#4 - you can use any filter that is proportional to the tank size but you must add a Protein Skimmer. (it gets the stuff you can't see out of the water)
#3 - Aragonite for your substrate (it provides a pH buffer and it looks natural)
#2 - tank must be 29gallons or bigger, perferably a 55Gal (mistakes happen way to fast in small amount of water)
#1 - A good information source - Book or LFS (local fish store) You don't want to ever have to let your tank and fish suffer because you can't find the answer to a problem! I recomend reading "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner and checking out his site -->www.wetwebmedia.com if you have any questions you can email him directly with the question, and they answer it quickly and post it on the website for others to learn from!
Another good one is the "Marine Aquarium problem Solver" by Nick Dalkin. This book is probably the best one for a newbie to learn about saltwater-->
Its simple yet acurate and doesn't overwhelm the reader. Not to mention its way cheaper than Bob's book!!
Overall just read and learn as much as you can, it will make the transition smoother and if you need a bigger tank don't forget to check the classifieds, there's always good deals on tanks there.
thats good stuff. I was wondering if i could get away with something like 50 lbs of live rock and a penguin 350 on the back. Plus a protein skimmer of course.
Thanks, thats what i figured. I would't overly stock it either. Just want some non aggressive small fish. Thinking of eventually getting an anemone and doing some inverts, but I'm gonna start off small. 
Just my 2 cents. Before you get an anemone I would do some research and research some more. There are some anemones that are really hard to keep and some that are a lil easier. I personally have a pink tip anemone and my tomato clowns just love it. The pink tip is relatively easy to keep as long as you keep good water quality. I agree with majikterror as long as you get a good quality protien skimmer you should be all right. Also beside books, a good place to read up on things is reefcentral.com. I am a member there also and have learned most of my saltwater knowledge just by reading the forums there. Keep us posted with your progress and let us know if you have any questions along the way.
Later
E
Later
E
Never use a cannister filter.They should not even be thought of in salt water.FunkSkunk said:ok I'm going make a list or must haves for a Saltwater tank.
---------------
#5 - of course the salt mix & a salinity tester (keep it around 1.023)
#4 - you can use any filter that is proportional to the tank size but you must add a Protein Skimmer. (it gets the stuff you can't see out of the water)
#3 - Aragonite for your substrate (it provides a pH buffer and it looks natural)
#2 - tank must be 29gallons or bigger, perferably a 55Gal (mistakes happen way to fast in small amount of water)
#1 - A good information source - Book or LFS (local fish store) You don't want to ever have to let your tank and fish suffer because you can't find the answer to a problem! I recomend reading "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner and checking out his site -->www.wetwebmedia.com if you have any questions you can email him directly with the question, and they answer it quickly and post it on the website for others to learn from!
Another good one is the "Marine Aquarium problem Solver" by Nick Dalkin. This book is probably the best one for a newbie to learn about saltwater-->
Its simple yet acurate and doesn't overwhelm the reader. Not to mention its way cheaper than Bob's book!!
Overall just read and learn as much as you can, it will make the transition smoother and if you need a bigger tank don't forget to check the classifieds, there's always good deals on tanks there.