Thinking to start a saltwater tank
- Thread starter giar
- Start date
Personally if I was going to do Corals I would do a reef setup. Seahorses ,Pipefish, and Scooter Blennies are great little predators of the Reef.
Although I don't think a sump is needed, I believe a good protein skimmer would really help, and also getting set up with all the proper testing gear like sality meters, and/or specific monitoring gravity tools before the actual tank is set up, especially if intending to keep corals.
Definitely use a sump...do not use canisters. Live rock is your biological filtration. You can do deep sand bed or use live rock...or make a refugium with macro algae. I like a clean sump to prevent Nitrate creep. Make sure you go with a really good skimmer. If you go with prepmade sumps Eshopps are decent, but pricey. If you are doing SPS/LPS you will definitely need a reactor for GFO or something to keep phosphates in check. Good lighting is a must. Get an autowater top off...my favorite is the spectrapure ultra precice...it uses pressure instead of a float switch and a peristaltic pump that can pull water from a reservoir in another room. I only dose Mag to level...and then Kalkwasser through my auto water top off with a little distilled vinegar mixed in. Either that or spend more money and get a calcium reactor...imo Kalk through autowater top off is pretty awesome and much cheaper. Stay away from snake oil.
Most medium size predators are not reef safe. As far as stock you can go with an Angel like Coral Beauty, pair of clowns, wrasses, gobies or blennies...like a watchman gobie/pistol shrimp, I personally love Cardinalfish...everybody wants to keep Tangs but they require alot of space and a mature tank. Stay away from Damsels, Chromis (you will always end up with one eventually), dottybacks (aggressive). Most larger fish are not reef safe. CUC...I would go with Trochus, Cerith, Nassarius snails...hermits and crabs or fun but cause more mayhem in a reef tank and aren't quite as good at cleaning...that said I love Scarlet Hermits and Emerald crabs to keep bubble algae in check. Stay away from soft corals unless you are just doing a softy tank because they grow like weeds and spread like a virus (polyps and mushrooms especially)...if that's the case you don't need much in the way of lighting, reactors, and awesome skimming, softies thrive in more nutrient dense water...
If you are doing it for fish and not for coral...it is cheaper and you can have more of a diversity of livestock and make them your center piece. In the long run Fish Only with Live Rock can have alot of diversity in stock and will not have to be torn down every 5 years because it becomes a nutrient sink like an LPS/SPS reef
Most medium size predators are not reef safe. As far as stock you can go with an Angel like Coral Beauty, pair of clowns, wrasses, gobies or blennies...like a watchman gobie/pistol shrimp, I personally love Cardinalfish...everybody wants to keep Tangs but they require alot of space and a mature tank. Stay away from Damsels, Chromis (you will always end up with one eventually), dottybacks (aggressive). Most larger fish are not reef safe. CUC...I would go with Trochus, Cerith, Nassarius snails...hermits and crabs or fun but cause more mayhem in a reef tank and aren't quite as good at cleaning...that said I love Scarlet Hermits and Emerald crabs to keep bubble algae in check. Stay away from soft corals unless you are just doing a softy tank because they grow like weeds and spread like a virus (polyps and mushrooms especially)...if that's the case you don't need much in the way of lighting, reactors, and awesome skimming, softies thrive in more nutrient dense water...
If you are doing it for fish and not for coral...it is cheaper and you can have more of a diversity of livestock and make them your center piece. In the long run Fish Only with Live Rock can have alot of diversity in stock and will not have to be torn down every 5 years because it becomes a nutrient sink like an LPS/SPS reef
Salt water is not that much more difficult than fresh water, just a few more parameters to watch. Though most use a sump, it is not absolutely necessary. I would recommend starting out with fish firsts to get the hang of it prior to jumping in to coral. Make sure you don't skimp on the protein skimmer a good one is a must. Also if you want to have coral, I would research lighting to make sure you get the proper lights.