what do i all need for a salt water 55-75 gallon salt water aquarium?what kind of filter,toops,heater,sand,lights what?
What Do I All Need
- Thread starter Bud_Man_Jr
- Start date
If it's gonna be a reef then I'd say you would need about $2000 to start with (depending on what corals and inverts you keep.)
A Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) runs about $1000 or so to start up.
Basics:
Salt Mix
Quality Skimmer (really not something to skimp on, at least $200)
Power Heads for water movement (important in a reef, shot for a turnover of 10X tank volume per hour, no dead spots)
55 to 75 pounds of Live Rock (this is your bio-filter, biggest expense IMO besides lighting)
hydrometer or refractometer to measure salt
Deep Sand Bed system (popular now)= enough sugar sized argonite sand for a 3 to 5 inch sand bed
OR: an inch or less of crushed coral or sand for FOWLR with out a deep sand bed
Lighting= PC's for soft corals or Metal Halides ($$$) if you are keeping SPS corals, clams, anemones. Regular fluorescents will work with FOWLR, but even in these tanks more light = better live rock growth.
Marine reef tanks don't "need" a filter (HOB or canisters) like freshwater tanks, those tend to be "nitrate factories". Instead a lot of people run sumps. The skimmer, heater (make sure it's salt safe), and any chemical media you want to run goes into the sump. This means you need a good (re: expensive) water pump, overflows drilled, etc. There are also refugiums where people put macro algae to help keep nitrate in check. They are like mini tanks that are connected to the main tank.
FOWLR tanks are the easiest to start with. You can use a regular filter on those because nitrates aren't has much as an issue in those tanks as opposed to reef tanks.
A Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) runs about $1000 or so to start up.
Basics:
Salt Mix
Quality Skimmer (really not something to skimp on, at least $200)
Power Heads for water movement (important in a reef, shot for a turnover of 10X tank volume per hour, no dead spots)
55 to 75 pounds of Live Rock (this is your bio-filter, biggest expense IMO besides lighting)
hydrometer or refractometer to measure salt
Deep Sand Bed system (popular now)= enough sugar sized argonite sand for a 3 to 5 inch sand bed
OR: an inch or less of crushed coral or sand for FOWLR with out a deep sand bed
Lighting= PC's for soft corals or Metal Halides ($$$) if you are keeping SPS corals, clams, anemones. Regular fluorescents will work with FOWLR, but even in these tanks more light = better live rock growth.
Marine reef tanks don't "need" a filter (HOB or canisters) like freshwater tanks, those tend to be "nitrate factories". Instead a lot of people run sumps. The skimmer, heater (make sure it's salt safe), and any chemical media you want to run goes into the sump. This means you need a good (re: expensive) water pump, overflows drilled, etc. There are also refugiums where people put macro algae to help keep nitrate in check. They are like mini tanks that are connected to the main tank.
FOWLR tanks are the easiest to start with. You can use a regular filter on those because nitrates aren't has much as an issue in those tanks as opposed to reef tanks.
all i want is a 55-75 with some live rock.live sand.i can get a ooverflow sump rated for a 500 gallon aquarium from a fish guy.i can make a light.also just a little coral.then alot of like little nemo fish.
Bud_Man_Jr;510247; said:
Any coral needs at least 4 to 5 watts per gallon of light. PC's can work with the depth of a 55 or 75, but you are still only gonna keep low light corals unless you invest in metal halides. You are going to need the power heads for water movement, all corals need a lot of water current. A skimmer is also a need, not an option, especially with any corals.
Live rock and live sand are $$$, you need at least one to two pounds per gallon. Live rock runs about $4 to $10 a pound, same with sand.
Watch out when mixing clown fish (Nemo fish), they have attitudes!
Just a side note for you: My 10 gallon nano was about $500 all said and done, and I had a crap skimmer on it.
This isn't for a large tank but i'm sure it will give you an idea. For a larger tank you just have to add a bit more.
http://www.masns.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=923
http://www.masns.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=923
Everyone has offered great advice! I have a 75 Reef Ready tank that I have been working on for a month or so. I have hella cash in it right now! One big expense outside of lights are LIVE ROCK. It is usually 7.99$ a pound. You will need 100+ pounds. I have 150lbs in a container cooking right now. I was not fun buying it. You want to buy it all at once or your tank will recycle everytime new rock is added. Good luck and ask if you have anymore questions. Check out the last 2 pages of my blog. It has my tank so far. I will take pics of my LR rock and piping weekend.