What do I need?

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Desire

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2011
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The Netherlands, purmerend
Hey guys,

In about a year or two I would like to start a saltwater tank, but... There's always a but right? I don't really know much about it.

Here is what I know:
Bigger is better, the balance is easier maintained with larger watervolumes.
UV-filter is commonly used.
You need to start to cycle the tank with only live stone, cycling takes a minimum of 8 weeks (but I don't know the specifics).
Obviously a skimmer.


As you can see, that's not a whole lot.
So, before I leap in at the deep end and get everything wrong, I decided to get as much information as possible as to the hows and whats of starting up a saltwater tank.

So I ask you saltwater owners:
What do I need, and what do I need to know? What are no-no's and what are musts?

Keep in mind that I won't start with a saltwater tank untill I feel confident enough that I won't be killing all those expensive and beautiful fish.

I want to hear your personal opinions, not links to generic info, because I find that a lot of it is contradicting and confusing. Thereby not helping me one iota...

Hope you guys can help me on my way.
 
Desire;5036071; said:
Hey guys,

In about a year or two I would like to start a saltwater tank, but... There's always a but right? I don't really know much about it.

Here is what I know:
Bigger is better, the balance is easier maintained with larger watervolumes.
UV-filter is commonly used.
I think UV and Ozone are primarily used on pred tanks. Im not a huge fan on the use of UV on a reef tank, but it still has its bennies.
You need to start to cycle the tank with only live stone, cycling takes a minimum of 8 weeks (but I don't know the specifics).
You can use dead rock and introduce a few pounds of liverock from your LFS to save some cash. The cycle time really just depends. Lots of different choices on types of live rock, but I just bought some Pukani from BRS and I love it.
Obviously a skimmer.


As you can see, that's not a whole lot.
So, before I leap in at the deep end and get everything wrong, I decided to get as much information as possible as to the hows and whats of starting up a saltwater tank.

So I ask you saltwater owners:
What do I need, and what do I need to know? What are no-no's and what are musts?
A lot of it really depends on what you want to do. Reef tank, fowlr, or pred?

Keep in mind that I won't start with a saltwater tank untill I feel confident enough that I won't be killing all those expensive and beautiful fish.

I want to hear your personal opinions, not links to generic info, because I find that a lot of it is contradicting and confusing. Thereby not helping me one iota...

Hope you guys can help me on my way.
Click to expand...
Post up where you want to go with your tank, as in a reef tank, fowlr, or pred. A lot of what you are told is going to depend on that.
 
I know a lot of people that are using ozone on the reefs. It can lead to crazy clarity...but you have to know what you are doing.

There are a lot of things in this hobby that if wielded correctly in the right hands can be put to good use. Wielded improperly they can be downright disastrous.

I wouldnt recommend a newbie using either.

If you are planning a reef I might go all base rock. This way you avoid adding anything to your tank that you dont want to add.

+1 on an update as to what specifically you want to do.
 
Hardest part is just doing it! You sound like me - unsure of what your getting yourself into. Being new to Saltwater myself I can tell you this - by the time you cycle thru your head will be around the basics. You don't need much to start cycling and you can add slowly from there. Get a hydrometer and a 5 gal bucket of luke warm water add 2 cups of sea salt - stir it for 15 min. or so and use the hydrometer to measure the salinity and you are on your way.

I have a UV sterilzer but don't use it - my waters not green and my autodrip's not running so no chlorine or other tap nasties to sterilze. I jump started the cycle w/ LR
1/3 LR 2/3 base rock to save $$$ if you go all base you'll need to add something to rot.

If you got your head around freshwater chemistry - salt's not alot different pretty much same causes and effects in the beginning. Taking it slow gives you time to study up on the differences and aviod costly mistakes. For me - I try not to be "the great rusher of fools" - corals, clams, dragonettes, and anemones are something to plan for, theres no such thing as Instant Reef.
 
I specifically want a reef tank, with lots of live stone, corals and anemones. I would like to keep clownfish along with some other fish that will go well with the clowns. They will be my "main" inhabitants and all other live in the tank I would like to suit the clowns.

That's how far I got so far.

The tank I would like to convert to a reeftank is my current 1.20mx60cmx60cm.
It has a bowfront, which I find very appealing.

I really want to take my time setting it all up, buying a little here and there and not rush headlong in to anything.
I know saltwater tanks are expensive to start, but I don't want to overspend. So I figured the best way is to take it slowly. First get only the bare essentials needed to fire that puppy up, then get some live stone, start the cycle and get aquainted with what I could keep next to the clownfish that would compliment them as a companion in the same tank.

During the cycle I will get myself aquainted with all the different types of corals, anemones etc and (hopefully with all your help) decide on what would be best for the fish I intend to keep.

In my country not many people keep anemones, but I feel they are staple in a clowns live, therefore I find it only normal to supply them with a as natural an environment as possible.

Ow, by the way, the tank hold about 115 gallons give or take.

Hope this helps a bit in helping me figure out the hows, why's and what's.

Thanks guys!!
 
Heres what I would do...start buying the nice stuff, and set it aside for when you want to set it up.

I recommend an aragonite substrate, with a grain size between 1-2mm.

LR can harbor some nasty hitch-hikers, and you can avoid this by buying dry rock, which is actually cheaper, and cheaper to ship as well.

You can add some cured LR from a reputable source to get some of the cool critters and other beneficial stuff.

Filtration wise I would try to sump your tank. This is easy if it is drilled, if it is not, I am having great luck using the CPR overflows.

Get the best skimmer you can buy...and that is pretty much it.

Eventually you will want to tinker with filtration, picking up media reactors etc.

But...I have laid out the basics.

As far as nems go, they are challenging.

I would recommend that you go with a bulb tip anemone, as I think that these are the easiest clown friendly ones to keep in today's reef aquarium.

A lot of clowns these days are tank raised, and wont associate with an anemone at all. I have a pair of tank raised clowns, and if I get a chance at a decent nem in the near future I will attempt to get past this by putting them into a small clear bottle with the anemone. Once I see that they are going into it, I will open up the bottle, and allow the anemone to go wherever it wants.
 
If you want sand and/or agronite I'd buy that 1st and not the wet stuff the dry stuff. It can be a down right pain adding sand to a water filled tank. Next I'd line the bottom with cardboard and fill with water add quality sea salt approx. 2 cups per gal. - me I went with the Red Sea Salt designed for corals. Get the salinity at 1.025 and learn how to keep it there. Bare in mind salt does not evaporate.

The bare basics would be - Sea Salt, hydrometer, heater, filter and or powerheads for water circulation. Later you can start stocking with baserock ( pourus dry calcium rock ) but it will take something live or dead to create a constant source of ammonia to cycle it. My only LR hitchhikers were - copeapods, 2 blue leg hermit babies, and a lil' clam that only survived a week or so. Even the coraline died thru my cycling and new is slowly growing. You can cure any LR yourself simply by allowing it to dry out. Put some pieces in a box put it outside in a dry spot ( as it will stink for awhile ) after the stink is gonna it's dead.

As for clowns and anemones - the tank needs to mature for anemones, many types of micro-organisms are needed to feed these guys it takes time for them to establish.
Also not only do Clowns come as wild caught and tankraised there are a ton that are man-made as well as a ton of different wild strains and species. Not all types of clowns house in the same type anemone this will have to be matched.
 
You do not want to under any circumstances "cure" your rock by letting it dry out.

This will kill your LR, and leave you with dry base rock.

Curing is a process where you put the rock into a container, and do water changes while everything that didnt make the trip alive dies off of your rock.

BTA's are the hardiest nems, and split readily. Most clowns should host to them. (More than any other nem.) +1 however to the idea that they should only be added to a mature tank.
 
Well, yesterday was my Birthday and my husband got me some pretty cool gifts!! And they are all saltwater related! he got me 4 books on the hows to's etc.

I'll list them here so you guys can help me out a bit:

A PocketExpert Guide: Marine Fishes, 500+ essential-to-know aquarium species By Scott W. Michaels

A Complete Pet Owners Manual: Corals

The Complete Idiot's guide to Saltwater Aquariums

Marine Aquarium Handbook, Beginner to Breeder.

So far I have only skimmed them, but they seem easy enough to read without all that lingo no beginner understands, they hold a lot of info, but as I find with a lot of these things, they tend to contradict eachother on certain things.

Anyway, I have settled on the Amphiprion percula- the picasso clown, so all other inhabitants will be based around them. Hardest bit in my mind done.
I always set all my tanks up this way. I pick the one species i definately want to keep, base the tank and it's tankmates around that particular species and work from there.

So the main species has been selected, now I need to get myself familiar with all the set-up, gear and salinity levels etc, buy all that is needed and then have the guts to get started...

FLESHY, I like your idea of introducing the clowns to the anemones, seems like something I should look further into to see if that is a viable options.

I have to visit my lfs to see if they can get hold of the picasso clown, and if so wether they will be tankraised or wild caught. I assume this will change the manner of introducing anemones to the tank. I assume that the tankbred version will have to get used to using the anemones, whereas the wildcaught version will know what the anemones are for....
 
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