So Youve Decided To Create Your Own Tank Prt1

So youve decided to take the plunge and setup a saltwater tank but dont know where to start?
well there are some decsions you have to make to start with.
1 what type of tank you are wanting to create
a- a FO tank a tank with only fish a cheap way to go but needs expensive filtration
this type of tank setup seems to be the cheapest but in all actuality it can be more expensive than going with LR
b- a FOWLR a tank with Live rock and Fish only no corals This type of setup beeds minimual additional filtration and no expensive lighting
c- a living reef tank with LR, corals and fish. This type of set up is the most expensive but is the most beutiful in most peoples minds.

So which setup did you choose?

2 on to the tank.

Try to get a list of fish that you want to keep in your tank. I know alot of people will think why are we talking about fish selection so early we havent even set up a tank yet! Well the fish that you choose will determine the size tank that you need. Some fish get very large and need alot of room so if you setup a tank that is to small you either have to upgrade to a larger tank in the future or find your fish new homes later. The easiest thing is to buy atank that can house your fish for the life of the fish. dont expect to have a zoo take a fish that is to large most wil not take fish and inverts from the private tank as it could introduce pathagens into their systems. Do not expect that a LFS will take the fish either becuase they may not be able to they will only take things that they can sell most people do not want fish that are full grown. The best advice on chooseing a tank is to get the largest tank possible for several different reasons 1) the more water volume the less little things make a huge difference think of it as a buffer, and stability 2)
The larger the tank the less of a feeling you have to upgrade to a larger tank. If you are looking to creat a reef tank I would highly suggest a reef-ready tank. A reef-ready tank has holes drilled in it so that you can easily attach a sump or refugium to the tank increaseing filtration and pod production for a natural food source.


3 filtration and equipment

The best filtration is the natural filtration useing 1 1/2 pounds or so of Live Rock and sand per gallon of water with good water flow and a quality water protein skimmer. But there are several other methods of filtration from hang on filters to sumps and refugiums.

Test Kits depending on what type of tank you have chosen to setup will effect the types of test kits you will want to get. The best test kits are ones that use powders or liquids to test. The strip testers are not as accurate as the powder and liquids. for a basic home tank with Not a reef tank you will need ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH test kits once you get into a reef tank you will need those plus calcium, alkalinity, copper and phosphates.Most of these are also available with a electronic tester that will always monitor you readings.

A good RO.DI unit to start with the best possible water for our tanks. there are alot of things added to our water supply that can kill inverts in our tanks, this includes copper. heavy metals and phosphates some of which cause algae blooms in our tanks that we fight to keep under control so putting quality water is a first line of defense for this.

Lighting what you want to keep will determine what type of lights the size of the tank will also help determine what types of lighting that you need to look at. these types are Metal Halide (MH), Very High Output florescent (VHO), Power Compact florescent(PC or CF), T-5 High output, or normal out florescent (NO).

Salt. There are several different brands of salt each have their own pros and cons some have higher calcium content which is better suited for reef tanks

Salinity measuring device, you will need to get something to measure the salinity of the tank on a daily basis this will change so you will need something to monitor it. The best advice is to get a refracto-meter for precise measurement of salinity of the water. there are several different ones though including the swing arm and hydrometer the problem with these they are not as accurate as the hydrometer in this hobby we need this number to be as precise as possible because some animals have precise needs to low or high can kill them.

Pumps and power heads, one of the most important things in a tank is keep up the water flow. for a reef tank you are looking for a total of 10times turnover rate. This will help keep the oxygen rate up and in a reef tank to help keep the bad algaes and a few other problems down.

substrate You will next have to decide what type of substrate to use in your tank. .there are many options out there from Live sand to black sand from micro sized sand to crushed coral The best is a sugar grain sized sand. The color does not really make a difference some show more dirt than others. The crushed coral is not a good choice in any tank it will hold diterious and in time can cause nitrate problems in the tank. also critters that will help you clean the sand cant really make good use of this substrate. also beware buying sand from home-depot or other sources along with landscape companies as these can be filed with silicates or other chemicals that can cause our tanks more harm than good.

additives. in reality there are 100's of 1000;s of additives that we can buy for our tank in all actuality we dont need any of them other than the occasional buffer or calcium additive. a good rule of thumb is if you can not test for it do not add it to the tank. some of these additives can become toxic at certain levels.

Foods. There are a great number of foods on the market today. depending on what fish stock you have in your tank will determine the type of foods that you need to get each fish has its own feeding requirements. With foods you will have to be careful because some frozen foods can add phosphates to our tanks so if we are careful we wont feed the algae.

So are you confused yet. well if you are dont be discouraged there are a lot of choices that we have to make before we even setup a tank. Good planning and research from the start will help you in creating a successful home aquarium habitat. Read ask questions and make the best choices for you and your tank.
These questions are just a start in a long line of questions that you find yourself asking yourself as you progress in setting up your tank.


Mike