New to the hobby and need help

[kilmej]

Hey guys,

Let me first say I am excited to become a part of this hobby, and am grateful forums exist because I am lost. My dad has a fish tank (150 Gal) he is not using. He has had aquariums for as long as I can remember, but is pro-freshwater. He has done saltwater before, but that was probably 10-15 years ago. He does not believe I should go with saltwater having no experience. I am adamant to succeed in doing one though. I like freshwater, but do not feel I will be as satisfied as I would be with saltwater. I would like to start prepping, but don't know where to go for equipment. Should I search for used? What is essential? and what is not necessarily required, but would be a bonus for a newbie like me? I will most definitely start with a FOWLR tank, and then add coral in a year or so, so I'm assuming LED's will work for now when it comes to lighting? I have been reading a lot of articles for research, and I obviously know some of the things that you need because I've watched my dad and had many conversations over the years. I just need direction. Here is a list of things I have gathered from my research. Thanks in advance.

Refractometer
Protein Skimmer
Power Head
Reverse Osmosis water filter (with flush kit?)
Heater
Lights
Sump and/or Refugium?
calcium reactor
biopellets
phosphate reducer
activated carbon

 

[jay0705]

Welcome to sw. Now personally i think sw is just as easy as fw just more expensive. Your last 4 items on your list are not needed. A sump is very helpful. A skimmer is helpful but not necessary for fowlr tank.
The biggest key to sw is live rock. Good quality live rock to help seed the much cheaper base rock.
Once your tank is fully cycled add fish very slowly. Qt all new fish

 

[Jesterrace]

Welcome to the forum. Like you I got started with a saltwater tank (never had an aquarium before, not even a goldfish/beta bowl). Like you, I found freshwater fish generally boring (most of them just sit there) and they just don't have the color or personality of saltwater fish. As mentioned by jay the biggest difference is expense. For a 150 gallon it will definitely be pricey to get it setup even with dry live rock and a piece of live rock. Expect to pay $2.50-$3.00 per lb for the dry live rock and it is recommended to have at least 1lb of live/dry live rock for every gallon of tank. Regular live rock costs about $5-$7 per lb. depending on where you buy it from. Live sand is about $1 per lb and it is recommended to have the same ratio as live rock. You can go with alternatives to live sand, but it does make a bit of a difference. Plan on spending $1K-$1.5K to get this to the point where you are ready to add fish. Sorry about the sticker shock, but you do need to know what you are in for. The problem is that outside of the tank, stand and maybe the hood, you are going to have to replace or add everything to that tank. If you would like I will post my guide for how to do saltwater and not screw up. Given the fact that this is a used tank, you will need to sanitize it first. I recommend doing a 24 hour cycle with bleach and tap water and whatever power filter your dad has with the tank (just make sure there is no carbon or inserts of any kind in it, you are just using it for water flow). After the bleach cycle rinse out, wipe down completely until dry and then let air dry for 24 hours, After this use tap water plus distilled white vinegar and repeat the 24 hour cycle process, drain and rinse and then wipe down completely and let air dry for 24 hours. This will sanitize the tank completely and put you in a position where you are ready to add the rock, sand, saltwater and equipment (ie powerheads, tank heater(s), power filters of some form). For starting out, if you have a local saltwater fish store where you can buy RO/RODI saltwater pre-mix it might be best to go this route, although you will need a crapload of 5 gallon water jugs to transport all that water.

 

[kilmej]

Welcome to the forum. Like you I got started with a saltwater tank (never had an aquarium before, not even a goldfish/beta bowl). Like you, I found freshwater fish generally boring (most of them just sit there) and they just don't have the color or personality of saltwater fish. As mentioned by jay the biggest difference is expense. For a 150 gallon it will definitely be pricey to get it setup even with dry live rock and a piece of live rock. Expect to pay $2.50-$3.00 per lb for the dry live rock and it is recommended to have at least 1lb of live/dry live rock for every gallon of tank. Regular live rock costs about $5-$7 per lb. depending on where you buy it from. Live sand is about $1 per lb and it is recommended to have the same ratio as live rock. You can go with alternatives to live sand, but it does make a bit of a difference. Plan on spending $1K-$1.5K to get this to the point where you are ready to add fish. Sorry about the sticker shock, but you do need to know what you are in for. The problem is that outside of the tank, stand and maybe the hood, you are going to have to replace or add everything to that tank. If you would like I will post my guide for how to do saltwater and not screw up. Given the fact that this is a used tank, you will need to sanitize it first. I recommend doing a 24 hour cycle with bleach and tap water and whatever power filter your dad has with the tank (just make sure there is no carbon or inserts of any kind in it, you are just using it for water flow). After the bleach cycle rinse out, wipe down completely until dry and then let air dry for 24 hours, After this use tap water plus distilled white vinegar and repeat the 24 hour cycle process, drain and rinse and then wipe down completely and let air dry for 24 hours. This will sanitize the tank completely and put you in a position where you are ready to add the rock, sand, saltwater and equipment (ie powerheads, tank heater(s), power filters of some form). For starting out, if you have a local saltwater fish store where you can buy RO/RODI saltwater pre-mix it might be best to go this route, although you will need a crapload of 5 gallon water jugs to transport all that water.

I am very aware that I will be dropping that much at the start. The tank is not currently being used at all, so transportation is easy. I do realize how important live rock is, but didn't know I could do partial dry rock. I guess my biggest question is, should I go with all new equipment, or is finding used out there worth it to save some money? I also know I need a filter, but what kind of filter? all of the equipment I listed I don't know how to find, other than going to a local shop. I would like to shop around if possible so I don't pay top dollar for everything, just don't know what to put in that google search bar. I do appreciate all the advice on cleaning and prepping the tank though. Any additional advice is welcomed of course.

 

[jay0705]

Personally i buy new bc well its new. Used does save money but you never know how well it was taken care of. filters you have 3 options. Drilled sump, siphon sump, hob filter. For your size tank a sump is by far your best bet. A drilled is the better of the two but means drilling glass.
Shop online,in stores, even Craigslist. Personally i do 50/50 lfs or online.
Base/ dry rock will save u a ton, just make sure to add some good live to seed it.

 

[Jesterrace]

I am very aware that I will be dropping that much at the start. The tank is not currently being used at all, so transportation is easy. I do realize how important live rock is, but didn't know I could do partial dry rock. I guess my biggest question is, should I go with all new equipment, or is finding used out there worth it to save some money? I also know I need a filter, but what kind of filter? all of the equipment I listed I don't know how to find, other than going to a local shop. I would like to shop around if possible so I don't pay top dollar for everything, just don't know what to put in that google search bar. I do appreciate all the advice on cleaning and prepping the tank though. Any additional advice is welcomed of course.

Other than the used tank/hood and stand, I would go with all new. Too many variables with used filtration equipment and you have no idea what kind of use/abuse it got, or how well the tank/equipment was taken care of when they got it. As for filtration I would say the Siphon Sump would probably be the best compromise, unless you are comfortable/experienced with drilling glass.