Beginner Saltwater Questions.

markw

markw

Member
I am an anticipating saltwater inthusiast. I have had freshwater aquariums all my life and have emerged ultimately successful with them. I have longly loved fish and now I think I am experienced enough with freshwater to move on to saltwater. I was wondering what everyone thought of the Marineland Instant Ocean Kit 29 Gallon Is it a good beginner tank? I know it comes wiht alot of the eguipment that you need to make your tank successful. I also know that it is missing some equiment also. My questions are:
1.) Is this good enough for a beginner?
2.) What enecessary equipment am I missing?
3.) What brand or specific equipment would you reccommend additionally to get?
I know the basics. I need a ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH testing kit, hydrometer, thermometer, and aquarium timer. I am asking you to tell me the specific kind of these things to get for this size tank. Thanks for your help in advance.
~*~Mark~*~
 
toyocuda

toyocuda

New Member
im new myself.. from what i know so far... You have to pick what type of tank you want to set up to get the nessary things needed. Do you want a FO (Fish Only) ,FOWLR( Fish only with live rock , or coral tank?. I have a 33gal tank i choose FOWLR, also you are limited to the amount of fish you can get along with the species the smaller tank you have.Usually you need 55gal + for alot of the species unless you get rid of them before they outgrow your tank ..... If im wrong please correct me
 
notsonoob

notsonoob

Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2520589
I am an anticipating saltwater inthusiast. I have had freshwater aquariums all my life and have emerged ultimately successful with them. I have longly loved fish and now I think I am experienced enough with freshwater to move on to saltwater. I was wondering what everyone thought of the Marineland Instant Ocean Kit 29 Gallon http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=...ccode=FSHBZRTE Is it a good beginner tank? I know it comes wiht alot of the eguipment that you need to make your tank successful. I also know that it is missing some equiment also. My questions are:
1.) Is this good enough for a beginner?
2.) What enecessary equipment am I missing?
3.) What brand or specific equipment would you reccommend additionally to get?
I know the basics. I need a ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH testing kit, hydrometer, thermometer, and aquarium timer. I am asking you to tell me the specific kind of these things to get for this size tank. Thanks for your help in advance.
~*~Mark~*~

My wife had goldfish and I didn't know an aquarium from a screwdriver when I started.
Just read lots of books and don't get discouraged when a 60 dollar clam is eaten by a 1 dollar crab....
I actually learned the most from this and other website.
Have fun
Everything is going to be dependent upon what you want to put in your tank.
 
markw

markw

Member
I am hoping to have a FOWLR for now, beings I am just a beginner, then a while down the road upgrade everything in the tank like equipment and everything then put coral in. So, over all, is this good enough to start out in? What else do I need to set up the tank before I add water and start my firsdt nitrogen cycle with live rock? I know after live rock, you are supposed to add your cleaner crew, then add your first fish, the hardiest fish you can buy. I know the process, just not so keen to the equipment stuff. Advice is greatly appreciated.
 
L

lsu

Guest
You still need a skimmer, quarantine tank. I'd recommend a refractometer over a hydrometer for accuracy. On a side note the larger the tank is, the easier it is to maintain.
 
fishfreak1242

fishfreak1242

Active Member
Markw;2520589 said:
I am an anticipating saltwater inthusiast. I have had freshwater aquariums all my life and have emerged ultimately successful with them. I have longly loved fish and now I think I am experienced enough with freshwater to move on to saltwater. I was wondering what everyone thought of the Marineland Instant Ocean Kit 29 Gallon Is it a good beginner tank? I know it comes wiht alot of the eguipment that you need to make your tank successful. I also know that it is missing some equiment also. My questions are:
1.) Is this good enough for a beginner?
2.) What enecessary equipment am I missing?
3.) What brand or specific equipment would you reccommend additionally to get?
I know the basics. I need a ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH testing kit, hydrometer, thermometer, and aquarium timer. I am asking you to tell me the specific kind of these things to get for this size tank. Thanks for your help in advance.
~*~Mark~*~[/QUOTE
When it comes to saltwater you want to get the biggest tank possible. With the tank that you listed you will only be able to put about 3-4 fish and a shrimp or two. It seems like an okay begginer tank. You should definatly get a protein skimmer. They are great filters and will pay off in the end. You are also going to need to get 2-3 powerheads to make sure there are no deads spot in your tank that could cause nitrate problems. Ive heard that maxi-jet 1200s are really good and they are only about $20 each. Good luck!
Click to expand...
 
markw

markw

Member
I was doing a little more research, and Iwas thinking of getting a 75 gallon rectangle tank and just buying the highest quality equipment possible. I thought that would be in the best interest in the fish. That is better right?
 
atrialfib22

atrialfib22

Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2520713
Do you have to have an overflow system with a saltwater tank? Is it 100% necessary?

You need an overflow box if you are planning to run a sump/fuge and your aquarium did not come pre-drilled. This allows the water to go from your DT to your sump/fuge then get pumped back up to your DT after undergoing filtering, etc.
I am pretty new at this so to the seasoned vets: please feel free to correct me on this. I also know of people who drill their own aquariums. I think there is a DIY sump section somewhere in here that will provide you with all the diff setups you can adopt for your system. If not, just google "diy sumps"...you should get plenty of info available.
IMO it is much better to run a sump/fuge than to have everything HOB. As long as you have the room and resources to do it!
 
atrialfib22

atrialfib22

Member
Originally Posted by Markw
http:///forum/post/2520881
Whats the difference between a sump/fuge and a HOB? What is "drilling your tank"?
Ok...let's see if I can correctly summarize this.
A sump is an additional tank that you connect to your main tank, usually it is kept under your DT (display tank). The goal is to gain more control over the variations that can affect your overall system. So in the sump you would have your equipment...your heater, skimmer, and monitoring probes all hidden from view. That's the difference between having a sump and having everything HOB (hang on back of your tank).
In addition, you can do your water changes/top offs in the sump, increasing water circulation/oxygenation and since you are running an additional tank that basically increases your total system volume...that gives you more of a cushion to withstand water parameter changes.
Anytime you need to add buffers, or whatever you can do it in your sump instead of doing it directly to your display tank.
A fuge or refugium is another area kept with light where you can grow macro algae, which takes up nitrates from your system. This adds oxygen, and help maintain pH levels. This is kept as a safe zone, free of any predators and can allow for good growth of copepods, ampipods and other microfauna that eventually end up in the display tank as food for your other livestock.
So in summary...this is what happens...water drains from your DT into the sump container beneath, going through the filter/skimmer then to the fuge. The water is then returned to the tank with a pump. As the water rises in the DT, it flows into the overflow box and this drains back into the sump. It is an ongoing thing, and the aim is to pump back as much as the tank can drain.
When the setup is done correctly it can be very benefitial and it will help you stabilize the whole system. Like I said before, if you have the room to do it, go for it. People can get creative on how the setups are designed, but it is all the same basic idea. There is a lot of advise here to get you going! Good luck...I hope I didn't leave much of the basics out.
 
atrialfib22

atrialfib22

Member
Oh and I forgot about the drilling stuff....literally drilling holes in the tank.
Some aquariums come pre-drilled so that you can run the plumbing for all your sump/fuge/return connections. If not, some people choose to drill the holes for the piping/hoses themselves. From what I see most people opt for the overflow boxes over drilling the tanks themselves.
Just remember...you don't have to have a sump/fuge and do all of this...you can always opt for HOB (hang on back of tank) equipment. Just know that it can make things easier in the long run. It all depends on what you want to do, spend, etc. I hope this is of some help,.
 
markw

markw

Member
Helped alot. Thanks. I still have am a little confused though. How does the water get from the DT to the sump? The sump to the fuge? how large should these be? what do you need in them? Do you have any pictures of an example of something set up like this? Money isnt the issue, im not planning on getting this set up anytime soon, just doing as much research as I can to make sure I get it right with the littlest amount of error.
You've been a big help so far thx.
 
atrialfib22

atrialfib22

Member
The more research you do, the better!
Ok so let's assume you have no holes pre-drilled and that you are not planning on drilling them yourself.
The water gets to the sump through the overflow box. This overflow box can hang on the back of your DT. As the water level rises it "overflows" through the drain in the box and uses gravity to get down to the sump.
So when in the sump, the water will circulate into your filter/skimmer, then down to your fuge (which will have some sand/live rock, critters, algae, etc...then to the return pump to go back up to your DT.
The picture attached kinda shows what the setup looks like in your sump/fuge. Like I said before, people can get creative on the design, but it is the same basic concept.
Also take a look at this link from within SWF https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/296752/any-comments-on-this-sump-fuge-design#post_2372473
It might give you even a better idea of what people are trying to accomplish with their designs
 
bdhutier

bdhutier

Member
Excelent synopsis, Atrial (Cardio., I presume?).
Markw, I would like to re-enforce what PP's have said... Go big from the get-go... There's nothing worse than setting up a nice 30, and realizing you're out of room. Like *insert favorite STD here*, once the itch starts, it never goes away! It's much more cost-effective in the long run to buy for the future in this hobby.
I'll try to help answer some of your questions:
How does the water get from the DT to the sump? The sump to the fuge?
First off, most people (other than really large set-ups) have their fuge in a section of their sump. The picture juice_1080 posted is a really good example. I'll post it again for you here.

DT water usually gets to the sump/fuge by a controlled overflow of the DT water. You're essentially pumping water out of the sump/fuge into the DT at a constant rate. The DT fills until the water reaches the top of the overflow box. The water then is dispensed into the sump/fuge through plumbing. Some weirdos like me have the sump/fuge ABOVE the tank. It works the same way, just with a little role-reversing.
 
mckaax

mckaax

Member
Mark,
Be prepared to have empty pockets all the time. This is not a joke. If you do decide to continue you should start a build thread. That way everyone can watch your progress.
 
markw

markw

Member
I understand the sum/fuge thing now, thanks. I posted another thread about it and someoe gave me a great link to explain it. It makes perfect sense now. Before I start a build thread or anything yet, I want to read up a little more and know as much as possible before I start anything that will become more overwhelming. This forum is a huge help. I have learned more here in two days than my first week researching a while ago.
 
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