best for beginer....?

[maverick005]

a friend of mine left town for a month and i am babysitting his 75 gallon tank with african ciclids. this makes me want a tank of my own. although i want a smaller and salt water. i was thinking just like 10 gallons...something a little less expensive. anyway, i just want some coral, and a fish or two and i dont know ANYTHING about any of this. my question is: is there a package on SWF.com that i should get? or should i go to a store and get things separately? thanks for the help.

 

[sebae0]

maverick if your just starting out in sw its better to go with a bigger tank atleast 35 gallons or bigger. the reason being with more water you can keep levels stable easier, and for a beginner this is important. anyways once you get going your gonna want a bigger tank anyways, imo i would recommend a 50 gal thats what i started with and now i'm up to a 180gal. hth

 

[maverick005]

ok, i did some reading and found that reef tanks are more expensive...i guess a fish only tank would be best for me...is there an article on this site that i can read to learn what equipment i will need for 30-50 gallon tank? and give me some kind of idea what i will be spending.

 

[sebae0]

mav i don't know of a specific thread on here that will give you all the answers but maybe a book could. i beleive that a lot of peoplerecommend "the conscientious marine aquarist" i think thats what its called. this will tell you the basics you will need to learn about a sw tank.
now on the money issue! your gonna spend a couple hundred bucks if you want to do it right. your correct that reefs are more expensive than a fish only but fo can get expensive also.
there are so many ways of setting one up i don't know what to recommend to start but atleast this i know you will need for sure.
obviously the tank what size you decide but i would go with a 50.
substrate, some kind aof aragonite sand don't go with crushed coral(too much maintenance) now a deep sand bed of 4-6 inches would also help with nitrate, don't worry about this yet until to understand the nitrogen cycle.(the book wil explain).
do a search on dsb(deep sand bed) and do a search on the berlin method of filtration. wow this is getting to complicated. so many different ways to do this. maybe a search on filtration also might help once you do this get back with us and we can narrow it down for you. good luck

 

[maverick005]

well........i got some homework to do, looks like i will be stopping by barnes and noble on the way home. and will be looking out for a 50 gallon...i live in the dallas area....i know dallas north aquarium has some used tanks..anywhere else to check besides the classifieds? or should i buy a new tank for some reason?

 

[equalizer]

Go with a used tank if you want more Bang for your buck.
Good luck

 

[effishient]

Hey Mav,
I'm very new to this hobby... got into it just over a month ago and my 55 gal is still cycling. Believe me, I know what you mean by not knowing anything about the hobby. My not-so-expert advice would be to take your time and do extensive research and planning before you make even your first purchase. I thought I had done enough research after reading a couple books and talking to a few people who've been in the hobby for years, but I am finding with each passing day that "if I'd known this or that, I might have made a different decision about what to purchase."
I'll give you the same good advice I got when I started. Buy the largest tank size you ever think you could ever want when you first start. I was just like you when I started... I wanted to go cheap as possible and just try to keep a few clownfish in a ten gallon. Like people on this thread have stated previously, the smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep chemical balances stable in the water. Plus, if you start small, you will inevitably wish you had more room to do more stuff and will then want to upgrade and this will become an endless cycle of expensive upgrades until you're satisfied with the size of your tank.
I ended up going with a 55 gal tank (the largest my wife would let me keep in our house) and I am very pleased. If it were up to me, I probably would have gone with a 100 gal.
From the reading I've done, I would recommend at least a 30 gal if you really just want to keep it small. Please don't let this turn you away from the hobby, but even with a thirty gal you are looking at a fairly expensive investment. By the time I will be through buying what I want for mine, I'll have spent about $1500. A friend of mine setup a completely new 55 gal for about $800 though, so it just depends on what you want.
Hope this helps a little... good luck with your research and ultimate purchases if/when you decide to make them!
matt

 

[maverick005]

matt, what book(s) would you recomend?
what is your set up? and what is your friends?
it is so hard not to go buy a tank or start building a stand now that i know i want to do this....i got the "fever". but i will do my homework and learn some things before makin an impulse buy (again).

 

[ross]

Welcome to the board!
There is a fish club for people in the San Antonio, Houston, Austion area and i think there is one for the dallas area too. If you post your e-mail adress up here i will give you a link to the San Antonio club website and you could ask about a dallas club on that.
The clubs are really cool! You will probably be able to find a whole setup for a reasonable price.
Ross

 

[maverick005]

george_five@yahoo.com

 

[cindyski]

maverick
i dont want to burst your bubble or anything but make sure it is salt water you want for sure before you start!! no matter what, it is gonna cost much more than freshwater (i had fresh water for over 15 years) just starting in the saltwater after tearing down my chichlid tank, i alread have $3000. into it and its not even delivered yet (125 acrylic)
just food for thought, make sure it is absolutly what you want
good luck!

 

[beaslbob]

Maverick:
Understand and am glad you are doing some reading.
I agree that it is best to get the largest tank you can afford. Used tanks as a very good option and even if they have some unseen leaks, the leaks are easy to fix. Just don't get one with any cracked or broken glass and get the glass tanks not the acrylic.
You might try this just to get going. 10g can produce tanks but you will be limited to very small fish. If you got a 20g long or larger you not only could have larger fish but the tank could be used as a filter or culture tank in any future larger system. For initial setup you could use play sand from homedeopt and get some plant life established. so the system for the first three weeks would be basically a saltwater garden. Then add the fish slowly over the next several months. An airstone would be needed to add some circulation and some source of light to keep the plants healthy. That way you could establish an easy to maintain system with a minimum of expense.

 

[sebae0]

whatever you do with salt water don't ever add a airstone, to much salt creep, ie salt caked all over the glass and tops. it creates a spray and when it dries salt crust is left every where.

 

[liz50138]

Another book I just thought of was saltwater fish for Dummies. I agree with the others, but the biggest you can afford, and you won't regret it. My first saltwater is a 75 gal, and now i wish i would have gone with at least 100. I bought my 29 gal at wal-mart for decently priced, plus it came with a heater, filter, filter pads, some freshwater food, a net, and a lot of other basic things. If you have to buy new, I would go with a kit instead of buying everything seperate, it's usually cheaper. Some other things you will need:
Test Kits for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH.
Refractometer (to measure salinity)
Large bucket to mix saltwater in
Oh, btw, if you plan on building your own stand, make sure it is strong enough. A tank with water and decoroations it will weigh at least 10lbs per gallon.
Also, feel free to ask questions about anything you want to know. I learned the most from asking questions on this board and reading other people's questions.

 

[lesleybird]

If you want smaller and less expensive I would not go with saltwater. Saltwater tanks and setups need to be at least 30 gallons for a beginner, and are at least double in cost, probably more than keeping freshwater because of the costs of all the equiptment, testing gear, cost of livestock, etc. If you are thinking something small and inexpensive in the line of a ten gallon, I would go with freshwater. I would not even begin this hobby unless you entend to spend at least three or four hundred dollars on at least a thirty gallon....which is small in a saltwater tank. One can only keep about a third as many fish per gallon in saltwater also. Get yourself a good saltwater book and read it first before you decide if it is what you want to do. Most of us on this board love this hobby, but most of us invest hundreds of dollars. Just the live rock for a thirty gallon can easily run $150 to $200.
Good luck, Lesley

 

[lesleybird]

Originally posted by Ross
Welcome to the board!
There is a fish club for people in the San Antonio, Houston, Austion area and i think there is one for the dallas area too. If you post your e-mail adress up here i will give you a link to the San Antonio club website and you could ask about a dallas club on that.
The clubs are really cool! You will probably be able to find a whole setup for a reasonable price.
Ross
Hi, could you tell me how to get info on the fish club in Houston? Thanks, Lesley

 

[maverick005]

i found good deal on a 125g glass tank and stand (minus the hood) for $200!!!!!
i am going to look at it tomorrow and most likely bring it home.
i will be getting some books today...but i have a few questions...
i am thinking of having an aggresive tank, is this a bad idea for a beginner? i would like to have a few sharks and a few rocks...keep it clean and simple.
and what setup should i be looking at as far as equipment goes? i will have to peice this thing together over the next month or so.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!!!!

 

[ross]

Lesleybird
Just post your email up here and i will email the adress of the website.
Ross

 

[cindyski]

l/s
l/r
salt
sump (28gal rubbermaid bucket)
pumps/poweheads
return plumbing
possibly a skimmer
test kits
lights (you should be able to find an inexpesive hood for that, and if your only planning on keeping fish, you wont need special lighting)
distilled or ro/di water
heater
thermometer
hydrometer
start thinking about an inexpensive qt set up also
i am sure others will let you know if i have let something out
good luck!!

 

[maverick005]

thanks cindy, i know what some of those things are...i am going to look up the rest of them. i should be getting my tank today!!!! and i am most likely going to make the hood for it myself. thanks again for the help.