Brand new to saltwater, have many questions.

[stangfreak00]

Hi everybody,
I'm brand new to the board. My wife and I are going to get into saltwater as a hobby we can share. I'll start out with what we have to work with and our basic idea's.
We have a 55 gal tank that once belonged to our snake.
that's about all we have, so far.
I'm good with fabricating things, so that might come in handy as we will be on a small budget.
We want a clean display, so no stuff hanging off the aquarium. Would somebody put into layman's terms the use for a sump and refugium? Does the sump handle filtration or the refugium? See, I don't know a whole lot, so we are going to educate ourselves immensely before even starting the aquarium.
We are planning on having some corals, anemonies, a crustacean or two, and (of course) fish. We have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and one on the way, so a clownfish will be in our tank, too.
If anyone can basically give us the saltwater for dummies lesson, we would greatly appreciate it. We have zillions of questions.
Thanks everybody,
Joe

 

[ross]

Hey stangfreak
WELCOME TO THE BOARD
This is the absolute best place to learn about everything you need to know.
I would recomend getting live rock(lr) and live sand(ls). I don't know much about corals and anemones, but I know that they need special lights and I have heard that anemones don't do well at all in aquariums but I don't know for sure. When you cycle use a raw shrimp. Your local fish store(lfs) will probably tell you to use damsels but I wouldn't because they will probably just die.
Just ask anything you need to know.

 

[clownfish2]

Joe, WELCOME TO THE BOARD To start with I would recommend the book The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta. It gives you step by step instructions on how to build a saltwater setup. Also if we all chant Thomas712 three times maybe he will hear us and give some more great info for you. Welcome aboard

 

[eelfreakrobi]

reading books and doing searches is what really helped me get this hobby started, before you buy anything make sure you know what you are doing. Also dont buy damsels, they can get very territorial and if you put another fish in your tank it will most likely attack it. Also, this is an expensive hobby, youd be amazed at how much money can go into a 55 gal.

 

[shifty]

wecome
i'am also new at this one thing i can say is it seems to be a great hobby but very expensive if you are on a budget the best thing for you to do is do an all fish tank with some lr and sand forget coral for 2 reasons first it takes a lot of expereince to keep coral going and second you need special lighting that are very expensive for example i have a 150gl tank and just for the skimmer,wetdryset,titaniumheater,sand,salt,test kit i paid 800$
if i wanted coral i would need to buy a special light that can run me around 1000$ so i did not go that way it's best to try establishing fish and maintain water then when your comfortable you can alway's up grade just remember ihave a 150gl tank so i have to pay more don't let this scare you your family might realy enjoy it and it is a great attraction when freinds come over and see a saltwater set up good luck any way you go remember i just started also just letting you know what i know thats what the board is all about good luck

 

[stangfreak00]

Thanks for the replies so far.
I guess we'll start out with LR and LS. Would someone explain to me what LR and LS are? I never knew rocks and sand could live hehehe.
Where can I find pictures of LR and LS setups?
Joe

 

[eelfreakrobi]

You can buy LR and LS from an lfs(local fish store) or from the internet such as this site and others. It doesnt mean that the live rock and live sand are living, is that it brings lots of tiny critters that help get your cycle moving in order for it to be a real saltwater tank, I also have a 55 gal tank and use 45 pounds of live rock( which can be expensive such as $2 a pound or more), it all depends on how much you want to spend.
P.S- patience is the key to success in this hobby.

 

[stangfreak00]

Ok, i understand a little more about the LR/LS thing.
What is a sump and what is it used for?
Do I really need a sump for a 55 gal tank. Keep in mind that I want the tank to have a clean, unobstructed appearance.

 

[lesa]

Welcome to a wonderful and enjoying hobby. Oh did I mention $$$ to.

 

[beaslbob]

welcome to salt:
If you are handy you could save lotsa $ by building you own stand and hood.
Sumps allow the filtering to go on hidden away for view. One possible problem is that sumps can overflow causing a flood. As you check them out that is something to keep in mind.
Refugiums allow macro algae and various pods to thrive away from the main tank. That is important because the livestock in the display tank would eat those beneficial things.
Again if you are handy and can wait, you could make you own rock decorations using portland concrete. That way you could make them any old shape you want.
Finally, whatever you decide, I recommend you add all the macro algae/marine plants you can. Further that you cycle the tank with Mollies. The algae/plants will establish a stable, balanced system and the mollies are extremely hardy and even have babies in the tank.
Welcome to salt.

 

[thomas712]

Stangfreakkk00 - Welcome to the hobby and to the board, hope to see you here often.
Great advice given by the Trojan Man, have the aquarium drilled and add a sump. This will allow you to place your equipment in there thus keeping your display clear and unclutterd. With your tank drilled use an internal overflow, this will skimm the surface of the water colum taking the oils and film that develope down to the sump to be first screened by a prefilter or sponge and then processed in the case of a Wet/dry by bioballs and or an in sump skimmer which removes DOC's from the water via tiny air bubbles that collect the dirt on the surface of the bubbles and into a collectin cup. Inside the overflow box I suggest what is called a Durso stand pipe, a great piece of equipment that can be made cheap and easy by yourself. Decide for yourself what type of return pump you will want submersible or external.
As told the sand and rock will be essential to your reef, great way of natural filtration.
Here is a link that will help provide some further information.
http://www.reefcorner.com/reef%20keeping_101.htm
Thomas