Hey everyone!! info needed for a newbie!

[clocksta]

Hello!
My name is Ryan and I have had freshwater tanks for the last 10 years but never even thought of doing any salt water for how tough it seems to maintain. Well I am a manger at petsmart and i'm sure everyone has already heard of marinelands recalled heaters. We were instructed to remove all heaters from our shelves and also check inside all of our aquarium kits to see which heaters were included in the kit. Well anyways, we were instructed to discount any kits that included the recalled heaters because they no longer contained a heater inside the kit. Sooo, I managed to score a 55 gallon marineland LED kit for a rather nice price and I am thinking about trying my first saltwater tank with it! I know that as far as filter and lighting it comes with is not going to work for saltwater but I got the kit for cheaper than most people sell used 55 gal tanks by themselves. I am trying to figure out how much it would cost roughly as well as what exactly would be needed (filters, heaters, lighting, etc.) to start this baby off as a SW tank. If anybody could help me out I would very much appreciate it!
Thankyou!
-Ryan

 

[meowzer]

WELCOME TO THE SITE RYAN!!!!
Are you looking to do a fish only tank, or do you want reef? That is the first major question
IMO the filter that comes with the tank should be fine for a while....What watts are the leds? They also will be fine for fish only.
One tip....read the top threads in the new hobbyist section......there is a lot of great advice there

 

[clocksta]

Haha, well thank you for the welcome
I really would like to do reef but at the same time, from what I've read, I don't know if I could handle a reef tank. I am unsure of the wattage of the LED tops that come with the kit but I'm 90% sure that they are very weak and unsuitable for a salt water tank, especially reef tank. Lol, and I will take the advice, sorry!
Thankyou!
-Ryan

 

[meowzer]

For a fish only then, they would be fine.....fish don't need a lot of light....
sorry for what?

 

[clocksta]

Sorry for not reading other posts prior to making my own thread.
-Ryan

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by clocksta http:///forum/thread/384022/hey-everyone-info-needed-for-a-newbie#post_3362682
Sorry for not reading other posts prior to making my own thread.
-Ryan
OH NO....don't apologize for that...LOL....Lots of people don't even know they are there....and we will answer any questions you have....just trying to let you now there is great info up there

 

[clocksta]

Well thank you! I am going through it all now.
-Ryan

 

[monsinour]

If its the marineland LEDs check to see how many LEDs are there in the light. If its under 20 or so, then yea, its a fish only light. If its more than 40, it might do corals, non-light hungy ones atleast. Using the stock filter for now would be alright, but dont forget the protien skimmer and power heads.

 

[clocksta]

Mmmk. Well it seems I will probably be trying just a fish only tank, at least, for my first salt water tank. So then the LED hood will be fine and I can still use the filter it comes with correct? I won't need like the whole sump-setup people use, right?
-Ryan

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by clocksta http:///forum/thread/384022/hey-everyone-info-needed-for-a-newbie#post_3362695
Mmmk. Well it seems I will probably be trying just a fish only tank, at least, for my first salt water tank. So then the LED hood will be fine and I can still use the filter it comes with correct? I won't need like the whole sump-setup people use, right?
-Ryan
NO...LOL... sumps are great, but you don;t have to have one......Later if you decide you want corals that need stronger lighting, you can upgrade....You have plenty of tiem to decide though....you have to get it cleaned up, set up, get sand...rock...and go thru the beginning cycle....that takes a couple of months before you even add anything thats alive

 

[monsinour]

Skimmer.....dont forget the skimmer. Atleast you dont need one while the tank is initally cycling. I would get the powerheads while the cycle is happening though.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/384022/hey-everyone-info-needed-for-a-newbie#post_3362698
Skimmer.....dont forget the skimmer. Atleast you dont need one while the tank is initally cycling. I would get the powerheads while the cycle is happening though.
As much as I would not run a tank w/o one...they really are not needed for fish only tanks...

 

[monsinour]

well, arent fish only tanks a little messier when it comes to feeding and food stuffs left in the water? wouldnt you want a skimmer to pull that carp out of the water?

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/384022/hey-everyone-info-needed-for-a-newbie#post_3362701
well, arent fish only tanks a little messier when it comes to feeding and food stuffs left in the water? wouldnt you want a skimmer to pull that carp out of the water?
Personally YES...that is why I said I would not run a tank w/o one......BUT OP needs to know all options....and a lot of people do not use them, especially on fish only

 

[clocksta]

Mmmmk, sooo, ~50lbs of live sand, ?lbs of live rock, a skimmer, and 1? 2? powerheads, current lighting and filter is ok to start. Correct?

 

[flower]

Hi and welcome to the site!
What you need is a start up list, just check it off, some things are in your kit and some are not.

[*]
Fish Tank
[*]
RO water (use walmart or your own unit, if at all possible, never use tap or well water)
[*]
Bucket of salt mix
[*]
Temperature gage
[*]
Heater (2 are best, if one breaks you have a back up)
[*]
Refractometer or Hydrometer
[*]
About 45 pounds of live rock (you can use base rock and only a few pieces of live to seed it)
[*]
Live sand is best (you can use dry aquarium sand, I don't recommend crushed coral)
Lights with no hood, saltwater tanks do best to be open on top
Filter (your choice)
2 power heads to create an ocean current in the tank (very important)
Mag float to clean the glass
A plastic tub for water changes ( I use a 37g garbage can mark it FISH ONLY)
A cheap utility pump and hose for your water changes (to save your back...believe me, it's important)
Later on, a Proten Skimmer (recommended)
You will also need a camera, because we like pictures.

 

[eric b 125]

do a google search for marco rocks (not sure if i can post the link here without it getting deleted). you can get 50 lbs of nice rock for around $100. the nice thing about dry base rock is that it's weighed dry, so you get more rock for your money. adding just a few pounds of live rock will seed the base rock with beneficial bacteria with time.

 

[gemmy]

Welcome to the site! I have a 55 gallon as well. I would personally would not use the filter that comes with tank, since IMO it will not provide enough filtration for even a fish only tank. If you can, I say go with a sump, but if that's not doable then I would recommend a good canister filter such as the Fluval 405.

 

[clocksta]

Hmmm, well thank you all!!
1 thing, whats RO water? o.o And also, if I went with a canister instead of the filter included, would a mag 350 be good also? I know the fluvals are better but they are also a boat load more $_$!!
Thank you!
-Ryan

 

[gemmy]

Reverse Osmosis. Tap water has a lot of Total Dissolved Solids, heavy metals, chlorine and the list goes on. It can wreak havoc on our saltwater tanks. I would not touch a magnum 350 ever. The best thing about this hobby to keep in mind is to being willing to spend the cash and that will save you cash in the long run.