how to start

matthew15

matthew15

New Member
hello my name is matt. i am new to the hobby of saltwater fish and am interesred in purchasing an aquarium and some fish in the near future. what fish do you recomend and what makes the most interesting aquarium inhabitents. (i heard that maroon clownfish make good starting fish?)
 
matthew15

matthew15

New Member
i want to know as much as i can. i don't want to go head first into the unknown. are there things that i need to consider before buying my first fish?
 
blu11

blu11

Member
Hi Matt
Great that you are wanting to do some research before getting started.
There are TONS of things to consider when planning your first tank....fish compatibility, flitration, lighting...the list goes on & on. I am just starting as well. This forum can be helpful for when you have questions, but your best bet is to start out with a couple of good books on the subject. It is really the best way to dive into the hobby. 2 great books I would highly reccomend are "The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide" by Michael Paletta and "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. These books have been so helpful...they lay it out pretty simply for you. Good luck & have fun:)
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
filtration, live rock, sand powerheads, skimmer and a higher temp in your tank. You need to get soething to measure your salinity, and test kit. You need to cycle your tank, best way is with live rock, sand and a cocktail shrimp. Some lights, and then a clean up crew. After your tank is cycled and you have a cleanup crew, why not start with some green cromis, they are damsels, but peaceful ones. Then you can add afew hardier fish like a clown. Does this help?
 
rainfishy

rainfishy

Member
Matt, this board is a really good place to start in terms of information. I didn't discover this board until I already had two tanks!!! :happyfish
I always have cycled my tanks with damsel fish, so that would be a good kind of fish to start with. They are very hardy and colorful and if you keep them long enough they will get big. Clownfish are pretty hardy and good for beginners but I wouldn't add them until the tank has been fully cycled.
As far as buying a tank and everything else needed it really depends on how much money you have to spend. But it is important to know that there are a lot of saltwater fish that should not be kept in tanks under 100g. And you should look at which fish get along with which other fish, because aggressive fish often have to be kept solo or only with their species. Also do you want a reef or fish only tank?? Because there are lots of fish that are not reef safe. Hope this helps. Good Luck
 
matthew15

matthew15

New Member
how about Blennies, i have read that they are easy fish to care for. in my local shop they have a scooter blenny how are they for beginners?
 
blu11

blu11

Member
Yep that is the book. The other one is great for starting out...it explains everything about just getting started. Both are terrific....if you can afford both I would get them together. Reading them really helped me...I had no idea starting up a saltwater tank was so involved as well as a lengthy process. I am so excited to give it a shot though! :)
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
you may want to take your mind off fish for little while. I would focus on the tank, the filter, lights, heater, skimmer, hydrometer, and test kits. once you have those, head to your LFS (local fish store) and pick up some either pre mixed water or salt and make the water yourself (if you make it yourself, youll have to get distilled water from your grocery store, so when you have all that, get sand and rock from your LFS and let it cycle.
 
weberian

weberian

Member
I've been planning my first marine aquarium for months now. I got the Michael Paletta book from the library and liked it so much I bought it from Borders. Very helpful. I think the biggest decision is if you want a sump or not. Besides water changes, a sump/refuge growing macro algae is one of the few ways to rid your system of nitrates. The Paletta book doesn't really get too involved about sumps, but you can get that stuff from this board.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Matthew, your first step in beginning the hobby was coming here. This site is a weath of information and the majority of the people are both friendly and extremely knowledgable.
Your next step in the hobby is unfortunately to find a vein of gold ore and mine it, because this hobby is expensive! Ok, maybe that is a bit extreme, but be prepared to spend $2,000 or more on a reef setup for a 55 gallon tank.
You should read over the "Informational Threads" at the top of the Reef Board. Also, another good page if you plan on having a reef tank is:
Reef Keeping 101
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
Welcome Mathew...

Do yourself a huge favor. Read this forum over and over, do a search on the topic you are interested in. Post questions before buying. Get opinions on what you would like to have.
I hope you have alot of patience and a HUGE bank account, this hobby requires it.
Good Luck to you..... :yes:
 
rainfishy

rainfishy

Member
Matt, don't get discuraged about the money, i found ways to make my first tank work with little to none of the fancy stuff (i.e sump, skimmer, chiller, expensive lighting). My first tank was 30g, with a good filter, a heater, and a 50/50 light. I had several hardy fish, shrimp, and even some hardy corals (zoos and mushrooms). So you can do it cheaper (but much smaller). And I eventually added some more expensive equipment as time went on (most important I think the skimmer). However if you have the money getting all the bells and whistles makes life with a tank easier. Good Luck
 
tombonius

tombonius

Member
Matthew, I agree with the opinions above. the two books by Fenner and by Paletta are the first two that I ever bought (i now own twenty). they're great. Also, like Reefman said, give up any thought of fish for now unless you want to kill it and waste your money. Set up a good tank with a refugium (I also run a canister for mechanical filtration and carbon) and let it run while you educate yourself. if you go too fast, all you'll accomplish is killing a lot of very expensive fish.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
I am sorry if I made it sound like you need to have tons of money. If you live in Canada where I do,yes you need lots of money for this hobby. I pay about 2-3 times what you all in the USA pay. The reason being is everything here is shipped in to us. Yes I can order from a retailer here but the shipping cost is more than the actual merchandise you want. They will only ship via airline here and it costs big bucks.
So i am sorry if I sounded discouraging to you I certainly did not intend for it to be that way. There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum, so many people here to help you out, so take the time to get to know them and you will be better off for it.
Good luck and have fun.... :cheer:
 
matthew15

matthew15

New Member
thanks every1 u have all been a real help. once i have my tank and it has all been set up what should i go for. put shrimp in? or fish? and what is the minimum sized tank that would comfortably hold a small collection of fish (e.g. clownfish or blennies)
 
rainfishy

rainfishy

Member
If your looking for a small tank you could find more info about this in the nano section, if you want a ten or twenty gallon tank. For the fish your looking at it sounds like you could go for a small tank and it would be fine. Lots of people on this site seem to cycle with shrimp, but I have always cycled with damsels and found it to be really easy (both of my tanks cycled in less than a month).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top