Just starting-any suggestions?

[melimac]

I'm still in the research phase. I want to get a tank between 30 and 40 gallons, with the minimum in the way of bells and whistles. I can't afford to get stuff that doesn't work or is unneccessary. I've given a start-up estimate of about $350 (before tax), and want to make sure I'm getting everything I need.
I know we will probably be getting an anenome and a clown, and a cleaner shrimp (my family loves Nemo, and I've wanted a tank for oh, 10 years now, and we have a balance of compromise). I'll be adding a couple other fish as time goes by, and I learn more.
I know I have to cycle my tank before adding anything, and I want to do live sand and live rock. I'm not sure I want to go reef, as it sounds a little tough for a newbie.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to the minimum I can get away with? The guy at the LFS told if I use a bio-wheel, and don't plan to go reef, I don't need a skimmer, or a sump. His basic set up list ws the tank, stand, bio-wheel, heater, flourescent bulb (the 50/50 with actinic light), thermometer, salinity tester, water conditioner stuff (tap water is a bad idea, I take it), and salt. They sell live sand in a plastic bag (it's dry) that says it has a two month shelf life (I'm dubious), and have cured live rock.
Overall, the store impressed me more than some others--tanks were clean, fish were active, nothing dead in the tanks (counted five-no six, dead fish in another store, and they weren't feeder fish), they had a hospital tank, and a pretty good selection of supplies. (I do plan on ordering plenty from this site, some of the prices are SOO much better it's not funny). I'm wondering if I got good information. I'm getting overwhelmed by what I'm reading (I have books, and I'm gonna get some magazines). I guess it would be nice to get in plain English.
OK, really long, but thanks for any help. Any suggestions on good books/magazines/whatever to help out a real newbie are appreciated!

 

[timo]

$350?...Good luck.
Between 30 and 40 gallons?... Take your pick.
I suggest a 10 gallon fresh water tank, which I'm sure that friendly store employee will gladly help you set up.
And, BTW, it does sound like you want to go cheap. Spend money where you need to... that's everywhere.
Wal-Mart also has nice fish.

 

[dburr]

Welcome to saltwater. It's great here and their's plenty to learn.
Please be open to new ideas, but the "safe" bet is to go with the flow...ie. If the "majority" of people say to do it one way and "one" or two say different... ...Go with the majority...
Excellent advice.
Books are great too, BTW.
I know we will probably be getting an anenome and a clown, and a cleaner shrimp (my family loves Nemo, and I've wanted a tank for oh, 10 years now, and we have a balance of compromise). I'll be adding a couple other fish as time goes by, and I learn more.
The clown is great, even 2 added at them same time. They will host other corals than can handle lower light. I had one host a mushroom. The anenome will need metal halides. $$$, know what I mean. More than the $350. But, that could come later down the road.
I know I have to cycle my tank before adding anything, and I want to do live sand and live rock. I'm not sure I want to go reef, as it sounds a little tough for a newbie.
That would be great for a couple of fish in that tank. A skimmer would add more filtration and keep the water cleaner.
The guy at the LFS told if I use a bio-wheel, and don't plan to go reef, I don't need a skimmer, or a sump. His basic set up list ws the tank, stand, bio-wheel, heater, flourescent bulb (the 50/50 with actinic light), thermometer, salinity tester, water conditioner stuff (tap water is a bad idea, I take it), and salt. They sell live sand in a plastic bag (it's dry) that says it has a two month shelf life (I'm dubious), and have cured live rock
Some of this I will disagree. Don't forget I have nothing to gain steering you one way or the other. Cycle your tank with UNCURED live rock. It will be cheaper than cured. Either way your tank will cycle. It will take longer with uncured but it will end up being the same. I also would go for a skimmer over the biowheel. The sand and rock will hold the bacteria and the skimmer takes out crud before it needs to be cycled. I also agree what squid said about the water. If you can't buy a RO?DI unit, just buy quaility water. Haftre the tank is filled you wont need much after that. Only fot top off and water changes. The rest of the list is good.
I'm sure more q's are coming, so fire away.
Dan

 

[dburr]

TimO, take it easy. I love DIY and you would be amazed what I spent on my first tank.

 

[squidd]

First off WELCOME to the board, melimac...:cheer:
You are doing the right thing by asking first before "purchasing" equipment...and looking for additional opinions/information...
Two Books will help alot...
1. The Conscientious Marine Aquariest by Fener
2. The New Marine Aquarium by Palletta
Sorry to burst your bubble, but most anemones will need more light than Normal Output Fluorescent can provide...skip for now, or "up the ante" for better lights...
Live rock and Live Sand will provide most of your "biological" filtration and looks like you have a good setup for a Fish only tank...
Tap water in most areas is generally not a good thing to use...But you can "buy" RO/DI water at most grocery stores for cheap enough price to make it worth while to skip the "problems" you will have with Tap...
There are "MANY" different ways to set up a "successful" tank and a few "Cheap and Easy" ways to achieve "marginal" success...
Please be open to new ideas, but the "safe" bet is to go with the flow...ie. If the "majority" of people say to do it one way and "one" or two say different... :thinking: ...Go with the majority...
And don't be afraid to ask for "pics" of tanks, to help decide who you want to "model" your tank after...If they are doing it right, they will be "proud" to show you their results...
Good Luck...

 

[timo]

Same here...
Good to have varying viewpoints.
A hard line can initiate change of attitude. I don't mean to dissuade from SW, and it's important to know from the start that certain perceptions will preceede sure problems, and will lead to abandonment of the hobby.
Understand from the beginning this won't be cheap... It also takes time...

 

[melimac]

Thanks Dan! Appreciate your suggestions.
Hey TimO--are you always that offensive, or is it just me? Wal-mart has great gold fish and guppies, if you like overcrowded tanks, and listless fishes. I'm sure they try. I'm sure you spend hours there making fun of people that don't have your fine level of class and sophistication.
I'm a single mom, so I have to be smart with my money. If I spend it, I want to know that I spent it wisely. I don't want to take shortcuts that will cause problems down the road. I'm doing research, and asking advice from people that have actually been there and done that. I don't need to make mistakes that others have.

 

[timo]

I'm only that offensive sometimes.
And I do make fun of those lacking in sophistication... Not in the least saying you are one of them.
I know firsthand about being a single parent. It's tough.

 

[usinkit]

You should get the 40gl if you can go to a 55gl that will be better. Larger is easier for maintaining water parameters. For cost I would keep researching until you know what you what to keep in the tank, that will dictate what kind of equipment you will need.

 

[melimac]

I don't necessarily want to go "cheap"--I'll spend money where I need to, I just don't want to spend a lot more than I have to. I also want to get quality for what I spend--and I don't want to buy something I'll have to upgrade later. I'd rather go ahead and get what I need in the first place (why spend $30 today when I'll have to spend $50 in 3-4 months to upgrade)
What kind of lights do I need for the anenome, and are any of them hardier than others (ones that will host a vlown). The MH lights sound like a lot of extra work/expense (utilities are kinda high already).
Thanks for your help/encouragement.

 

[silentshaw]

i just started in the hobby also and comming to this site first with questions will definatly help you start out. i wish i knoew about it a few weeks ago. but setting everything up is rather expencive, i went with a 45gal and have already spent over 800 buck and only have 2 clown fish in the tank, LR and LS are rathe expensive which i didnt under stand at first a rock for 8 bucks a pound? i found better prices since but thats what i paid for my fist 10lb's of it. i'm ordering the rest from here better prices than i found anywhere else. but you have the right idea getting what you will need later right away is better then upgradeing. good luck to you.

 

[jess74]

melimac-
Welcome, you are doing a very wise thing in researching this first! :yes: Just ignore those who would rather make fun of you then help you, there are many people on here that are truly dedicated to helping newbie’s (I'm a newbie of 7 months with SW)!
I don't know much about them, but maybe the way for you to go would be a nano tank, then later on upgrade to a larger one? Just thinking out loud, check out the nano forum and ask them in there what they think. With a nano tank you could easier get away with high light needing corals because you are lighting a smaller area. Although I think for anemones you would still need the MH light. Best of luck on your venture!
BTW- since we can't hear people’s tones or see their faces, sometime things can be taken the wrong way, that is what the faces are for.

(although, TimO was being rude to you in my opinion)

 

[flipper263]

I started with a 29 gallon and all is going well with it now. (still a newbie though) We had ups and some downs...mostly because we rushed a little too fast. People will tell you to take it SLOW and my suggestion is to definitely follow that advice. If you rush things, you will spend more money because of fish loss or sickness.
Good Luck and enjoy...it's such a great hobby
One other thing maybe I should mention...It's an addictive hobby which is why I now have a 120 gal tank as well.
flip :jumping:

 

[scotts]

M, Well isn't it great to have a diversity of opinion. (Which means that I do not agree with some of what has been said to you.) As far as the anenome, I know that you want to have the Nemo thing with a clown hosting in the anenome. That is what I wanted when I first started. However clowns will host other things as well and anenomes are very difficult to keep.
I will tell you that I jumped into this hobby, and listened to the lfs. After 9 months into it I found this board. I learned so much on this board than I did from the lfs. I will tell you that if the ls at the lfs is dry it is no longer live. You might want to check to see if the sand is wet. If it is not then everything in there is dead. These are under water creatures we are talking about.
If I may be so bold I would like to offer two words of advice. First put a move in for the kids and read as many posts on this board as you can in that time. You can start by doing a search on this site(Top right of this page) for cycle or cycling. Then when you are bored of that read every other post that you have time for. Second research EVERYTHING before you buy it. I have said this before and I will day it again. On impulse I bought a beautiful 3" fish. Then I found this board and learned to do some research. I found that this little SOB grew to about 18" long and completely changes colors. Way too big for my 60 gallon tank.
Oh BTW sorry for being so late. Welcome to the board.

Scott

 

[bigsteve]

As far as the money thing goes, I've spent about $450-500 to date, and that's on a 29g w/ a biowheel filter, protien skimmer, 45lbs or so of rock (live and base), and a newly added DSB (deep sandbed). But I also bought my tank for $30 w/ a stand and light.
I'd be doing great right now if it wasn't for an evil fish that I let stay with me for a couple weeks while my friend was redoing his tank.... killed two of my fish...

 

[spmnarciso]

First of all, welcome, this place is great, I've learned so much. And my 4 month old tank is looking good because of the advice I got from these folks. As for $$$, I had the tanks already, so purchasing them didn't add to the cost(they were given to me). Since I started I've probably spent 2000 and no skimmer yet. I have a 150G, LR, LS, 3 PHeads, 30G refugium, test kits, corals, fish, heater, thermometer, water, salt, and the biggest LIGHTS. The problem with me was not learning enough up front before I got into it. Lighting I changed several times, because at first I thought FOWLR and then corals seemed too good to resist. I might even go with MH's eventually.