Need help starting in the salt water world.

[draconius]

Greetings, I am moving from fresh water to salt water tank, in the next week, and i need some help and suggestions. As to what to get for depth of sand. Filters and what not. My tank comes with a 125 wet-dry not completely sure what that does for a salt water tank. And it comes with lighting but again not sure as to what type. I have read stuff about protein skimmers and was not sure what those were either and if i needed one with a tank of this size.
1. Tank size - 125 gallons
2. Filter - 125 Wet-dry
If you can suggest to me as to what i should put in it and when to get my ecosystem in line to handle the fish please let me know.
Thanks,
Sean

 

[geridoc]

You are going about this in the reverse order. Decide what organisms you want (reef, fish with live rock, fish only, etc), then decide on the equipment. One of the peculiarities of marine fishkeeping is that the equipment needed depends on the type or animals you want to house.

 

[draconius]

Well Reef and fish

 

[myrtle beach]

If you already have the lighting, I would start with fish only with live rock, FOWLR. I just started a 55g tank. It is more difficult to maintain corals and they require expensive lighting.
You should read up, put some sand and saltwater, and start your filter and heater. Get a few powerheads, start adding live rock to cycle, add a raw dead shrimp for a week or so. Check your salinity and READ UP!
Get back to us in a few weeks once your tank has began to cycle. Good luck.

 

[geridoc]

I agree with Myrtle - it sounds like you are interested in FOWLR, and you can easily add reef organisms as long as your fish additions are reef compatible. The only question I have is about your lights - if you want any corals, even the easy ones, you should have at least power compacts, which are not overwhelmingly expensive, only normally expensive

With a 125 gallon tank you should have 2 200 watt heaters, at least one powerhead as well as a pump sufficient to handle the return from the wet/dry filter. Assuming that the filter has a sump, I would recommend a skimmer that sits in the sump since occasionally skimmers have been known to go crazy and over fill, soaking living rooms, much to the distress of my wife

Do not, repeat, do not forget about a quarantine tank! Read the sticky in the disease forum on how to set one up - it is a must. And keep asking questions here - you can save yourself a small fortune by avoiding mistakes. BTW, did I mention a quarantine tank?

 

[draconius]

Alright is there any sort of equation that i can use to purchase an amount of live rock?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by draconius
Alright is there any sort of equation that i can use to purchase an amount of live rock?
Eventually you will want 1- 1 1/2lbs per gallon. If cost is a concern, do not worry. You can get some base rock then add live rock on top. Base is cheap and will become "live" in time. You don't have to get all of the rock at once either. I would say at least 50-60lbs total (between base and live) to start. You can always add more later as your budget allows.

 

[draconius]

thanks and at this moment budget is not a big problem i just want to do this right. Since as mentioned before its expensive. I get the tank on friday or saturday and then i get to place a nice order with this website for some rock and stuff. And chemicals i should look at getting for teh start up? I know i need salt but as to how much that will be a question for petsmart in the morning. And then I will be looking at heaters and i guess sump and skimmer.

 

[draconius]

So I just finished getting everything, since the wet dry that i got with my aquarium was crappy and didnt work i had to get that plus lights plus PS, plus sand live rocks and other stuff needed for start up, and its quite scary looking at how much i just spent. It better work out well.