michaeltx
Moderator
New hobbiests 101
Here are a few things that a new hobbyest needs to take into account
Before setting up a tank think of these things
1) Where is the tank going to go
a) You will want a place that is out of sunlight this will cause algae and a
lot of headaches
b) you will want somewhere for it to be a show piece and you can show it
off easily
c) there is some noise asociated with the tanks so you dont want it where
it will disturb daily life or sleeping
d) You will want to have easy access to the area so that tank maintence
will be less intusive
2) what do you want the tank to be
a) Fish only~ is just that Fish only
b) Fish only with Live rock
c) fish only aggressive
d) partial reef
e) full blown reef
3) You will need to set a budget of what you are going to spend for equipment and start up costs associated with a SW tank
here is a list of some of the things you will need..
a)Tank, stand, canopy ~ most stores will offer a discount if you get it as
a package. Get the bigggest you can afford The bigger the tank the
easier it is to maintain proper levels ~ also think of weither or not you
want the tank reef ready be sure to check some manufactures say
that if dont use there stands then the warranty is void.
b)sand and substrate
1) Live sand is the best option to go with but a cheaper way is to buy
dry base sand and seed it with a few pounds of
Live sand the bacteria and organizms will migrate to the base sand
2) a cheaper alternative to sand usually and receomended by alot of
LFS's but ts larger particules cause a lot of maintence
issues and should be taken into account is Crushed Coral
C)Live rock ~ This is a very costly part of the tank it can be a very high
ticket price I suggest ordering it online it runs
alot cheaper than buying at the LFS's. THere are many different types
of rock from different regions with its own look. pick
the best that suits your needs and price range. the most popular is Fiji
because of price.
D)salt ~ there are many different brands of salt to choose from research
on this some are more suited for reefs and others more for
Fish only tank
E)Test Kits, Refractometer
a) test kits ~ get high quality test kits that are liquid based or powder
based Do not rely on test strip type test kits they
are very inaccurate
b) refractometer is the best way to go a more precise way of
measureing the salinity of the water. To high it causes problems
To low and it has an adverse effect on inverts.
F) Protein skimmer ~ there are so many different brands of protein
skimmer out there its not even funny IMO its a nessecity of
a tank to keep it running smoothly and the inhabitants happy
G) Heaters ~ I like to use a redundant type setup with atleast 2 heaters
in set a degree or two off from the main heater so if the
main heater fails for some reason the backup will kick in.
H) pumps and powerheads ~ with these you are looking for a turnover
rate of atleast 10X the volume of the tank. you will want enough
powerheads and pumps so that there are no dead zones in the tank it
will keep things from taking hold like cyno and other nasty
stuff that we dont want in our tanks
Here are a few things that a new hobbyest needs to take into account
Before setting up a tank think of these things
1) Where is the tank going to go
a) You will want a place that is out of sunlight this will cause algae and a
lot of headaches
b) you will want somewhere for it to be a show piece and you can show it
off easily
c) there is some noise asociated with the tanks so you dont want it where
it will disturb daily life or sleeping
d) You will want to have easy access to the area so that tank maintence
will be less intusive
2) what do you want the tank to be
a) Fish only~ is just that Fish only
b) Fish only with Live rock
c) fish only aggressive
d) partial reef
e) full blown reef
3) You will need to set a budget of what you are going to spend for equipment and start up costs associated with a SW tank
here is a list of some of the things you will need..
a)Tank, stand, canopy ~ most stores will offer a discount if you get it as
a package. Get the bigggest you can afford The bigger the tank the
easier it is to maintain proper levels ~ also think of weither or not you
want the tank reef ready be sure to check some manufactures say
that if dont use there stands then the warranty is void.
b)sand and substrate
1) Live sand is the best option to go with but a cheaper way is to buy
dry base sand and seed it with a few pounds of
Live sand the bacteria and organizms will migrate to the base sand
2) a cheaper alternative to sand usually and receomended by alot of
LFS's but ts larger particules cause a lot of maintence
issues and should be taken into account is Crushed Coral
C)Live rock ~ This is a very costly part of the tank it can be a very high
ticket price I suggest ordering it online it runs
alot cheaper than buying at the LFS's. THere are many different types
of rock from different regions with its own look. pick
the best that suits your needs and price range. the most popular is Fiji
because of price.
D)salt ~ there are many different brands of salt to choose from research
on this some are more suited for reefs and others more for
Fish only tank
E)Test Kits, Refractometer
a) test kits ~ get high quality test kits that are liquid based or powder
based Do not rely on test strip type test kits they
are very inaccurate
b) refractometer is the best way to go a more precise way of
measureing the salinity of the water. To high it causes problems
To low and it has an adverse effect on inverts.
F) Protein skimmer ~ there are so many different brands of protein
skimmer out there its not even funny IMO its a nessecity of
a tank to keep it running smoothly and the inhabitants happy
G) Heaters ~ I like to use a redundant type setup with atleast 2 heaters
in set a degree or two off from the main heater so if the
main heater fails for some reason the backup will kick in.
H) pumps and powerheads ~ with these you are looking for a turnover
rate of atleast 10X the volume of the tank. you will want enough
powerheads and pumps so that there are no dead zones in the tank it
will keep things from taking hold like cyno and other nasty
stuff that we dont want in our tanks
