newbie to saltwater

hpimike02

hpimike02

New Member
hey guys,
i am new to saltwater fish.. i want to start a small aquarium but i dont know somethings like:
how many lights and what kind of lights to use, and where to get taht fixture?
which filter is the best to use( i was thinking of getting the Marineland Penguin 150 BIO-Wheel Power Filter )
what need for aeration?
salt water mix which is best to use?
i was gonna use a 100 watt or 150 watt heater, is this good?
how much live rock do i need?
what i basicly want is nothing fancy, just a few clown fish, Anemones, live rock, urchins, some other inverts. the tank is either a 10G or 20 long(eventually bigger)
where is the best place to get saltwater fish and corel and Anemone ?
any help would be great
Mike
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
You need 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of LR per gallon
you can use standard lighting unless you want to have corals/anemones, different corals and different anemones have different lighting needs
you don't need any extra aeration
HTH, not sure about the rest
 
chipmaker

chipmaker

Active Member
I would go with a Hagen, Aqua Clear hob powerfilter over the Marineland filter. Mush better for a sw setup. Its probably the most commonly used filter used on those sized tanks. They make a perfect fuge since they have a large resivoir, and in most instances, even the heaters can be placed inside the Ac filters resivoir so it does not takeup realestate in the tank... More live rock is best, 1-1.5# or more per gal tank size. Yu can get a 96 watt power copact fixture that fits those tanks for about $100 to 125 or so, or you can make your own hood/canopy. I usually buy a tank without the factory hood and light as they are mediocre, and usually do ot have sufficiient light for much of anything other than fish.....Try and buy your corals and fish locally if possible..I owuld also use an aragonite sand for the sand bed. As to salt mixes, thats like asking what is the best car made......its all personal choice and what you think works best for you. I myself use Instant Ocean, and on occasion use Oceanic.........but thats me.
You really do not want the bio wheels in use on a filter such as a penguin. I fyou go the aqua clear filter route I would go with a AC110 (old model 500) and modify it for a combination mechanical filter/fuge setup and place some live rock rubble in its resovoir as well. AC 110 will provide plenty of flow and circulation in those tank sizes, and other than usuing a coarse piece of spponge filter media for a mechanical filter, there would be no additional items needed to modify a AC filter for use as a fuge/mechanical filter. You can use the filters supplied basket as a means of baffles for mod as well as the filter sponge..
Oh yea, don;t let the word modifiction scare you, its not hard, and it takes probably about 15 minutes worth of time at most to do. If you go the route of the Aqua Clear and need info on modding the AC filters, make another post, and I will be happy to describe its proceedure. AC filters in the AC110 size can be had for under $35.00 on line if yu look.
 
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