You need to decide what kind of tank you want. A FOWLR: is a fish only with live rock. Or a reef, which has different marine creatures that are not fish. If you want to know more about reef tanks check out the reef forum. i don't know how to explain it.
Just for the record I usually buy the best of the best, or start with something cheap and slowly add the more high tech, or more expensive things to my tank. y prices might be a little off. this hobby takes patients. It is great. Just look at some of the pictures on this site. that should give you reason enough to want to be in this hobby. Here goes:
1 tank
Size is up to you. My theory the bigger the better. A bigger tank to starts saves you money in the long run. I started with a 46 and now I have a 180. When I move out I want a 200+
1 stand
1 filter (there are 2 types a wet/dry and a canister)
I have a wet dry (with a protein skimmer, I'll get to that in a minute). My filter was probably about $150 + the protein skimmer. I don't know anything about canister filters. I think that is a cheaper way to go for starter, but I am NOT sure. You will have to ask someone else about canister filters.
Protein skimmer (optional)
You DO NOT need this right off of the bat. I had one from the begining, and I am glad that I bought it. It takes all of the protein out of your tank, by producing bubbles, and then it spits the proetin into a little cup. You need to empy the cup. I do that once a day. I HIGHLY recomend one, but I don't think that you need one right away.
1 heater
My heater was about $20
Lights
My tank was about $300 with the stand and came with lights.
Substrate
This is what you want to put in the bottom of the tank. I have something called live sand, you can also have crushed coral. You can also make your own live sand which is cheaper, however I have never done that. I bought three 20lbs bags of live sand which cost about $50-$60 bucks.
Live rock
You can put live rock in your tank. This can occationaly be expensive, but the fish love to hide in it. I have slowly added more rock to my tank as time has gone on.
Optional things (these are things I have added to my tank over time)
Powerhead
Depending on the kind of tank that you want, and they type of fish, you might like to have one of these. it helps the water circulation. I bought a cheap one to start off with, and it was like $20. I lost several fish due to ot enough oxygen/circulation in the water. So I purchased one of thse, and it helped me a lot.
Ro/di water
THis is something to take note of. There have been some disputes on this board about water. I feel that you should use ro/di water. i have VERY CLEAN tap water, but I noticed the water in my tank being much clearer after I started to use Ro/di. You can get it for like 30 cents a gallon at meijer. When I filled my tank I used tap water and added a chemical that took out the chlorine. Ro/di reverse osmosis/distilled. If you do use tap water you HAVE TO add a dechlorinator.
Test kit
You will need to use a test to check the levels in your tank. The important levels to check in a FOWLR are:
- Ph
- Nitrite
- Nitrate
- Ammonia
You will often here people say what are your level? These are the levels they are talking about.
hydrometer
this measures the specific gravity of the tank. That means how much salt is in the tank. You should have your salt at 1.021-1.025, this number will very from person to person. i find that my fish like the water best at about 1.023.
Salt
I buy already mixed saltwater from my lfs (local fish store). You will need to mix the salt in the water to create the "saltwater fish tank".
I hope this helps (HTH). If you have any futher questions let us know. Just so you know this hobby is not cheap. I am not saying that it ha to be expensive, but if you want to spend just $300 it might be kind of hard. I am constantly buying new things for my tank.
Leopard
