michaeltx
Moderator
So youve decided to take the plunge and setup a saltwater tank but dont know where to start?
well there are some decsions you have to make to start with.
1 what type of tank you are wanting to create
a- a FO tank a tank with only fish a cheap way to go but needs expensive filtration
this type of tank setup seems to be the cheapest but in all actuality it can be more expensive than going with LR
b- a FOWLR a tank with Live rock and Fish only no corals This type of setup beeds minimual additional filtration and no expensive lighting
c- a living reef tank with LR, corals and fish. This type of set up is the most expensive but is the most beutiful in most peoples minds.
So which setup did you choose?
2 on to the tank.
Try to get a list of fish that you want to keep in your tank. I know alot of people will think why are we talking about fish selection so early we havent even set up a tank yet! Well the fish that you choose will determine the size tank that you need. Some fish get very large and need alot of room so if you setup a tank that is to small you either have to upgrade to a larger tank in the future or find your fish new homes later. The easiest thing is to buy atank that can house your fish for the life of the fish. dont expect to have a zoo take a fish that is to large most wil not take fish and inverts from the private tank as it could introduce pathagens into their systems. Do not expect that a LFS will take the fish either becuase they may not be able to they will only take things that they can sell most people do not want fish that are full grown. The best advice on chooseing a tank is to get the largest tank possible for several different reasons 1) the more water volume the less little things make a huge difference think of it as a buffer, and stability 2)
The larger the tank the less of a feeling you have to upgrade to a larger tank. If you are looking to creat a reef tank I would highly suggest a reef-ready tank. A reef-ready tank has holes drilled in it so that you can easily attach a sump or refugium to the tank increaseing filtration and pod production for a natural food source.
3 filtration and equipment
The best filtration is the natural filtration useing 1 1/2 pounds or so of Live Rock and sand per gallon of water with good water flow and a quality water protein skimmer. But there are several other methods of filtration from hang on filters to sumps and refugiums.
Test Kits depending on what type of tank you have chosen to setup will effect the types of test kits you will want to get. The best test kits are ones that use powders or liquids to test. The strip testers are not as accurate as the podwer and liquids. for a basic home tank with Not a reef tank you will need ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH test kits once you get into a reef tank you will need those plus calicum, alkalinity, copper and phophates.Most of these are also availble with a electronic tester that will continously monitor you readings.
A good RO.DI unit to start with the best possible water for our tanks. there are alot of things added to our water supply that can kill inverts in our tanks, this includes copper. heavy metals and phosphates some of which cause algae blooms in our tanks that we fight to keep under control so putting quality water is a first line of defense for this.
Lighting what you want to keep will determine what type of lights the size of the tank will alsohel determine what types of lighting that you need to look at. these types are Metal Halide (MH), Very High Output flourescent (VHO), Power Compact flouescent(PC or CF), T-5 High output, or normal out flourscent (NO).
Salt. There are several different brands of saly each have their own pros and cons some have higher calcium content which is better suited for reef tanks
Salinity measuring device, you will need to get something to measure the salinity of the tank on a daily basis this will change so you will need something to monitor it. The best advice is to get a refractometer for precise measurement of salinity of the water. there are several different ones though including the swing arm and hydrometer the problem with these they are not as accurate as the hydrometer in this hobby we need this number to be as precise as possible because some animals have precise needs to low or high can kill them.
well there are some decsions you have to make to start with.
1 what type of tank you are wanting to create
a- a FO tank a tank with only fish a cheap way to go but needs expensive filtration
this type of tank setup seems to be the cheapest but in all actuality it can be more expensive than going with LR
b- a FOWLR a tank with Live rock and Fish only no corals This type of setup beeds minimual additional filtration and no expensive lighting
c- a living reef tank with LR, corals and fish. This type of set up is the most expensive but is the most beutiful in most peoples minds.
So which setup did you choose?
2 on to the tank.
Try to get a list of fish that you want to keep in your tank. I know alot of people will think why are we talking about fish selection so early we havent even set up a tank yet! Well the fish that you choose will determine the size tank that you need. Some fish get very large and need alot of room so if you setup a tank that is to small you either have to upgrade to a larger tank in the future or find your fish new homes later. The easiest thing is to buy atank that can house your fish for the life of the fish. dont expect to have a zoo take a fish that is to large most wil not take fish and inverts from the private tank as it could introduce pathagens into their systems. Do not expect that a LFS will take the fish either becuase they may not be able to they will only take things that they can sell most people do not want fish that are full grown. The best advice on chooseing a tank is to get the largest tank possible for several different reasons 1) the more water volume the less little things make a huge difference think of it as a buffer, and stability 2)
The larger the tank the less of a feeling you have to upgrade to a larger tank. If you are looking to creat a reef tank I would highly suggest a reef-ready tank. A reef-ready tank has holes drilled in it so that you can easily attach a sump or refugium to the tank increaseing filtration and pod production for a natural food source.
3 filtration and equipment
The best filtration is the natural filtration useing 1 1/2 pounds or so of Live Rock and sand per gallon of water with good water flow and a quality water protein skimmer. But there are several other methods of filtration from hang on filters to sumps and refugiums.
Test Kits depending on what type of tank you have chosen to setup will effect the types of test kits you will want to get. The best test kits are ones that use powders or liquids to test. The strip testers are not as accurate as the podwer and liquids. for a basic home tank with Not a reef tank you will need ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH test kits once you get into a reef tank you will need those plus calicum, alkalinity, copper and phophates.Most of these are also availble with a electronic tester that will continously monitor you readings.
A good RO.DI unit to start with the best possible water for our tanks. there are alot of things added to our water supply that can kill inverts in our tanks, this includes copper. heavy metals and phosphates some of which cause algae blooms in our tanks that we fight to keep under control so putting quality water is a first line of defense for this.
Lighting what you want to keep will determine what type of lights the size of the tank will alsohel determine what types of lighting that you need to look at. these types are Metal Halide (MH), Very High Output flourescent (VHO), Power Compact flouescent(PC or CF), T-5 High output, or normal out flourscent (NO).
Salt. There are several different brands of saly each have their own pros and cons some have higher calcium content which is better suited for reef tanks
Salinity measuring device, you will need to get something to measure the salinity of the tank on a daily basis this will change so you will need something to monitor it. The best advice is to get a refractometer for precise measurement of salinity of the water. there are several different ones though including the swing arm and hydrometer the problem with these they are not as accurate as the hydrometer in this hobby we need this number to be as precise as possible because some animals have precise needs to low or high can kill them.
