Starting out. Need some help Pls

[doug mc]

Hello all. I have been interested in salt water aquariums for a while,but finally got some extra cash to purchase one.I have a few books i am reading and i search the web for info all the time. But i am still very new at SW equipment and such.I found a tank i would like to purchase that would fit in the area i have. Its a 140 gal. oceanic 48x24x26 roughly. My problem is trying to figure out what filtration system and base to go with.I do not want to go with a reef setup just yet. I figured i would start off with a FOWLR. By doing this FOWLR tank will it prevent me from getting some of the fish i like, such as Puffers,Crabs,Gobies,or maybe eels? Does LR increase what types of fish you can keep? What is a good filtration system and base to use? Any info you have would be greatly appreciated Thanks for your time

 

[wamp]

Hello and welcome to our little world.
Your doing the right thing by reading.. It will help you along the way.
A fowlr tank is a good way to start. If you add a sufficent amount of rock , say 100lbs or so, that will serve as your filtration.
Skimmers, lights, sumps, heaters, pumps etc.. are many of the next choices.
Do a search on this board and you will find that many new hobiests get lots of info here.
Set a budget. That will help you in the long run. If you can't afford a quality product, save until you can. Go slow in the setup. Don't rush the tank.
Good Luck and enjoy!

 

[fishkid1000]

A FOWLR might prevent you from havingcrabs if you have eels, puffers, triggers,ect.,ect.Wet dry filters do a great job of filtering. You will need a protein skimmer. The addition of a reugium would help the biological filteration dramaticly.

 

[clarkiiboi]

First off welcome to the board and to SW! I cant answer all your questions, not the guru, just speak from experience. Books, internet searching and here are a great way to start. I really learned most from here, I used to read each post in the NH, FD, and RT (new hobbiest, fish discussion, reef tanks)---took forever, but learned, alot! A 140 is absolutely great--- the saying is go as big as you can afford, and with the 140 you got alot of room. You need to figure out if you want aggressive fish/community fish in that tank though. And also consider if at a later point will you want reef---meaning you may want to pick fish that are safe. I'm not good on equipment an such so cant help you there (and feel good about it). For a base, I would say over 50% say use LS (live sand), there are ways of doing this without buying all LS and seeding, again I dont want to lead you wrong so...I am gonna leave the rest up to better qualified members...

 

[jcsurfn]

I thought you could not have puffers, triggers and etc. I thought they picked at the LR. My buddy had a trigger and it was laways picking at the LR and spitting out stuff.