Total noob looking to start an aquarium
- Thread starter ilikeeels
- Start date
seasalt101
Active Member
you can go to your local wal-mart and get a 55 gal. bare minimum kit for about a 160.00 or you can check the classified ads here
seasalt101
Active Member
having two tanks is not a bad thing in fact it is a good thing you would already have a place to qt fish(hospital tank) you could also keep an agressive tank and peaceful but i would highly recomend having a hospital tank also welcome to the boards
murph
Active Member
Go to the library or buy an up to date book on setting up a saltwater or reef tank. After reading it if you still want to go to the expense and have the time to maintain the tank go ahead and set one up.
Understand that to set one up correctly the initial investment will be substantial and trying to cut corners to save money will most likely get you off on the wrong foot. The tank itself will be one of the cheaper items on the list.
Depending on your disposable income and level of patients the tank can be up and running in less than a month. If your like most of use and have a limited amount of money to spend on the project per month it could take a year before you put that first fish in the tank.
I suggest just reading over this forum and others like it and start to formulate a list of popular/quality equipment and dry goods and have them all on hand before the first drop of water goes into the tank.
For a fifty gallon reef tank an initial investment of two grand is not out of the question and thats before live stock.
Understand that to set one up correctly the initial investment will be substantial and trying to cut corners to save money will most likely get you off on the wrong foot. The tank itself will be one of the cheaper items on the list.
Depending on your disposable income and level of patients the tank can be up and running in less than a month. If your like most of use and have a limited amount of money to spend on the project per month it could take a year before you put that first fish in the tank.
I suggest just reading over this forum and others like it and start to formulate a list of popular/quality equipment and dry goods and have them all on hand before the first drop of water goes into the tank.
For a fifty gallon reef tank an initial investment of two grand is not out of the question and thats before live stock.
seasalt101
Active Member
a good skimmer plenty of lr a dsb plenty of research and a good book and alot of patience
saltn00b
Active Member
research! research! research!
yes start with a book, search threads, etc etc. as much as you can so you dont get taken advantage of at your LFS - local fish store.
if you dont learn in this hobby, you pay.
you will need a tank, a stand,
lighting, what do you plan to keep? a canopy? will your fish be prone to jumping?
mechanical filtration, in the form of a protein skimmer, media paper
biological filtration such as LS, LR, a wet/dry set up, refugium
things to keep your flow optimal , like powerheads
UV sterilizer if you want one - you could add this later
there are many combinations and choices you can go with, it depends on what you want to keep...
sounds to me like you are thinking of an aggressive tank, with eels and puffers...
yes start with a book, search threads, etc etc. as much as you can so you dont get taken advantage of at your LFS - local fish store.
if you dont learn in this hobby, you pay.
you will need a tank, a stand,
lighting, what do you plan to keep? a canopy? will your fish be prone to jumping?
mechanical filtration, in the form of a protein skimmer, media paper
biological filtration such as LS, LR, a wet/dry set up, refugium
things to keep your flow optimal , like powerheads
UV sterilizer if you want one - you could add this later
there are many combinations and choices you can go with, it depends on what you want to keep...
sounds to me like you are thinking of an aggressive tank, with eels and puffers...
nigerbang
Active Member
A must in setting up a SW tank is a.....Credit Card...with low intrest...pref. an American Express(no spending limit)...or at least a large bank account..j/k It takes time and paitence(SP) if your on a fixed budget piece is together..nothing wrong with that..thats the way I am doing my 92corner..I have had it for almost a month and all I have so far is the sand, salt, water, filter, tank and stand...totals out to around $1200..still need to buy around 150 more lbs or rock..($6 a lb..) I already have 53lbs in my ex. tank...Skimmer, UV, Lights, etc...just do it slowly..
ilikeeels
Member
Yea I just want like one puffer and one eel as i seem to like them. I also think that inverts are pretty cool or would the eel and puffer have truble with them? I decided to go to my lfs and talk to them about what i need for it but not buy anything. Then Im gonna research it all and buy the stuff when im ready. All this lingo is so confusing like biological filtration and LS so i need someone to orally tell me.
Tell me if this seems OK
Tell me if this seems OK
purebullet
Member
here is some lingo
lfs- local fish store
lr- live rock
ls- live sand
dsb- deep sand bed
pc- power compact
mh- metal haliade
fuge- refugium
sump- place other then your tank where your equipent is
ummm cant think of any otheres right now but im sure there are good luck
lfs- local fish store
lr- live rock
ls- live sand
dsb- deep sand bed
pc- power compact
mh- metal haliade
fuge- refugium
sump- place other then your tank where your equipent is
ummm cant think of any otheres right now but im sure there are good luck
kdfrosty
Active Member
You could keep a smaller eel, and smaller puffer combination in a 55g aggressive tank. No inverts though. They'd get muched. You wouldnt want to add much more either, b/c it might stress your bioload. Also, I'd strongly recommend adding livestock one at a time, especially in a small aggressive tank like that...let the biological filtration catch up.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
seasalt101
Active Member
ls is live sand mechanical filtration is a hang on the back filter w/carbon media or a bio-wheel,a skimmer, a wet/dry system vs natural filtration being lots of live rock(lr) ls and water movement powerheads (ph) hope that helps and nigerbang talk to your lfs and see what kind of price you can get on lr in bulk my lfs will sell me 98 lbs. for 300.00 that's not to bad and it is ready to drop in the tank
biggredd
Member
Go on Craigs list (or here) and buy a used established tank. You'll save a ton of money, a lot of time, and a lot of effort. I hand built every single aspect of my tank that I could and it took me forever. The payoff is very rewarding and is exactly how I want it but a complete pain in the ass. I could've bought the same tank for a third of the price and I'm at $3g's already. You can always sell the livestock to a fish store for credit and get what you want and have an established tank ready to rock. Most likely an established tank will have everything you need to just start right away. If I decide to get a second tank, which I will, I'll buy an established tank. There are so many people who get out of tanks for one reason or another it is worth it.