Saltwater?

[Savageajc]

Kudos for doing research! patience is key with saltwater. Plan out everything before you make any purchases. Also decide if you want a mixed reef ( corals, reef safe fish, inverts etc.) or fowlr ( fish only with live rock) Let me know if you narrow that down and decide what size tank you want to go with. You can use any size, I always prefer longer shallow tanks vs tall tanks.
Also keep in mind the bigger the tank the more rock/ equipment you will need. But along with the larger tank you have a bit more room for error in terms of water params. Etc.
Google is your friend as well as a dedicated saltwater forum. (hopefully I am allowed to say that)
Posted via Mobile Device

[Olympia]

Yes lol, the saltwater section of this forum. :p
Posted via Mobile Device

[bettasaur]

Yikes. This is a lot more work than I thought! Haha. It's so worth it though. :) home of my friends suggested trying out a cichlid tank before jumping right into a full saltwater tank. Suggestions/experience?

[Reefing Madness]

Originally Posted by thekinetic

A carbon filter will get choked with salt thus removing it from the water, that's why a biological filter is a neccessity. And the biologcal filter is the reason for using live rock, and yes it is always a possibility that any creature added to the tank could be carrying a disease or parasite.

I would also highly advise against putting sea urchins in the tank because they don't do well in anything less than a well established tank, not to mention the fact they often carry diseases.

Actually it was a sea urchin that contributed to the wiping out of my dad's 75 gallon salt tank. Like I said it's always a possibility but that's a truth about any aquarium fresh or salt.

No. Carbon does not get clogged in salt water. A mechanical filter is not needed in a SW tank. Carbon in SW has been shown to cause HLLE in fish, so most don't use it. Sea Urchin is a good starter invert for a tank, it does not need the highly established Reef tank to have one. And how did a urchin contribute to the wipe out of a tank??

[Reefing Madness]

Originally Posted by Olympia

Brian, all your links broke I think.
Posted via Mobile Device

I just checked em, they worked for me. ??

[Reefing Madness]

Originally Posted by bettasaur

Yikes. This is a lot more work than I thought! Haha. It's so worth it though. :) home of my friends suggested trying out a cichlid tank before jumping right into a full saltwater tank. Suggestions/experience?

SW is really not as hard as its made out to be. 30g tank starter and your in good shape. Regardless what you read from others here, which can be misleading. With a 30g you won't need a skimmer, providing you do weekly water changes and watch the water parameters really well. If you plan on keeping Corals, you will need to use RO/DI water with 0 TDS. You will need 20x the water volume in powerheads, or water movement. Filters return water does not count as water movement. So a 30g tank would need 600gph in water movement. A good T-5 4 lamp unit will allow yoiu to keep any coral yoiu wish to keep. And contrary to what you've read already, a clown fish does not need an Anemone to survive. You'll need a 2" Sand bed, 40-50lbs of Live Rock or Macro Rock. A Rrefractometer to measure Salinity. A heater rated for a 30g tank will suffice. A sump is a good thing to have, but not a necessity, same with a Skimmer. Down the line in the future, if you are unable to keep the water parameters in check with water changes, you will be getting a Skimmer that is rated at twice your water volume. Instant Ocean for your salt mix. Off we go.
Lil more difficult than FW to set up, but after that, its about the same.

[Reefing Madness]

Originally Posted by Savageajc

Kudos for doing research! patience is key with saltwater. Plan out everything before you make any purchases. Also decide if you want a mixed reef ( corals, reef safe fish, inverts etc.) or fowlr ( fish only with live rock) Let me know if you narrow that down and decide what size tank you want to go with. You can use any size, I always prefer longer shallow tanks vs tall tanks.
Also keep in mind the bigger the tank the more rock/ equipment you will need. But along with the larger tank you have a bit more room for error in terms of water params. Etc.
Google is your friend as well as a dedicated saltwater forum. (hopefully I am allowed to say that)
Posted via Mobile Device

[bettasaur]

Awesome!!! I'm excited to get started. I told my parents that's probably one of the ONLY things I want for christmas. ;)

[dramaqueen]

The saltwater area of TFK is definitely the best place to go for info. We have several very knowledgeable members there.