Help me I'm new!

[wheelhouse]

I am looking to start a saltwater fish only aquarium about 100gal. I want to know what is needed from top to bottom in order to get it started and running. (Links to extremely basic sites are very helpful if you don't want to type it all out)

-also wanted to know if it were even possible to have artificial corals and dead rock in a salt water aquarium? Thank you!

 

[Eienna]

Well, let's see. Your shopping list would be:
Refractometer
Tank
Stand
Sump
Return Pump for sump
Filter Socks
Saltwater Liquid Test Kit (DO NOT depend on strips. They are dangerously unreliable.)
Thermometer
Heater
Possibly a chiller depending on your home conditions
At least one powerhead
Fish food (I use New Life Spectrum pellet foods as well as the usual frozens)
Sand (preferably live sand)
A suitable salt mix (If you were keeping corals, you'd need a better-quality mix, but Instant Ocean is fine for fish-only)
A Reverse-Osmosis Dionization filter aka RODI unit, and filters for said unit (SpectraPure seems to be the best brand)
A skimmer (Reef Octopus is my favorite brand - use silicone lubricant where the cup detaches to make it easier to remove)
Some sort of macroalgae, such as chaeto, to go in the sump to help with nutrient control
Lights for both sump and tank (this is not as crucial for a fish-only tank...a double T5 would work fine, or a half-decent LED)
PVC pipe, glue, and pipe cutter, fittings and bulkheads
Quarantine tank (a small tank, like 20g, with a hang-on-back filter and heater will suffice)
A tank lid (not necessary, really, but you'll lose fish almost for sure without something to cover it)
An automatic top-off system if you don't want to manually top it off with fresh water almost every day (keep in mind that the water evaporates, but the salt does not; change with sea water, but top off with RO water.)
A net or two - try not to use the quarantine net in the main tank
Your rock (yes, it is possible to use dead rock and fake coral; however, you will want to reseed it with bacteria. Dr. Tim's One-and-Only is the best way to go IMO.

There will be various other things, like meds for fish that get sick.

To other keepers...did I miss anything?

I order my dry goods from Amazon.com because you can get them at pretty steep discounts sometimes. I try, however, to support my local stores by buying my fish from them.

 

[Tahoe61]

https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/291/

Instant Ocean is fine for corals too.

 

[Shep]

http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[big blue]

You have alot to learn my friend with the help from a forum like this you should get all the help you need good luck

 

[Reefing Madness]

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon. You can use Fully Cured Live Rock, and have the tank cycled in just a few days also. Other way is to use just a couple of pounds of Live Rock and the rest Macro or Dry Rock.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 1-2" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.
http://www.scaquariums.com/sc-aquariums-sca-301-65-gallon-protein-skimmer.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=aquarium+heater&_sacat=20754&_odkw=power+heads&_osacat=0
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=power+heads&_sacat=0&_odkw=salt+water+refractometer&_osacat=0
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-0-10-Sa...905?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a792587d1
http://www.marcorocks.com/
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock.html
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=393
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/fish-supplies/aquarium-substrate/ps/c/3578/9805
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html
http://live-plants.com/
http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/what-your-coral-needs/
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=t-5+lighting&_sacat=0
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=cree+led+aquarium&_sacat=0&_odkw=t-5+lighting&_osacat=0
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/fish-supplies/saltwater-aquarium-salt-water-mix/ps/c/3578/4685
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15473
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4749
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4145

 

[bumperbeetle]

Are you planning on starting out with just fish and working your way into sps/lps as you become more knowledgeable or are you thinking you just want to jump right in? It can be really expensive when your starting out so I would just advise you to think realistically about your goal for your end result as well as how much time you can commit to your tank. Good luck to you, your definately in the right place!

 

[wheelhouse]

No jumping in here, I'm making sure I have a year to plan this out and gather supplies and equipment piece by piece over time until I graduate next year. Once I finish school I'll have time to dedicate to the tank which is why I'm starting then. I do want to move on to live corals after a while, but for now I think no live corals is more my speed. Thank you everyone for the advice I have a tone of learning and planning to do!

 

[Oceansize]

Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies was a good primer for me. Good mix between providing you with foundational knowledge but also not overwhelming you with all the different directions you can go.

 

[Eienna]

https://www.reef2reef.com/blog/291/

Instant Ocean is fine for corals too.

It can be, but several people have been noticing major inconsistencies in cal/mag/etc between batches.

 

[Tahoe61]

It can be, but several people have been noticing major inconsistencies in cal/mag/etc between batches.

Nope that is just the speculation you see with all salt mixes, no science behind it, just speculation that what went wrong with an individuals tank can only be blamed on the salt mix, there are so many more variables.

I have been using IO for 30 years, as have many long term hobbyist. My tanks have almost always kept stony corals with mostly sps with sensitive inverts. If you keep those types of tanks you're going to dose consistently regardless. I have used more expensive salts but usually it comes down to the hobbyist husbandry rather than the salt mix IMO.