Ideas for my tank needed!!

[Michael W.]

As the title suggests, I am a complete newbie to the saltwater aquarium hobby. I have been doing my research and have a pretty good idea of what I want to do by my main area of conflict is what products and gadgets I need for a successful tank. The tank I am looking at is the 50 gallon Lagoon tank from innovative marine. My main questions for what I need for my tank are... Do I need a sump? It is a AIO tank so can I add a sump to the tank if I want? What is calcium dosing? Do I need it? What kind of light will do the job? And the last thing is... How do I keep everything that I need under the tank in the stand?!?! It seems impossible with all of the gadgets and products out there that you can use for your tank. Thank you for any responses.

 

[Frop]

As the title suggests, I am a complete newbie to the saltwater aquarium hobby. I have been doing my research and have a pretty good idea of what I want to do by my main area of conflict is what products and gadgets I need for a successful tank. The tank I am looking at is the 50 gallon Lagoon tank from innovative marine. My main questions for what I need for my tank are... Do I need a sump? It is a AIO tank so can I add a sump to the tank if I want? What is calcium dosing? Do I need it? What kind of light will do the job? And the last thing is... How do I keep everything that I need under the tank in the stand?!?! It seems impossible with all of the gadgets and products out there that you can use for your tank. Thank you for any responses.

First question I have is what are your plans for livestock, corals (SPS, LPS, softies?) or all fish?

 

[Michael W.]

First question I have is what are your plans for livestock, corals (SPS, LPS, softies?) or all fish?

I am definitely going to start off with a FOWLR tank I may choose to add in some LPS or softies later but I do not want to get into the world of SPS yet.

 

[sbash]

I am definitely going to start off with a FOWLR tank I may choose to add in some LPS or softies later but I do not want to get into the world of SPS yet.

In that case, for lighting, you can go with something inexpensive like the Aquatic Life Reef Edge LED series.

A sump is recommended if you are new to all this. The more water volume the system has, the more stable it will be. That said, if you have a solid ATO, it will go a long way to keeping things stable. Although I would recommend both...

For what you describe you do not need a whole lot for equipment. First and foremost, you will need a refractometer and a good test kit (FOWLR can likely just get away with Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH). Next, you will want to invest in an an RO/DI and an ATO. This means you also need reservoirs for ATO water and a mixing station to mix the fresh RO/DI into saltwater.

What is calcium dosing? Do I need it?

Until you get a significant amount of stony corals, you will not need to supplement (dose) nutrients such as calcium.

How do I keep everything that I need under the tank in the stand?!?!

You probably will not be able to if you add a sump. Also, have you thought about a quarantine tank?

 

[Bperau]

I like the concept of but once, cry once. If you might do corals then either hold off on a light or get the light now that you would get for when you do have corals. Every bit of money you don't spend on something twice can be used to buy livestock