List of basic equipment necessary and what it does.

[Ratt]

Good evening,
Im thinking maybe I reseal my bow front 85 gallon aquarium and drill some holes in it “if needed “. I have freshwater experience only. Is there a list of must haves for saltwater equipment and what it does? I want to start with live rocks and a couple nemos. To start simple, the must haves? Maybe there’s a thread I overlooked. The more I read the more my head hurts…

 

[Fish Fan]

There is much to learn when you jump to saltwater. Maybe try some videos like these:

BRS: Beginner's Guide To Saltwater Aquariums

I hope that helps and good luck!

 

[LouieH94]

Good evening,
Im thinking maybe I reseal my bow front 85 gallon aquarium and drill some holes in it “if needed “. I have freshwater experience only. Is there a list of must haves for saltwater equipment and what it does? I want to start with live rocks and a couple nemos. To start simple, the must haves? Maybe there’s a thread I overlooked. The more I read the more my head hurts…

I started with fresh then went into Salt, I thought it would be similar but trust me it definitely is not. It’s way more involved and you need to build up your knowledge beforehand, do check out the BRS videos before starting, they’ll save you from many future headaches.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have freshwater experience only. Is there a list of must haves for saltwater equipment and what it does? I want to start with live rocks and a couple nemos. To start simple, the must haves? Maybe there’s a thread I overlooked.

The must haves are pretty simple:

-Tank with saltwater

-Filtration to keep nutrients (i.e. Ammonia, Nitrate, and Phosphate) in check (this can be done with just biofiltration like rocks and macroalgae or in tandem with mechanical filtration like filters, skimmers, etc.)

-Flow (this can come from pumps, powerheads, wavemakers, etc.)

-Light (if you want to keep corals)

-Temperature control (heater and/or chiller as needed; a temperature controller like an Inkbird or Ranco is recommended as well)

Beyond those, some items may be really nice to have, but they're not technically necessary. As mentioned, though, it's a good idea to do plenty of research and to decide if something "extral" (i.e. not listed above) is something you'd want or not (for example, many people strongly prefer having a sump to increase their water volume and parameter stability, and so they can hide unsightly equipment more easily).

If you want some help figuring out how to run a simple setup and if there's anything else you might want to add to it, the thread below may be a good place to ask:

Minimalist Reefer

I'd like to see R2R start a 'Minimalist Reefer' forum for those of us who want to keep it simple and maybe be a bit 'old school' in the way we do things. I'm a member of the Reef Squad here and in talking with a few other Reef Squad members, I've found they have some very similar feelings. So...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Ratt]

Thank you, I will keep researching. It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole trying to research and forget what the heck I was looking for. I love it already! And I don’t even have jack .

 

[PeterErc]

Freshwater for top off and salt mix preferably RODI, a small investment will go a long way.

salt mix, Instant Ocean is good

Refractometer to measure specific gravity/salinity target

Live rock, for bio filtration

And flow, powerhead preferably two in case one stops

That’s all you need to get started and keep a couple nemo’s

Heater depending on home temp, stable, less fluctuations the better

A skimmer will be a good investment to remove organic from the water.

Another idea is to pick up a used 30-40 gallon aquarium on OfferUp or local classifieds. Decent tank and stand shouldn’t be hard to find.

May pay a little more for an “all in one” set up where heating and filtration media can be kept out of site. Or may find the deal of the day

If want to keep anemone with clowns a light will be needed. Again classifieds or for sale forum on this thread.

It is not necessary to spend a small fortune as some of the vendor videos may lead you to believe.

Once you get your hands wet, you can then learn about setting up the bow front and have fun doing so.

Many helpful people on R2R if you have questions

 

[vetteguy53081]

Good evening,
Im thinking maybe I reseal my bow front 85 gallon aquarium and drill some holes in it “if needed “. I have freshwater experience only. Is there a list of must haves for saltwater equipment and what it does? I want to start with live rocks and a couple nemos. To start simple, the must haves? Maybe there’s a thread I overlooked. The more I read the more my head hurts…

These are essentials:

1. Lighting
   The type of lighting you choose will be based on the type of system you have planned to set up, as well as what kind of livestock you will be keeping in it.
2. Skimmers, Filters & Filtration Equipment
   Once again, what type of system you are going to set up will help you determine which kind of filters and filtration system to choose.
3. Powerhead
   Depending on the size of your aquarium, the use of one or several powerheads is an excellent way to provide good water circulation throughout the system.
4. Live Rock & Substrate
   Here you need to decide on what type of material you want on the bottom of the tank, as well as whether you want to start with a live or non-living medium. Live Rock plays an important role in a marine tank. Many marine animals, fish in particular, can be quite territorial. It is important to provide ample shelter or places where the animals can hide, sleep, and avoid potential problems with aggression from other tankmates in the confined space of an aquarium.
5. Sea Salt Mix/Saltwater & Hydrometer
   Sea salts are what make an aquarium a saltwater or marine aquarium. Also referred to as a salinity tester, this item measures the specific gravity or salt content of the water.
6. Heater & Thermometer
   For smaller aquariums one heater works well, but for larger systems the use of multiple units is advised. With stick-on, floating, multi-function remote digital sensor, and many other types of units to pick from, the material a thermometer is made of is an important factor when choosing one as well.
7. Air Pump & Air Stones
   Only needed if you are going to run a piece of equipment that requires these items, such as a counter-current protein skimmer.
8. Test Kits, Additives & Supplements
   For live rock and reef tank systems, calcium (a.k.a. limewater/kalkwasser) needs to be added. Other supplemental vitamins or additives that are beneficial to the health of certain marine inhabitants you may be keeping, such as iodine for crustaceans, are important as well. Hanna and salifert test kits are best- Avoid Api
9. Maintenance Tools & Supplies
   This category includes having items on hand such as a various sized plastic buckets or containers, tank cleaning tools such as a siphon tube/hose, an algae scraper or magnet, as well as nets of different sizes, spare equipment replacements parts, and so on. A good way to keep track of what maintenance tasks you have performed and when is to keep a log book or record of everything you do.

Courtesy of Spruce

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Good evening,
Im thinking maybe I reseal my bow front 85 gallon aquarium and drill some holes in it “if needed “. I have freshwater experience only. Is there a list of must haves for saltwater equipment and what it does? I want to start with live rocks and a couple nemos. To start simple, the must haves? Maybe there’s a thread I overlooked. The more I read the more my head hurts…

There are links at the top of this forum with a lot of info.
For example: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[Ratt]

These are essentials:

1. Lighting
   The type of lighting you choose will be based on the type of system you have planned to set up, as well as what kind of livestock you will be keeping in it.
2. Skimmers, Filters & Filtration Equipment
   Once again, what type of system you are going to set up will help you determine which kind of filters and filtration system to choose.
3. Powerhead
   Depending on the size of your aquarium, the use of one or several powerheads is an excellent way to provide good water circulation throughout the system.
4. Live Rock & Substrate
   Here you need to decide on what type of material you want on the bottom of the tank, as well as whether you want to start with a live or non-living medium. Live Rock plays an important role in a marine tank. Many marine animals, fish in particular, can be quite territorial. It is important to provide ample shelter or places where the animals can hide, sleep, and avoid potential problems with aggression from other tankmates in the confined space of an aquarium.
5. Sea Salt Mix/Saltwater & Hydrometer
   Sea salts are what make an aquarium a saltwater or marine aquarium. Also referred to as a salinity tester, this item measures the specific gravity or salt content of the water.
6. Heater & Thermometer
   For smaller aquariums one heater works well, but for larger systems the use of multiple units is advised. With stick-on, floating, multi-function remote digital sensor, and many other types of units to pick from, the material a thermometer is made of is an important factor when choosing one as well.
7. Air Pump & Air Stones
   Only needed if you are going to run a piece of equipment that requires these items, such as a counter-current protein skimmer.
8. Test Kits, Additives & Supplements
   For live rock and reef tank systems, calcium (a.k.a. limewater/kalkwasser) needs to be added. Other supplemental vitamins or additives that are beneficial to the health of certain marine inhabitants you may be keeping, such as iodine for crustaceans, are important as well. Hanna and salifert test kits are best- Avoid Api
9. Maintenance Tools & Supplies
   This category includes having items on hand such as a various sized plastic buckets or containers, tank cleaning tools such as a siphon tube/hose, an algae scraper or magnet, as well as nets of different sizes, spare equipment replacements parts, and so on. A good way to keep track of what maintenance tasks you have performed and when is to keep a log book or record of everything you do.

Courtesy of Spruce

That’s what I was looking for as far as information. So is a sump necessary to start off with? It seems that almost everyone is using one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That’s what I was looking for as far as information. So is a sump necessary to start off with? It seems that almost everyone is using one.

To start off with, no but you'll be glad you have it if you do, If a standard tank, you can use a hang-on skimmer such as IceCap K1-100 and a hang on refugium such as CPR backpack or fiji as examples

 

[Fish Fan]

That’s what I was looking for as far as information. So is a sump necessary to start off with? It seems that almost everyone is using one.

A sump is absolutely not a necessity, it's a convenience.

 

[Ratt]

A sump is absolutely not a necessity, it's a convenience.

Okay, one other clarification needed. If you have a sump or filtration under the aquarium what are they talking about gravity vs siphon? If you’re power goes off aren’t you screwed either way? Is gravity when I drill the hole on the back of the tank? Sorry for the ignorance, but it seems I should already know a lot of things I don’t already know. ‍

 

[Fish Fan]

Okay, one other clarification needed. If you have a sump or filtration under the aquarium what are they talking about gravity vs siphon? If you’re power goes off aren’t you screwed either way? Is gravity when I drill the hole on the back of the tank? Sorry for the ignorance, but it seems I should already know a lot of things I don’t already know. ‍

I'm far from an expert, so others may have better advice, but when you install an overflow that feeds to a sump, you set it up so that if you lose power, only so much water can drain out of the tank, the overflows will stop a continued syphon, and the sump will hold all the water that drained out of your tank during a loss of power. I think that's your question and I hope my reply made sense? Again, others with more experience will certainly point you in the right direction.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Okay, one other clarification needed. If you have a sump or filtration under the aquarium what are they talking about gravity vs siphon? If you’re power goes off aren’t you screwed either way? Is gravity when I drill the hole on the back of the tank? Sorry for the ignorance, but it seems I should already know a lot of things I don’t already know. ‍

The right size sump is important to prevent overflow and accommodate your components. I use shutoff valves to prevent this while others use check valves to also prevent overflow

 

[RocketEngineer]

Okay, one other clarification needed. If you have a sump or filtration under the aquarium what are they talking about gravity vs siphon? If you’re power goes off aren’t you screwed either way? Is gravity when I drill the hole on the back of the tank? Sorry for the ignorance, but it seems I should already know a lot of things I don’t already know. ‍

A properly set up sump has enough volume to accept all the drain back without overflowing. I recommend that folks avoid check valves because all surfaces in a reef aquarium grow life, including the valve sealing surface. Sponges, feather duster worms, anything like that can grow inside a check valve and render it non-functional. Instead, when using a sump, fill the display tank until it just begins to drain to the sump, then fill the sump to within 1-2 inches of full. This amount of water should be the maximum fill level for the system. At that point, you can turn on the return pump and begin the circulation to make sure everything works properly.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ratt]

A properly set up sump has enough volume to accept all the drain back without overflowing. I recommend that folks avoid check valves because all surfaces in a reef aquarium grow life, including the valve sealing surface. Sponges, feather duster worms, anything like that can grow inside a check valve and render it non-functional. Instead, when using a sump, fill the display tank until it just begins to drain to the sump, then fill the sump to within 1-2 inches of full. This amount of water should be the maximum fill level for the system. At that point, you can turn on the return pump and begin the circulation to make sure everything works properly.

Hope that helps.

Yes that makes total sense, thank you for explaining.