New to saltwater Aquariums

[undeadsoldier988]

I'm new and need some help. I'm thinking about setting up a 30 high aquarium, and want some help on prices and things I definitely will need. Fish only, live rock.

 

[NC2WA]

Welcome to R2R...

What do you plan on stocking the tank with?

this will determine the amount of rock, what type of lighting you need, etc.

I would recommend you get a copy of this book:

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional): Robert M. Fenner, Matthew L. Wittenrich, Scott W. Michael: 9781890087999: Amazon.com: Books

it will answer many of the questions you will have..talks about tank setup, water parameters, fish disease and treatment, etc...

 

[laciex]

use dry rock live rock caused me so many head aches as there were crabs that would eat my fish, pest worms, just save the hassle best advice I can give

 

[undeadsoldier988]

Well I'm wanting to set up a 30 gallon tank. I was told by a local pet store that I would have to get live rock. (But as with my bearded dragon and many other pets, I know they kinda lie, and try to move product alot) my plan is a basic, fish only saltwater tank, for now. I know I need to get sand, salt, and powerheads I think they are called? To move the water? But am on a tight budget and starting from just a 30 gallon tank with no pumps etc.

 

[undeadsoldier988]

I've had freshwater my whole life. But will pumps for freshwatef tanks work in saltwater? And filters will they?. And I heard alot about drilling??

 

[Mike J.]

Welcome to Reef2Reef. Tight budget and saltwater aquarium are words that are not usually used in the same sentence. Just a warning.

You'll need lights, protein skimmer, power heads, rocks, and sand is optional; that all. But I'm a big fan of live sand. If you use sand it should be less than one inch deep or more than four inches deep.

 

[undeadsoldier988]

I kno budget nd saltwater are unheard of lol. I'm slowly, day by day buying everything I need peice by peice untill I have everything. I knew about protien skimmer, powerheads, and the only less than 1 inch sand... now I kno these things cost a pretty dime, but as far as needing special lights for fish only is that true... and is live sand better?

 

[Mike J.]

If you're not going to have corals all you need a light for is to see the fish, nothing special. Big debate on live sand vs. dry sand; in a FOWLR I'd probably go the dry sand route.

 

[undeadsoldier988]

Yeah I was thinking dry sand, with some live rock. How much live rock would I need if I was doing a 30gal.? About 30lbs right?

 

[rjcranor]

Depends on how you want it aqua scaped. As far as power head you can get a wp 10 for a decent price. If you don't go with a sump you can do a hob skimmer I have a Reef octopus BH 1000. Lighting you can get t5 but you have to replace bulbs yearly. Most here frown on it but I use a fluval canister filter.

 

[WhoKnew]

Your off to a food start. I have a 30g. Started on a low budget. Don't use you filtering system that is for fresh water only. Your rock is your filter. Be patient. That was my hardest part. But after advice from this site. My tank has flourished in just over a month. (My tank has been up running for 1yr). Many mistakes learned. Good luck

 

[NC2WA]

agree to WhoKnew and patience..

the saltwater hobby requires time and patience..do not rush it, otherwise bad things will occur...

i understand you are on a budget, but the two pieces of equipment you do NOT want to go cheap on is lights and skimmer.

for your budget, buy the best darn lights and skimmer you can afford...if you only have money for one of them, go for the skimmer...think of the skimmer as the "brains" or CPU of the tank...it dictates how much you will enjoy the hobby vs spending countless wkend cleaning your tank..

 

[undeadsoldier988]

Well if I'm not doing corrals do I need the special lights?

 

[undeadsoldier988]

I'm getting a good skimmer... good powerheads, and a good pump

 

[NC2WA]

not special, just not cheap lights...as the poor spectrum of lighting will cause an algae break out...best to get a good T5 fixture...

 

[undeadsoldier988]

Okay, so I got a 30high tank, ill need about 25 pounds of live rock? As for filters I understand that the live rock does most of the filtering for me but I know ill still need a filter, and a skimmer. And what is better, live sand or live rock. As for air pumps, can I use the ones from my freshwater aquarium?

 

[Mike J.]

There seems to be a communication gap. Air pumps aren't standard equipment on a saltwater tank. Which is better? For a simple set up rocks are a necessity, sand isn't.

Here's an example: I have a 55 gal. that will 9 years old in May. It has a 4 bulb T5 light, 75 lbs. of rock, deep sand bed, HOB skimmer, HOB power filter, and two power heads. It has never had a problem so why change? Except changing the filters every two weeks is an expense. That is a very basic saltwater tank that will work.

 

[undeadsoldier988]

Okay awsome! I didn't know that air pumps weren't needed.
So if I set it up with the live rock, skimmer, lights, and the filters nd powerheads, I will be ok? I heard something about having to drill holes in the tank or whatever? Is that true?

 

[undeadsoldier988]

There seems to be a communication gap. Air pumps aren't standard equipment on a saltwater tank. Which is better? For a simple set up rocks are a necessity, sand isn't.

Here's an example: I have a 55 gal. that will 9 years old in May. It has a 4 bulb T5 light, 75 lbs. of rock, deep sand bed, HOB skimmer, HOB power filter, and two power heads. It has never had a problem so why change? Except changing the filters every two weeks is an expense. That is a very basic saltwater tank that will work.

Okay awsome! I didn't know that air pumps weren't needed.
So if I set it up with the live rock, skimmer, lights, and the filters nd powerheads, I will be ok? I heard something about having to drill holes in the tank or whatever? Is that true?

 

[Mike J.]

There are many ways to set up a tank. You would drill holes in a tank if you have an overflow and a sump. Here's another example: I have a 120 gal that overflows into a sump through a filter sock. All the equipment for this tank is in the sump or cabinet. The equipment is a skimmer, heater, filter sock, return pump, an auto top off, a carbon reactor, and a kalkwasser reactor. The only equipment in the tank are two wavemaker pumps. It has an eight bulb T5.

This tank is also a very simple set up. Tanks can get very elaborate with equipment - dosing pumps, calcium reactors, biopellet reactors, etc., etc.