Tips: ...My recommendation for the new guy/gal

[scottduncan1234]

Compiled my recommendations after many lessons learned.

Firstly, a canister filter is mostly utilized in fresh water aquariums. Order reliable equipment from bulk reef supply, marine Depot, lifereef, amazon, lfs and there are many others I did not mention but these can you get started. Buy quality equipment the FIRST time and pay a little extra for the next size or model up. After reading reviews and price comparing... but first research research research. You will need to decide if you will have a fish only system (w/live rock) called FOWLR or if you will be adding corals (reef), if so then you need powerful lighting I recommend LEDs but there are also t5, and Mh and others. Do your research and buy enough lighting for your tank. If going with a reef setup, you will want fish that don't eat corals bc some do, if your going with corals softies and LPS are easier and SPS are more difficult so research your livestock compatibility, aggressiveness, and diet. Then decide if you will get a sump or not. Begin here and read threads on reefcentral and in the mean time purchase a good water test kit. You will then need to decide on your sand substrate or bare bottom and live or dry rock. These are what will provide surface area for bacteria essentially becoming your filter... canisters are good for ammonia to nitrite conversation but they can't efficiently convert nitrate into nitrogen gas and you will be required to do a lot of water changes to improve water quality - partical water changes or PWC's get old if you are doing them once a week so plan it out smart at the beginning by doing lots of... research. This is where a sump is great because you can add a refugium (live macro algae) to help with phosphate removal and nitrate conversion into nitrogen gas. Look into getting a water filtration system called ro/di this removes all impurities, heavy metals and chlorine from tap water. If you don't go with a ro/di then at least a ro...if you use just tap water with a "water conditioner" these is a GREAT CHANCE you will eventually have a phosphate problem and in turn will have algea bloom (more problems) and corals will turn brow (you paid good money for that beautiful frag and its going to just turn brown?) Once again research research research ...The fist thing you should research after your equipment is called a fish less ammonia cycle that takes a few weeks before you can add anything alive, then once complete you can add what is called a clean up crew (cuc) snails hermit crabs etc these clean up algae and clean the glass and rocks and then you can get 1 yes ONE fish and start quarantine for 4 weeks in a separate tank add that fish to the display and then get a second fish started in quarantine and so on. This will slowly build up your biological bacteria and reduce the risk of sick or dead fish and ensure you don't introduce ich into your tank. All these tips i have learned by doing the wrong thing the fist go round.... Take my advice but please look it all of for yourself u will be glad you did. These are not the only tips out there and I am sure some might agree to disagree on some things but these tips can get your started. - scott

[shesacharmer]

Thanks Scott! I started just 7 months ago and thought I had a leg up because of my fresh water experience...not so much. I thought buying an existing system that was up and running was going to save me lots of time and money...not so much. If I'd known about reefcentral a month before I got my tank now THAT would have saved me time and money. Research is your friend in this hobby. Nothing might be worse than diving into this without experience and throwing away tons of money by getting discouraged and quitting in the first six - twelve months.

Buy it cheap...buy it twice. Do your research!

[tmz]

I'd say research and buy smart. Sometimes you get what you pay for ;sometimes you just pay more. Price point only sets the price; not the quality or usefulness of a particular product.