could use some help

[artiewylde]

I am planning to set up my first salt water tank in the next couple of months and could use some advice. I have always kept fresh water tanks with success but I know its totally different. As far as the size, the biggest I can fit in my house is a 40 gallon(36" long). If someone would be so kind as to give me some direction setting up a bare bones, not too expensive tank. Do I really need a sump? or a canister filter? Can I use live rock/ power heads for filtration, or hand on the tank?? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[CStrickland]

There's a lot of good info here http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074
Some of it is a little dated, for example LED lights have come a long way and can def save you money. But it's set up like nice chapters so you can poke around.

The best way to save money is not buy anything on a whim. Folks in here will help you choose equipment and maximize your spending. Basically, the trade off is time researching and learning to save $ on mistakes. It's not as hard or expensive as people make it seem if you're patient and committed.

Welcome, and good luck!

[Bogue Chitto]

That is a good size tank to start with. You will be ahead in the long run if you have a sump. Live rock is really good to have in tanks now days. It helps provide bacteria to take care of ammonia that comes from wastes from fish and other organisms as well as dying diatom algae blooms. Power heads are good for circulation and for return water from sump. A canister is good to run carbon to polish the water as well. If you can't afford a wet dry sump, you can make one out of a 10 or 20 gal tank. I have used a lot of 20 gal tanks for sumps through the years. There are plenty of guys on here that will guide you the right way. Just feel free to ask questions. Good luck to you!

[swhobbie1]

Warning - there is nothing inexpensive about this hobby... But, you can save money if you buy stuff from others getting out of the hobby ... Recommended ( test kits, refractometer, heater, power heads, skimmer, RO/DI unit, live rock, GFO reactor, lights for the type of coral you want, if no coral can buy cheaper light.) You also want extra heater, power head and bucket for making water for WC. GFO reactor you can buy later but will help with reducing algae growing. You don't want to use canister filters in reef tanks as they usually increase nitrate too high due to stuff trapped in floss. You do not need a sump - I don't have one. The problem with no sump is you have to put ugly stuff in your tank and your limited on what you can hang off the back of the tank.

[Deckerd]

Everything about this hobby is expensive. You can save here and there but.....

[Rubasu]

For what it's worth - The less / cheaper equipment you have, you'll have to do more manual things for keeping the tank up. For example, when I had my 20G, I just had a HOB filter. If you don't have a sump - You will need to top off your tank much more to keep the salinity stable. That made me do water changes and top off more often, but I was okay with that. It was up for 3 years with great water parameters.

I switched everything to a 40B (Awesome size for you, by the way) and now I use a canister filter with a UV sterilizer. I'm still without a sump...but that may come later this year. I clean that weekly to keep nitrates low and also do water changes every two weeks with 5 gallons.

If you do a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) then you can get away with somewhat cheaper lights to start with since you don't need much unless you're keeping corals.

Oh, and one other thing - If you don't have a LFS around you that sells pre-made salt water or RODI water that you can make salt out of, get a RODI filter for home. You do not want to use tap water, especially if it's from a well. Even after you treat it, it can still have some nasties that can cause issues.

I'm not an expert, so people may disagree with what I said, but neither of my tanks have had any issues.

[Mark9]

I believe that buying quality equipment (generally more expensive) will increase your odds of having a successful tank.
It will will also help to avoid the "buy twice" scenario which can happen when you buy cheap.
Sometimes, buying "cheap" ends up being more expensive.
On the flip side, there are plenty of people who have been successful without breaking the bank on a saltwater tank.
But, i'm sure there are plenty more that end up with a not successful tank, kill alot of critters and end up leaving the hobby due to trying to have a tank and not spend the money.

[Ohioreef1700]

nothing is cheap in this hobby check craigslist frequently for equipment of people getting out of the hobby

[artiewylde]

Thanks for the advice so far, I do understand it can get expensive and involved thats why I am going to slowly purchase what I need over the next couple of months. Now that im reading more about sumps, its a little less intimidating. I also know from life in general to "do it right the first time".
Theres just something relaxing about well kept aquarium, especially salt water.

[artiewylde]

Is there anywhere that I can go to get a definative list of what I need? Over the last 2 weeks ive been trying to research and only got more confused. Seems like everyone does it differently?

[chueu]

Why dont you hammer out a list and we comment on it

[CStrickland]

Originally Posted by artiewylde

Is there anywhere that I can go to get a definative list of what I need? Over the last 2 weeks ive been trying to research and only got more confused. Seems like everyone does it differently?

There's not one right way to do it. That would be too easy
a few factors will narrow your options though. For a 40 gal tank you are limited on fish. There are nice ones, but you won't have any tangs in there. If you got to liveaquaria.com there's a section of beginner fish (harder to kill) that you can filter by tank size.

Then you can figure out what type of coral you want to focus on. If you don't have you heart set on anything too picky, you can relax a little about lights.

As you're reading try to pick up the themes of different ways to handle nutrients. a lot of the diff in setups is about how to deal with the food and poop that breaks down in the tank. It's like how kitchen scraps and manure can compost into garden fertilizer. But in our tanks algae likes the fertilizer and coral doesn't. Some people try to cultivate a bigger circle of life situation, where smaller sand critters and algae in the sump are taking up the fertilizer; others are more hands on about removal. That's the main thing that all the setups you see are trying to do, in different ways.

This is a good explanation of filtration types and what's happening there, but it doesn't explain skimmers as much as I'd like. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/beginner

[Shawn O]

Just the basics; Live rock, dry sand, sump (DIY works well), (good) skimmer, return pump, heaters, wave makers, cheap (viewing) light, ATO, test kits, hydrometer.

Once you're able to keep the tanks parameters stable enough, add; RODI, good lights rated for any corals you want to keep, hydrometer, reactors, etc.

Many will say good lights, hydrometer and RODI at the start but you can get by without for a while. Running the tank FOWLR for a while will let you get the hang of the basics and help you determine whether you want to stay in the hobby and spend a ton more money (lights and corals) or not. Once you have the basics down, choose the lights and reactors (if needed).

"Our lighting, filtration and other equipment" forum has a lot of info on which equipment works well and which doesn't. Our "DIY" forum can save you lots of money making your own stuff, as well.

Also, choose your fish wisely. Steve (snorvich) is our resident fish compatibility expert.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2068112


Welcome to RC and happy reefing.

[Jay_R]

As above - Get the basics sorted. Definitely consider a sump under the tank if you can manage it, it's a great way to increase and stabilize water volume and keep all your equipment hidden / separate from the main display.

There are a few great products on the market to reduce the amount of liverock required (Which can get expensive) eg 'MarinePure' blocks. Also gives you the option to have a more 'minimalist look' with less rock in the main tank.

Decent skimmer, lights and powerheads and you're good to go. Once you get the bug you'll be constantly wanting to improve things, upgrade etc... so it's all part of the journey.

Don't be put off by the uglies in the 1st year either.. you'll have Cyno, Algae, Diatoms etc etc etc, but provided you take it easy your tank will find it's own equilibrium in time.

Enjoy and don't chase numbers