New to the Aquarium World

[matab14]

Hey Guys,

I am very much new to the Saltwater world but am looking for some help on tank components. I bought my daughter a 60 gallon tank for Christmas and would to get this thing up and running before then as kind of a surprise. I am hoping it's something we can kind of grow to both enjoy.

What I have now is a 60 gallon tank with some cheap LED lights it came with and stand.

I'd like to make it a Saltwater environment that would hopefully require a minimal amount of maintenance. I realize I'll have to clean it on occasion but would prefer not to have to constantly change water so on and so forth. Can someone point me in the direction of what I might need to get this thing going for beginner level but efficient setup.

I like the idea of a sump setup but pricing is a bit of shock from someone that's never really dabbled with these things. Maybe someone has better insight on what I exactly need and how to find everything for a decent setup. I am willing to spend another $300-350 if the payback is there.....

Any and all help is appreciated!

Thanks
Matt

[RobZilla04]

If you do a fish only set up, maintenance will be far less than a mixed reef (with coral) IMO.

A sump can simply be a smaller tank which you can use pieces of glass or acrylic to make chambers. Plenty of DIY sump instructions out there. If you piece together the equipment you will use then your advantage is sump design will be custom to your needs.

Using cured live rock (can be purchased from a LFS) will speed up the tank cycle process.

Take a look at some of the sticky's and research before diving in completely. Don't let the Christmas deadline rush you into this hobby. Nothing good happens quickly.

[Jekerry]

My warning would be that a healthy tank is work. No way around it. I found fresh water tanks less work.

[Pandagobyguy]

Unfortunately in this hobby money=less work. Simple as that. More filtration, a larger refugium and bigger everything will reduce the number of times you do water changes. It is also possible to never have to do water changes (still topoff though). Researching the triton method would be a good way to get an idea about what a low maintenance system requires.

Best advice i can give is start with VERY low bioload and work out how to remove that much nitrate (to do this we use algae, grown in either refugium or algae turf scrubber... the other method is water change). If you stay in low/undetectable level then slowly increase bioload. Eventually with regular testing and observation you will get a feel for what your tank/filtration can handle.

Dealing with trace minerals will end up being expensive, no way around it. I personally focus on managing nitrate and phosphate and just do occasional (2-3 months) large water changes to replenish them. Hopefully that helps. If this didn't make any sense just start googling terms!

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[JUNBUG361]

Search for used sump or dry live rocks in clasified, craigslist or local hobbies near you. The cheap l.e.d light you have will work for the mean time, till you start thinking of what you want to put in your dispay tank

[JTL]

Does the tank have an overflow. If you bought it new what is the brand, if not a pic would help a lot. The first thing you need to do is cycle the tank which may take a month. You need sand, about 40 lbs is probably enough. I like my sand bed no more than 1" but like everything in this hobby there are lots of opinions. Pick up a few pieces of live rock from a local fish store (lfs). Pick some interesting pieces that have holes and crevices not a solid chunk of rock. Don't over do it because you can add more later. Check with Logan at Reefbreeders.com about powerheads he will help you. You need saltwater. I would be tempted just to buy some Instant Ocean online and get some water in buckets from the machine at your grocery store. Buy a refractometer on ebay for $20. You need this to test the salinity of the saltwater. Get a some test kits. To start you need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. More later.

This is a very brief list and I probably missed something but I just wanted to get you going. Please read all of the stickies and don't be afraid to ask questions, lots of questions. I have been in and out of this hobby for 30 years and I ask questions almost every day.

[matab14]

Originally Posted by JTL

Does the tank have an overflow. If you bought it new what is the brand, if not a pic would help a lot. The first thing you need to do is cycle the tank which may take a month. You need sand, about 40 lbs is probably enough. I like my sand bed no more than 1" but like everything in this hobby there are lots of opinions. Pick up a few pieces of live rock from a local fish store (lfs). Pick some interesting pieces that have holes and crevices not a solid chunk of rock. Don't over do it because you can add more later. Check with Logan at Reefbreeders.com about powerheads he will help you. You need saltwater. I would be tempted just to buy some Instant Ocean online and get some water in buckets from the machine at your grocery store. Buy a refractometer on ebay for $20. You need this to test the salinity of the saltwater. Get a some test kits. To start you need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. More later.

This is a very brief list and I probably missed something but I just wanted to get you going. Please read all of the stickies and don't be afraid to ask questions, lots of questions. I have been in and out of this hobby for 30 years and I ask questions almost every day.

Thanks all for the help. I will certainly start here.
I did purchase the tank used. It is just a tank I do see that I need an overflow box. I was actually looking at couple of different ones to purchase here pretty quick. Would their be significant benefit in a single overflow output vs the dual? Which one should I get for a tank my size?

[JTL]

Is the tank drilled? Do you plan on using a sump? If no sump you really don't need and overflow box but rather a hang on the back (hob) mechanical filter, some might say you don't even need that but is does move some water, provides a place to put some filter media and the larger ones even have space for a small refugium. If you are not using a sump I would think bigger is better.

[matab14]

Originally Posted by JTL

Is the tank drilled? Do you plan on using a sump? If no sump you really don't need and overflow box but rather a hang on the back (hob) mechanical filter, some might say you don't even need that but is does move some water, provides a place to put some filter media and the larger ones even have space for a small refugium. If you are not using a sump I would think bigger is better.

The tank is not drilled. Pretty sure it just had a hang on filter it used before.

[ssky]

Get 2 holes drilled at a minimum for a herbie style overflow (google it you'll know what it is). Your LFS can drill it may charge 10 bucks for each hole. Definitely go for fish only tank if you want to minimize maintenance as well as save money. for fish only you do not need expensive lights or super filtration. Heck, I ran a 45 gallon mixed reef just on live rocks nothing else for filtration.

Another way would be to setup a very simple 60 gallon tank fish only. Put 50 lbs of real good live rock. Add a power head, heater, fish and you are set. For fish try clown, chromis, gobies, blennies. They are easy fish not too expensive.

[Pandagobyguy]

If you are not gonna run a refugium and dont care about seeing stuff in the tank there is really no need for a sump. But if you do want one your choices are drilling (two is always better but not necessary) or hang on back overflow (similar to the filter you spoke of). The reason people do not like HOB overflows is because they use a siphon and if the siphon fails it can cause flooding.

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[sde1500]

You set yourself up for failure if you start out saying you want a saltwater tank with little work. Definitely do fish only in that case. You can still have a very nice tank with only fish for sure.

[Pandagobyguy]

Originally Posted by sde1500

You set yourself up for failure if you start out saying you want a saltwater tank with little work. Definitely do fish only in that case. You can still have a very nice tank with only fish for sure.

Fish only with Live rock* (i assume)

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[matab14]

If a person were a bit nervous to try the sump / drilling the tank initially, what be some good recommendations then for HOB Skimmers / Filters for a 60 gallon tank then?

[matab14]

I am also open to keeping things internal to tank as well for now. I do worry about it leaking onto my floor and doing damage potentially in the event something were to go wrong. I'm not worried about seeing in the tank at the moment.

[tjm9331]

for a hang on back skimmer I would suggest the Reef Octopus classic 2000, probably THE best HOB skimmer I've used, this is where most of your remaining budget is going to go but it will be worth it.

A HOB media reactor would be a good idea as well so you can run either GFO or carbon, two little fishes and kent marine both sell decent HOB media reactors, fairly cheap too.

I wouldn't worry about any kind of HOB mechanical filtration right now so long as you have enough rock and flow in the tank along with the skimmer you should have plenty of filtration.

[matab14]

Okay guys here’s what I’ve got so far. See attached picture


I went and purchased about 44lbs of live rock today and got that in the tank with some water on it. I didn’t do full on salt water mix yet though because I’m switching out the stand hopefully later this week for one I am having built and didn’t want to waste all that mixed water. (No where to really put it)

I ordered a sump style skimmer and two new 900gph power heads that will also be I. Later this week. I have an old used to one to do the job until then.

I’m going to buy a 10 gallon tank this week and make my own sump to sit below. I did purchase a HOB overflow to feed it. They had a good deal on it and I just really was hesitant to try and cut the tank myself. LFS is too far away to drag the tank all the way there by myself. So I bought most of what I could today and will get rest online.

Can anyone see anything I might be missing?

Thanks

Matt

[JUNBUG361]

A Digital thermometer