Need help with salt water set up please

[Daniel475]

ok so i got my 125 gallon fish tank all up and running its good to go.. so I got my 30 gallon just sittin here i was thinking of starting up a small salt water aquarium .. but I have no experience with salt water set ups.. so what all is involved? and what exactly do I need??? any information would be great.. so far all I have is tank stand heater and filter , and everyone of those peices were in my fresh water tank..
thanks alot
dan

[bvlester]

go to the public library as they have salt water aquarium books from beginer to advanced. also ask alot of questions on here. first you would have to get things together like salt to mix with water. test kit the basic saltwater master kit from API, there is many different test kit manufactures out there just API is one that I use for the basic tests PH,Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrate. If you get into corals you will need other test kits also. you need to get a Protien skimmer you can use an air stone driven one or a nano skimmer look on here, other forums for saltwater aquariums. and Ebay just remember to ask on ebay if they ship to Canada before bidding. I have seem a few skimmers on here for a great price. Watch for live rock on here also once you have the water in your tank that is, you can try and put a wanted for what you need and see what the responces are. Best thing you can do is read as much as you can and ask alot of questions.

Bill

[Daniel475]

well thanks alot for the info.. so if you were me what would you do first? i got the tank sittin downstairs all cleaned out and rdy to go..

[hillegom]

First,
Read, Read. Read
Here is a good start
http://faq.thekrib.com/sbegin-setup.html

[new but handy]

READ READ READ. Set up the tank READ READ READ. Add water and rock. Wait for your cycle (3-6 weeks) and use that time to READ READ READ.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

And patience.....

I migrated from Freshwater to Saltwater a few years back, easy to do with the right attitude.

Did I say "Patience" ??

Ken - BWA

[naesco]

ok so i got my 125 gallon fish tank all up and running its good to go.. so I got my 30 gallon just sittin here i was thinking of starting up a small salt water aquarium .. but I have no experience with salt water set ups.. so what all is involved? and what exactly do I need??? any information would be great.. so far all I have is tank stand heater and filter , and everyone of those peices were in my fresh water tank..
thanks alot
dan


All very good advice.
You have a 125 fresh and you want to start up a 30 gallon salt.
I think by reading up some, visiting reefers who have tanks you will require a much much larger tank than a 30.
As well as a lot of patience this hobby takes money and you need to decide what you want to do.
Getting into marine with a 30 just cause you have a 30 hanging around would be a mistake IMO.
I see, in the future, your marine tank larger than your fresh so go for it.

[bvlester]

All very good advice.
You have a 125 fresh and you want to start up a 30 gallon salt.
I think by reading up some, visiting reefers who have tanks you will require a much much larger tank than a 30.
As well as a lot of patience this hobby takes money and you need to decide what you want to do.
Getting into marine with a 30 just cause you have a 30 hanging around would be a mistake IMO.
I see, in the future, your marine tank larger than your fresh so go for it.

what I would do is read as I said ask questions and try and visit some reefers.
I would use the 30g as a sump and get a 90g or larger the bigger the better is my motto.

I started with a 55 and 20 sump and found a 90. I have not Switched that over yet my wife keeps finding larger tanks and I think she wants me to get them instead of the 90g which is ok if the tank doesn't cost to much as I just got layed off. My 55g is doing great.

I started my tank by setting it up and adding dry sand and a bag of live sand. after 1 week I added about 20lbs of LR and the next week I added anouther 40 lbs of LR. the next week I added anouther 20lbs of LR and waited of a couple of weeks then added 2 clownfish. waited 1 week and added some corals whick I got off of a person on Canreef. and on things went most of my corals I have gotten from canreefers and I think they are doing better that the ones I got from LFS's. and they were cheeper.

Bill

[fishytime]

go to the public library as they have salt water aquarium books from beginer to advanced. Bill

I wouldnt do this....most of the books you will find at the library will have been published in the 90's....technology has come a looooong way since then....most of these books promote the use of bio-balls and trickle filters.....this website is better place to get your info from....read this if you havnt already http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48393
Dont let people tell you that you cant do saltwater in a 30g....smaller tanks require more care due to the smaller water volume, you really need to be on top of things like top-ups and water changes....bad things happen alot quicker in a small volume of water....that being said, if you can do a small tank, than a large tank is a breeze...
Buy the best equipment your budget will allow, this will save you money in the long run...I wish I had listened to that advice when I started
There are 1001 ways to run a reef tank and they all work....the tank can be low-tech and low budget or high-tech and big budget...
And perhaps the biggest piece of advice is take everything you read for what it is(even my post)....an opinion....
have fun and I hope we see pics of your new set-up soon

[mike31154]

Your'e in Gibsons? On the coast? If so, you're a perfect candidate for perhaps a temperate or so-called cold water system. You might not even have to buy salt. There are folks that run saltwater tanks with NSW (natural sea water) successfully. You've got the real thing at your doorstep and provided you're far enough away from man's influence on the coastal waters and any large source of fresh water (major river) you can collect the water somewhere near where you live. Wouldn't be that much work if you're staying with a smaller system.

Some might argue that this is not a good way to start out, but I'm thinking with the appropriate amount of research, you'll be fine. Even if you decide to go tropical, you may still be able to use NSW.

Edit: Ok, my geography is a little lacking, I just checked the map for Gibsons on the coast and it might be a little too close to the big V and the Fraser to be collecting water for your system, dunno. At any rate, go for the gusto, I'm sure you'll enjoy a SW system. There's been a lot of progress and innovations in the hobby in the past 5 years and the innovation curve continues steeply. Nanos are becoming very popular these days and doable by anyone who's done their homework.. Good luck.

[rjengen]

I started stalking this joint a couple of months before I decided it was time to get my feet wet and give it a try. Like everyone else has said, reading is huge in this hobby, especially when you're just starting out. It's not like you can just go get some salt and magically you have a SW tank, I wish that was the case! Be sure to read the threads on here, and ask questions if there is ever any doubt. There are a lot of really smart reefers on here who love to share their passion with new people...I think in their minds, the more folks going at it = more frags for them :lol: Check the thread in my sig, I started from nothing, and am no where near anywhere that could be considered a tank of glee...but it's slowly coming.

[Daniel475]

thanks alot for all the information sounds like i got alot of reading to do.. im going to try it with the 30.. since i just bought the 125 and decorated it i dont have alot of money laying around right now so im going to wait till after xmas then try a saltwater for sure