Salt water aquarium set up

Question

I am planning to set up a Salt water aquarium. I wanted to research Salt water aquariums alittle more before i bought a tank, not knowing what to do with it.

i was wondering, What equipment is nessesery for keeping a saltwater aquarium.........protein skimmer etc

Answer 1

depends on how large of an aquarium you want, and also what type of saltwater tank you are looking to set up.

fish only is the easiest and for a beginner i would start this.

Fish only with live rock is also the best for beginners as live rock is a very good thing to have in a saltwater aquarium as it not only acts as structure but has beneficial bacteria which helps with filtration.  

Reef tanks are the harder versions of a saltwater aquarium as the water parameters and other variables must be taken into account for certain corals. also lighting plays more of a role in this tank than others.

Setting up a saltwater aquarium isnt "hard" but different and very esaily can be messed up by a new fishkeeper or someone who doesnt know enough. thats why it is a good idea to really master a freshwater aquarium.

me personally i worked with freshwater fish for 13 years before i started my saltwater and reef tanks.

your going to need salt, there are plenty of brands of salt mixes. i personally use seachems reef salt but it is rather expensive compared to other brands. the most common being instant oceans.

Your going to need to get a hydrometer which measures salinity and specific gravity of the water.  Saltwater needs to be mixed so that the SG is between 1.020- and 1.025.... it does vary depending on what type of critters you plan on housing.

Sand, sand in a saltwater tank is a good idea as in the wild they wouldnt have gravel. Sand can be pricey but live sand is a way to boost your tank. rather expenisve but that is what a saltwater tank will cost.

lighting, for standard tanks with just fish or even live rock you wont need to invest on lighting. Saltwater lighting is more complexed than a standard florcent bulb that you would use on any freshwater tank.  power compacts, HOL, metal halide, lunar lights.... are very different and are really expensive.  corals will be limited based on your lighting. the most common being power compacts. semi inexpensive around 60-300 dollars depending on the size of the tank. Where metal halide even though that is the best and a must for hard corals will range about 400-1000 depending on the size.   Most lighting systems will have a 10000K white light which is good for veiwing and then have a 430mm blue actinic light which is a good idea for corals and other benefical bacteria.

live rock.... one of the most expensive assets of a saltwater aquarium. like i stated they are a really good idea to have. they will range anywhere from 5-13 dollars per pound and it is recommended to have 1.5 -2 pounds per gallon.  

a protein skimmer isnt a must but a good idea to have. it does a good job of removing inorganic matter from your aquarium but it isnt a must.

filteration... filteration is the same for freshwater as saltwater. you want to get a good HOB or canister filter depending on your tank size.

other than that most of the gear is the same, in saltwater you will eventually work up to buying additives such as phosophate pads, water additives like calcium, mg, trace elements, stroumium, iodine, etc...  

my personal advice is get a larger tank. nano tanks are very appealing but they do require much more maintance than larger tanks. i have my biocube 29 gallon and i work on it about 2-3 hours aday.  it will get expensive as that doesnt even include any prices for fish, but dont settle. if cash is short than wait as it isnt worth rushing into a saltwater tank and getting a smaller one to lower cost.

this is just my personal notes as ive been saltwater keeping for about 1 year so im still very new. but please see my website for a link to one of my friends who has been doing this longer than ive been born. a true professional who can better answer an questions than i can. http://www.bcaquatics.com and click on my saltwater page.

Answer 2

hey there!!  We just received a 60 gallon as a gift 4 months ago and love it.  The "bakpak" filter  works great for keeping the water clean and soooo easy.  Called "Cyho ll" Get yourself a blower for added h20 circulation

I thought a salt h20 tank would be alot harder but it's not.  Just don't get crazy and buy a bunch of fish.  Book I love is...."reef aquarium fishes" by Scott Michael  I also went to the library and got 4 other books.  knowledge is your friend when it comes to salt h20 tanks:)

Two GREAT websites.....  drfosterandsmith.com  & liveaquaria.com hope this helps :) ENJOY & BEST OF LUCK