Newbie Salt Water FISH!

Hi guys I have recently gotten interested in this salt water aquarium stuff.
I am planning on building one soon as possible but I thought I should reserch first..
Well first of all I am on a very very tight budget. I hope spending under $200 dollar *including fish, corals etc etc* But willing to go maximum $250. Just for the start. I know salt water aquariums are ridiculosly expensive and time consuming but I am determined to keep it good condition. So please help me out, and please excuse my spellings.

As a normal starter would..first step first. I decided my budget, location I will be setting at, and now I have to find out what tank I should get.
I have came across pretty small tanks and have lots and lots of question.

This is my first choice..seeing its a "salt water aquarium kit"
Oceanic BioCube Aquarium Kit 8 gallons.
Oceanic BioCube Aquarium at PETCO $149

Marineland Instant Ocean Aquarium Kit 12gallons
Marineland Instant Ocean Saltwater Aquarium Kit at PETCO $139
Cheaper and bigger

SeaClear Eclipse2 Aquarium 20gallons
SeaClear Eclipse 2 Compatible 20 Gallon Aquariums at PETCO
Much bigger Much cheaper compared to other 2.
But Its for freshwater..?

Here is my questions...

1: This is where my main concern steps in. Can I buy the 3rd one the SeaClear 20 gallon tank and use everything in there for salt water stuff?
Or do I have to buy the ocean water kit?

2: If so what does Ocean water kit come with that freshwater kit dosnt?

3. Lets say I buy ocean water kit the Oceanic biocube 8 gallons. What else would I need to buy?

4. Lets say I buy the SeaClear kit 20 gallons. What else would I need to buy?

5. Or should I just buy everything seperatly 1 by 1?


6. How much would setting up the basics for Coral and rocks go up to?

Please tell me which is the cheapest way to go.

Thank you for taking your time and reading this.

 

Hmm... where to start with this!
First off- if you have a set 250 dollars that your only willing to spend- you are going to have to save where you can. This means trying to buy stuff second hand. If you have something like craigslist, kijiji, or some other second hand site where you can get stuff for fairly cheap- I would refer to that.

Basics of what you'll need are - a tank, some decent lighting for that tank (Power compacts or T5's are more likely to be in your budget than metal halids), some sort of filtration (lots of people recommend sumps for this, but a cannister filter will do just as well), then you will also need livesand (aka Aragonite) and some Liverock (fairly expensive- usually 5 bucks a pound where I come from- but can definitely range to higher prices such as 10 bucks a pound. See if you can get this second hand as well). Then you will need to buy a good salt mix - Instant Ocean is the most popular and probably one of the cheaper brands.
Overall, you will have a very difficult time keeping within a 250 dollar budget- but if you are willing to take a month or two, and buy up parts and pieces when you see a great deal on them second hand- you might be able to get away with it. In the meantime, keep doing your reading on tank equipment, cycling, proper husbandry, and speculative species you would like to keep.

Btw, Welcome to 3reef!

Edit: Just to add- smaller tanks are much more difficult to keep due to fluctuating water variables. Most beginners have a much easier time adjusting to the maintenance regime with a larger tank!

 

Well first off...sorry..but staying under 250 is going to be VERY difficult when you take into account salt, test kits, fish, live rock, sand, and numerous smaller things i don't feel like listing! lol I would also not really recommend any of the tanks you have listed..if i were you..and really wanting to do a cheap setup..i would just get a 20 gallon long..PC lights..a good HOB filter..and do lots of water changes!

 

Have you checked craigslist in your area? Would be able to get a much larger tank for less $$.

Corals: you need light, good light. A PC light would be cheap and effective for most beginner corals. Mushrooms, Palys, Zoas, etc....

Filtration: The only thing you can't be cheap on IMO. A good skimmer is needed, or be prepared for weekly water changes.

 

even with second hand/used tanks, lights, filters prices.. you'll probly need over $500 bucks for everything.. and once you set with a 20gallon tank, you'll want to go bigger.. you'll really need to write everything down on paper and add it all up.. then add 25% more to that.. if you did go bigger tank, you could build your own stand and hood out of wood.. I did my own 55g tank hood/canopy for about $40.00 worth of materials, and about 5-6 hours of labor.

have fun, it wont happen over night.

 

Out of the tanks you listed the bio cube 8 is going to end up being the cheapest. It will take less sand, live rock, live stock, salt mix and other chemicals to get it going. On the other hand the smaller the tank the harder it is to keep water params stable. Is this your set budget just for starting? If you can afford to leach a little bit more money at a time into your tank then I would agree you should get a 20 long, live sand, live rock, salt mix, bio wheel hang on filter, power head, heater and water test kits to start. Its going to take about two months from that point tell you will be able to spend any more money because the tank has to cycle to build up benificial bacteria. After this break in period hopefully you will have the money saved up to purchase some lights and a starter fish. You will want to add another fish every two weeks at most and add corals after all fish are in and stable. This should give you time in between fish and coral to save up some more dough. Tanks can be done in very cheap doses but in the long run it will cost you more than $250.

A side note I said bio wheel hang on filter. I would highly advise and argue with anyone who says otherwise on this type of filter. They offer amazing wet dry filter capabilitys and the wet dry portion does not clog and cause nitrates. I run one on my 20 gallon with a small bag of carbon that allows water to pass as not to clog the filter with nitrate causing waste.

 

Thank you guys for your answeres. Seeing that it takes 1 or 2 months to put in the fish and get the system running. I can put my budget higher, long as I buy maybe 1 stuff per week, but not too expensive.

If i would of do this, for my week first what should I get?
And what is a live rock? and whats a 20 long? 20 inch length?

So main question is, what item should I start off with, tank and what else?
So what should I do with around $70 I have ready to spend for this week?

 

Its a 20 gallon long which just means its the version thats long rather than tall. Shallow water will make it easier to get light to your corals that are at the bottom.

Live rock is rock that is just that alive. Its colonized with bacteria that filter the water and other organisms that are good for your tank.

To start you will want to buy your tank, salt mix, heater, hydrometer and power head. You will then be able to fill your tank with water and mix the salt to the right levels.

Next step will be live rock. You want to place this directly on the bottom of the tank not on top of the sand so it is more stable. You should check at your local fish store to see if they sell live rock and dry base rock. You can buy one peice of live rock (expensive) and the rest dry base rock (cheaper). The peice of live rock you buy will help seed the dry base rock and get your cycle started. You want a total of about 20lbs of rock.

You will then want to buy sand to put around the live rock. You will want again about 20 lbs. At this point also get your test kits so you can monitor your water cycle and know when it is safe to move forward more. They carry a cheap reef test kit starter pack at petsmart that will come with the tests you need to get started.

When your water is stable you will want to get your lights, filter and clean up crew.

Then all thats left is to start adding fish.

 

get the tank, bag of live sand, bag of salt, and pump/filter, and add water.. get the water going.. you'll need some water conditioner too...

after a few days to 2 weeks. I would add 1 damsel fish.. dont get to attached to that fish. as it may die during the cycle process 1-2 months.

 

Thanks for the help. But let me get this clear. I want to take this very slowly since I am on a very tight budget.
So your suggesting for this week I should buy...tank, salt mix, heater, hydrometer and power head. Okay I understand but heres a question. I thought the decorations go first? like live sand and rocks etc etc, and then the equipment? Sorry if I am misunderstanding something