What Do I Need to Start Saltwater Tank?

I'm new to fish overall, everyone is telling me how hard it is to keep saltwater fish, and maintenance. I have a keen interest in clownfish, and I want to get into breeding them eventually. Right Now I only have 40 Gallon tank, and I can buy pre-mixed saltwater from my local Fish store here(garden grove, Cali) But I also want to know what else I need, and estimate of how much each item will cost me, I'm only 18 and my I'm getting paid pretty well for a first timer. Please help me out! Thank you

 

Saltwater(you can get)
Sand($30/20lb ish)
Lighting(reef, marine, fowlr???)
Refractometer($30+)
live rock (varies.... Normally less than $8.00/lb)
Base rock (try reefcleaners.org they have 50lb crates. And free shipping on orders $50.00+)
some type of filter... What're you looking for? Power filter, skimmer, sump, five, canister, wet/dry... And patience. After everything is in the tank, you need to wait at least a month before adding fish or coral. Clowns are a hardy fish to start with. Quite hardy. And get a bucket and a drip acclimation tube from four local fish store. (LFS) you will also need a water testing kit that tests for nitrates, phosphates, alkalinity, nitrites, calcium, etc. And water circulation pumps. I would recommend two Koralia EVO 750s...

Hope this helped.

Steve

 

You will need salt mix first of all. The next thing that I would recommend is seeing if your LFS sells RO/DI water. I do not suggest using tap water. The next thing you want to purchase is a water test kit for at least ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You will also need a hdroymeter to measure the salinity of your water before adding anything to your tank.
You will also want some kind of filter and some live rock (you can buy dry rock and seed it with 1 or 2 pieces of live rock to be a little cheaper).

This is just the basic stuff that you would need to get a tank up and going.

 

Well, the first thing you did right was to ask here at 3Reef, and not ask your local fish store(LFS) "how should I set up my tank".....I watched my LFS sell a tank, salt, bacteria bottle, sand, rock, and a fist full of fish to this guy in 30 minutes. Now in the LFS's defense, the guy said he wasn't leaving until he had a salt water tank that night, so.....

The first thing you need to do is stop and decide what type of Salt Tank you want to have. Decide it now and that's what you shoot for. This will let you shop for what you need, and keep your mind focused.

So, what type of Tank do you want to have?

 

If you ever have any questions about clownfish breeding PM Pickles and or check out some of his threads. Not only is he a nice guy he breeds clowns and is very knowledgeable.
Heres his clown breeding thread.

Pickle010
http://www.3reef.com/forums/breeding-tropical-fish/pickles-clowns-110540.html
Good luck and welcome to 3Reef!!

 

Well I'm not a COMPLETE noob when it comes to fish. I've raised Freshwater fish before, but never saltwater. So right now I just need liverock, and Salt Water, filter, and Livesand? I want to raise a reef actually. Like a community tank. Before I had an aggressive community tank, Cichlids and Flowerhorn in a tank, had to separate and sell them due to their aggressiveness. My tank does not have a lid, and they jump out too much worries me.

 

Thanks Steve, that helps. Just wondering if I already have Salt Water from my LFS would I really have to wait for a month?

 

The waiting (a month, sometimes more like 6 weeks) is due to the nitrogen cycle running its course. It's an unpleasant but very necessary part of starting a tank. One key thing to starting a saltwater tank is taking your time. Like the saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

 

Thank you guys so much, I think I'll need to Siphon out my old freshwater, since I have filtered it in months, and it's gotten foggy. And make sure I start cycling the Saltwater, and wait a while. Any good methods on making the environment super clean? I'm starting to think about keeping the 40 gal freshwater, and buying myself a smaller tank around 10-15 gallon and start out small before investing a whole bunch into marine life that might not make it with my experience

 

Small tanks are prone to big parameter swings which is bad. Not that they can't be done, its just harder.

If you decide to use your 40g keep in mind that if you have ever used copper in it to treat freshwater ick, you may run into problems with a reef. The copper will kill inverts and corals. Running cuprasorb can help remove copper as well as a really good vinegar bath. Some people say the copper will soak into the silicone but I am not sure about that.

Good luck!

Sent from my Evo