I Would Like Everyone's Opinion!

[cusunfireguy]

Good day everyone. I have a question that I would like your opinion on.

I had a friend give me a 55 gallon tank and stand. I repaired and refinished the stand and I have cleaned and sanitized the tank. I also filled the tank and let sit for awhile to make sure there was no leaking issues and the tank is sound and true.

I have been a freshwater guy for awhile and I do really well with it. The fresh water tank is a 55 gallon also. I was thinking about making my new 55 gallon tank a reef tank. I am just beginning the process of doing research on saltwater setup.

I would appreciate any advice from you guys as to the following: How difficult is it to maintain a reef tank?, what equipment would you reccomend? (I have nothing but the tank so far), Is it wicked expensive?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Steven

 

[FroggyFox]

Steven, I would suggest reading through all of the stickies at the top of the Saltwater forum as they contain a LOT of the information you're looking for. Also, you'll find in those threads that most people suggest getting a book or two to read. Freshwater and Saltwater are SO different from each other, it is a pretty steep learning curve and yes, it is very expensive Overall its worth it though, as long as you have the $$ and the time.

You should look at all of the different skimmers and powerheads, should have an idea of what live rock is and what the different types are and an idea of how much you'd want. If you want to do a reef tank you need to do a ton of research on lighting and corals etc...but if you would like to just start with a FOWLR (Fish only with live rock) tank then lighting is not quite as important. Need to look at the salt mixes and saltwater chemistry, get a refractometer (could stick with a hydrometer, but most of the swingarm ones are worth what you pay for them...I gave up on mine and ended up getting a nice refractometer from Pet Supplies & Pet Products: The Pet Supply and Product Choice - Drs Foster & Smith on sale that works very nicely) Oh and if you would like since you're in my area I can suggest a few stores that have really great stock and live rock, who knows their stuff etc. We're pretty lucky because there are some great stores in the denver area.

 

[cusunfireguy]

Thanks Froggy! I did read thru the sticky's and then compared the equipment to the catalog that I have. I would love to do a SWT but I think I'm just going to start up a new FWT. I've been doing some research on different types of FWF for awhile now and I think I'm just going to go that route!

Steven