need for saltwater tank?

[angela]

i have 55g tank and i have 2-- 8" Os i don't want to buy other tank i have 3 tank at home im going to sell my Os fish very soon _ i dont want to buy tank just because fish is getting too big i like color ful stuff not the fish monster" don't give me worng i do love my Os but i just can do more for them my husben want me to get a other 55g tank so i can start saltwater tank
as you know i have the tank and bio power filter 330
i have two of those hang in back of my tank so what do i need now for saltwater tank?
oh protein skimmers.......................were can i get chip skimmer? or fish(later) sand, ozone generators and ultraviolet sterilizers?

 

[1979camaro]

before you do anything, i would read a lot...make sure you are prepared both from a time standpoint and financially for a SW tank...I see you are trying to get things cheap and that is ok, but do not sacrifice quality for price because in the end it will cost you more to replace the junk you buy with the right stuff than it would have to buy the correct stuff to begin with

also, it would be good to figure out what kind of system you want: full reef, fish only with inverts, fish only...there are many options...

 

[aresgod]

also i see that you are planing on setting up a 240 g tank, in a tank that large you are going to need substancial equipment that isnt cheap and can stand up to the rigors put on it by dealing with that much water, i would say honestly if your setting up a 240, you shouldnt be trying to cut corners, but thats just my opinion,
Brahm

 

[aresgod]

also i would say your best initial investment should be to buy a few books and read up instead of asking us guys online about everything, this is more of a place to ask questions the books dont answer, if your looking for some good books im sure we all here can recomend some to get you started, dont wanna sound like an ***hole but i just feel like a book is the best way to start and i know the majority of the people here feel the same way

 

[S.Reef]

Yes buy a few good books on marine aquariums before you jump in. My initial thought is a 240 gallon marine will be a lot of work, especially for a beginner. Personally I would stick with the 55 gallon building up experience. When you feel like you have learned enough go ahead with the 240. I just know from experience the larger the tank the more money and time.

Sam Reef

 

[angela]

Originally posted by S.Reef
Yes buy a few good books on marine aquariums before you jump in. My initial thought is a 240 gallon marine will be a lot of work, especially for a beginner. Personally I would stick with the 55 gallon building up experience. When you feel like you have learned enough go ahead with the 240. I just know from experience the larger the tank the more money and time.

Sam Reef

yes i know i did buy the books but i dont know wich Protein skimmers is good for size of my tank(55g)
i was going to start with my 30g tank first but i just love too much of bigger view......... this is the book that i brouth 3months ago

 

[1979camaro]

well...if you feel you have done the necessary reading then you need to decide if you will be using a sump or not, will you have a refugium, etc, is this a fish only tank or a reef? all this determines what type of equipment you need to buy

they other thing to look for is a reputable LFS in your area to go to when you have problems

 

[angela]

Originally posted by 1979camaro
well...if you feel you have done the necessary reading then you need to decide if you will be using a sump or not, will you have a refugium, etc, is this a fish only tank or a reef? all this determines what type of equipment you need to buy

they other thing to look for is a reputable LFS in your
area to go to when you have problems

no i read that book but that book donent tell me much
i want reef tank if you can tell me wich book is good to buy? i went to petsmart maybe 40min ago looking for some saltwater book and they do have some but the book that they have is not with im looking for.
i want to understan reef tank, just fish tank
i want to know beauty of all the saltwater......
mosy i want to know when is good time to add fish after cycle the tank, when is good time to add sea basses like
sea horses,fish type,coral,sea stars,shrimp,sea horse
things like that what to add or not to add.
far as book they only tell you by 1.2.3
do you know some book that tell me about all of this

 

[1979camaro]

i think you need to just do more reading: Fenner's consciencious marine aquarist is good (though a bit dated), Michael S. Paletta's The New Marine Aquarium is supposed to be excellent...to find out about coral and fish you will need different books from books about system setup...there are a variety of atlases available of both marine fish and invertabrates, any of which should do the trick assuming they give you a basic care guide but that is a long way down the road...after you decide what kind of tank you want to set up you are looking at another month at the miniumum before you can add anything other than live rock and live sand

why dont you look online and see pictures of fish only setups and reef setups and decide which you want...seahorses need a species only tank and are a pain to maintain it seems, probably not a good choice for your first venture into SW. PETCO is not a good resource as far as fish stores go. Try to find a place that has a reef tank setup and it should be healthy and stable...if you go in and there is always new stuff in there and it looks unhealthy (bleached coral, listless fish, etc) that is probably not the best store to go to

we cannot tell you everything you need to know, if we did we would have to write a book...you have to take the initiative and do some legwork

it is impossible to tell you what you could add as far as stock until you decide on what kind of tank you want and how big it will be

 

[angela]

Originally posted by 1979camaro
i think you need to just do more reading: Fenner's consciencious marine aquarist is good (though a bit dated), Michael S. Paletta's The New Marine Aquarium is supposed to be excellent...to find out about coral and fish you will need different books from books about system setup...there are a variety of atlases available of both marine fish and invertabrates, any of which should do the trick assuming they give you a basic care guide but that is a long way down the road...after you decide what kind of tank you want to set up you are looking at another month at the miniumum before you can add anything other than live rock and live sand

why dont you look online and see pictures of fish only setups and reef setups and decide which you want...seahorses need a species only tank and are a pain to maintain it seems, probably not a good choice for your first venture into SW. PETCO is not a good resource as far as fish stores go. Try to find a place that has a reef tank setup and it should be healthy and stable...if you go in and there is always new stuff in there and it looks unhealthy (bleached coral, listless fish, etc) that is probably not the best store to go to

we cannot tell you everything you need to know, if we did we would have to write a book...you have to take the initiative and do some legwork

it is impossible to tell you what you could add as far as stock until you decide on what kind of tank you want and how big it will be

thanks

 

[1979camaro]

just a hint, you don't need to quote everybodys entire post...if there is a juicy tidbit you feel is important, then sure! but it is there, everyone can read it

 

[S.Reef]

If you want to start with a reef tank. I recommend live rock and sand. After a few months you can place some corals into the system. You will need good lighting for a reef. 4 Regular output flourescents, power compacts, or metal halides. Make sure you have about 3-5 watts per gallon. Start with easier corals like mushrooms, and star polyps.

Protein skimmers to look into are; AquaMedic, CPR, Excalibur, Red Sea, Euro-Reef Skimmers, ETSS Skimmers, Skilter Skimmers, Tunze Skimmer are all good choices. Keep inmind some of these models cost hundreds of dollars, but are vital to the system.

Sam Reef