Saltwater tank for newbie

[rmaurin]

All,

I am thinking of starting a saltwater fish tank. (I have a 10 gallon freshwater and have almost killed my fish on many occasions) I came home from the pet store with my head spinning (skimmer, filter, calcuim, 55 gal tank...). My experience with the freshwater has made me apprehensive.....but I want to do this anyway.

I need advice from the fish experts. I am thinking of a 30 gallon due to space constraints. The fish man showed me a Oceanic Systems tank and a Via Aqua 750 filter. Not sure of the skimmer. Is this good equipment? I would like to purchase the best filter and skimmer that I could afford. My budget would be ~$400 for the filter and skimmer.

Your thoughts?

Thanks
Rich Maurin

 

[Pooky125]

The Via Aqua system already has a filter, and may I add, fabulous tanks, I have there 10 tall planted at the moment. Anyway, I would suggest starting out with FOWLR (fish only with live rock) 30-40 pounds shoudl do quite well, it will be expensive tho, but worth it. You will also want a 2-4" deep sand bed to help with filtering also Live sand is prefurable but costly, so get a good quality cheap sand and just 5-10 pounds of live sand, and over time, your dead sand will be live as well. 30 gallons is a nice size to start off with, much better then the route I took (started with a 3 gallon, moved up to a 10...) Sounds like a plan to me, sorry, I can't help you with the skimmer, not relly up to date on what kinds are out there, good luck and keep us posted!

 

[wayne]

I can only suggest you buy a good book such as 'The Conscientious Marine Aquarist' by Robert Fenner and read the whole thing. It's not cheap, but will save you a load more money in the not so long term.
What fish would you like to keep - are they reasonable for a 30? Be realistic, remember they are probably pulled out of the ocean for you - get it wrong and they will suffer, and at your pocket books expense.
I agree with pooky - a 30 gallon FOWLR should be good, if you get it right you won't need the Via Aqua, just powerheads + skimmer + live rock

 

[colesea]

Diddo on the Live rock and Sand. Remember, the addition of a deep sand bed and live rock actually reduce the volume of water you have, and that there is no "rule of thumb" in inches per gallon when it comes to salt water. Some of the smallest species of SW fish need the most gallonage simply because they are so darn territorial!

With live rock though, most people forget that you still need good lighting in order for it to do its "job" correctly. Look into some compact flouresent fixtures, most people will recommend 2 watts per gallon of water. And look into Calurpa algae. Calupra alage comes in a variety of shapes and is wonderfull at sucking up nutrients, but requires strong lighting. A once a week pruning on a clump of Calurpa goes a long way to keeping a tank healty!

And of course, read read read. If you can't purchase the books, your local library has a whole slew of them you can borrow. The more you read and reasearch, the better informed you are, the easier it is to make judgment calls when it comes to selecting the proper fish. Thirty gallons is "small" in the SW world, and many of the most popular fish will quickly outgrow it.

~~Colesea

 

[BrianH]

For a skimmer you could go with a prism which is about $69.99 at Bigalsonline.com. or the Aqua C Remora or CPR Bak Pak. These are hang on tank models since you did not mention a sump.
Their is one advantage to living in NJ, you can use southdown sand for your DSB. Go to your local home depot and look for Southdown Tropical Playsand. It will say not for aquarium use on the bag but disregard that. It seems the manufacturer was forced to put that statement on the bags since the LFS were losing money selling the same stuff for about $1.00 per lb when home depot sells it for $4.50 for 50lbs. I would recommend a DSB(Deep Sand Bed) of 4 - 6 inches. You can use mostly southdown with about 10lbs of live sand added after your cycle.
Your main biological filtration will come from the DSB and Live Rock. Start off with about 30lbs of live rock and add another 15lbs or so later if you wish. I would order it online and use the rock to help cycle the tank as it cures. I buy my rock from Gulf-View.com. It is aquacultured rock from florida. You can get 30lbs of their coraline rock for $129.99 shipped next day air to your door. Call Dale, the owner, and he'll go over everything on the phone. You can also get some live sand with your order.
I would also suggest trying to decide what you want to do with this tank in the future, ie reef or fish only. I know it was suggested you start with fish only but your fish selection is critical if you plan on adding corals or other inverts later. Do research and decide what fish would best suit your tank and future plans. Get the R. Fenner book suggested earlier and read it cover to cover before you start buying any fish.
Good Luck in your new hobby
Brian