want to start the sw world

talphik

talphik

Medium Fish
#1
Jan 16, 2004
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Calgary, Alberta
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#1
i'm looking into starting a saltwater tank. i was wondering how i might go about finding the necessary information in order to not mess everything up and waste a bunch of money.

so here are my questions

are there books i should be looking into buying, or renting from the library?

what is the best size tank to start with?

is extensive knowledge of freshwater necessary before i start SW? (i've kept a freshwater for 3 years or so, and before that i helped my parents keep theirs)

I know absolutely nothing about SW, but have been interested in it ever since i wandered into the marine section at my lfs.

thank you very much you guys, and i would appreciate any help you could give.

Matt
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#3
Dec 1, 2003
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#3
Well to start with marine tanks are a little more challenging to keep. Marine fish can only tolerate certain conditions, and there is little room for error. To start with, I recommend purchasing Michael S. Paletta's The New Marine Aquarium. This book covers the basic guidelines to keeping marine aquariums. It gives a list of recommended fish and equipment. As for tank size I would suggest a minimum of 30 U.S. gallons. With this size tank you can keep about 6 small fish. Some other advice I have is to find a good local fish store that will help you plan your system, get live rock and a protein skimmer, and start with easier fish like damsels, and small gobies. With this advice I think you can be set up for success.

Sam Reef
___________________
90 Gallon FOWLR Marine set-up
20 Gallon Reef
10 Gallon Reef
20 Gallon Freshwater planted Aquarium
 

T

tango339

Small Fish
#4
Jun 17, 2003
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you realy should start off with a 29g tank. they are cheaper than a 55g tank, and are still pretty easy. don't buy into all that saltwater is hard stuff. as long you keep the right sized fish in your tank, and get a skimmer you will do great. if you want to, and if you can afford it get some live rock for your cycle process. it will speed the process and help with the nitrates. oh yeah, resist the urge to buy a tang, andb wait until about six month to add a unhardy fish like that. with LR add a clown in a adout 2 to 3 weeks.
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#5
Oct 22, 2002
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30 is the minimum and anything above 55 = much cash. FOWLR setups are pretty easy to maintain if you research and have common sense. Read lots and develop patience.
UGF +crush coral + damsels setups are painfully unstable and unrewarding
 

RYANRODRIGUEZ

RYANRODRIGUEZ

Large Fish
#8
Oct 14, 2003
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make sure u buy a QT tank also and some copper for it, this will help keeping fish alive before introducing them to the main tank. im also new and the hobby and im having a real big problem with ich. i cant seem to cure it and nobody can help me everyone gives me different answers. so this can be very fusterating. and very expensive. but its all worth it. its really not that hard just read a lot and ask a lot of q's.
 

talphik

talphik

Medium Fish
#10
Jan 16, 2004
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Calgary, Alberta
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#10
they have the book at my lfs, but i'm gonna check if it will be cheaper to buy it from chapters, etc...

thanks for all the help you guys, and i'll be letting everyone know what happens with it in the future.

if you think of anything i should be checking out, or some info that i may not be aware of, please dont hesistate to let me know.

again, i know virtually nothing about the saltwater world.
 

dbacksrat

dbacksrat

Superstar Fish
#11
Jun 3, 2003
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#11
check used book stores for books....i went to one a couple months ago, saw some really expensive books for nothing....i should have bought them....reading books is really the only solution...in this day and age, i would not trust the internet because results are so varied....
 

S

supahtim

Large Fish
#13
Jun 30, 2003
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#13
a 55g setup from big al's is only $279 CAD.

don't go with a 30g. a 55g would be the best starter tank you could get if you were to set up a SW tank. if you get the 30, you'll be very limited as to how many fish you can put in there, and what kind of fish you could put in there.

the larger the tank, the less the water parimeters will fluctuate when the water level goes down or when you add a new fish/invert/coral.

i think getting a job before starting a SW tank would be your best choice. you'll find yourself running out of money extremely quickly with one, but in the end it's worth all the troubles you will have to go through.

a freshwater tank is nothing like saltwater. you could throw some tap water into a tank, condition it, throw some plants in, a light over top and fish and there you have a nice planted aquarium. where for a saltwater tank, you have to cure the live rock (LR) and live sand (LS) before you add anything, you should really only use RO or RO/DI water to add to your tank, and you can't keep half as many fish as you could with a freshwater tank. but SW fish are much more nicer looking ;).

and one more thing...READ. READ READ READ READ READ READ READ. and when your done that. READ SOME MORE. lol

BTW, RYANRODRIGUEZ, copper in a SW tank isn't very highly recommended. not every SW fish can handle copper, and LR, LS, and corals will all die when they come in contact with it.

Tim
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#14
Oct 22, 2002
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#14
I agree with the 55 being better than the 30 simply because most people have problems getting their head round what they CAN'T keep in a small tank.
I agree get a job, or have your cash saved up front. There are ways to skimp, and save money but there are certain bottom line expenses you may have to accept depending on what you want to keep.
How much you spend can seriously affect your maintentance level. It is obviously cheaper to get a UGF and coral gravel than a live rock system but once the live rock based system is running it is almost infinitely more stable and lower maintenance than a UGF or exernal filtered 'traditional' system. These things didn't work well in the 70's and 80's and they don't work well now. They look like a bargain but they're not. Too many people have appeared on this site with this style of system and then disappeared after fish loss and perpetual algae problems due to a poor starting setup (thankyou lfs!). A considerable % of people quit this hobby after 6 months - don't join them!
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#16
Oct 22, 2002
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#16
i would say no...you are looking at at least $300 for the LR/LS, another $200 on a skimmer, a hundred or so for the tank, $200 for lighting, $100 for powerheads, heater is cheap at $25, salt mix is another $20, some form of filter for FW (either RO or DI, or RO/DI) is at least $50, your first critters will be a cleanup crew which will be at least $40, fish are going to be fairly expensive (maybe $20 each average) unless all you want are damsels, coral at $20-50 a piece for common stuff, more for some of the exotics, supplements for that coral will run you about $45....power bill is going to go up a few dollars a month too...

$600 isn't going to do it. A souce of income is critical because unforseen expenses will come up...

KB
 

fait15

fait15

Medium Fish
#17
Jan 15, 2004
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#17
Sound advise these guys give,they all helped me out abit.Another good book to get for SW beginers is called "Marine Fishes" by Scott W. Michael, it has 500+ fish species and tells their care level and basic food diets as well as some information on types of fish they will be peacfull with.Great book,has helped me out
 

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