hey everyone whats up!!
- Thread starter s.kemp24
- Start date
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
hey welcome to mr. personally id start simple.pick up a bio cube or nano cube or something with a good filtration set up pre built with your tank. maybe the 29g bio cube would be a good idea. that was my first set set up and it was so easy and i still have it today. good luck
- Location
- long island
yo whats poppin
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
well do the 55g, hopefully you dont have a budget tho because if your new to salt you might as well not cheap out on your sump or skimmer and get a good one so you dont have to mess with it alot and learn from it. its also going to depend on what you want to do. fish only? reef? preditor? what kind of set up you thinking about doing? what ever you decide is going to change what you need in a few ways.
Hello s.kemp, welcome to the MR family!
The first item you should get is a good RO/DI unit. Do not fill your tank with tap water.
Good idea to start with what you already have.
Will you be drilling the tank, or using an overflow hang on box? Or will you be using hang on filters to help with the filtration of your tank?
Has stated before it would be easier to give you ideas if you were to tell us in what direction you'd like to take your tank.
FO - fish only
FOWLR - fish only with live rock
Leathers & softies
LPS - long polyp stony
SPS - short polyp stony
Or a mixed reef.
What type of fish are you interested in keeping? Aggressive, non-aggressive, reef safe fish. So on and so on, and the list goes on.
We all for the most part recommend a Quality Protein Skimmer.
Wether it be a hang on, in sump, out of sump depends obviously on wether or not you plan to have a sump. But no matter which setup you are planning a Skimmer should be one of your priorities.
Couple of power heads for circulation. Good quality heaters, and some sort of controller to keep them from cooking your tank.
ATO - automatic top off for the continues maintenance of evaporting water, which if not kept on top of will make the salinity in your tank fluctuate.
Lighting depends on what you want to keep. If FO, or FOWLR the lighting you currently have will be fine. But if you want to keep corals you will have to upgrade the lighting.
Most important of all: You need a ton of PATIENCE & RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And as you can see quite a bit of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!
The first item you should get is a good RO/DI unit. Do not fill your tank with tap water.
Good idea to start with what you already have.
Will you be drilling the tank, or using an overflow hang on box? Or will you be using hang on filters to help with the filtration of your tank?Has stated before it would be easier to give you ideas if you were to tell us in what direction you'd like to take your tank.
FO - fish only
FOWLR - fish only with live rock
Leathers & softies
LPS - long polyp stony
SPS - short polyp stony
Or a mixed reef.
What type of fish are you interested in keeping? Aggressive, non-aggressive, reef safe fish. So on and so on, and the list goes on.
We all for the most part recommend a Quality Protein Skimmer.
Wether it be a hang on, in sump, out of sump depends obviously on wether or not you plan to have a sump.
But no matter which setup you are planning a Skimmer should be one of your priorities.Couple of power heads for circulation. Good quality heaters, and some sort of controller to keep them from cooking your tank.
ATO - automatic top off for the continues maintenance of evaporting water, which if not kept on top of will make the salinity in your tank fluctuate.
Lighting depends on what you want to keep. If FO, or FOWLR the lighting you currently have will be fine.
But if you want to keep corals you will have to upgrade the lighting.Most important of all: You need a ton of PATIENCE & RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And as you can see quite a bit of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!
- Location
- Forked River, New Jersey
welcome to MR!!! this place is like an enciclopedia on s.water fish/corals and everything that has to do with it... with that said, a 5 is the perfect start.. smaller tanks are harder to maintain salinity levels with evaporation.. and i agree with awi, you need to deside what type of saltwater setup you want... then we will guide you from there, also on the 18th is our frag swap with guest speakers...please come and youll get a better idea of things..also what type of stand do you have? the reason i ask is bc if you decide to go corals i recomend a sump/refuge system to do all your fitration from.. and im asuming the tank isnt drilled for drains, so you would need an overflow system..or have one of our members drill the tank for you to make your life easier.. but lets start with the simple stuff, what do you want in your tank??? and again before you buy anything ask questions, there are no stupid questions...well just remember table salt is not a good replacement for reef salt.. other than that we are here for you!!!! good luck.. also we love pics showing your progress!!!
ok i was thinking oof going with fish and live rock, no my tank is not drilled and i have a cabinet stand so i have room for filters and thing like that to go under it.....i currently have fresh water fish in it so i will be getting rid of them soon to start up the salt water......as far as fish maybe reef safe fish might wanna add corals later on down the line once i get the hang of things.......and you guys have been alot of help with the info so far thank you
- Location
- poughquag, ny
have you ever dosed chemicals in the tank you already have ?
Well i was thinking of going with fish and live rock for right now maybe adding coral in later on with non aggresive fish.....the 55 gal tank i have has a black cabinet stand so i have room to hide things and its no drilled......its being used right now for my fresh water fish but i will be selling them and my equipment for the tank to start the salt water tank....you guys have been a big help thank you
He was referring to medications, like copper or any kind of medications that could be copper based.
When you treat tanks with treatments like copper it can stay in the silicone seams. Copper is very bad for corals and inverts and could cause problems down the line.
When you treat tanks with treatments like copper it can stay in the silicone seams. Copper is very bad for corals and inverts and could cause problems down the line.
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
cabinet stand is fine, you should be able to fit a small sump under there. they come in many sizes. i know many people with 55g tanks with a simple wet dry or sump and hand made sump with baffles and they fit fine. what filtration where you planning on doing. please dont say canister. it just wont cut it. some people have pulled it off with an additional hang on. actually my one friend has an amazing 75g tank, coraline algae like you would not believe, corals grow and spread all the time...and he is running 2 xl bio wheels only on it. some people can do it, but its a rough challenge. what you thinking about running?
well i dont know yet i would need a list of thing that i should start with as far as protein skinner wet dry filter and thing like that im new to this so idk where toi start off so i guess the tank and the stand is good what filtration to you have in mind
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
well the good thing is its not set up yet right? because you should give this time and oppertunity to read alot of threads on this site and read up as much as you can. ALOT of mr members are very helpful and have helped me more times then i could think of. i did salt for about 3 years before i joined this site and once i did i learned more within a year of being on this site then my past 3 doing it alone!
this was a very good article and i think you should read it http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php
remember...take your time. so what if it takes you 3-5 months before you can set your tank up, as least it will be correct. wouldnt you rather be one of the threads saying...
"Hey check out my tank, im new here and this is my first salt tank and i have this and that and this and that with one of thoses and these"
and people respond....
"Hey nice job looking good"
instead of you saying......
"hey this is my new tank and im running a 10g hangon and some bull crap set up"
so everyone on mr goes crazy! dont get me wrong its a fun thread to read but so far your in the good situation with NOT having the tank set up. now its time to read, learn, take notes and get ready to join this addictive hobby! three good keys to this hobby are not to rush, do not cheap out on your equipment and ask as many questions as possible before you think your right and do it. good luck and have fun!
this was a very good article and i think you should read it http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php
remember...take your time. so what if it takes you 3-5 months before you can set your tank up, as least it will be correct. wouldnt you rather be one of the threads saying...
"Hey check out my tank, im new here and this is my first salt tank and i have this and that and this and that with one of thoses and these"
and people respond....
"Hey nice job looking good"
instead of you saying......
"hey this is my new tank and im running a 10g hangon and some bull crap set up"
so everyone on mr goes crazy! dont get me wrong its a fun thread to read but so far your in the good situation with NOT having the tank set up. now its time to read, learn, take notes and get ready to join this addictive hobby! three good keys to this hobby are not to rush, do not cheap out on your equipment and ask as many questions as possible before you think your right and do it. good luck and have fun!
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
also, listen to jrobbins last pod cast. on the main screen to the left called "Afishionado" listen to episode 3, he does a chat about setting up a new tank! very good guy. and its nice because you can sit back and listen, rather then read
thanks ryan i will look into that and listen to the pod cast so what would my set up consist of as far as protein skimmer wet dry filter and things like that?......and im only gonna do fish and live rock right now...i can always go back and add in coral right?
ryangrieder
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Northern Jersey
honestly, jrobbins pod cast will explain that you to. i relistened to it again today and he explains how to set up a tank perfect. i personally met him and my friend bought a tank from him and he is well educated. his pod cast tells you strait up what to do with lighting, filter, tank, sand, rock, everything....
Did you read my previous post?:banghead:
Are you asking what protein skimmer we recommend?
Go to the general forums, and read up the skimmer thread by Jackson6745. Lengthy, but a great resource of info on all kinds of skimmers.
Why would you want to do a wet/dry filter?
Most turn there we/dry into sumps. You can either build your own sump out of a regular glass tank, and some glass for baffles.
Yes you can add corals later on, as long as you never dose your tank with copper base medications.
Since you are only doing a FOWLR you do not need special lighting. You can continue to use the florescent light you currently have on your fresh water tank.
When the day comes where you decide that you are ready to add corals that is when you will need to update your lighting system.
Regardless of what you plan to keep you need some power heads are needed for proper circulation.
Depending on your budget you can go from low end to high end ones. Some of us poorer folks are using the in the middle ones "Koralia" power heads.lol
:flower:
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