Being a beginner in his 9 month I'll part you some quick bullet points of advice straight from the experience of it all:
- If you ever get to the point of needing a water system (RODI water) don't listen to those guys in New World Aquarium. You CAN use DI water... but the replacement of the cartridges adds fast - just go with an RODI system. Which one - there are a million opinions. I bought mine on Bulk Reef Supply.com. No complaints thus far. I have 0 TDS water for under $200 for my 5 stage system. There are SEVERAL options / opinions about this.
- Live rock is great filtration. I've bought some online with good result. If you are going to cycle- but it now. Don't cycle, then buy large quantity of new rock because you have to cycle again. You might want to consider another 30-50 pounds now even if its just rubble.
- Hang on back filters can't hack it. You should look into a protein skimmer (definite if you go coral). As your tank get more creatures in it I think you'll find that it's more efficient to have the skimmer.
- If you get a skimmer you should consider housing it in a sump tank. You can build one and it takes a little time to go but its going to provide you many avenues to easier management (and better) management of your tank. Setting this up can be a bit expensive ($400 or so - including the skimmer) so your decision to hold off on it might be okay but it might be a bridge you can't avoid.
- Salifert test kits have worked really well for me for testing various things. I find the investment worth it.
- Stay with one salt brand. Shifting from salt to salt brand can mess up your tank specs.
- Think about your lighting. The second you EVEN THINK about coral do your research for about a month. I'm currently stuck with light that can't support the corals I now want.
- Consider having two heaters. One set a degree lower than the other. This is a good redundancy in case one fails while your away.
- Record your water parameters weekly (ph, etc etc). I've found it EXTREMELY helpful in monitoring the health of whats going on. If something looks weird and you test you can compare it to a past point and identify what might be causing the situation.
- Invest in a
refractometer - not the swing arm type. Much more accurate.
- Invest in a TDS meter if you go the RO/DI route (which you should)
- MOST IMPORTANTLY - TAKE YOUR TIME - I'll say it again - TAKE YOUR TIME!!! This is an expensive hobby. I avoided many problems by taking time (which was painful to watch a tank with simply water in it for about two months - couldn't get nitrate down). Avoiding these troubles allowed me to save money which I got to invest in that sump tank.
- Stock / change slowly. Salt water tanks are sensitive. If you make ANY change it can have an effect. As a scientist try to limit a change (new foods, fish etc) to every couple weeks. Thus if you see things going wrong you can pin it down quickly.
- Utilize Manhattan Reefs. People here are super friendly, helpful, and make you feel confident about the hobby. You can even find parts used on the cheap. Everyone I have dealt with have been extremely helpful and supportive.
- Consider one of those battery back up units for your tank. Even if its only 15 minutes of power - it could be the 15 minutes that save your tank in an hour or so of power outage.
- Invest over time. Like I said it's expensive. But it can be managed like the investment it is. You're in the basics now. Stock good testing kits. Then stock some nice livestock. Consider the RODI system. Then start to consider any upgrades to filtration, power heads, or back up power. Then consider light if you want corals. I put a budget of about $200 a month on my tank and over the 10 months I've used that budget to really establish all the equipment, fixtures, livestock I want. (still need a UV sterilizer - that's next I think). Remember - Rome isn't build in a day ~ neither will your evolving fish tank!
If you have any other rookie questions please feel to ask me - I made a ton of them!
