Wants to start a new tank but clueless

[Korilee]

Hi everyone. I recently Bought a tank setup to upgrade my freshwater tank, but then decided to get ambitious and attempt a salt water tank. The problem is all I have is a tank :bagfish: I really need to find out what supplies to buy to start this process. Any help would be great :happysad:. I've already spent so much money and would really like the cost to stay minimal with respect to the supplies but ofcourse good quality. Wish me luck on my journey.
Kim

 

[ECFENCING]

It would help if you could specify what supplies are needed and how big your tank is. What was included in the setup?

It's also helpful to know if you intend to keep corals or just want to run a fish only tank.

Cheaper to run a fish only tank.

You will most likely need the following in no particular order:

(1) Liverock for biological filtration or dry base rock that you can make turn into live rock
(2) Sand (optional)
(3) Powerheads for water movement
(4) Protein skimmer depends though on size of tank and how well you keep up with water changes. This can be in sump or hang on if you don't have a sump
(5) Refractometer to measure salinity for your saltwater or a cheaper unit -swing arm unit can work as well
(6) RO/DI unit or Distilled water until you get an RO/DI unit
(7) Some sort of auto top off to replace evaporated water. This can be done manually as well.
(8) Lights-depending on what you have from normal output fluorescent for a fish only to t5's halide/t5 combo, halide only, led's for corals.
(9) Sump if you plan to make your tank reef ready and obviously some type of box and plumbing to drain the water to the sump and return plumbing to get it back to your tank
(10) return pump if you are running a sump
(11) carbon and gfo helpful for a reef tank
(12) Salt your choice....Instant Ocean is good to start with for a fish only tank and reef tank but you'll get a variety of different opinions for a reef tank
(13) timer's for your lights...good to have a consistent schedule
(14) Filter socks...some individuals run them some don't
(15) QT tank
(16) Some food grade containers to mix salt in and a pump to mix
(17) heaters
(18) kits....to measure your water parameters..the aquarium pharmaceuticals test kit is good to start with...you should have ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, for your cycle and later on calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, ph for a reef tank...
(19) Not a supply but patience......is definitely needed







Some others can chime in as this list is not all inclusive....

This is a nice community with very knowledgeable individuals so post away with questions and good luck with your journey.

 

[basiab]

That's a nice list. But if you are clueless you can save yourself a lot of money by reading before you buy. There is plenty of info here and other sites on the web.

 

[Dre]

Hi everyone.[PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY] I recently Bought a tank setup [PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY]

Kim ,when you say setup what exactly do you mean, and what size tank did you buy?

 

[nemo]

I recommend you start a SMALL reef tank (its prettier than fish only)
Start with easy to care coral like mushrooms, Kenya Trees, Xenias.

And review the list posted above.
items 2, (3 not needed if nano tank), (6 buy distilled),7,9,10,14, 15 are nice to have but not essential.

 

[Korilee]

Thank you all for your info. I have a Aqueon tank set up for freshwater. 29 gallon tank with filter, thermometer and hood with light. I was told that I needed a different filter for a saltwater tank and a uv light bulb and can still use the hood with light. I would like to eventually have a reef tank. I have a friend that is willing to give me water from his water changes (is that a smart thing to do?). He is willing to help me with maintaining but he bought a nano tank so he's not sure how to help me get what I need to set up

 

[TonyHNY]

What do you plan on doing? Corals only? fish only? or both?

 

[rookie07]

Always remember two things:
1) Always double and triple check anything a sales person/website is telling you-They generally want the sale more than they care about you/livestock
2) Do things very slowly-The longer you take to do things, the more you have time to learn about what you are doing, and the less likely you are to make a mistake, saving money, time and fish/coral


I would suggest you take a look at many tank threads on here and other websites. You can learn alot about maintaining a system by seeing what others have done, and what has had success. You will learn what components are needed, and what does/doesn't work. You might get a few good ideas while you are looking also.


Best of luck!

 

[noobzy]

Thank you all for your info. I have a Aqueon tank set up for freshwater. 29 gallon tank with filter, thermometer and hood with light. I was told that I needed a different filter for a saltwater tank and a uv light bulb and can still use the hood with light. I would like to eventually have a reef tank. I have a friend that is willing to give me water from his water changes (is that a smart thing to do?). He is willing to help me with maintaining but he bought a nano tank so he's not sure how to help me get what I need to set up

Hi Kim,

Welcome to MR, and maybe soon to the hobby as well?

As long as you understand that maintaining a SW tank involves significant cost and effort, just read up and make sure that you know what you're getting in to.

Your first shopping list should probably include sand, rock, better lighting and patience. Read up on the nitrogen cycle and what it means to cycle a tank.

People with more experience than me have written pages upon pages already, so I will spare both of us some time and echo everyone else - find some of said write-ups and read away!

Good luck! And don't hesitate to bring questions to the forum.

 

[Korilee]

Rookie, your tank is beautiful! Noobzy, the truth is I am not a great learner through reading. Dont get me wrong I can and do read but to really retain everything it helps to have discussions. Sometimes the reading material assumes you know way more than you really do. I am going to start my tank with just fish and then maybe upgrade to a reef tank in the future. Thanks all for your input. Its greatly appreciated.
Kim