YUP Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Hey guys and gals.... I'm trying to set up a saltwater aquarium and have never ran saltwater. I'm not completely new to aquariums, i ran a 75gal+ and then downsize to a 45 gal African Cichlid tank for years. But never dealt with sumps, canisters, etc. Just ran HOB and keep a nice bed for bacteria... I was thinking about getting back into the hobby, but want salt and only salt. But don't want to spend an arm and a leg, "need both for work:)". I still have my 45gal. Tall and thought it would be a good start for a FOWLR with some beginner coral, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkrcklives Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Welcome on board... Do lots and lots of reading. Take It slow it will cost way less in the end trust me. Also the people here are great. Dont be afraid to ask questions. The only dumb questions are the ones never asked. GOOD LUCK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bswe22 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Welcome... I must say that you are about to start a very addicting (naughty) (and rewarding) hobby. Being in Salem you are near one of the best shops. Go visit Garrett at "The Premium Aquarium". He will be happy to tell you want you need and get you started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YUP Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 Ya, i visited Coral Reef in Salem and was grateful for their knowledge but kinda high priced... i just learned about premium aquarium today off of this forum... I thought they were just a maintenance place... Im all about little critters running around my tank, with freshwater you kinda limited to fish and some snails... what i like about salt is the little critters that i can see and of course the fish. My thought is i can spend $500 setting my 45 gal up or i can upgrade to 75+ tank for that amount off of craigslist with sump, lights, plumbing etc. My fear is that considering i havent ran sump or anything that i wont be able to set it back up... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmetz32 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I have a 75 gallon setup for sale if interested... has a 6 bulb t5 if your interested in corals as well send me a pm if interested or go look at my ad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 My advice would be to decide what you want to keep and then design your system around that. Another major consideration is how much time (and money) you are able to invest into the tank. For example I would love to keep surtain corals that are simply too demanding for me given the amount of money and time I have, these hard to care for corals can be summarized as SPS (small polyp stony). This is not to say that you could not go the SPS route, you would just want to add little to no fish and invest in high quality lighting and filtration. If fish is your thing then that money would be better invested in a larger tank (most show stopping reef fish need a lot of space). My best advice would be to not let your self become overwellmed by the requirements of the the hard to keep corals; ther are many amazing beautifully colored corals which will grow with minimal effort or maintenance. The real trick to this hobby IMO is to realize you can't have it all (at least not in the same tank LOL) you are going to be frustrated every time you go to a reef shop because their will inevitably be some fish or coral that you want that is simply not compatible with your system; as long as you accept this as a basic fact you will save yourself a lot of heart ache and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bswe22 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Take Gill's advice!!! That is so true. There are some beautiful angle fish I would love to have but it just would not be right to but them in my 40b tank. Did I just say I needed a bigger tank...(scratch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (welcome)(To) (P) (N) (W) (M) (A) (S) and the addiction Gill gave some good advice. Do lots of reserch, look at the critters at the LFS (local fish stores) and decide if your 45 tall is the right tank for you. Saltwater is amazing but you can't pack the tanks as full as you can with freshwater so don't be like be and buy every cool fish before I decided what I really wanted. At first I was all about the fish, but was suprized by how much I enjoy the corals. They add so much color and movement to the tank. Some softies would be a great way to start. Good luck with the tank build and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YUP Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 75 gallon glass aquarium with Internal Overflow Glass tops Cherry Cabinet Power compact lighting with LED night lights Skimmer Pump Pacific Imports CL300 Chiller 38 gallon refugium tank 100+ pounds live rock Plumbed with PVC piping well here i go, this is the tank and setup that im going to look at today and most likely buy... all for 350(clap) Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold B Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Verry good advice above. You should stop in a shop or two and spend some time talking to the owners like The Premium Aquarium (Garrett) and look at all the different fish/coral ect. ask lots of questions and decide first what YOU want. You'd be suprised how helpfull the local reefing community is. And Garrett has been known to have nice used tanks here and there if yo decide you want to go bigger. Besides that just READ READ READ READ everything you can get your hands on about reefing. I was surprised to find some of the best books ever written in or through my local library. Good luck. PS In this hobby things take time so going slow is one of the best things you can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 75 gallon glass aquarium with Internal Overflow Glass tops Cherry Cabinet Power compact lighting with LED night lights Skimmer Pump Pacific Imports CL300 Chiller 38 gallon refugium tank 100+ pounds live rock Plumbed with PVC piping well here i go, this is the tank and setup that im going to look at today and most likely buy... all for 350(clap) Matt (clap) SCORE (clap) Looks like its time to start a tank build thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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