Just starting out, need major help!

Hey guys, yesterday someone asked me if I was interested in trying to raise fish, and gave me their tank. They don't know how big the tank is, but it seems somewhere around 40g. I've had tiny freshwater aquariums as a kid, but now that I want to try saltwater, I am completely stumped and don't know where to start. I know that I need to start cycling the water, but I am planning on going to a fish store in a bit. My first question is, what all do I need? It seems some stuff is optional, but some mandatory. If someone could list out what I would need to go out and buy to start cycling the water, that would be great! I don't have anything except for a filter (the guy was keeping freshwater fish if this makes a difference). I will attach a picture. Thanks in advance.

 

salt and lots of it
distilled water(depending on what your water type is at home)
live rock and lots of it if you want to put it in your tank
sand (if you want it)
testing kits
thermometer
salinity tester
and a lot of time. im sure there is more people can throw out there but that should help you get started

 

You need lots of $$ if your starting out from scratch. The tank is the smallest part of your new investment/hobby. Please just read a lot of info before you start is the best advise I can give you. If you don't, I guarantee you'll spend a lot of unneccesary money and end up buying things twice because you tried saving money up front.

Do you want a fish only saltwater?
Do you want a fish only with live rock?
Do you want a reef aquarium?

 

Thanks guys for quick responses. I was planning on having a fish only with live rock. I know this will be costly in the long run as I know someone who gave up because of cost. This is something I've always wanted to do. Are the little rocks in the tank right now okay to have? Or will I need to take that out and replace it with sand?

 

personally i would get rid of everything in that tank and give it a good cleaning NO SOAP! lol go pick up some sand if you want it. find out how many gallons your tank is. then times that by 1.5 and thats how many lbs of live rock you should have in your tank that will help out a lot i know its costly but its the best for your tank. Go to the hardware store and buy 5 or so 5 gallon buckets they will always come in handy. great for mixing water moving water and water changes later down the road. Most important stuff you will need today is to find out how big your tank is clean it out buy salt and buy water and possibly if you can buy your live rock today.

 

that looks like gravel rock? Definitely get rid of that. You can start a cycle with dry, base rock which is much cheaper than live rock. I agree with Sean, take everything out and give it all a good cleaning. I think with a FOWLR, an inch or 1 1/2 inches of sand makes for a nice look. Your sand also does not need to be live. You can get a cup or so from your LFS or a friend with a running system to seed your sand.

You want to get pure water (RO/DI) is best and use from the beginning. You will need salt, RO/DI water, sand, and some base rock as a start. You will also need a hydrometer - this will be fine in the beginning to use. In a FOWLR, you would do best to keep your salinity at about 1.021 to 1.023.

Definitely get on this forum and start researching. Base rock, (you could perhaps buy one piece of live rock to seed) but many have cycled their tanks with all base rock. Sand - aragonite is good to use. Be careful not to get too small of grain because you don't want a sand storm made with power heads and fish burrowing.

HTH.......as far as type of salt. You're best to start with Instant Ocean. It's an oldie but goodie and is all you need for a FO.

 

Okay thanks guys. I read all the posts, and just got back from the store. The owner picked out live rock, reef sand, and he sold salt water already cycled. I bought 20 pounds of live rock, but he said this is only enough just to get me started and will eventually need to buy more. He wanted me to bring a sample of the water in 3 days to test the water and make sure it's safe to put fish inside. I'm hoping everything the owner tells me if true and not just trying to sell me stuff.

edit: He gave me the water in huge trashbags. Is there a fast way to transfer the water into my tank?

 

What is HTH and FO? I've been reading through posts and researching for about a week, but just want to get personal information on this .

 

Hope that helps and fish only. Personally I wouldn't start a tank without liverock. More the better.

 

Lol that fish store owner is very nice. The ones by me wouldn't test my water. Did you determine how many gallons your tank is?