Need advise picking aquarium

New member Pink Lady here would like advise. I want to delve into a saltwater tank for the first time. Here lies the question, I have a 29 gallon glass sitting around that I could utilize however, would it be more economical to just bite the bullet and try to find a complete aquarium kit on sale? I am green when it comes to saltwater filtration and I get confused when I hear wet/dry, drilling holes in tank, skimmers etc. If someone could steer me down the path of least resistance for my new venture, I would be very grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Pink Lady

 

This has a lot of very usefull information on it


http://www.reefsaltwateraquarium.com/Setup_saltwater_aquarium.html

 

when i first started out, i also looked for a kit, but found it hard to come by. Petsmart actually had various kits put together, but im not sure if that would save you any money. A 29 gallon isn't too bad, but you will have to stock carefully. I currently don't run a sump or refugium, a very simple set up.

 

Welcome to 3reef and to the wonderful world of salt water! Go slow and read and if you have questions ask, we're all here to help each other! p.s. I love pink too!

 

Thanks wareagle35031, that site does answer a lot of questions.

GuitarMan89 Did you have to drill any holes for the equipment you listed? By the way, your tank is beautiful.

cuttingras Thanks for the welcome. After reading the site wareagle mentioned, I will go
vvvveeeerrrryyy slow, I am in no rush, I want to take 1 step at a time.

 

Good Idea, read a lot, do a little, read some more, ask some questions,LOL. Hey the world wasnt built in a day right, so you cant recreated an ecosystem in a day either. Things will happen in there own sweet time, as far as what size tank to go with, I would start with at least a 55, because if not you will want to upgrade before you even have time for coraline growing. LOL

 

I'd check craigslist in your local area for used setups, quite frequently people get out of the hobby or get relocated by jobs and have to sell quick and cheap just to get a tank moved.

On that note a 29g is a great site, I have a 24 setup in the baby's room but however it's recommended to go as big as you can fit/afford, the larger body of water is harder to corrupt than a smaller body is the basic principal behind it, larger margin for error in bigger tanks.

Oh, and btw Welcome to 3reef

 

I would not go with a standard 55 though. For me, it is not deep enough. Let me ask you something straight up.....How much money do you have to put into this right now as we speak? I do not want to scare you away from this, but it is not a cheap endeavor you are exploring. The first tank I put together was a 29g back in 1994. It was a reasonable start.

You can always go Craig's list. You will be amazed what will come up if you put "aquarium" in the search engine. Lots and lots of people are getting out of the hobby because of soaring gas prices and the economy in general. Those on a shoestring budget are the ones giving it up. I got a 75g with stand, canopy, sump and all the necessary hardware (some of it realllllllly sucked) to start for $400. I was up and running $100 later. Then I went and spent $250 on live rock. That was less than a third of what I needed. Then I bought test kits, additional salt, buckets, this, that, the other thing, $200. Then back to get more live rock $200. You get the point. My wife still does not know how much I put into this. Not that I am hiding it. She just does not want to know.

So, look on Craig's list and see what you can find in your area. Get a package deal from someone who is breaking down their tank. Let us know what you find and we'll go from there.

Peace.......John.

 

Welcome to 3reef! I am fairly new to 3reef and SW as well. This place has been able to help me out alot...

 

try here too sorry it's on another forum but they have an active classified section and it's where you live.

btw...3reef is much better to navigate and the people are much friendlier...


24gal AquaPod Tank, Stand and Sand -Sell or Trade, Jax Fl - The Reef Tank