newbie

hello all
my wife and I have had a few freshwater aquariums in the past. we have a 30 gal freshwater now, and just bought a used 55 gal. to step up to saltwater. we haven't done anything with the tank yet, just set it up on the cabinet that came with it. I've done a lot of reading so far and thought I'd join this forum to get some more info and ideas. I don't want to even start setting up this new marine aquarium until I know enough to not screw anything up.
The tank we bought was a freshwater tank before, so I'm going to need to buy some equipment too.

 

Lol dont say you dont want to screw something up cuz you will its a part of reefing. Is the tank drilled, do you plan on running a sump, whats your goals fish only, fish only with live rock, full reef system?

AND WELCOME TO 3REEF

 

Welcome to 3reef.

 

WELCOME! Since you said it was a freshwater tank before, I'm guessing that it's not pre-drilled. Not to worry. Tons of people here use overflow boxes to get water from their DT (display tank) to their sump, then a return pump to get the water back up to the DT. I strongly recommend using a sump in your cabinet. Try to find the biggest sump that will fit in the cabinet. That may only be a 10 gallon tank but thats enough. I was fortunate enough to just barely fit a 20 gallon long under my 65 gallon DT. Using a sump rather than canister filters or HOB (hang on back) filters gives you many more advantages such as adding to your total water volume (the solution to pollution is dilution) it also allows you to place unsightly equipment like protein skimmers, heaters, thermometers, automatic freshwater top off systems, and refugiums in the sump rather than having them in your display tank. Making a sump is easy and you can find many designs from this website Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

To give you an idea of a basic sump design most of us run, here is a pic of my sump.

My skimmer section is on the left, the return section is in the center, and the refugium section is on the right. Having the skimmer section and refugium section on opposite sides allows me to have a slower flow rate through the refugium using a "T" adapter with a flow control valve on the drain line. One split goes to the skimmer section at higher flow rates, the other split goes to the refugium section at slower flow rates allowing my macro algae to consume nitrates more efficiently. The water from both sides flows into the middle return section and then back to the DT.

The next question you need to ask yourself is "what livestock do you want to have in your tank?". If you wish to keep only fish and live rock and sand, lighting requirements are not an issue. If you wish to keep corals, I suggest high output T5 lighting or MH (metal Halides). Some people swear by Metal halides and suggest they put out more light and penetrate deeper into the water than T5's. This is debatable and depends on your personal preference. One thing is for sure, MH's put out more heat into the aquarium, and that alone needs to be taken into consideration.

I could go on and on but that would take the fun out of the research, besides, you should never take one persons advice. Everyone does things differently. Some things may work for them and not for you. In this hobby, it is up to you to make a knowledgeable decision based on your needs. "But we will try to help point you in the right direction"

Be sure to poke your head around previous threads in the forum because I guarantee you that if there is a mistake to be made, one of us has already made it. One thing is for sure, be patient, and learn about something before you do it. It looks like your doing that already which puts you one step ahead of some. Again, welcome to 3reef, a very friendly and helpful place to be. ;D

 

Heres some main things!

Buy a protien skimmer
buy a refractometer
Buy great lights!

Check out my blog i have a whole list for newbies actually ill post it here

Dont over feed. If you have tons of unexplained algae, you are probably feeding too much.

*Frequent water changes are a must.

*No salt water tank is complete without a skimmer. Some people will say you can get away without one but thats like saying you can go on a cross country road trip in your car using only first gear. Why bother?

*Use coral food sparingly.

*Don't buy a fish thinking 'I will buy a bigger tank when it outgrows this one'.

*Many people, including both neophytes and seasoned veterans of the hobby, will tell you that certain things have to be done certain ways. A lot of the times these people are 90% or more correct but always do a little investigating before making your own decision. Sometimes people on the internet are wrong.

*I will never setup a tank without a sump.

*In woodworking you measure twice, cut once. My advice is to research a new livestock purchase twice, buy once.

*Adequate flow and tank turnover are two of the most important factors in tank health and are often overlooked at the beginning.

*For God's Sake, cycle that tank before stocking it with livestock.

*If you own a fish before you own a test kit you are doing it wrong.

*T5 lighting alone IS enough to grow basically any coral. PC lighting is not.

*Support local retailors. Yes sometimes stuff can be found online cheaper, but good luck calling up when you suddenly have a tan k problem. It has been my experience that every local store I've ever been in has been more than happy to stop and talk/educate/teach about anything salt water related and this knowledge is far more valuable than the $5-10 you would have saved on the frag online.

*Never spend more than $20 on a frag of common Xenia or Green Star Polyps.

*If 10 people say that livestock X will probably die in your tank and 1 person says that he has had one healthy for 2 years and you'll be fine, it will probably die in your tank. Don't buy it.

*Be generous to other reefers and they will usually be generous back.

*Super glue gel is an amazing tool for mounting rocks and coral.

*Hydrometers are junk, get a refractometer.

*Frag swaps are fun ways of getting cheap corals and meeting new people.

*Homemade frozen food is cheaper and easier to maintain quality control than ready made mixes like Prime Reef.

*Regular Frozen brine shrimp is to fish what potato chips are to humans.

**Probably the most important thing I've learned is that good things happen slowly, and only bad things happen fast. Patience is key when it comes to having a good reef tank. Often times the best thing to do is provide a stable environment and keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.

 

Very good advice! One thing I missed in my first post. BUY A REFRACTOMETER!!!!! Please do not rely on swing arm hydrometers to measure your salinity. I did, and I was surprised what my Specific gravity ACTUALLY was once I bought a refractometer.

 

welcome! as you can already see people here are very helpful

 

Welcome! Good info above! I will not run a salt tank without a sump or skimmer.
I just recently upgraded my sump to a 55g.. i also have pics on my build thread posted in my signature.

 

welcome to 3reef

 

Also heres my home made food that i feed my tank, everything LOVES it!

4 ounces peeled shrimp
2 ounces clams
2 ounces mussels
2 ounces oysters
2 ounces spinach
1/4 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of coral frenzy
2 ounce frozen brine
2 ounce of chopped krill
2 ounces of frozen mysis
2 ounce of vitiam C
1 packet of gelatin


Thaw any thing frozen, chop up shrimp and put everything in blender. Stop when solids are small enought for your fish and corals, but use the pulse setting. Take a small piece of egg crate and place on top of wax paper. Pour food into the egg crate and freeze. Now you have home made fish and coral cubes!!