SW Tank Kits

[ayios]

I am brand new to the Salt Water Tank World, but I am very interested in starting this very rewarding hobby. I desperatly need some guidance on what to look for when buying a kit and where to go to.

As for mentioned, I am brand spanking new to all of this. Any and all advice is very much welcome.

Ayios

[UnderWaterParadise]

Welcome aboard!!!! You picked the best place for advise. I would show us a list of what you are looking to accomplish. That will able us to help you better

[fidojoe]

Originally posted by 135 Reef
Welcome aboard!!!! You picked the best place for advise. I would show us a list of what you are looking to accomplish. That will able us to help you better

Ditto, we need to know what you want to accomplish (keep in your tank) in order to help you decide what you are going to need.

I can give you the rundown on the different types of tanks tho.

Reef-generally has liverock(excellen source of biofiltration), corals, more docile fish, and inverts.

Fish only w/ live rock-has live rock, and fish, maybe some inverts

Fish only-just fish(self explanitory)

The reef and FOWLR are the best, because they tend to be more stable(biological filtration from the LR), and the LR gives good hiding places for the fish.

Another thing, when buying the tank, get the biggest you can afford, and fit in your place, because the bigger the better. The smaller tanks tend to be more unstable, because if one small thing goes wrong, it could throw the whole small tank out of whack, but in a larger tank it is harder to do so. If you know cars, if a fish dies in a large tank, it is like a Chevy metro hitting the side of a ford f-350, there wouldn't be much of a dent in the truck, but in the small tank if a fish dies, it would be like a chevy suburban hitting the f-350, a big dent.

[BoomerD]

For what it's worth, most of the "kits" sold by the fish stores, will be worthless for reefs, and barely acceptable for salt water fish. You should look at a reef ready tank, a good sump, in-sump protein skimmer & a good return pump. Most of us use a 5" to 6" deep dand bed (DSB) and about 1 to 2 lbs of live rock. Almost no one uses canister filters or hang on power filters, except for the occasional carbon filtration use.
If that's gonna be too expensive to start out, you can go with one of the better hang-on protein skimmers, and for-go the sump until you are ready, then use one of the hang-on overflows to connect your tank to a sump.
Hope this gives you some of the information you're looking for.
As was mentioned already, a lot of the recommendations will depend on what you're trying to accomplish,(reef, fish only, etc.) and how big of a tank you're going to have.

[SaltyQueen]

I agree with Boomer- you're better off buying each piece of equipment separately than getting a kit- purchasing a kit might leave you with some equipment that you don't need & would be a waste of money. Like the previous posters said, if you can narrow down what it is you'd like to keep, we could give you a detailed list of what equipment would be best for you.

[StoneyReef]

Like everyone said, there are three basics to a reef tank

Filtration- Live rock and good skimmer

Light- Generally I suggest VHO or Metal Halide

Flow-you have to have water flow through the aquarium to get the water in contact with the live rock to utilize the filtration capacities of it.


If you want a simple tank:

Get a Reef Ready tank. Another tank that will fit under your stand which will be your sump. Put a skimmer and return pump in the sump. Then get a Metal Halide set up with good bulbs like Ushio 10k or Radium 20K so you do not have to suppliment. And then you should be ready to go with about 1lb per gallonof water of live rock.

[wooddood]

i also agree the kits they sell are not worth much.i would highly suggest hanging around here a while and learn from the incredible knowledge here.get some books and read also.we will all try and help you out and steer you in the right direction and save you some headaces and money along the way.we have all been in your shoes so be patient i know its hard to do but trust me it will pay off ten fold in the end.im not trying to scare you in any way,just asking that you trust the advice that you will be givin here.welcome to this incredible hobby.

[Witfull]

first thing to do is read and research...get the basics of SW straight in your head so that you can put advice into a workable plan. your local library should have some books available that you can check out.
i also agree that kits offered for sale are low quality items assembled to get you interested by the low price, then show you more stuff when you come back later to the store.
best thing to do is find out what you want to keep. this is an expensive hobby, its better to research twice and spend once.

one more thing- there is no such thing as a dumb question..except the one not asked. if you dont know or are unsure feel free to ask!

[ayios]

Wow, my friend was right, everyone is so very helpful. I have a family member willing to sell me his old 55 gallon tank for very cheap. So, my main goal would to, over time because this is indeed an expensive hobby, build a tank with live rock and a good variety of fish and other creatures. From the limited research that I have already done, I heard that clown fish are good fish to start out with.

My present plan is to buy the tank, filtration system and lights and then start with a few good starting fish and then after my tank stabilizes, start adding some live rock and other fish.

What fish are good "starting" fish for a new tank?

[Witfull]

personally i would rather see you set up the tank with the live rock. it will cycle the tank much faster and if there is any die off from the rock it will help the cycle. then add a few fish. this is more humane to fish as they wont be harmed by the cycling tank parameters(even thou some fish are hardy enough its still harmfull) and once the tank cycles the starter fish usually are not friendly tankmates to other fish and need to be returned.
as for fish, when the tank is ready, go to the LFS and see what you like and then ask Us...lol, or look at several fish you would like and check compatability and adult sizes and then get the ones that fit....but that is a while off so we will discuss that option later.

[Curtswearing]

EDIT---WIT BEAT ME ON THE POST. HOWEVER, HOPEFULLY IT SHOULD GIVE YOU COMFORT THAT WE WERE POSTING BASICALLY THE SAME INFO AT THE SAME TIME WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE OTHER PERSON WAS POSTING.

There are a number of good fish that are fairly hardy. As a general rule, you want to add the most aggressive fish last. A number of clownfish are fairly aggressive and will likely pick on any newcomers (particularly maroon clowns). False Percula's are a little less aggressive IMO especially the tank-raised ones.

I'm also assuming by starting your tank, you mean after your tank has cycled with the live rock. A long time ago, people used damsels or clowns to cycle a tank and those fish were called starter fish. That is no longer done if you are getting live rock.... the Live Rock alone will start the nitrogen cycle in your tank.

Find out from your relative if they ever used a copper medication of any kind in the tank to treat Ich. If so, and you think you might want to add corals later, rinse it with bleach, then rinse it with tapwater and vinegar, then rinse it with tapwater again.

[Witfull]

oh, almost forgot....

[Curtswearing]

Here is a good all around article on Types of Filtration

During the setup of this board, we were helped by some kind people on another board and they have a some basic steps to setting up and aquarium. The 3 steps can be found Here

Not only that, we have a research board down near the bottoms of the forums. You can even click on the link in my signature to get there. Right now if you do it on a lot of those forums, it will be blank. You need to change the drop-down box to say 60 days and you will find TON'S of info. (We will be working on a fix for this shortly).

[SaltyQueen]

A 55 gallon tank would be a good size for you as a beginner. As stated previously, it's best to let the tank cycle with live rock (1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon of tank) before introducing any fish or other critters (read more about the nitrogen cycle to learn about cycling). You'll also need to decide what you want on the bottom of your tank (sand, crushed coral, nothing). There is some debate over what is best, so read more about it here: DSB...Let's Discuss!

Once your tank is cycled, you'll want to introduce some fish & a clean-up crew- this could be snails, hermit cras, or other critters that help to keep your tank "clean" by eating wastes, algae, etc. I agree with curt that a tank-raised false percula (ocellaris clown) is a good, peaceful beginner fish. They look like the fish in the pic under my name.

Some other good, peaceful beginner fish include (what I started with in addition to 2 clowns):
Midas Blenny
Bicolor Pseudochromis
Firefish Goby
Neon Blue Goby

These fish are relatively small, peaceful, & shouldn't harm any corals or other critters in your tank.

Some good beginner inverts include:
Cleaner Shrimp
Feather Dusters
Certain starfish (linckia or serpent stars are good)
Snails
Some smaller hermit crabs (like scarlet reef crabs)
Fighting conch or Queen conch

There are so many other good beginner fish & inverts, these are just what I started with- I'm sure others can fill you in on what they kept successfully as beginners.


To successfully keep these critters, as well as corals, you'll need a good protein skimmer, powerheads for water movement & aeration, and adequate lighting. Power compact lighting is sufficient for fish, most inverts, and some corals, but metal halide lighting is best, especially if you want to keep a wider variety of corals, or inverts like clams or anemones (wait to try these guys until you have some more experience).

A sump is a good idea, as you can put equipment like a protein skimmer there (so you don't have it in your main tank), plus it increases the water volume of your system. It's not necessary, but it's easier to add one now at the beginning than later when your tank is established.

Most importantly, RESEARCH! There are a lot of good books, like these: Recommended books for Saltwater?

And ask for advice along the way- the people on this board will be more than happy to give you advice, ideas, or input on each step of your tank set-up.

Welcome to Reef Sanctuary, and hopefully we'll be able to help you become as addicted to this hobby as we all are!

[Curtswearing]

Awesome post SQ!!!

I'm not sure about the psuedochromis but I guess every critter is an individual (mine was a meanie).