theres a million possibilties for my tank! which do i choose!?

[rDr4g0n]

hello everyone!

ive had a bit of experience with saltwater aquariums, and a lot of experience with freshwater. im investing money into setting up a FOWLR system in a 30 gallon aquarium. the problem is im being overwhelmed with info from browsing the net and reading about the things you can do with saltwater tanks to ensure that they run well. i understand for the most part what the components do and why i should use them, but i want to know what i should spend money on right now, on a limited budget.

ive already set up the tank with saltwater, an inexpensive hood (i intend to buy quality lighting a little later on), an over the side filter, a small powerhead, and (im ashamed to say) a $40 protein skimmer (berlin airlift 90). i also bought 2 Kent aquarium kits (starter kit and the kit with calcium, iodine and stobidum) as they were recommended on a lot of sites. my wife works at a zoo, so she was able to get us 2 small pieces of live rock from one of the tanks they have in the back. ive put them in the tank just recently to start the cycle.

im planning to order 25lbs of live fiji rock shortly from www.saltwaterfish.com (~$125 shipped). Is this a good first step? Will this be enough live rock? I intend to arrange it in an island in the center of the aquarium with about 3 - 4 inches of sand around it.

My plan was to let the live rock cure in the tank (after reading about 13 different walkthroughs i think i have a decent idea of how to do that), and then add sand after the curing is complete. The more i read though, the more i realized that holy crap there is a TON more equipment that i can use! Sumps with or without refugiums, overflow boxes, UV sterilizers, altenic lighting, krassvatter and the related drip setups, all sorts of crazy plumbing, etc.

My main questions is this: will my current setup be a firm starting place or do i NEED to start off with a sump or additional equipment as well?

[boozeman]

since it will be a FOWLR you will not need great lighting...but you will need good skimming since you will have a lot of fish poop ...a sump would be a great addition(to increase the water volume and to place filter socks to aid as a mechanical means of waste removal)
not sure why you need those kent additives for...are you planning on keeping corals?

[rDr4g0n]

well im not quite sure yet. i currently plan to get the rock going and havent made any fish plans yet. im thinking (i may be wrong, if i am tell me!!) that i can get the tank going with the live rock, and save up a bit more to build a sump. once i get the sump going i either wanna add fish or coral, not sure which... id like to invest in a nicer skimmer, or build one too, but alas! the money! /cry

it is my intention to add a sump, its merely a matter of time. its good to know that my lighting will at least be adequate... for now. will the skimmer be decent, or at least better than nothing for curing the rock? and will the over the side filter be adequate for filtration? do i use carbon? aaaahhhh!!!!!! *dies*

another random noob question. does fuge = sump?

[sasquatch]

rDr4g0n, welcome to RS! try to make up a wish list for the end result you have in mind, post it and Im sure everybody will be happy to help, patience is key to success in this hobby, good luck Steve

[rDr4g0n]

honestly, its something of a blank canvas. i live near the ocean, so i may end up just stocking it with things i collect on my own here (so far ive seen beau gregories, lots of seargent majors, a ton of gobies, urchins, and some really ugly anemones,), but on the other hand id love to get some other fish. i like the idea of having coral eventually, but any method of making my tank colorful would be cool.

i guess the end result i want is this. a crystal clear tank with a pile of rock in the center that is home to a bazillion different lifeforms, and covered with tons of color. then id like groups of fish hovering around that (perhaps peeking through a hole in the middle?). there we go thats my wish list no specifics. im open to suggestion.

thanks for the warm greetings as well! so far this is a spiffy community!

[pmac90]

oh boy... beau greg's and majors. if you put them in make them last. angry little damsels!! really ugly anemones sound like rock/flower anemones... i had one... they are ugly as sin. haha
Good luck and have fun. looks like you are on the right track.

[lcstorc]

If you are not keeping corals (yet) then I would put a good quality skimmer on the top of the list with or without a sump. Sumps are awesome for adding water volume and storing equiplemt.
A fuge is actually something altogether different though many people have a sump/fuge combination. Generally you want a low amount of flow through your fuge and you cannot do that if you combine the two. Regardless, an in sump fuge does give you a great place for more LR and therefore more filtration. If it is lighted you can even grow various macro algaes in it for nutrient export.
Personally I have 2 seperate tanks. One as a sump and the other a fuge with a deep sand bed, LR, ane macro. Or at least I will have after it gets completed this weekend. Just waiting to put the rest of the sand and the rest of the macro in and I am finallu good to go.

[rDr4g0n]

ooohhh fuge = refugium! now i feel completely stupid

once i get the LR working im going to begin working on my sump setup. ill post my layout in a seperate thread when i get closer to setting it up. thanks for the help!

ok after a ton of reading, im torn between where to get my LR

www.yourreef.com - theyre haveing a sale on LR with free shipping! 25lbs for $99
http://tbsaltwater.com - i can mix and match base, deco, and coral rock in my order
www.saltwaterfish.com - just an overall nice site

anyone have experience with any of these guys or recommendations? i intend to buy about 20 - 25lbs of rock and im aiming for the $125 - $175ish range.