# Starting my first saltwater tank.



## revisMVP (Aug 11, 2012)

I'm starting my first saltwater tank and I've done quite a bit of research about it. I only plan on setting up a fish only with live rock aquarium around 30 gallons or so. I just have a few questions. Are protein skimmers necessary for a healthy saltwater fish tank? (so pricey). What equipment and chemicals, vitamins etc.. are essential or must have for a healthy saltwater tank? What are some good beginner fish or inverts to first place in my tank? Would greatly appreciate some help!


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

i have a FOWLR tank that is a 35g the saltwater fish waste floats to the top unlike freshwater where the waste falls to the bottom. so people like to use the skimmers. i personally do not have one. i have a regular HOB filter and instead of using the long tube that comes with it i put the intake part straight up on the top so its only in the water about 1-2 inchs in. so you can get away with that. also live rock filters the tank as well so as long as your not going with some crazy stock that produces alot of waste you can get away with just a simple cheap hob filter as well. 
id also ad live sand. that helps out a bit as well. as for chemicals i try to stay away from them as much as possible weather its a freshwater tank or a saltwater tank. the more chemicals you dump into the tank the more it becomes dependent on it. i have not added anything but some salt,water,live sand,live rock, and some smart start to cycle the tank. other then that it has been doing just fine. if your going to get coral and stuff like that then i have no clue what you put in there for them. 

do you have fish keeping experience? or are you a first timer jumping into saltwater? if so id recommend you get a freshwater tank first and see how you can care for that before trying saltwater. its alot of work and i can tell you since our tank size is close yours being a 30 and mine a 35, evaporation is vary hard to deal with. i recommend you get a large bucket or trash can and mix water in that with the correct salt levels instead of you dumping fresh water into the tank and trying to add salt while you have fish in there. thats a sure way to shock the whole system and kill off the fish. 
im using a 20g trash can with a power head/wave maker in there with pre mixxed salt water for evaporation. iv already tried dumping in fresh water to the tank and adding more salt and all that did was killed my fish. so make sure you invest in a bucket and power head for it.


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## revisMVP (Aug 11, 2012)

Cory1990 said:


> i have a FOWLR tank that is a 35g the saltwater fish waste floats to the top unlike freshwater where the waste falls to the bottom. so people like to use the skimmers. i personally do not have one. i have a regular HOB filter and instead of using the long tube that comes with it i put the intake part straight up on the top so its only in the water about 1-2 inchs in. so you can get away with that. also live rock filters the tank as well so as long as your not going with some crazy stock that produces alot of waste you can get away with just a simple cheap hob filter as well.
> id also ad live sand. that helps out a bit as well. as for chemicals i try to stay away from them as much as possible weather its a freshwater tank or a saltwater tank. the more chemicals you dump into the tank the more it becomes dependent on it. i have not added anything but some salt,water,live sand,live rock, and some smart start to cycle the tank. other then that it has been doing just fine. if your going to get coral and stuff like that then i have no clue what you put in there for them.
> 
> do you have fish keeping experience? or are you a first timer jumping into saltwater? if so id recommend you get a freshwater tank first and see how you can care for that before trying saltwater. its alot of work and i can tell you since our tank size is close yours being a 30 and mine a 35, evaporation is vary hard to deal with. i recommend you get a large bucket or trash can and mix water in that with the correct salt levels instead of you dumping fresh water into the tank and trying to add salt while you have fish in there. thats a sure way to shock the whole system and kill off the fish.
> im using a 20g trash can with a power head/wave maker in there with pre mixxed salt water for evaporation. iv already tried dumping in fresh water to the tank and adding more salt and all that did was killed my fish. so make sure you invest in a bucket and power head for it.


No I've had a few freshwater tanks and had pretty good success with them. I've read that if you put a clear cover over your tank it helps slow the process of evaporation.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

it does but its not going to help you much. trust me i have a glass cover over my tank with cooking wrap all over the top of it. 

so just save yourself the trouble and some cash by not killing your fish and make sure you at least get a 5 gallon bucket from the hardware store to mix your saltwater in. you will lose about a gallon or so a day from the tank maybe a bit less maybe a bit more depending on your house. in the winter with a dry house you will lose much more water. so i always pre mix the water for it. its not hard it doesnt take up much more space to do it. 

and at least your not a complete noob jumping into saltwater. the only chemicals i got for my tank both freshwater and saltwater is a simple water dechlorinator thats really all you need and you dont even need that if you let the water stand for a week or so because it will go away on its own. i like to use as much rain water as i can ketch for my tanks as well. i know alot of people wont do the same as i do because im a fish nut and have tanks in every corner of my condo lol but i like to use rain as much as possible. 

cheap saltwater tank set up is this list

1. tank
2.hob filter (walmart or fishstores get one rated for about 50-60g costs about 30$ or look on craigslist iv found them for 10$) 
3. live rock (costs the most check craigslist i got it for 1.99 a pound there)
4.power head/wave maker (ebay best bet they are super cheap there)( or petco pretty cheap i paid 30.00 for one rated for 30g tank small but works)
5. live sand (10.00 a bag you need two from petco)
6. fish (cost depends on what you get)
7.light (hardware store sells small t8 lights for like 10-15$ with bulbs)


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## revisMVP (Aug 11, 2012)

I actually ended up buying a 46 gallon bow and all the equipment for around $485 except for the sand because it was crazily overpriced. I just have to wait for the stand to come in because the stand there was $300 and that's just not happening. Any tips on that size of a tank? Your help is greatly appreciated.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

NEVER add salt water to a tank to compensate for evaporation; the salt itself doesn't evaporate with the water. When water evaporates, the salinity goes up. Adding salt water to the tank at that point only raises the salinity.

A protein skimmer should be used, although they are by no means required. If you want corals or for the tank to not be overrun by algae, a skimmer is pretty much mandatory however.

If you don't have corals, or even if you don't have many, you shouldn't need to dose much of anything, so long as you keep up with your water changes. 

If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask!

- Ben


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## revisMVP (Aug 11, 2012)

funlad3 said:


> NEVER add salt water to a tank to compensate for evaporation; the salt itself doesn't evaporate with the water. When water evaporates, the salinity goes up. Adding salt water to the tank at that point only raises the salinity.
> 
> A protein skimmer should be used, although they are by no means required. If you want corals or for the tank to not be overrun by algae, a skimmer is pretty much mandatory however.
> 
> ...


What is the proper way to do a water change for a SW tank?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Mix the water in a clean water storage unit, like a rinsed five gallon bucket. Although you can use dechlorinated tap water for a Fish Only or Fish Only with Live Rock tank, filtered water is better. For example, you can easily go to the hardware store and pick up a single stage carbon block filter for $15. That removes all of the chlorine and a lot of the minerals from the water. If you have the money, a Reverse Osmosis filter is a great investment too.

Anyways, add your water the the clean storage unit, and measure out the salt as instructed by the packaging. Then, mix the salt with your arm, a powerhead, a plastic spoon, or whatever until all of the salt is dissolved. Read the salt level with a hydrometer, or better yet, a refractometer. Your water should have a specific gravity (density) between 1.023 and 1.026. Let the water sit for as long as possible, but covered so dust can't get in. If you're doing a small (less than 10%) water change, then you don't need to worry about heating the water, so long as it's already over 70º. If it's a larger water change, then you should match the temperature of the old water to that of the new water before adding it.

Siphon out the old water, algae, or detritus from the sand bed from the tank. Then, slowly pour or pump the new water back in. Done.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Use distilled or R/O water. This will save you a lot of headaches and give better results.


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