# Help with my first salty tank!



## l300lover (Jan 18, 2013)

I have always wanted to have a salty tank but never dove into that yet! I am just going to do a simple 20 or 30 gallon tank right now. Questions I have.... 1. Can I used cycled water from a tropical tank to start out my salt tank and just add salt to the water? Because I have a 150g tropical tank right now. 2. Do I need a different filter for my saltwater tank? If so could you point me to a simple saltwater filter that would work for a 30 gallon tank? 3. Do I buy the sand from a fish store? Any help would be great guys! Thank you for your time!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

To clarify, you DO NOT add table salt to make saltwater. You have to buy special mix for saltwater. Find them at your LFS.

Now the very first thing you seriously need to do is read and research EVERYTHING that's involved in saltwater aquaria keeping. Mind you, this is a very expensive venture to jump into. If you have the money, the patience, the know how, you can succeed. My suggestion is to buy a book called The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner. 

My advice for you is read, read, and read some more on learning the whats, whys, whens, and hows of setting up a saltwater tank. Ask yourself a question: Do you want to go Reef or FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock)? 

Filters are okay but a protein skimmer is what most folks use for filtration in a saltwater tank. Why? they do a far better job keeping your tank clean. 


You won't be able to have many fish in a 10 gallon or 20 gallon tank. The "1 inch per gallon" rule does not pertain to saltwater. In reality - the most you can have in a 10 gallon is 1 fish. in a 20 gallon, 2, maybe 3 at best.

Thinking of going with a 30 gallon tank is a good start. But let's not stop there. There are numerous equipment you'll have to get. Lighting? Forget about those generic lighting that comes with the aquarium kits. They will not support corals if you plan on having them. You'll have to go with specialized lighting like LEDs, Metal Halides, VHOs - depending on the type of corals you get.

Other equipment you have to consider are besides a skimmer:

RO/DI unit to filter water to mix your own saltwater - This is a MUST HAVE!!! Tap water is a HUGE no-no!

heater

QT set-up (QT = quarantine tank)

Brute garbage cans - for storing and mixing 

Refractometer

A good quality Master saltwater test kit - NEVER use test strips for they are garbage. Get Red Sea, Sea Chem or Salifert brands. Expensive but worth the money to give you accurate readings.

ATO (Auto-Top Off)unit.

Sump

Powerheads -2

Live Rock/Live sand Live rock is expensive and average about $7 - $10 per pound. My recommendation is get it from Tampa Bay Saltwate:r
(http://tampabaysaltwater.com/index.html)
Get the "package deal". They come in variety of package sizes depending on your tank size. 

There is so much more you need to know and reading this book is a good star. Saltwater is not the same as freshwater - you'll have to let your tank cycle for about 6 - 12 weeks, There are some exceptions that some are ready in as little as 4 weeks, others 6, 8, or 12 weeks. It all depends on the quality of live rock. You will learn about this amd more in the book I recommended for you to read.

Most importantly, take it slow and be patient. There is no such thing as a quick cycle. Rushing into this hobby will cause you nothing but heartache and money.

Another factor you really need to understand is fish compatibility and tank size recommendations.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself here but thought I'd throw in a couple things.

I know folks always say "I want to get a tang."They have certain requirements and drawbacks. First and foremost, they are notoriously known to be ich magnets. They do best in tanks of at least 6 - 8 feet LONG and at least 125 gallons or more (depending on tang species) due to their swimming nature. Only 2 types of tangs can be in tanks of 55 gallons - Kole and Bristletooth. 

Clownfish is a popular choice for most beginners and they're pretty easy to keep. They come in a variety of species. be it peaceful, aggressive and extremely aggressive.

Peaceful - Perculas, Occelleris (aka: False Clownfish), Skunk clownfish

Aggressive - Tomato, Clarkiis, Cinnamon

Extremely aggressive - Maroons (both white and gold stripes) They are real terrors and get upwards of 6 inches or more.

Oh yeah they do bite and can draw blood when defending their territory.

Clowns can do well singularly. Pairs are fun to have. They DO NOT need an anemone to survive. Anemones are best left until you gain experience and understanding care of these creatures. 

Two most important things you need to remember regarding clownfish:

NEVER mix clownfish species in a tank

NEVER have more then 2 clownfish. Why? Once a dominant pair is formed, they will kill the others. 

I can go on forever with corals but I don't want to overwhelm you with it for now.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have when you're ready to get your feet wet. But do read and research first! Good luck.


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## l300lover (Jan 18, 2013)

Wow ok I thank you for your help! I think I will not do the salt water tank. Just too much of a headache! Thanks again for the info!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

not to discourage you from starting a SW tank but sadly it is the reality. Some beginners jump in and succeed, others don't. If you play your cards right, you can do it. 


My dream is to start a SW tank someday and have been doing tons of research and countless hours reading and learning the last 6 years. Why I haven't got one running yet? Simple - money. As I mentioned, it is a very expensive hobby but I believe I am confident I can do it. Will I make mistakes along the way? Yes. It's a learning process. 

Don't be intimidated and discouraged. If you save up some money, buy equipment a little at a time, you can do it.


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

My thoughts. There is a lot of new things that have come out on the market to aid the saltwater fans in the last 20-25 years. I had a salt tank back in the early eighties and I didn't have a sump, auto top off rig, R.O. water, and such and the fish did fine. Most places that sell saltwater also sell R.O. water. Doing a 30g SW can house about 6 fish with a good canister filter. Another route to go is an invertebrae tank. The biggest expense is going to be your lighting. One of the best things to come out is the use of live sand. That really jump starts your system. 

As Ice say "don't be intimidated and discouraged".


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Whew! Well, the differences between fresh & salt are really not that great, but they are critically important. Baseball vs Softball. Essentially the same, but worlds apart.
The thing you do first is decide what your final goal is for the tank, and then plan accordingly. You can't just slap it together and then decide what to put in it.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

One thing I will say is avoid canister filters like the plague in a reef tank. They're notoriously known to be nitrate factories. Invest in a good quality skimmer. Skimmers do a far better job picking up fish/food waste and keeping the tank cleaner than a canister filter. Another advantage over the canister filter is skimmers are far easier to maintain and clean. Canister filters, you have to take apart and maintain. Not worth the extra headache and work. Skimmers are the way to go. HOB filters are not all that great either. Cheap yet don't do half the cleaning job as a protein skimmer could.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Well, that's sort-of true. Skimmers are chemical filters, removing molecular waste. A mechanical filter, CLEANED every day or two, reduces the amount of waste in the tank before it can break down into molecules.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The catch is that you have to make sure to clean the mechanical filter very, very regularly. A HOB is better than a canister for this reason.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I'm not saying don't use a skimmer, oh no! I'm saying use a skimmer in conjunction with a mechanical filter to maximize effectiveness.


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## jlpropst00 (Jun 12, 2011)

I know this is an old thread but for those reading this thread after the fact I think there are just a few things that could be added.

One is that saltwater tank doesn't necessarily mean reef tank. As stated above there are big differences between saltwater and fresh but likewise there are differences between a Fish Only and a Reef. 

You could keep a couple clown fish in a 30gal with just a HOB (cleaned regularly)
a heater and a powerhead and just normal lights. Sure you need something to measure salinity and mix saltwater in and test kits but still very do able on a minimal budget. 

Don't get me wrong you should do a ton of research and its definitely not "set it and forget it", but I think people get to easily scared off by people telling them they need a complex reef system to keep saltwater fish. 

A ton could be said but I'll stop there. Nothing said above is incorrect I just feel that we like assume all saltwater is a reef tank with high maintenance fish/corals which doesn't have to be the case. We need more people in the saltwater hobby!


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