# Thinking about starting a saltwater tank



## Geradmg513 (Oct 26, 2012)

I am kicking around the idea of a saltwater tank. I have a brand new 56 gallon tank with led lighting, Fusion 500 air pump, Marineland Emperor 400 filter etc. I have done pretty well with my 37 gallon freshwater tank and I religiously cleaned it, did water changes, and maintained it just fine. If I go saltwater I want to go as simple as possible for now. I don't want to do coral or anything crazy exotic for now. What is one of the most basic set ups I can do for a saltwater tank? I know you can get into skimmers, sump tanks, and all this other stuff but I just want to keep it simple and easy. 

How much more maintenance is involved than freshwater?
What are some good basic beginner fish I could go with?


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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

In a few years I may get a saltwater tank myself. I just love the awesome colors of the saltwater fish like yellow, dark blue, orange...


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Geradmg513 said:


> I am kicking around the idea of a saltwater tank. I have a brand new 56 gallon tank with led lighting, Fusion 500 air pump, Marineland Emperor 400 filter etc. I have done pretty well with my 37 gallon freshwater tank and I religiously cleaned it, did water changes, and maintained it just fine. If I go saltwater I want to go as simple as possible for now. I don't want to do coral or anything crazy exotic for now. What is one of the most basic set ups I can do for a saltwater tank? I know you can get into skimmers, sump tanks, and all this other stuff but I just want to keep it simple and easy.
> 
> How much more maintenance is involved than freshwater?
> What are some good basic beginner fish I could go with?


Skip the filter and use Live rock as filtration. of course live rock needs to be cured first before placing it in the DT. 

For substrate - you will need live sand

No air pump - buy a good powerhead for water movement. If you can afford Vortech MP10s go for it! They can provide a wide variety of water flow.

As you mentioned , you will need a protein skimmer although a sump is optional but well worth having.

RO/DI unit - this is a MUST HAVE!! There's no way around it. Tap water mixed with salt mix is not advisable. You will nedd to get a refractometer and a TDS monitor.

Test kit for saltwater.

good beginner fish options:

Clownfish - tank-bred is better then wild caught. However, they DO NOT need an anemone to survive! Also, DO NOT mix 2 different species of clowns! If you want a pair, get of same species. Maroons are terrors and highly aggressive of the clownfish species. They get upwards to 6 inches max matured.

Bangaii or Pajama cardinalfish pair (male & female)

goby

firefish

yellowtail damselfish - Never cycle your tank with a damsel or you will regret it later.

dwarf angel - thise are to be the last fish added to tank.

Better yet, read, read, and read all you need to know and understand about saltwater aquaria keeping. Saltwater is very expensive and more involved than fresh water keeping. Hope this helps.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Nothing wrong with a HOB filter for a fish only tank. Mechanical and chemical filtration is essential for a healthy system on any tank.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

True, but a protein skimmer would do much better job than a HOB filter when it comes to removing excess waste. The sump can include bio balls and carbon in their own compartments. Check out the ProFlex Sump unit from Drs Foster & Smith. You can set it in three different ways - Berlin, Refugium, and Traditional methods:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+23752&pcatid=23752

(Just click on Sump Instruction Manuel PDF link on the page for more info)


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Even with the addition of a skimmer, no tank is complete without mechanical filteration. The BEST aquarists in the country will agree with me (as many of them have been my mentors) I don't know of any truely successful tank without filter socks or a mechanical filter of some sort that is rinsed out or changed regularly. Skimmers are nice, refugiums are nice, but there is no replacement for clear and clean water than removing waste with a mechanical filter. Also most imploy a chemical filter of some sort. Polyfilter, GFO carbon, phosphate remover, chemi-pure, etc are all useful.


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