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I'm thinking about starting a saltwater tank. I have a spare 30 gallon and was planning on using that. What do I need to start one up and what do I need to do to keep the water parameters good and all that.

What type of fish would do well in a 30gl? Please help me out with this.

Okay first thing you have to decide is do you want a reef tank or do you a Fish Only. That will decide on what you have to get. I would start with a fish only since the investment is MUCH less. If money is no object then go with the reef. I have a 100 gallon myself and it is my pride and joy. Amazing just sitting and watching all the little creatures.

Good Luck
Junior

I want a fish only tank. I have a 55 gallon but that's housing my two oscars. I was thinking of selling them to the pet shop and maybe converting the tank to a saltwater. Would it be worth it? Is it too much work? It's going to be really hard letting go of the oscars. Anybody who's owned oscars probably knows what I'm talking about.

I did the same thing. I had a 100 gallon and converted it to a 100 gallon reef with sumps and all that.

Converting is very easy, all you will need is a GOOD quality skimmer, don't listen to your fish store. get somethign like a Euroreef skimmer. That will be about your biggest expense. If you find it used it will run you about $250-$350, there are a lot of cheap skimmers but if you want to load up your tank with a lot of fish and not just a few you will want a good skimmer.
Then you will need a box of salt, get Instant Ocean, it is the most reliable brand. That will be about $35.
Next would be the sand. Depending on where you live this can be a huge difference in price. I see you live in IL. I believe you get the cheap sand. Call you local Home Depot and ask for Tropical Play Sand. The company name will be Southdown or Old Castle. This stuff sells for about $10/50lbs. If you buy from a fish store it will be $50+/50lbs. You will want about 50 lbs for your tank so one bag will do.
The last thing will be Live Rock. Now this can get spendy but if you aren't in a hurry this isn't so bad. You can order 60lbs of Base rock(The rock part of live rock) for very cheap about $70 shipped to you. You then go out and buy some live rock(about 20-25lbs). Give it about 4 months and all of it will be live rock. It will just take more time.
With all that, after a month of cycling you are ready to add your first fish.

There are other things you can add if you wish to make things easier on you. Like I have a refugium(a seperate tank, connected to my main tank). This tank hold Plants that eat up nitrates so I rarely do water changes. My tank has been up for about 6 months now and I have not done one water change and my nitrates are 0.
Also you can put in a sump(a tank below the main tank. This holds are you equipment.
There is so many combo that I could go on for days but thats about the jist of it.

If you need more help, just post another question and I'll do my best to answer

Good Luck
Junior

Hey Junior. Great post.

I'm looking into salt water too, and instead of starting a new thread, I thought I'd reuse an old one.

I've got a 20 gallon tank that is 1'x1'x30". I am looking into converting this to salt water, to "broaden my horizons" a little bit. I am thinking of adding some sort of damselfish and maybe a clown fish or two. Will these fish do okay in a 20 gallon? Will I need to buy a skimmer if I plan to do an "only fish" aquarium? I understand that a skimmer is always a good plan in saltwater, but if I have to buy one, I won't be able to do saltwater, as I can't really afford anything that is not absolutely necessary. If a skimmer is absolutely necessary, what is the cheapest I can get one the will allow me to get by? Who makes such a skimmer? Will I be able to do live rock without a skimmer? Is filtration the same in a saltwater tank as it is in a freshwater setup? Can you use an Undergravel filter in saltwater? Will I be able to order the coral sand through Lowes, our local department store? What kind of lighting do I need to have on a Saltwater setup? Is there anything I'm not considering?

Sorry for all of the questions, but I don't want to go out, spend a lot of money, and have my tank end up completely flopping. I appreciate the help.

ok first off freshwater filtration is someone what the same, but very different in other areas.

with a 20g you can get a cheap skimmer, don't touch a seaclone and never listen to a manufacturs rating. I suggest a Prizm pro for your tank, it says its for 150g systems but that is in their dreams this thing is only good for nanos(20-). A skimmer is not a must but it will save you a lot of money in the long run ie dead fish and water changes.

ok now a bit of a hard truth for you, you are going to have a heck of a time with your tank if you jump into this. Everything in saltwater has to be planned out and you must have at least a grasp of what everything does.
First thing I suggest you do is go out and buy saltwater for dummies, it is the best book I have read so far. It costs about $30 and will be the best $30 you spend on a saltwater tank.
Do all you reading and get at least used to the ideas and filters before every buying a thing.

good luck
JR

Whew! Lightning fast!:eek:

First thing I suggest you do is go out and buy saltwater for dummies, it is the best book I have read so far. It costs about $30 and will be the best $30 you spend on a saltwater tank.

Sure thing. I planned to buy something kind of book. Right now, I am looking for what I might be able to do with a saltwater tank before I put any kind of money into it.

How much does a Prizm pro cost, out of curiousity?

Will I be able to keep the fish I asked about in my 20 gallon?

Heading somewhere tomorrow to get "Saltwater for Dummies". I appreciate the advice.

I have heard bad things with damselfish, might want to avoid them.

nothing is wrong with damsels they are great a starter fish, they resist ammonia very well thats why many people use them to cycle their tank(I don't approve of that method).
If you do some reading you will find out that clownfish are damsels fish, just not as aggresive.

Yes you can keep all those fish depending on which ones, there are a lot of different kinds of clowns ranging from 3" max to 6" max. I am guessing you are talking about the false percula clown aka nemo(hate that with a passion). you could keep a single clown and 2 damsels but I think you would like a pair of clowns. the relationship is very interesting to watch.

Now onto the skimmer, I don't know if this board likes me advertising other board but here we go. http://www.reefcentral.com its not the best place to ask for advice, a lot of rich guys that think they know what they are doing because they can buy the newest gadgets but at the end of the day have no idea how their system works. One thing that board has is an amazing for sale section, I highly suggest it, I have only had good luck with it and I have made many purchases.

good luck
JR

[QUOTE]Originally posted by junior
[B]nothing is wrong with damsels they are great a starter fish, they resist ammonia very well thats why many people use them to cycle their tank(I don't approve of that method).
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Can you do a fishless cycle then, ie using pure ammonia with a salt water setup?
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If you do some reading you will find out that clownfish are damsels fish, just not as aggresive.
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That is what I was refering to in my post about them. I have read quite a few posts where ppl used damsels fish to cycle, then add the fish they wanted, and the damsels turned aggressive and beat up/killed the new fish.

the way I always cycle my tank is first by getting uncured rock...ie rock that is fresh from the ocean. A lot of time there is die off on them and that will cycle your tank.
Another easy way to do it is to just go to the store and by a large prawn, drop that thing in and as it degrades it adds waste to your tank allowing it to cycle.
Both of these methods won't kill fish and do a much better job. Also in the end you aren't forced to take you tank apart to get the damsels out.

JR

I've been thinking about it (I haven't got my book yet), and was wondering will the salt mix I buy be able to lower the ph of my water? Coming out of the tap, water around here runs in the mid 9s. As I understand, most saltwater fish like ph of 8-8.5. Will high ph be a problem for fish? If the mix doesn't lower the ph, will I have to use a mixture of rainwater in my saltwater tank as well?

If its that high I realy suggest getting an RO, you can pick one up off of ebay for around $100 and it will make your life so much easier, also your tank will have a lot less algea. I'm really not positive it will lower it enough, but you can give it a try, go get a 5g bag of salt and test it. That will tell you if you absolutly need a RO.

Hi people!!

i personally think that if anyone on here wants to start a fish only marine set up then buying a good book as junior said is a must.

Im in the process of getting my FOWLR.(fish only with live rock) set up,and i dont think i would be able to do it successfuly without lots of research from books and internet.

just my thoughts......

jay:)

I can not agree more, but there is a lot of areas where books will lead you wrong, and also there are so many DIY ideas out there for saltwater that will save you so much money in the long run.
One thing I think many people should stay away from doing is planning out a stock list before ever setting up their tank, don't get me wrong I think its good to have goals. I just think a lot of people feel over whelmed by saltwater, when in reality it is not as menacing as it is made out to be. As long as you do it right the first time and keep up on maintence all will work fine.

To break it down if anyone wants to know, here is what you NEED to have a well set up, stable saltwater tank(not just bare min. here, this will provide a good easy to take care of tank).

Live rock-about 1.5lbs per gallon, VERY important to a stable and functioning tank.
Live sand-not needed but more appeasing to the eyes.
Protein Skimmer-get one rated for your tank and ask an experienced person about it before buy most of are VERY over rated.
Salt mix-DON'T buy the cheap stuff, this is a huge choice and picking a cheap brand will hurt you in the long run with phosphates and nitrates.

That right there is the 4 things that is different than fresh, o and NO HOB Filters, they just collect waist and make a head ache for you.