Starting A Saltwater Tank - what to buy?

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone could help me. I'm really interested in starting up a saltwater tank in a few months. But I don't have a clue what to do or where to start or what to buy. Don't really understand the saltwater business. I'm only an advanced tropical freshwater person not saltwater] so any help could go a long way. Thank you.

 

Best thing you can do if interested in Saltwater is do your research. Research and planning goes a long way in SW. I would recommend a minimum of 30-55 gallon tank to start with.

What kind of Saltwater tank are you planning? Fish Only (FO)? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR) or reef?

 

I was thinking the easiest which I would of thought was fish only

 

Fish only with love rock isn't any harder then fish only. In fact the live rock provides the necessary beneficial bacteria for your biological filtration and provides a safe haven for fish and inverts.

 

Are saltwater fish hard to look after once the tank is all set up?

 

Are saltwater fish hard to look after once the tank is all set up?

In my opinion (granted I have only had my saltwater tank for about a month so I am not an expirenced saltwater aquarist) FOWLR tanks are just as easy as freshwater tanks. (IMHO planted Freshwater tanks are harder than FOWLR Saltwater tanks)
The fish are more delicate and ammonia is much more toxic with the high Ph in Saltwater but if you know how to cycle and take care of a Freshwater tank it isn't much harder

 

The biggest challenge is keeping on top of the water parameters as it's more delicate in Saltwater than FW. Which is why it's recommended for beginners to start with a minimum 30-54gal tank as you have a better margin of error for water parameters. The smaller the tank the more constant upkeep needed. But it isn't much harder then a basic Freshwater tank. It gets complicated with a reef tank where pristine conditions and additional equipment are necessary.

 

had my reef what started out as fowlr setup about 4 months its a nano thing I put together with mostly second hand stuff and in my opinion soft corals are easier to care for than those high tech planted fresh tanks, that stuff baffles me I'm a minimalist type of guy who learns only what I need to and whatever I pick up by chance along the way and my little cube tank looks like a pro put it together lol a simple starter list literally all you need for smart little set up
•tank
•wavemaker
•live rock the most important thing in my opinion as I got good wet 2nd hand stuff and its the best thing I did.
• refractometer
• salt
• RO water witch I just buy and get kh/ph buffer in it.
•buckets/tubs/spare heater/airstone or cheap £10 power head.
•salt water test kit
And tour pretty much rolling IN MY OPPINION. Others will play up that you need a skimmer and all that but you don't they are good though id have one if my tank would let me lol, the sw thing is very individual and you work to your own needs and wants of what you have if that makes sense, I got the live sand too it helps with the start up and looks good too lol.

 

I second the larger tank! And if you can go even bigger, do it! I also feel a deeper front to back tank is usually better than taller. More room for the rock and for fish to still swim around everything. I recently upgraded my 29 gal biocube to an 85 gallon full reef and absolutely love it! The water is definitely easier to keep stable. You can do some great rock scaping and have more/bigger fish and more corals.. because you'll probably end up with corals! Lol

Make yourself a wishlist of tank inhabitants. Then start at the top and research each one. I find liveaquaria (usually a top hit) a pretty good resource for the basic rundown. From here you can do more research or cross it off your list. There are lots so awesome fish but not too many that are ok in smaller tanks so be sure to look at that too. And if you think you'll eventually add corals, make sure the fish you choose are reef safe. I found making lists very beneficial. I've read about a ton of fish!

There are also some great starter info posts on here and even other reef forums. Read them all.

Make a tentative plan and share it with us. Let folks point out good and bad and then tweak it to make it better.

You'll definitely make beginner mistakes. We all have (and some of us continue to make mistakes!) but the more prepared you can be the better.

And lastly, buy a separate tank for QT! QT QT QT!!! Read up on best practices for QT. How many weeks, what, if anything, to treat for. What methods. There are a ton of ways to do it but pick something and do it! You definitely don't want to get your tank all set up and add fish only to have to tear it down to catch said fish when you notice an illness.. that could possibly have infected the tank or the other fish.. just QT and only introduce healthy fish! I have 3 fish that have at least another month in QT. I have chosen to treat for parasites and also inadvertently for bacterial infections as I was treating some zoas for zoa pox that wasn't going away with just a dip. So far they are happy and healthy. Here's hoping they graduate QT!