Advice on First Setup

[Jason In The 561]

Hi everyone

Let me start by saying that saltwater aquariums have been an interest of mine for quite some time but time and money has never been in my favor to really get into the hobby. Things in my life have recently changed and I was looking for some advice on my first setup. Iv been thinking about starting a 50 gal reef tank. Nothing to serious at first, something consisting of live rock, a few corals and plants, maybe one or two fish and some invertebrates. Iv been doing a lot of reading and its kinda a lot to digest so I figured Id first to concentrate on my equipment then move on to other subjects. I know that I want to do an acrylic tank and Iv been looking at SeaClear's 50 gallon tanks. I was considering the different routes I can take for filtration and plumbing and came across SeaClear 50 Gallon System II setup. It includes, what I think, just about everything I need. I would add a nice protein skimmer, heater, lighting all the other amenities but I wanted to know if this is a good route to take? Could I do it better and maybe cheaper buying just the tank and everything else separate? Or should I change my setup plan completely? Tell me whatca think.

Here is some links to the setup:

SeaClear 50 Gallon System II Aquariums - Aquariums - Fish - PetSmart

http://www.futurepets.com/images/ss/sea93261.jpg

Don't be afraid to get technical Iv taken plenty of chemistry physics and biology when I was studying my bachelors. Thanks in advance.

Jason

 

[marcah]

first howdy and welcome to the site.. :D

I am not a fan of acrylic tanks scratch to easily IMO.. and with a saltwater tank running you are in it alot cleaning the glass...I wouldnt use a wet dry filter doing a saltwater tank they tend to lead to higher nitrate levels over time.. better off getting around 75 to 100 pounds of liverock with a couple powerheads and a good skimmer on it.. lighting shoot for a 4 bulb t-5 fixture... heater I always prefer to have two smaller heaters rather then one larger heater (so if one dies I still have one running) shooting for 4 watts per gal or more.. a nice little sump refugium would be a great idea but you can always do that later... I guess what I am saying is I wouldnt go with the setup, alot may feel different though..

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

I agree, I think you can find a much better setup than that. Even just the sand will scratch the acrylic, and overtime all the little scratches will drive you crazy. Plus, unless you are getting a biocube or similar, most of those all in one tanks need more modifications than its worth.

I also suggest starting with a glass 75 tank. It is much easier to aqauscape because of the few extra inches of width, and it increases the number of fish you can have, and they type of fish that are suitable for that tank.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.

 

[ErinCahir]

Hi and welcome to the site!

+1 little_fish on the 75...

 

[Jason In The 561]

Thanks for the welcome and advice guys. I think Im going to go with little fish's advice on going with the glass 75. Any recommendations on brands or types? Also on the issue of live rock, I came across two sites when reading other threads and wanted some opinions on them. They seem like they offer reasonable prices and I live in Florida so shipping will be quick.

Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock

Marco Rocks The finest aquarium rock available

I was thinking that id do 50lbs of live and around another 100 of dry and allow the live to seed the dry?

 

[fastrd400]

Hi, and welcome to the site. I'd first look at something like Craigslist for a reefer shutting down a tank. You will more times than not, get a great deal on everything you want, minus any livestock. Second, both the "rock" sites you posted are awesome, and you can't go wrong with either of them. TBS has many happy customers here on this website alone.

 

[Sir Alex]

I got my 110 from he LFS and the 75 off of craigslist. If you have the extra money I suggest getting a new tank. I payed $400 for mine and I'm a little disappointed. the return pump is broken, the overflow is a cheap overflow box with a crack in it that was glued. The stand doesn't have any doors so the sump can be clearly seen. It was hard to find a 75 gallon tank with an overflow. I guess I should have looked harder...

 

[marcah]

I have dealt with marc at marco rocks on several occasions.. never had one issue and he let me choose the sizes of rock I wanted.. and yes it will seed the dry over a period of time..

 

[little_fish]

The only thing to be aware of with the TBS rocks is you will get some bad hitchhikers. Some people cannot handle pistol shrimps and one member is going bananas trying to get rid of the many many many that came with his order. You will also have to spend some time getting rid of gorilla crabs and other unwanted beasts.

But marco rocks is awesome, they are a great place to order dry stuff from.

Also, part of buying stuff on cragslist is looking for a good deal. I personally would just buy a tank and not any "extras" because the extras are usually broken or not the quality you want.