Brand new to the forum and the marine hobby

EliWhitney314

EliWhitney314

Phish Head
Well I just got an incredible deal on a 35/ 40 gallon hexagon tank and I decided I wanted to do a marine aqaurium. I have been in the fish hobby for 5 years, but thus far I have only done tropical fresh water tanks. I have a 75 gallon, planted, south american tank.



DSC_0004.jpg


and now I want to step up to the next level. I just have no idea how to keep a marine aquarium. What do I need to start? What equipment is essential, etc. I assume I need powerheads, a protein skimmer, and a canister filter. What else would I need?

The tank I am going to use was a fresh water tank, so I guess I have to clean the crap out of it before I make the change. I am going to buy some books, but I figured you guys could give me some good advice. I have a few co-workers who have marine aquariums so I could get some live sand from them. Anything else I should ask for?

Here is the tank I got for 25 dollars off of craiglist.

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0052.jpg


thanks for all of your help.
 
New to the site and the marine hobby

Well I just got an incredible deal on a 35/ 40 gallon hexagon tank and I decided I wanted to do a marine aqaurium. I have been in the fish hobby for 5 years, but thus far I have only done tropical fresh water tanks. I have a 75 gallon, planted, south american tank.



DSC_0004.jpg


and now I want to step up to the next level. I just have no idea how to keep a marine aquarium. What do I need to start? What equipment is essential, etc. I assume I need powerheads, a protein skimmer, and a canister filter. What else would I need?

The tank I am going to use was a fresh water tank, so I guess I have to clean the crap out of it before I make the change. I am going to buy some books, but I figured you guys could give me some good advice. I have a few co-workers who have marine aquariums so I could get some live sand from them. Anything else I should ask for?

Here is the tank I got for 25 dollars off of craiglist.

0012.jpg


0032.jpg


0052.jpg


thanks for all of your help.
 
Re: New to the site and the marine hobby

Welcome to the site.:Cheers:

You dont need an RO unit, if you dont mind hauling some water from your LFS. Most sell it for about 50 cents a gallon. Also, you dont need to run a sump either.

I would replace the gravel in the bottom with some aragonite sand. Gravel collects detrious and inhibits the clean up crew from getting to it.

What are you planning on keeping? A tank that deep it will be hard to keep corals. The light required by many corals doesnt penetrate very deep unless the lighting is very intense

Brian
 
Re: New to the site and the marine hobby

Sand substrate, Live rock, HOB Skimmer, maybe canister filter (though not the best) different lighting if your going to keep corals, and I would recommend investing into a RODI unit. Looks like you have a heater. Lighting can wait if you don't start with corals.

BTW Welcome to the hobby and the site. Probably seems overwhelming right now but go slow and you'll be okay.
 
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Re: New to the site and the marine hobby

welcome aboard. Start reading everything you can on Marine aquariums. Research everything before you buy anything. look up reviews on the net and then ask questions here it will save you a lot of money. Oh and dont just buy something from a LFS on thier word. They are around to make money and want to sell you what they have in stock not always what you actually need.
 
welcome to the site. are you planning on just a fish and live rock tank or are you wanting to have corals also? and just ask any questions you may have we are all here to help each other out
 
Re: New to the site and the marine hobby

welcome i responded to your other thread also, which will prob be closed please only open one thread about a topic it makes everything very confusing.

looks like everybody has you covered for now
 
Welcome to the site Eli.It'd be hard to beat that deal.
Instead of messing around with a canister filter,set yourself up a sump.That way your skimmer and heater arent hanging right there in the display.It'll also add water volume which help keep everything stable.
 
Yeah, definitly be careful with corals in the hexagon tank. I grew up with my mom having a hexagon tank and she always had trouble with corals even with good light. It might be a good idea to get a good ammount of live rock so you can build it up and put corals higher, just a suggestion.
 
Well thank you my friends. haha

Let me clear a few things up: I just bought the tank so none of the stuff you see in it will be in there. I plan on getting a new heater, hood, substrate, etc.

I do want to keep coral and I heard soft coral is easier to care for, but I like a challenge. I plan on getting live sand , live rock, a protein skimmer, canister filter, new light, power heads, new heater, and whatever else I need. I would rather go to the lfs than get an RO, because I heard they waste a ton of water. I also do not want a sump, because I have no idea how to make one...plus it's a small tank.

So you are saying I need to stack the live rock if I am going to get coral eventually? Right now my biggest question is about lighting. What lighting should I get? I heard it all depends on what coral I have.

I need to have my water hardness at 8.2? How much salt do I need? Any advice about the basics would really help.

I read most of the articles and I think I might need a few books, any good books you guys have in mind?
 
Hi and welcome!

Save yourself some money and skip the canister filter. If you have 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, and a protein skimmer, no other type of filtration is usually needed. In fact, using a canister filter often leads to water quality problems. They just don't work very well for most tanks.

You can also buy RODI water at any grocery store or Walmart. Which is probably cheaper and more convenient than buying it from your LFS. You're right about the waste of the home units. Most of them produce about 4 gallons of waste for every 1 gallon of usable RODI water. But a lot of people have it hooked up to their washer or a line going out to their garden, and use the waste water to do laundry or water their plants.

Lighting is pretty hard to find for odd-shaped tanks like yours. Your best bet is to get a metal halide pendant that hangs from the ceiling. On a 35 gallon hex tank, a 150 watt pendant would be good enough for the vast majority of corals.
 
+1 Biff
Over that tank,a single 150 watt halide would do the trick,and look great.
I also agree to skip the canister,unless you want to clean it every couple of days.Their just not good for saltwater tanks.
For the water,just pick up a couple of 5 gallon water jugs from the camping section at wal-mart.Then just fill em up from the RO machine,usually .33 cents a gallon around here.
 

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