noahfor

What is all the equipment one needs to start a saltwater tank, and where is the best place to get it, and how much will it all cost?

clavus

Check the classifieds for a used tank. A new one with all the stuff will cost 4x as much.

Get AT LEAST 55 gallons for saltwater.

Cruise down to your local pet store and see what they have to offer. I'm sure things have changed since I was into it.

__________________
Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

jobu

do a lot of research on this. do you want a fish only tank or do you want to create a reef aquarium. the reef will cost you a lot more than the fish only. i started a 65g reef aquarium and i think i spent close to $2500 before i put anything in there. that being said you can start a tank for a lot cheaper. i went with higher end equipment and i also bought stuff that can be used in larger tanks if i plan on upgrading. here is a great place to start. good luck!
www.reefcentral.com

saltfish

Notice the 'Name'

<-----

Let me know what kind you want from your tank, and I can help you make the most of it.

-SF

agball

Saltwater tanks can get very expensive, very fast. Not the tank itself but the filtration system as well as the fish. Keep in mind that Saltwater tanks require daily maintinance. If you dont have time to devote to this daily, you might consider a tropical freshwater tank. If you do get a salt water tank up & running & then neglect it, you will lose all the fish & living coral at a substantial cost. If you are fixed on getting a saltwater tank I would recommend starting with a sand bottom & stay away from the living coral. I also agree with Clavis in that you shoud check the classifieds as opposed to getting it new.

__________________
"A friend with weed is a friend indeed"

wondash

Salt water tropical fish are beautiful, but be aware; They're not raised in captivity, so any fish you buy were caught from the ocean. The methods for catching these fish do terrible damage to the reef systems and kill many more fish than are caught. That's why the prices are so high. By the way, I had two salt tanks for about five years.

ThatOnePerson

actually some fish are tank raised now. A company called ORA is one buisness that does this for fish AND corals! they can be a little more pricey, but they aren't harvested and often they survive better in an established home aquarium! ask your local pet store if they can get ORA(Oceans, Reefs, and Aquariums) raised fish and corals.

BTW i think the method you are refering to is some form of cyanide that is introduced to an area set for collection. It supposed to cause the fish to be "stunned" but often just causes them to "die"... this practice is now heavily looked down apon and a lot of companys refuse to sell fish caught in this manner.

__________________
I don't like long signatures.

Dane Bramage

Get the biggest tank you can afford. The tank is the cheapest part.

Also, the best thing you can do is find a good local store with KNOWLEDGEABLE staff. They are your best asset. There are many different methods for filtration and set-up, so it is good to do your homework first.

I myself have two tanks. A 30 gal micro reef with several corals and three fish. The other tank is a 29 high eel tank with three inhabitants. Both tanks are filtered by the Berlin method using Live Rock to provide biological filtration. My reef has no measurable Nitrates and the eels could live in mud, so I don't worry about them much.

Even for fish only tanks, I reccomend the use of a sump. It makes the whole maintaining salinity much easier. I have a line drawn on the side of the sump, and each day I just fill to that line. The salt content says pretty consistant that way.

Good luck, and post here with questions as you do research. Everyone will have a different answer, so you will have to decide for yourself what works best for you.

__________________
Every passing hour brings the Solar System forty-three thousand miles closer to Globular Cluster M13 in Hercules — and still there are some misfits who insist that there is no such thing as progress.
Kurt Vonnegut - Sirens of Titan

theburner

I have had both Saltwater and Freshwater tanks, and by far and away the Freshwater was easier. With the saltwater, a couple of hot tips.
1) Get your own reverse osmosis water filter. It can get quite expensive buying water from the store, and you will have an endless supply sitting right in your house
2) Have a "quarantine" tank. It doesn't have to be big at all, but you will want somewhere to put new fish until you can be sure they aren't sick, and sick fish so that you can treat them. I didn't have a quarantine tank and lost all my fish due to one illness.
3) The bigger the tank the less hassle water maintenance is. It is harder to pollute a 30G tank than a 100G tank.
4) Run your setup (NO FISH OR CORAL) for 3 weeks to a month before adding fish. Then, only add fish one at a time (or 2 small ones).

These are suggestions based on screw ups I made, so hopefully you can learn from them. It will be cheaper to learn from my mistakes than make them yourself.

__________________
Take Off Eh!

hotdogg

I have had salt water fish and corals for over twenty years...The more water and the least amount of fish the better off you are. Trickle down filters work the best...the oxygenation reduces and removes pollutants much faster than sealed fiter systems. Products like Bio Balls provide a lot of surface medium and the more oxygenated filtration you have, the healtier your tank will be...also consider a protein skimmer.

Keep your specific gravity to the low end, most parasites like a heavier salt content...Keep chemicals out of your tank, if you must use somthing, use it in your hospital tank. Not all fish are created equal, make sure the are hardy and can co-exist with the other fish in the tank. Make sure there are plenty of places for your fish to hide in your tank.

Some fish will only eat live food, some fish (surgeon fish and angels) will eat 75% of their natual diet in vegetation(a leaf of romaine is always in my tank)

I have a 100 gallon show tank with a 70 gallon tank being used as a filter...The 70 gallon filter has a protein skimmer working with it and four cubic feet of bio balls as a fiter medium...It is pumped into the show tank with a "little giant" pump capable of 250 gallons per hour. From the show tank via gravity back to the "filter tank"

I have 9 fish and a few corals (Mostly leathers and stag horns)...The fish are all at least 4-5 years old...Other than a 10 gallon water change every two months the system needs no maintenance...All of my fish live off the "living rocks" or eat dried flake food.

Only a few live corals will work in a community tank, so decide whether your tank will be a "reef" tank or a "fish" tank....Reef tanks need very expensive lighting systems as well.

Lots of good thoughts from other members as well.