About to start my very first reef aquarium - Any advice?

Z

zimmertr

New member
I've been keeping freshwater aquariums for years now. I've had goldfish tanks, community tanks, cichlids, heavily planted, lots of driftwood, everything. And for about a year now, I've been really wanting to make a saltwater tank. I've done TONS of research and I recently found a great deal on Craigslist that finally made me feel like I'm ready to start.

Someone listed a 60 Gallon marineland cube and stand for 50 bucks. I'm going to pick it up in a few days and I'm quite excited to say the least. Someone also just listed a Reef Octopus 1000 protein skimmer for 120 dollars that I'm thinking about getting as well. Is this a good protein skimmer for this tank? I feel like the only part of the whole process I don't understand so far is about protein skimmers and sumps.

The way I understand it right now, is that a sump is just an extra tank that contains all of your equipment like heaters, protein skimmers, etc so that it doesn't clutter up your main tank, am I right?

Also, here is the other stuff that I'm considering buying, as of right now:

Equipment:

[*] Tetra 77854 Whisper Air Pump - $15.32

[*] 2x 1300gph Power Heads - $20.00

[*] Aqueon Heater 300w - $23.13

[*] 60G Marineland Cube Aquarium - $50.00

[*] Reef Octapus Super 1000 Protein Skimmer - $120.00

[*] Some sort of Lighting - ~$100?

Miscellaneous:

[*] 60lbs of White Fiji Aragonite Live Reef Sand - $ 58.93

[*] 60lbs of assorted live rock (This will be picked out at my local LFS soon) - ~$75.00 right?

[*] Kent Marine Reef Salt Mix 50 Gallons - $21.98

[*] Non Contact Infared Thermometer - $16.95

[*] API Saltwater Master Test Kits - $22.99

[*] 25ft of Airline Tubing - $5.99

[*] 2x 14" Bubble Wands - $6.09

[*] 18x Suctions Cups - $3.17

[*] ~50g of Reverse Osmosis/Deionized Water - ~$20?

Questions after having listed all of those things are:

1) Is that a good protein skimmer? All of the reviews on the internet seems to be 4 and 5 star aside from the noobs who overflow the thing. The Craigslist guy says it works great and is only a year old.

2) Do you think a 60G Cube is a good place to start?

3) What should I do for lighting? I kind of like the whole super bright almost fake color looking reef tanks, haha. I'm assuming that's LED? I've never used anything other than T5 and T8..

4) How many gallons of salt mix do I need?

5) Is that a good test kit?

6) Do I need a sump? I have a 10g aquariums just sitting around. Could I somehow convert this into one? I think people make these buy just going to Home Depot and buying sheets of pre-cut glass and just siliconing them in?

7) Should I invest in a Water RO/DI thing, should I buy purified water from meijer, or should I just somehow use my citywater tap?

8) Is there any equipment or anything that I have missed?

9) Which of these things do I absolutely have to buy right now? As you
can see, this list runs all the way up to about $525 dollars and not buying all of it right now would be super awesome.. So basically, can I just buy some of it now, wait a few months, and then buy the rest?

10) What do you think I should eventually stock this guy with? I've been researching and this is as far as I've gotten so far. I, of course, want to add a little more to this list, still.


[*]2x Orange Clownfish

[*]2 or 3 Firefish

[*]1x Wheeler's Shrimp Goby

[*]3 or 4 Emerald Crabs

[*]3 or 4 Camel Shrimp

[*]3 or 4 Electric Blue hermit crabs

[*]Some sort of sea stars?

[*]Some anemones?

[*]Some more fish?

11) What should I do for food?

12) What is a good breakdown of the cycling process for a saltwater tank? Also, what is a good breakdown on curing the live rock and cleaning the live sand?



And finally.. I know I probably look like I'm extremely new to this whole thing, and rightfully so. But please don't just comment saying "What you need to buy first, is all of the books so that you can read up on how to start a reef tank" I understand I need to do more research, still. But that is why I'm coming here and asking you veterans questions - to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. I always learn far better by doing it myself than by reading, anyway. And I'm willing to make mistakes as long as they don't cost me 100's of dollars.


Thank you for reading all of this! Any insight would be very much appreciated, even if it's just advice or answering 1 or 2 of my questions.

EDIT: Here are links to my crossposts for anyone who finds this in the future looking for advice:

[*]/r/Aquariums

[*]/r/ReefTanks

[*]Fish Tank Forums

[*]*********
 
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dump the air pump and associated equipment not needed. What kind of power heads you getting for $20. If they are suction cup ones they will eventually fall off and blow sand and whatever all over the place.

I can't comment on the skimmer other than Reef Octopus are good brands.

Lots of times mistakes can cost alot of money in this hobby far more expensive than freshwater. So I will not tell you to read the stickies at the top of the forum and hope it does not cost you to much.

Good luck
 
I am not a pro by any means but I will give you advice on one thing. Invest in the RODI unit. I am currently buying water from the store and it really isnt fun lugging water from the store, not to mention it really isn't cost effective. I am still trying to pick out what unit I want but from my research any of the ones on bulk reef supply.com seem to do the job well.

I am sure others will chime in who are more knowledgeable in the hobby(only been in it for about a year). But good luck with your tank!
 
Always go as big as a system as allowed for, you will wanna upgrade soon! Lol it's very addicting this hobby
 
I would expect to pay more than $75 for 60 lbs of live rock. The LFS around here is $4-$5/lb. If there's a regional forum in your area you might find people selling some for much cheaper. (I've paid between $1 and $2 per lb from people on here).

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80

+1
Invest in the RODI unit.
Click to expand...
Using tap water (no matter what you treat it with, other than RO/DI) will lead to problems.

Do you plan on having a sump? Is the tank you're picking up pre-drilled with an over-flow? Yes, the sump holds equipment. And anything that may not be good, or look good, in your display (Cheato and a grow light, for example). Having a refuge in your sump helps. Growing cheato will help fend off rising Nitrate levels (and gives you a place to grow pods, which will feed your fish).

If there's room (in your stand, and in your budget) I would suggest a GFO reactor. It really helps keep your Phosphate levels in check and will help fend off algae.

Another nice to have is an auto-top off system. Keeps your salinity constant and you won't have to lug water around every 1-2 days. I LOVE my tunze ATO.
 
the one biggest piece of advice that I can give you is TAKE YOUR TIME! from what I have read in your post, it sounds like you need to do some more research. the saltwater hobby is slot different then freshwater and it takes patience... none of your prices are really correct for the equipment that you will need.

first decide what kind of tank that you want? fish only? corals? What kind of corals? they all need different things.

So yourself a huge favor and don't buy anything until you research more. this hobby is expensive enough as it is. No need for you to waste money on stuff that you either don't need or won't work. every piece of equipment should be researched before you buy it. but before you buy anything you need to decide on the kind of tank you want to setup.


Posted from ReefCentral.com App for Android
 
the $100 light fixture will not be enough if you want to keep corals, do away with the API test kit and go with Red Sea Pro or Salifert, and Hanna HC 736 for Phosphates. API are not known for accuracy
 
My answer are in red below :)

zimmertr said:
I've been keeping freshwater aquariums for years now. I've had goldfish tanks, community tanks, cichlids, heavily planted, lots of driftwood, everything. And for about a year now, I've been really wanting to make a saltwater tank. I've done TONS of research and I recently found a great deal on Craigslist that finally made me feel like I'm ready to start.

Someone listed a 60 Gallon marineland cube and stand for 50 bucks. I'm going to pick it up in a few days and I'm quite excited to say the least. Someone also just listed a Reef Octopus 1000 protein skimmer for 120 dollars that I'm thinking about getting as well. Is this a good protein skimmer for this tank? I feel like the only part of the whole process I don't understand so far is about protein skimmers and sumps.

The way I understand it right now, is that a sump is just an extra tank that contains all of your equipment like heaters, protein skimmers, etc so that it doesn't clutter up your main tank, am I right? Basically Yes, it is also the filtration center of your tank. Your skimmer, return pump, heaters etc. will be located here.

Also, here is the other stuff that I'm considering buying, as of right now:

Equipment:

[*] Tetra 77854 Whisper Air Pump - $15.32
No need for this, or any of the related equip, plenty of oxygen will be in the system from your sump turnover skimmer and powerheads etc.

[*] 2x 1300gph Power Heads - $20.00
These aren't ideal, Research, Koralia powerheads these are good entry level units. Will run you around 25-40 bucks a piece.
[*] Aqueon Heater 300w - $23.13
This will be fine most here will suggest getting 2 heaters at half the wattage in case one has a problem.
[*] 60G Marineland Cube Aquarium - $50.00
Great Starter tank!! :)

[*] Reef Octapus Super 1000 Protein Skimmer - $120.00
Great brand....I'm not familiar with that model, but assuming it is rated for 60 gallon or above, and has a functioning pump...sounds like a good deal.
[*] Some sort of Lighting - ~$100?
If you plan on eventually having a reef this lighting budget is low. Fish only with live rock tanks you can use simple lighting. Reef you should increase budget 3-5 times

Miscellaneous:

[*] 60lbs of White Fiji Aragonite Live Reef Sand - $ 58.93 This will be fine.

[*] 60lbs of assorted live rock (This will be picked out at my local LFS soon) - ~$75.00 right?
Live Rock normally ranges between $4-$6 per pound. Starting a new system I would us "Dry rock" seeded with about 10 or so pounds of Live rock. Macrorocks.com, and bulkreefsupply.com are great outlets for dry rock.

[*] Kent Marine Reef Salt Mix 50 Gallons - $21.98
I prefer Reef Crystals Salt but that is just a preference this will be fine. Never heard any complaints.
[*] Non Contact Infared Thermometer - $16.95

[*] OLOR]h=item3f20513c9b]API Saltwater Master Test Kits - $22.99
This is the test kit I use, others have there preferences but this will be fine IMO

[*] 25ft of Airline Tubing - $5.99
Dont need
[*] 2x 14" Bubble Wands - $6.09
Not needed

[*] 18x Suctions Cups - $3.17

[*] ~50g of Reverse Osmosis/Deionized Water - ~$20?
Around $1.00 a gallon is the going rate where I'm from

Questions after having listed all of those things are:

1) Is that a good protein skimmer? All of the reviews on the internet seems to be 4 and 5 star aside from the noobs who overflow the thing. The Craigslist guy says it works great and is only a year old.
Good brand assuming the pump is in working order you will be good with this.

2) Do you think a 60G Cube is a good place to start?
Yes!

3) What should I do for lighting? I kind of like the whole super bright almost fake color looking reef tanks, haha. I'm assuming that's LED? I've never used anything other than T5 and T8..
Reef lighting is on the purple end of the spectrum for Ideal coral growth and is natural. You can accomplish this with LED T5 or metal Halide.

4) How many gallons of salt mix do I need?
You should always keep extra your system will hold around 45-50 gallons of water after displacement, and depending on if you use a sump or not.
5) Is that a good test kit?

Yes
6) Do I need a sump? I have a 10g aquariums just sitting around. Could I somehow convert this into one? I think people make these buy just going to Home Depot and buying sheets of pre-cut glass and just siliconing them in?
I would Highly recommend using a sump but you do not "need" one there are many sumpless systems out there. You can absolutely conert a 10 gallon into a sump. There are lots of sump build threads listed right here on reef central.

7) Should I invest in a Water RO/DI thing, should I buy purified water from meijer, or should I just somehow use my citywater tap?
I would absolutely invest in an RODI system, bulkreefsupply.com has some units that are absolutely top notch and affordable. Do Not use tap or decholorinated tap water in your tank this is begging for trouble with algae etc. in a saltwater aquarium.

8) Is there any equipment or anything that I have missed?
You will need a hydrometer or refractometer to measure your specific gravity I'm sure i'm forgetting something but you will need one of those for sure. You can get a hydrometer for around 10 bucks

9) Which of these things do I absolutely have to buy right now? As you
can see, this list runs all the way up to about $525 dollars and not buying all of it right now would be super awesome.. So basically, can I just buy some of it now, wait a few months, and then buy the rest?
My best advice here is buy everything you have listed, if you don't have all of the money now buy what you can, and research like crazy while your are saving the money to come for the rest (Try and save at 200-300 extra, because as you are researching you will find some more stuff you want. Patience is the key here, try not to rush into it, I spent over 1,000 dollars setting up my 1st 29 gallon mainly because I was not patient and did not properly research before I bought.

10) What do you think I should eventually stock this guy with? I've been researching and this is as far as I've gotten so far. I, of course, want to add a little more to this list, still.
The fish you have listed below will work fine except I would only have one or 2 firefish in there. You will find more as you do more research, you have a good selection to choose from at 60 gallons. You will need a cleanup crew as well. Reefcleaners.com has good stuff.


[*]2x Orange Clownfish
Good choice everyone has to have NEMO lol
[*]2 or 3 Firefish
2 Max IMO in this system because of aggression issues.

[*]1x Wheeler's Shrimp Goby

[*]3 or 4 Emerald Crabs

[*]3 or 4 Camel Shrimp

[*]3 or 4 Electric Blue hermit crabs

[*]Some sort of sea stars?

[*]Some anemones?

[*]Some more fish?

11) What should I do for food?
Varied diet of frozen foods and flakes pellets etc., mysis shrimp are a staple for most saltwater aquarists

12) What is a good breakdown of the cycling process for a saltwater tank? Also, what is a good breakdown on curing the live rock and cleaning the live sand?
Basically the same as freshwater as far as the nitrogen cycle goes. Ammonia is converted to nitrite which in turn is converted to Nitrate. Saltwater Systems typically have 0-5 ppm nitrate ideally where as freshwater for the most part up to 40 ppm nitrate is acceptable. The main difference is the saltwater system has live rock and live sand which is where most of the bacteria live that convert these over, instead of Bio balls, or other biological filter media used in freshwater.


And finally.. I know I probably look like I'm extremely new to this whole thing, and rightfully so. But please don't just comment saying "What you need to buy first, is all of the books so that you can read up on how to start a reef tank" I understand I need to do more research, still. But that is why I'm coming here and asking you veterans questions - to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. I always learn far better by doing it myself than by reading, anyway. And I'm willing to make mistakes as long as they don't cost me 100's of dollars.
Online research is best there is a wealth of knowledge right here on this site, search the posts and learn from others experiences. If you have any other questions as you go many people on here are happy to help.

Thank you for reading all of this! Any insight would be very much appreciated, even if it's just advice or answering 1 or 2 of my questions.

EDIT: Here are links to my crossposts for anyone who finds this in the future looking for advice:

[*]/r/Aquariums

[*]/r/ReefTanks

[*]Fish Tank Forums

[*]*********
Click to expand...
 
you won't be able to keep anemone's under a $100 light. they require very high intense lighting, I would move the lighting cost up to around the $500+ for lights if you plan on having an anemone
 
[URL="http://www.ebay.com/itm/MH-ADV-24-Metal-Halide-Lighting-T5-Light-Hood-Coral-Reef-Marine-346W-LED-Fan-/290834430451?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b71539f3]What do you think about 1 of these for a starter light?[/URL] The 60g cube is 24/24/24 so it would fit perfectly.

Alright, Air pump and such has been removed from my list. =]

Alright, my budget has been modified to reflect costs for live rock. My LFS recently had a deal that was 5lbs for $5 so I was basing everything off that. That was months ago though, so I figured things would be around that when I went to buy more.

Have you any advice on which RO/DI unit I should buy? Budgeted would be fine. Also, is there any of these that dont require plumbing? like that i can just dump water in.
 
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...is there any of these that dont require plumbing? like that i can just dump water in.
Click to expand...
Most, if not all, RODI units come with a "garden hose" connection. You can get a hose Y adapter for the cold hose on your washing machine (if available). I have also run one off of the ice-maker's line (I wasn't using it in my fridge) in an old apartment.
 
I've now updated my eventual stocking list. What do you guys think?

1x Ocellaris Clownfish
2x Firefish
3x Spotted Cardinalfish
1x Green Chromis
1x Striped Blenny
3x Emerald Crab
4x Camel Shrimp
4x Blue Hermit Crab
1x Brittle Sea Star
2x Lettuce Sea Slug
4x Mexican Turbo Snail
 
You can get an adapter that can hook your RO/DI to your faucet. Screws in. That marineland light will be ok for fish only, no anemone or corals
 
The BRS rodi that I mention has an adapter you can hook it up to a garden hose faucet, or a sink it does not have to be plumbed in. I agree with Kissman, the marineland light will be appropriate for fish only.
 
I really think your budget might be off a little. :)

That skimmer would probably be good for you if it is in good shape, and it's a pretty good price. If I were looking, I would look at it.

Lighting. Realistically, a 6 bulb t5 setup, a DIY LED setup or MH would be good. But either way you are looking a $300-400 (a guess, but close). That tank is 24" deep and the marineland LEDs are just not going to cut it.

Sump. Not needed but highly recommended. You might be able to get away with a 10 gallon sump, but I think a 20 gal sump might give you a little more room to play with...especially if you get that skimmer.

RO/DI. A must have...I agree...The BRS 75 gpd is good...I use it myself


As for budget...I told my wife under a $1,000 for my 72 gal setup. I ended up closer to $1,800 and then I just started lying. :) Everything has been $10 since then. LOL

The best advice I can give is PATIENCE. In saltwater, slow and easy makes for a great tank...Fast and no patience results in fustration and more money.

Happy Reefing
 
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