First Purchases.. I'm a serious noob..

DrewWoodside

New member
Okay, I'm currently big into planted tanks. But have now become interested in the possibilities of a salt water tank. I've done quite a bit of research, and as I start a brand new hobby from scratch. I'm hoping I can avoid any bad purchases regarding things I don't need or things that I will ultimately replace with better or more in expensive stuff..

I'm about to purchase the following tank:

http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/glass-rimless-aquariums/rimless-aquarium-91-l.html

Other than lighting, what other items will I need to purchase from the beginning, before I consider putting water in the tank? What sort of filter is considered to be a good standard in quality? I've read how I may need a skimmer, how much will that cost? Do I need to buy a chiller? At 48 gallons, how much live rock should I be purchasing to start?

My goal is live rock, possibly some coral, and community fish. :fish1:
 
Get the checkbook out it is not cheap! I'm new to the hobby as well,but I would go with a sump for your filtration as I have read it's a lot better in that case you would have to drill a hole in your tank and put a overflow box or could do a hang on back overflow box. Skimmers I can't speak on intelligently as I am currently shopping around for one. As far as Live rock I have a 60gallon tank and i bought just over 80lbs to put in my tank and sump. The rule of thumb from what I read is 1-2lbs per gallon buy as much as you can from the start. i'm sure many others will chime in but figured I'd let you know a little something good luck of course live rock depends on if you want to do a reef tank or swim tank etc
 
The tank does not appear to be drilled. I wish when I started I had went with a drilled tank. About 1-2 pounds of live rock will be your biological filter. Alot of people get dry rock and a little live rock to seed it. Eventually all the rock will be live. Skimmers are great to have. There are a whole lot of stickies at the top of the new to hobby page they are very helpful. They are like a walk through. Good luck
 
Sound like you still have lots of researching to do! start with the stickies at the top!
To get you going, def get yourself a good RO/DI unit with a TDS meter (buckeye field supply is a good source for this). Consider going sump/refugium for your filtration it has many MANY benefits over a canister filter. For skimming, I have a reef octopus 110, which is great quality and a great price, I think a skimmer rated at 110 would be fine on a 48 gallon but research this more I think too much over-skimming can have negative effects on your system. You probably won't need a chiller unless your planning metal halides, but just go LED you'll save yourself $ in the long run. You don't necessarily have to purchase all Live rock to start. You could buy a mix of dry rock and live rock and allow the live to "seed" the dry, which will take a little while but the $ you will save will make it worth it (marcorocks.com is a great place to start looking for this). Also consider your sand bed, I would reccomend going with a sugar fine shallow sand bed, but make your choice on this and read the DSB sticky up top! Most of all, take it slow and have patience... this may be the biggest money saver of all in this hobby! Good luck!
 
I agree with what was said above.. you will want to use a biological filter (ie live rock). You should get between 1-2lbs per gallon but it really depends on the porosity of the rock. You will need less if you get a more porous rock.

You're going to want to get your tank dilled to save hassle later on. If you haven't bought a tank yet I would look at pre-drilled tanks. You can also drill your own tank (that's what I did) and install you're own overflow box. You will also want to build a sump under your tank (or anywhere it fits).

I'm sure people with more experience will be able to chime in on the skimmer. I bought a used PM Bullet-1 and it works great but it is definitely an older skimmer. You can save a bunch of money by buying things in the classifieds.
 
Do not get a tempered glass tank as if you want to drill it later down the road you cant,and take your time and get the stuff you want instead of maybe things you can afford right now.
 
Get the checkbook out it is not cheap! I'm new to the hobby as well,but I would go with a sump for your filtration as I have read it's a lot better in that case you would have to drill a hole in your tank and put a overflow box or could do a hang on back overflow box. Skimmers I can't speak on intelligently as I am currently shopping around for one. As far as Live rock I have a 60gallon tank and i bought just over 80lbs to put in my tank and sump. The rule of thumb from what I read is 1-2lbs per gallon buy as much as you can from the start. i'm sure many others will chime in but figured I'd let you know a little something good luck of course live rock depends on if you want to do a reef tank or swim tank etc

Does a salt water tank need to have filtration that requires drilling? I am 100% not comfortable drilling a tank. Especially a just purchased tank of several hundred dollars.. Is there any reasonably adequate filtartion that does not require drilling? My stand would also then need to be drilled as well right? How quickly things get complicated!
 
I agree with what was said above.. you will want to use a biological filter (ie live rock). You should get between 1-2lbs per gallon but it really depends on the porosity of the rock. You will need less if you get a more porous rock.

You're going to want to get your tank dilled to save hassle later on. If you haven't bought a tank yet I would look at pre-drilled tanks. You can also drill your own tank (that's what I did) and install you're own overflow box. You will also want to build a sump under your tank (or anywhere it fits).

I'm sure people with more experience will be able to chime in on the skimmer. I bought a used PM Bullet-1 and it works great but it is definitely an older skimmer. You can save a bunch of money by buying things in the classifieds.

What are some good websites for pre drilled tanks? I was really hoping to get a rimless tank.. That's part of the dream for me!
 
No it doesn't have to be drilled its more so a personal preference just like many others have said they wish they would of went that route from the get go. If you haven't bought that tank already I would look for a drilled one. As far as the stand goes it would just need a couple inch hole drilled for the bulkhead.
 
What are some good websites for pre drilled tanks? I was really hoping to get a rimless tank.. That's part of the dream for me!

I can't really help you out on the websites... but I know my lfs usually always has a few in stock. With the price you will have to pay on shipping it might be your better option.
 
I agree with what was said above.. you will want to use a biological filter (ie live rock). You should get between 1-2lbs per gallon but it really depends on the porosity of the rock. You will need less if you get a more porous rock.

You're going to want to get your tank dilled to save hassle later on. If you haven't bought a tank yet I would look at pre-drilled tanks. You can also drill your own tank (that's what I did) and install you're own overflow box. You will also want to build a sump under your tank (or anywhere it fits).

I'm sure people with more experience will be able to chime in on the skimmer. I bought a used PM Bullet-1 and it works great but it is definitely an older skimmer. You can save a bunch of money by buying things in the classifieds.

Everyone is great, I'm having an informational overload right now. But it's a great thing! Okay I'm just going to SW noob out on everyone since I've already started. Ultimate SW Noot question about filtration in 3....2....1..... With the filtraiton, what is the name of the type that requires a drilled tank? Also, does that then mean the stand or cabinet the tank is on needs to also be drilled?(obviously, which means I'll be doing some drilling whether I like it or not right?) Whatever tubes I'm putting into the drilled holes, how does this not have leakage? Do I use some sort of sealant? Or are the tubes standardized and perfect fitting?
 
No it doesn't have to be drilled its more so a personal preference just like many others have said they wish they would of went that route from the get go. If you haven't bought that tank already I would look for a drilled one. As far as the stand goes it would just need a couple inch hole drilled for the bulkhead.

I know my questions are crazy, so I'm sorry. I'm like a newborn baby regarding SW. So why is having the tank drilled a preference again? Is it simply b/c it's less stuff being visible? Or is the filtration then more effective as well? Thanks :bounce1:
 
What are some good websites for pre drilled tanks? I was really hoping to get a rimless tank.. That's part of the dream for me!

For your drilling issue, just buy a tank thats "Reef Ready". See if your LFS carries any or see if they can order it for you because shipping costs on one of these tanks will probably scare you away. I had my LFS order my rimless 57g ReefReady Oceanic Illuminata and it was there within days! :) This tank is absolutely my pride& joy couldn't be happier with it!
(Pic is slightly outdated, has some life in it finally... but gives you an idea if your looking for a good rimless tank)
 
No it doesn't have to be drilled its more so a personal preference just like many others have said they wish they would of went that route from the get go. If you haven't bought that tank already I would look for a drilled one. As far as the stand goes it would just need a couple inch hole drilled for the bulkhead.

Hey, the forum won't let me PM you back until I have 10 posts.. I will reply for sure then, thanks!
 
For your drilling issue, just buy a tank thats "Reef Ready". See if your LFS carries any or see if they can order it for you because shipping costs on one of these tanks will probably scare you away. I had my LFS order my rimless 57g ReefReady Oceanic Illuminata and it was there within days! :) This tank is absolutely my pride& joy couldn't be happier with it!
(Pic is slightly outdated, has some life in it finally... but gives you an idea if your looking for a good rimless tank)

This is exactly what I'm talking about. That's gorgeous(yes I realize it's an empty tank.) For some reason I'm obsessed with rimless, and I have a feeling I'm going to fall in love with this project. I will definitely be checking into LFS possibilities.
 
Most LFS will have to order them I personally never seen any rimless in my local one, I have a rimmed tank just because I got a smoking deal on my 60gallon drilled
 
Tuna, I hope that's not a bottle of Windex sitting on the table you used to clean the glass. Keep that stuff away!! :)
 
Most LFS will have to order them I personally never seen any rimless in my local one, I have a rimmed tank just because I got a smoking deal on my 60gallon drilled

Is it difficult to come by a rimless reef ready tank if I go via LFS? I really don't have the extra cash, but I will sacrifice to make sure the tank is rimless. Okay, now for the bad news. If you guys had to estimate.. Lets suppose I get around a 40gallon tank. What would the cost of the entire filtration system be?(generally speaking, I understand of course price varies depending on where it is purchase dand what is purchased.) Also, what would the price of a skimmer be?

Thanks so much everyone!
 
^I will never go with anything but rimless, love the modern & sleek look of it

Do they have smaller models of that tank? Even by a different brand? Are there any good websites for browsing this? I'm guessing LFS will be one of my first looks, but while I'm stuck at work... I'd like to put price points together in my head..
 
Back
Top