1. Tank: the size of this determines what fish you can keep and the size/rating of other things you will need. Get as large a one as you reasonably can, figuring it is not the MOST expensive item on the list.
2. if tank is to be a reef, an overflow box, piping, a sump of about 1/3 main tain size, a skimmer for 2x the total water volume; no filter; if a fish-only, just sub filter for some of this, but there's no law that says you can't do a fish-only with a sump, which gives you more flexibility. Pump needs to match size: in my 55 I used a 950 gallons-an-hour pump, which is 17x tank volume. Many tanks now use 'powerheads' or 'wavemakers' to augment pump circulation inside the DT.
3. lighting: again, what you buy determines what you can keep: T5 will keep many things; MH is not outmoded; and LED can keep most anything if you have the right setting: determine how deep and how wide your lights reach to determine how many kits you need.
4. a heater (get the best: failure of this can kill a tank and burn down your house.) Get two thermometers: I use 1 stickon, one digital.
5. salt, sand, rock (part can be 'dead' rock): salt: there's reef salt and fish salt; reef salt is fine for fish, not so the other way around. If you use dry sand, prepare to use about a swimming pool full of water washing it. And don't get crushed coral: go for aragonite. I prefer medium grade, which does not blow about and kill corals.
6. a ro/di filter (so your first fill will be ro/di)
7. an ATO for main tank. THis keeps salinity steady.
8. a quarantine tank (20 gallons is a good size.) Maybe two of these (for quarantine and ttm) You also need its pump (no light) and maybe ATO.
9. test kits for: nitrate-ammonia; a refractometer (for salinity); an alkalinity test, and alkalinity buffer. If you want a stony coral reef add magnesium and calcium to this.
10. a mixing barrel and mixing pump and topoff reservoir.
NOW you can make saltwater (usually half a severely level cup of salt mix per gallon of ro/di water.
Fill your tank. Put the rock down first, best rock on top; add sand last.
Personally, to cycle, I just add a micropinch of regular fishfood daily, start testing for ammonia after week 2, and expect to cycle by the 4th week. Works every time.
Once cycled, get everything running including skimmer, add 1/4 of your cleanup crew, test until you have 1.024 salinity, 78 temperature, 8.3 alkalinity, and hold it there for 4 weeks. You can now buy a fish (get the most pushy and perfect of the lot, not the one you feel sorry for: may have a parasite) or small paired set appropriate for your tank size, and keep it in qt, continually testing that water quality to be sure it's still ok. Keep adding cuc, and you can even add some other inverts if appropriate, or hardy corals.
YOu can do TTM on your fish, or qt for 4 weeks being equally careful of its water as you are with the dt (most nastiness shows up in 1st or 2nd week) and prepare to put it on in.
If you've missed some of these items in the course of things, try to get them real soon!
2. if tank is to be a reef, an overflow box, piping, a sump of about 1/3 main tain size, a skimmer for 2x the total water volume; no filter; if a fish-only, just sub filter for some of this, but there's no law that says you can't do a fish-only with a sump, which gives you more flexibility. Pump needs to match size: in my 55 I used a 950 gallons-an-hour pump, which is 17x tank volume. Many tanks now use 'powerheads' or 'wavemakers' to augment pump circulation inside the DT.
3. lighting: again, what you buy determines what you can keep: T5 will keep many things; MH is not outmoded; and LED can keep most anything if you have the right setting: determine how deep and how wide your lights reach to determine how many kits you need.
4. a heater (get the best: failure of this can kill a tank and burn down your house.) Get two thermometers: I use 1 stickon, one digital.
5. salt, sand, rock (part can be 'dead' rock): salt: there's reef salt and fish salt; reef salt is fine for fish, not so the other way around. If you use dry sand, prepare to use about a swimming pool full of water washing it. And don't get crushed coral: go for aragonite. I prefer medium grade, which does not blow about and kill corals.
6. a ro/di filter (so your first fill will be ro/di)
7. an ATO for main tank. THis keeps salinity steady.
8. a quarantine tank (20 gallons is a good size.) Maybe two of these (for quarantine and ttm) You also need its pump (no light) and maybe ATO.
9. test kits for: nitrate-ammonia; a refractometer (for salinity); an alkalinity test, and alkalinity buffer. If you want a stony coral reef add magnesium and calcium to this.
10. a mixing barrel and mixing pump and topoff reservoir.
NOW you can make saltwater (usually half a severely level cup of salt mix per gallon of ro/di water.
Fill your tank. Put the rock down first, best rock on top; add sand last.
Personally, to cycle, I just add a micropinch of regular fishfood daily, start testing for ammonia after week 2, and expect to cycle by the 4th week. Works every time.
Once cycled, get everything running including skimmer, add 1/4 of your cleanup crew, test until you have 1.024 salinity, 78 temperature, 8.3 alkalinity, and hold it there for 4 weeks. You can now buy a fish (get the most pushy and perfect of the lot, not the one you feel sorry for: may have a parasite) or small paired set appropriate for your tank size, and keep it in qt, continually testing that water quality to be sure it's still ok. Keep adding cuc, and you can even add some other inverts if appropriate, or hardy corals.
YOu can do TTM on your fish, or qt for 4 weeks being equally careful of its water as you are with the dt (most nastiness shows up in 1st or 2nd week) and prepare to put it on in.
If you've missed some of these items in the course of things, try to get them real soon!
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