(Re)starting my saltwater tank

[The_King]

i had a freshwater tank for few years. i started saltwater tank about 2 months ago but last week i woke up to a full dead tank. Long story short, i made a lot of mistakes and trying to learn and ask the questions before i do anything on my own.
So i just ordered a 6 stage Deluxe PLus RO/DI unit from BRS.com which i got suggestions from here. i have a 30 Gal tank and about 12-15 lb of live rock and substrate is white live sand. 2 HOB Aqueon filters but i guess i dont even need that filtration if i add more live rock? please advise. i am going to run a full cycle before i put any fish so i'll take my time.my ultimate goal is to keep minimal fish but mainly reef aquarium. how should i go about it. i know tank is not too big but with the space i have, thats the best i can do right now.
1) Do i need separate HOB filters if i keep alot of live rock. can i keep carbon in mesh bags in those filters instead?
2) what additives or liquid "medications" etc do i need to add even if i use 6 stage RO/DI water? (thats how i killed my fish i think i used to add 5-6 different additives after each water change).
3) what fish and reef should i keep, considering being a beginner and all.
4) only thing i am missing is reef lighting. what do you recommend for a 30 Gal tank ? please feel free to provide links and brand names as i have no idea. (Budget is $100-$200)

Thanks alot to this community. it has been very helpful so far. learning alot. thanks in advance whoever helps with questions above.

 

[The_King]

couple of things i forgot to ask
5) Do i need a skimmer to be successful?
6) Refractometer vs hydrometer? its a salinity test so whats the big difference?

 

[homer1475]

Lets start off easy....


Refractometer with calibration fluid beats a hydrometer every day of the week. Not to say hydrometers can't be used, but there is a lot of fudge room on those. And yes salinity actually matters. Big difference between 1.025 and 1.019 for instance.



With RO/Di water all you add is your salt mix, nothing else! I have no idea what you were adding with 5 or 6 chemicals, but none of it is needed.



HOB filters... This is not the FW hobby, throw those things in the garbage bin. About the only thing their good for in SW is water movement and to put some bags of carbon or GFO in. Powerheads and live rock is all you need.



At this point I would work on water parameters and keeping them rock steady(ALK, CAL, MAG, NO3, PO4). Then worry about your next additions. Corals do not like wild fluctuations and with a new tank thats bound to happen. No sense in throwing away money on coral to only have them die because your not ready as a hobbyist.

 

[mcgyvr]

1)No need... Get another 10lbs or so of dry rock
2)None required
3)Your tank..your choice.. Find what you personally like.. A quick google search for beginner reef fish and corals should give you plenty of choices..
4)With your budget a 165w black box led from amazon/ebay sold under the names mars aqua/vipar spectra,etc... will do just fine.. Run each channel at no more than 50%..
5)No you don't need a skimmer to be successful.. Just rely on water changes alone of about 20% every 2 weeks.. (or 10% every week,etc...)
6)refractometer is generally considered better but a hydrometer (once you know its accurate) will basically stay that way for life

 

[tjm9331]

if you decide to go with a hydrometer make sure you rinse it well with fresh water after using it. If you let it dry without rinsing you will get salt residue left over that will add to your next reading and throw it off, so lets say your first reading is 1.023 you rinse once and let it dry, now there's salt residue in the hydrometer. your next reading could read 1.028, "oh no my salinity is too high" so you add freshwater to bring it down but now without knowing it you've brought it down too far.

anyways point is...rinse the thing at least 3 or 4 times with freshwater to get all the salt out.

 

[nereefpat]

Good advice above. I'm glad you got your own RODI. That's always a good decision.

I wouldn't use any filters.

Especially in the beginning, you don't need to dose anything. A good rule is to not add anything that you aren't testing for. Eventually when corals have started to grow, you will probably need to dose for alk and calcium. Everything else will be fine with water changes.

There is a nano section on Live Aquaria. That would be a good place to start. Maybe a pair of clowns (if you're into that), royal gramma, yellow watchman goby, firefish, small blenny. It's a little up to you. If you give us a stock wishlist, we can help.

I agree that black box LEDs can work well. Stay away from low-powered LED strips like Current. If you want to spend a little more, you could get one of the smaller Kessil. If you want to go with T5, it looks like 200$ could get you a cheaper 4 bulb fixture that would be plenty of light.

I wouldn't bother with a skimmer for a 30 gallon.

I agree with getting a refractometer with calibration fluid. Hydrometers can work. The problem is that they don't tend to come out of the box accurate. The good thing is that they are precise (give you consistent results). If you can test it against a standard and offset it, then it will basically always give you good results....that's the short explanation.