S.o.s!

[Ibrakeforreefs]

Hello all!

I am a COMPLETE noob to this. I have a real life friend that has given me interest in the SW aquarium field and directed me to this site.

If it means anything I am very much into SCUBA diving and seeing the different fish/reefs/coral and want to have that in my own home!

The following are estimates that my good friend gave me:

xtrstangx (8:40:41 PM): tank dimensions?
pb freak at KC (8:40:45 PM): yeah
xtrstangx (8:40:55 PM): 29g is 30"Lx12"Dx20"H
xtrstangx (8:41:15 PM): 40g is 36"Lx18"Dx16"H (I may be off on the height)
xtrstangx (8:41:21 PM): 75g is 48"x18"x20"
xtrstangx (8:42:50 PM): bigger is better

AND:

xtrstangx (8:34:03 PM): 110g are stupid dimensions
pb freak at KC (8:35:56 PM): you know of any good websites that will show products, and maybe tanks? Where did you get your tank?
xtrstangx (8:36:22 PM): get your tank from a local fish store (LFS)
xtrstangx (8:36:49 PM): but you can get most of your equipment from http://marinedepot.com , http://reeftanksupply.com , or http://premiumaquatics.com
xtrstangx (8:39:23 PM): you probably have no clue what your buying though
xtrstangx (8:39:48 PM): 29g = $1000-1200 fully setup, 40g $1500-2000 fully setup, 75g $2000-2500 fully setup

But I didnt post here so you could read my messages, I just need help.

Number 1: Are the above estimates correct?

Number 2: Are they feasible for a 15 yr old high school student making 6.00/hr on 2 9hr shifts?

Number 3: What is a good 'starting size'?

Number 4: Sites? More Sites?

Number 5: Where should I start? Where did you start?

I have like a year and a 1/2 of FW expeirence, other than some basics I know that SW is ALOT harder.

Any information you can throw at me, what YOU would start off with on my budget.

I have been budgeted $1800 but if I had to I would go higher.

I have been to my good friends house and seen his 40 gallon, thats a nice size to me, but I thought about a 75 starting, feasible?

PLEASE any info is helpful to me!

And bear with my noob-ness!

Yours truly,

Ibrakeforreefs.

 

[xtrstangx]

Hi, I'm his friend. Haha, yeah.

Number 1: Are the above estimates correct?
A lot of people will tell you for a good reef tank it is $30-50/gal.. So those estimates may be on the high side, but you always forget to budget things for tanks.

I can help you figure out a more specific budget once you decide more on what you want to keep as far as fish and corals.

Number 2: Are they feasible for a 15 yr old high school student making 6.00/hr on 2 9hr shifts?
Probably, you'll have to save for a bit and you'll end up spending most of your money on your fish tank, but its worth it, IMO.

Number 3: What is a good 'starting size'?
IMO, a 75g would be nice, but if you aren't 100% sure that you are going to stay in the hobby its a huge investment. I really think you are better off with the 29g or the 40g... if everything goes well for 6-9 months, then you can look at making a bigger investment in a larger tank.

Number 4: Sites? More Sites?
As far as researching, Reef Central is probably the best you cang et. When you are looking for prices, those 3 that I mentioned above are really good as well as http://drsfostersmith.com

Number 5: Where should I start? Where did you start?
Whatever size you chose, I would really research everything that you buy before you buy it. For example, I spent $250 on PC lights.. they lasted me 6 months before I realized they wouldn't work. When I sold them, I only got $150 for them. In the beginning, all I needed to spend was $30 more to get the "best" lights for my tank. I did the same on my skimmer, I bought a cheap one that wasn't enough for my tank instead of buying a good one.

Let me find a link for the dimension of those tanks:
http://all-glass.com/products/aquariums/standard.shtml
(Yep, I was right on the 40g breeder)

 

[IslandCrow]

I really don't think salt water is all that difficult in and of itself, but it's certainly not cheap. The good news is that you have a few choices. It doesn't start getting really expensive until you start talking about corals, where you'll dump a good amount of money into getting a really good setup that is going to give the corals really good lighting and very clean, stable water.
If I were you, I'd start with a fish only aquarium. Most fish are pretty tolerant of "imperfect" water and don't need expensive lighting or filtration. If you go with live rock and natural filtration, it's still not too horribly expensive, and if you later on want to start adding corals, you've got the groundwork laid.
As far as where to go from here, you're off to a good start whether you know it or not. There are plenty of people here much, much more knowledgeable than I, so I'm not going to risk giving you bad advice there. If you have a local fishstore nearby (avoid chain stores like Petco, you probably won't get good advice there), talk to them about exactly what you would need to get started, and you can look at prices right there. It's always good to get face to face advice. Then, I wouldn't actually buy anything at that time. Run it by the guys here, and they can let you know if you got good advice. Anyway, here's what I got initially, planning to keep fish and soft corals:

- tank (55g)
- live sand (many people have success without sand)
- live rock (started off with about 20# and I've added more since)
- protein skimmer

- 2 powerheads (for water movement)
- hydrometer (to check salinity)
- Power compact lighting (the light that probably comes with your tank is fine if you're just keeping fish)

 

[IslandCrow]

Sorry, I accidentally hit submit prematurely. Anyway, that's the big stuff, though I've probably forgot something. The tank, protein skimmer, sand, rock and upgraded lighting (if you decide to go with the last 3) are going to be your biggest expenses. If you're just going to keep fish, you can substitute a bio-filter for the protein skimmer. People with reef tanks don't use them because they end up putting nitrates back in the water, but fish are much more tolerant to nitrates.

The next thing you'll want to think about is what it's going to cost to keep the tank up and running. Once you have a good setup, basic maintenance actually isn't all that tough. You'll probably want to do regular water changes. Most people suggest changing out 10%-20% of the water in your tank every week to every month, so you'll need to buy water and sand for that. Tap water isn't the best idea, and it's best to either buy water from the grocery store (either treated with reverse osmosis or distilled) or see if your local fish store will give you some of their purified water for free. Some of them will do this to keep people coming into the store. I know it works for me. I have a hard time leaving without buying something. Then you'll just need to feed the fish. All said, if I had to buy all my own water from the grocery store, I'd say maintenance and feeding would probably run me about $30-$40 a month for a 55g tank. Not too bad, but something to keep in mind. Anyway, $1800 should be more than enough to set up even a 75g tank (though I'd probably suggest going a little smaller to get started), especially if you're not planning to do anything cosmic with it. I, personally, would go with the live rock method, start with fish only, and then slowly upgrade if you decide you'd like some corals.

Either that, or you could just buy a car.

Now, there's a really good article somewhere on this site going through all the basics of starting up a saltwater tank. Does anyone out there have a link for this guy. It'll really help you out.

 

[xtrstangx]

I already linked him to all the good WaterKeeper threads.

 

[BurntOutReefer]

I would look at this site (used for sale) , and Recycler.com for used....I would not spend on new stuff getting into this "hobby".
decide afterwards, after you have some $$...then spend it on new stuff