Desperate for Advice

[bst278]

Well Ive been doing freshwater for a little bit and am very interested in learning saltwater. I definatly have nowhere near the knowledge to maintain a healthy reef setup so i am putting that off for now. But I would appreciate some advice on what I am planning on doing. I realize that you guys probably get many posts similar to this one so I appoligize beforehand but just would like to get started off right.

To start, I wish to start a fish only tank but I understand that including live sand and live rock will help greatly. So my question is will having just live sand and some live rock mixed with base rock be alright for a fish only? (Triggers mainly)

Also, I've been researching sumps and im fairly sure I understand how they work. I would definately be very interested in making my own to use but havent decided if it is really needed or worth it for me. If i am planning on a fish only with live rock and no plans on a reef with this same tank, should I bother with a sump? Or should I invest in a nice canister or some other external filter?

Sorry for all the questions I searched the best I could but wasn't having the best of luck.

Thanks a lot,
Bryan

[spike78]

#1. Read all the information located in the stickies at the top of this forum.

#2. Mixed live and dead rock will be just fine. In time, it will all become live.

#3. A sump is a very nice thing to have. Putting all your heaters, probes, and filtration outside of the display makes maintenance easier and frees your display from clutter.

#4. Read all the stickies at the top of this forum.

Good luck and welcome!!!

[demonsp]

This would be a great start.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Marine-Aquarium-Step-Step/dp/1890087521/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205133543&sr=1-1

[Blown 346]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12053496#post12053496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bst278
Well Ive been doing freshwater for a little bit and am very interested in learning saltwater. I definatly have nowhere near the knowledge to maintain a healthy reef setup so i am putting that off for now. But I would appreciate some advice on what I am planning on doing. I realize that you guys probably get many posts similar to this one so I appoligize beforehand but just would like to get started off right.

To start, I wish to start a fish only tank but I understand that including live sand and live rock will help greatly. So my question is will having just live sand and some live rock mixed with base rock be alright for a fish only? (Triggers mainly)

Also, I've been researching sumps and im fairly sure I understand how they work. I would definately be very interested in making my own to use but havent decided if it is really needed or worth it for me. If i am planning on a fish only with live rock and no plans on a reef with this same tank, should I bother with a sump? Or should I invest in a nice canister or some other external filter?

Sorry for all the questions I searched the best I could but wasn't having the best of luck.

Thanks a lot,
Bryan

Yes adding liverock and base rock will be fine for a fish only setup, The liverock will aid in filtration. I wouldnt buy Livesand, go with a dry base Aragonite sand, its cheaper and will become live on its own.

A sump is a big part of or the heart of the system. It is definitly worth it. A sump is more versaitle than a canister filter, I wish they never sold the things. It is much easier to care for.

[matt880305]

i agree with the sump. i would say just go bigger then what you need now because you will probubly want reef in the futer so that meens if you buy all the filter stuff now you wont have to toss that canister out and waste your money when you upgrade. so in otherword you wont be buying twice.
Matt

[cpl40475]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074
Read that link its a description of setting up a saltwater tank and goes into alot of details about it. Very informative and written by a guy on here that has over 30yrs experience.
Tracy

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12053496#post12053496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bst278
Well Ive been doing freshwater for a little bit and am very interested in learning saltwater. I definatly have nowhere near the knowledge to maintain a healthy reef setup so i am putting that off for now. But I would appreciate some advice on what I am planning on doing. I realize that you guys probably get many posts similar to this one so I appoligize beforehand but just would like to get started off right.

To start, I wish to start a fish only tank but I understand that including live sand and live rock will help greatly. So my question is will having just live sand and some live rock mixed with base rock be alright for a fish only? (Triggers mainly)

Also, I've been researching sumps and im fairly sure I understand how they work. I would definately be very interested in making my own to use but havent decided if it is really needed or worth it for me. If i am planning on a fish only with live rock and no plans on a reef with this same tank, should I bother with a sump? Or should I invest in a nice canister or some other external filter?

Sorry for all the questions I searched the best I could but wasn't having the best of luck.

Thanks a lot,
Bryan

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

there are some great pictures ect of setups on this site:

http://www.melevsreef.com/links.html

[bst278]

Wow thanks a lot everyone, deffinately wasn't expecting everyone to be so courteous and helpful, this is a great forum.

Thanks again.