New 30 Gallon

[tsanderson]

Hi guys I just bought a 30 gallon tank in hopes to make it saltwater so I decided to join the forum for some advise. I had a saltwater aquarium in high school it was a 55 gallon tank and we used all artificial decorations, no sand and no live rock it was just the saltwater fish we had a water heater a power filter and that was about it and from what I've been reading recently I don't know how the fish survived. So I was wondering what all do I need for this tank, all I want is fish, live rock and mushroom-like corals. Also do I need a filter or a skimmer for a 30 gallon tank?
Thanks

[thegrun]

Read the skickies at the top of this forum,. particularly the How to set up an aquarium thread:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2075632

[tsanderson]

I actually just went to the LFS and got 15 Ibs of dead rock, 30 Ibs of carib sea aragonite dry sand, marine salt and a hydrometer got home put water in it and put the heater on just waiting for it to clear up. I have some questions
With a 30 gallon do I need a skimmer or a filter the guy at LFS recommended a hang on the back filter as the cheapest option?

[RubenG88]

Im using a hang on filter on mine, no skimmer, and its been set up for 4 months now and everything is looking good, the only thing i suggest is adding some live rock mixed in with that dry rock, check your salinity level, and let the cycle beggin :)

[RubenG88]

Oh and make sure you top off your water level with rodi water

[tsanderson]

By rodi water do you mean like distilled water? And I got some live sand from my LFS which I mixed in with the dry aragonite. And was wondering which is a better hang on filter the marine land bio wheel or the tetra whisper?

[RubenG88]

Yea its called reverse osmosis distilled water, on the filter they pretty much do the same just get a filter that is rated for a bigger tank i personally like the fluval C3 but thats just me.

[julie180]

"Yea its called reverse osmosis distilled water"

Reverse osmosis is one type of water filtration.
Distilled is totally different.

The best water for a saltwater tank is RODI. Reverse osmosis with de-ionization.

[RubenG88]

There you go, thank for correcting me

[catfish_john]

you can find RO and RODI water at local fish stores for sale. Around here its around 25 cents a gallon, 75 cents to a dollar mixed with salt. You don't know how routinely the system is maintained though and you don't get to choose your salt mix. I know the shop I frequent has a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter on their massive RO/DI unit just in case anyone asks, but I don't know if this is standard practice. You really want to get into the habit of using the best water you can find in a marine tank though and RO/DI is the top tier. A home system can set you back some but it is so worth the investment in yourself, not just the overwhelming benefits to a reef tank. I have started drinking TONS more water since I got my home RO/DI from BRS. It is the best tasting water I have ever drank and my family and friends agree. You could also explore the option of utilizing a hang on back overflow and using a sump with your 30 gallon. adding a 20 gallon sump gives you 50 gallons of water volume before you add rock and sand. Of course this is more costly because you need to supply the sump, hob overflow, return pump, skimmer and plumbing but it almost doubles your water volume. I have a 75 gallon display with a 40 gallon sump and I already wish that I went bigger on the sump but its all I could fit! Just take your time setting everything up and don't rush any decision or purchase! Hope this helps!

[tsanderson]

Thanks for all the help guys i decided to buy a tetra whisper for the 40 gallon tank so its a little bigger than needed I plan on leaving the carbon bag in there for a while so it produces a nice amount a bacteria. I also bought a marineland Maxi-400 powerhead and pump, I know the powerhead just circulates the water but what does the pump do?
Heres where I bought it- http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-water-pumps/11442-526460/marineland-marineland-maxi-jet-water-pump-and-powerhead.html

[Sugar Magnolia]

To get your cycled started add a raw shrimp to the tank and let it stay in there until it starts to fall apart. Get some test kits so you can track your cycle. You'll want kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and a refractometer to test salinity.