I want to get into this hobby

[UTfan]

I have had a freshwater aquarium for a year now, but I have always wanted to own a saltwater aquarium. I have done some research and set aside some money and I finally think I am ready to get an aquarium. I have a few questions that I hope someone could answer for me. Which is the best size aquarium to get and where should I get it? Is it easy to go from a fish only aquarium to a fish and coral aquarium? What are some fairly hardy fish that I should get first and where is the best place to get them? I have gotten some mixed answers on protein skimmers. One person said that I needed one and another said I didn't. Last question. Are invertabraes hard to keep and should I get them on my first fish buying expedition? Thanks for any and all help.

[xcreonx]

Here's a really good guide for those interested in starting a tank:

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&...wpage&pid=1

[UTfan]

Thankyou so much. It helped alot!!So would a 40 gallon tank be a good size to start at?

[Headless_donkey]

"good" start size i hard to define. I would say look at your budget. Check out Garf.org. They have a cool method of setting up a "bullet proof" reef. I have never tried it, but it might be worth looking into.

[KarenM]

Thankyou so much. It helped alot!!So would a 40 gallon tank be a good size to start at?

I would vote against a 40 gal in lieu of something smaller or larger. 40 gal tanks are at that "in between" size where they're not nanos, but they're not large enough for any of the really cool fish. I'n new to SW, about 5 months now. I have a 40 gal and the first surprise I had was that I could only keep 2 or 3 small fish in it. And by small I mean 1"-2". My 2nd big surprise is that the more shallow the better when it comes to corals because it puts them closer to the lights.

Since it's expensive to keep upgrading lights, I'd go with MH in the beginning. And also with a larger tank, because it's not easy to move everything to a new tank when you decide to upgrade. Depending on your space and finance limits, I would suggest starting out with a 90 gal. That's sort of small on the SW side. But large enough for some interesting fish.

I'd recommend buying the tank and stand from craigslist. There are so many for sale they're going really cheap. Just be sure to have them fill it so you can check for leaks. As far as equipment I recommend buying brand new or buying from someone on this board. No one here will sell you a piece of junk or something that doesn't work properly. That goes for livestock, too. The stores have had them less than a week - they don't know how healthy they are. But people here have had them in their tanks and I feel they're safer.

Before you buy ANYTHING, research it. Google it, check every board you can't find and ask for opinions. Don't rely on the LFS selling you only what's appropriate for your tank because while there are some very good ones, there are also some that just want to make the sale. In my first 5 purchases, 3 were totally inappropriate for my size tank I had to rehome them. I bought them from the same LFS I bought the tank & equp. I was a regular there - they knew exactly what kind of tank I had and what I had in it. For the record, I've never seen that store mentioned on this site.

And learn from others' mistakes. I've made so many I could write my own book.

[UTfan]

Wow, everyone has been a big help and I appreciate it. The more information I get the better. So anymore help would be much appreciated.Would a 55-75 gallon work okay? I don't think a 90 gallon would fit, but that all depends on the dimensions.

[Entropy]

The 90g is actually the same foot print as the 75g and I would go for that over the 90g. The dimensions are much more beginner friendly. If you can swing it I would try for a 120g. But you can start much smaller. The best tanks IMO are equal or wider (front to back) than they are tall and have length in 2 foot increments. A 60g for instance (24x24x24) is a great tank and can be lit by a single halide. A 120g (which is two 60g's literally 48x24x24) is another excellent size and has basically double the requirements of the 60g. And then the 180g is triple (72x24x24).

[Enigma13]

Another great site for answers:

www.wetwebmedia.com

Edited August 18, 2007 by Enigma13

[UTfan]

Last website helped alot thanks!!!!!

[GKarshens]

Another site to read: melevsreef.com

And YES get a skimmer. And it is better not to skimp on this piece of equipment.

[Aquatic-J]

I have a 50 gallon tank, stand, canopy and sump for sale. I am selling it all really cheap if you are

interested.

Let me know.

[CaptainBob]

all of the sites that have been posted are great places to get information, but assuming you're coming into this as a complete novice a lot of the posts on RC and articles on WWM probably aren't going to make a lick of sense to you, if I was new they wouldn't make any sense to me either, so I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell everyone who walks into aquatek and wants a reef tank but knows nothing about it.

Buy a copy of The New Marine Aquarium, we have it available for 20 bucks. It spells out the basics of the hobby in plain english that anyone can understand, with good diagrams and plenty of informational captions.

In fact I've started refusing to answer the question "How do you make a reef tank?" in favor of directing people to this and other good reference books. And it's not a matter of being rude, impatient, or snarky either, the simple fact is there is enough to this hobby that talking to a dude in a fish store, even a knowledgeable one, isn't going to cut it to get the information you need to be successful with your first tank. There is simply too much information thats just second nature to anyone who's been doing this for any length of time to explain in a noisy shop with a lot of things going on, and it's nigh impossible for anyone to retain all of that information even if it does all get expressed. That being said I suggest you pick up a good book to spell out the basics.

If you want a book you'll get more mileage out of, there are a number of titles that go into much further detail I can also recommend wholeheartedly. People really don't give enough credit to books anymore now that the internet makes so much information available to any trained ape with a keyboard, but remember that any of said primates can publish whatever they want online and no one can really debate their facts, correct their errors, or stop them from giving whatever information they want to, the forums given here are very good sources where competent people can step in and correct what's been said, but remember that anyone can still post whatever nonsense they like, and bad info doesn't always get caught right away. A good reputable book rules a lot of the idiot factor out of the information you're getting without having to second guess your source too much. Books also don't go away when you lose your internet connection, which we all know happens from time to time for whatever reason.

I don't mean to sound old fashioned sitting here bashing the internet, hell I've wasted most of my adult life online, but the point is simply that having a good reference book or two onhand is never, ever, a bad idea, especially for a novice.

[UTfan]

Thanks I will try to get a copy. I have ordered an read lots of books and true to what you have said they are a wealth of knowlage. P.S. I have wanted to come by your store for a long time now but have not had the time to do it latly, and this will give me a reason to come by.