Help: New to SW
 

Hi I'm new to the salt water game, I have experiance with Fresh but I have become bored and want to start something new and exciting.
I have some knowledge and research on Sw tanks and are I am continuing to expand on that. It is possible that I will be obtaining a 40g tank drilled in both back corners with overflows. I may also be getting a 29g which i will turn into a sump from some DIY vids. In the mean time I have a 15g non drilled, T8 lighting Fw tank taht i might try to start a Nano in, any suggestions on how to go about converting this tank into SW. And if anyone is selling parts for a 40g SW setup I would like to hear from you on that matter. Thanks for your time.:mrgreen:

Welcome to Canreef
If you keep your eye on the buy/sell section, pretty much anything you need will eventually come up for sale. Good luck and enjoy.

Welcome to this awesome hobby that we share. Read through some of the build threads / tank journals here. There's lots of great information buried in them.

If you just want to chat about some of your ideas, feel free to come for a coffee. I'd be happy to walk you through my setup.

- Brad

On a tank that size, without being drilled, I would recommend an Aquaclear 110 or 70, modded into a refuge. I have a small 10 gallon running on a aquaclear 110, with a heater, floss, a deep sand bed, live rock rubble, and then cheato with a fuge light.

That combined with a good T5HO or Metal halide light would work awesome.

You are more than welcome to swing by and have a look at the setup. I have had many different things growing on that setup. Take a look at my build thread located here:

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=71793

I also have an extra AC70 that I could give you to start out. Already modded for a fuge, and some cheato trimmings if you need it.

Here is a good DIY thread on modding the AC110 into a Fuge:

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forum...ad.php?t=32267

+1 for Fishyfishy, my 10gal is set up almost exactly the same way:biggrin:

Thanks for all the input, this has really helped. I think I'm going to start setting up my fifteen gallon for sw. I want to make just a fowlr tank at first cause I dont have the lighting for coals just yet, and suggestions on live stock and substrate and lr. Any inaifht is greatly appreciated.

In a 15 gallon, you could do a couple of small clowns, and a couple small gobies. I like yellow and green clown gobies, and the Catalina Goby is crazy colorful. Some inverts like Porcelin Crabs and Cleaner or Fire shrimp would be awesome as well.

Here is a link to Nano tank Fish:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/a....cfm?c=15+2124

Liveaquaria is a good place to search for ideas on livestock. They have a pretty decent database for lots if different fish/inverts/corals. (Just remember its just for information as they do not ship to Calgary).

As for subsrate, just do an inch-ish thick layer of Caribsea Agramax Select sand. A 30 lb bag of it should be sufficient, and you can pick it up at your local PetSmart for way cheaper than anywhere else.

Caribsea Aragamax Select Sand / Substrate - 30 lbs

Well, first off, I would suggest to get 15 lbs of live rock for your tank. You can get that either at the lfs or from someone who is taking down their tank. ( lfs will charge you an arm and a leg for it, $10 a pound or more:razz: so its generally quite a bit cheaper to get it from someone on here.) If you dont want all live rock, you could go with part base rock and part live rock, but for beginners I would reccomend you start with just live rock.

Sand can also be obtained from someone on here, and whether you choose a shallow or deep sand bed is entirely up to you.

For livestock, you could probably put about 3-4 fish in there. ( I have 4 fish and a large shrimp in my 10gal, but its pretty crowded )

Some ideas for fish:
-clowns ( occelaris, percula )
-gobies ( neon, trimma, firefish, clown )
-damsels ( three spot, yellow-tail )
-blennies ( tailspot, their awesome, I have one )
-atlantic pygmy/ cherub angel
-yellowhead jawfish
-dottyback ( royal )

Here's a link to an awesome guide to nano fish:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...howtopic=74703

Good luck :biggrin:

Hey so thank you all for the various info!
haha I have been constantly reading up and understanding the process that is saltwater hahahaa. If I ask another question, what equipment would I need to start setting up asap. I have the heater and lame lighting so just looking for other things i would need such as portien skimmers, powerheads, filters. The tank is undrilled and will remain that way for sometime haha. I dont exactly know which size and type of equipiment i need exactly for direction is muchly noted!

i run a 20g reef as basic as it gets like above i have a ac110 modded for a fuge just like in the thread,youll need a heater and powerheads(i use 2 koralia nanos) your gonna want a refractometer to measure the salinity and your gonna want a thermometer for temp.your going to need to get test kits....the basic kits come with nitrate,ph,amonia,nitrite but would recomend getting tests for calcium,allalinity and magnesium.

when you first set your tank up you will need to measure for amonia and nitrites and nitrates afterwards you wont need your nitrite and hopefully not your amonia kits anymore.

aim your powerheads in a way that gets flow all around your tank and i keep one pointed towards the top to agitate the surface and increase oxygen in the tank.

everything should be regular like water changes and feedings top off water and husbandry your tank will appreciate it.


do not over feed and keep an eye on nitrates and phosphates or you will be battling algae blooms like no tomorrow.

use ro water or at least prime if using tap water


invest in a hob skimmer if possible but if your going to upgrade anyways i wouldnt worry about it for now i dont use one and have not with many set ups but the benefit is tremendous if you do.

consider running a phosphate reactor or media reactor for carbon

this is the basics for a simple set up its really not hard its when you get lazy or dont follow the steps that problems happen


two golden sayings in the reef hobby memorize them and think of them for everything you do

"nothing happens fast in a reeftank(or fowlr) but disaster"

"the solution to pollution is dillution"



patience is the key read read and read some more and when you think you know it read it again i guarantee youll learn something new every day :) any questions just shoot we are all here to help and have a little fun with this awesome hobby

cheers:):)

o and by the way check your wallet cause your now broke lol