Noob looking for info :D

[empty]

So... hello ppl, xD... im new in this all saltwater tank thing... for some reason im thinking about having one... i know it needs time and maintenance and of course money...

so i want a 40 to 55 gal tank (i can find a 55 for 200$ started kit for freshwater) that i would like to use for the saltwaer.... i wanna know "everything" i can know including where i can find the best prices and etc... and i want to do coral of course xD....

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Welcome to the forum....

Just a piece of advice, don't buy one of thos FW kits, all you will mainly use is the heater and the tank.

Look around here in the "For Sale" section, you'll find better deals here.

Also, buy a tank as large as you can afford, or a BIG as the space you want it in. If you don't you'll just upgrade it in the near future anyhow, and the tank is almost the cheapset piece of equipment.

Ken - BWA

[empty]

i went to piscies and big als today and piscies said that i can use a sump or a "hangy" skymer for the tank if i wanna safe money, the girl in bigals tried to sell me almost 1000$ in stuff... sump skymer pump... 500$ in live rock and etc...

i know i need the skymer and he live rock... but paying 2000$ (just like the bigals girls said to me) its kind of too much... 1000$ is very reasonable...

i been looking in the forum but i want to know stores too xD... in calgary area...

thank you for the help

[Nano]

Originally Posted by empty

i went to piscies and big als today and piscies said that i can use a sump or a "hangy" skymer for the tank if i wanna safe money, the girl in bigals tried to sell me almost 1000$ in stuff... sump skymer pump... 500$ in live rock and etc...

i know i need the skymer and he live rock... but paying 2000$ (just like the bigals girls said to me) its kind of too much... 1000$ is very reasonable...

i been looking in the forum but i want to know stores too xD... in calgary area...

thank you for the help

Like Blueworld aquatics said, check the for sale forum this way=best deals for you! and big als is a good "one stop shop" so i've come to learn in my short time in the SW hobby. its like a walmart for fish! best bet like he said above go as big as you can afford to go, I went 20 gallons (cause I didnt listen) and now I'm planning a upgrade in the future to either a 125g or 250g. put a lot of thought into it first. tank will be the cheapest thing out of anything that you'll buy. if your doing a sump, get a cheap used tank if it leaks you can reseal it! lots of big tanks for sump online for dirt cheap. salt water is really expensive. with lights, tank, sump, stand, sand, Live rock, heater, and filter media, you're probably going to be closer to 2000 new. just my 2 cents though

[xtreme]

I'd say those 2 stores are at the bottom of the list when it comes to LFS' in Calgary. The four worth checking out IMO are:

Concept Aquatics
Red Coral
Ocean
Golds

[Blom]

Your best bet is to keep an eye out for used stuff then. $1000 bucks is not going to go all that far buying new stuff. There are lots of tanks that come up on the old auction block all the time, sometimes full setups. Take your time and look into different references on the web, Canreef has a great reference library. Look through some tank journals and I would certainly recommend a book or two on fish/inverts/corals (I use the pocket express guides and find them very helpful). That way you will get an idea of what it is you want to keep, then build a system based on that. As someone already noted the lfs you mentioned are not great places to "learn" from. Stop by Red Coral and see Kevin, he's the man who steered me in the right direction when I started.

[Myka]

I don't know anything about Pisces, but personally I wouldn't shop at Big Al's. I find their staff is often uneducated and their prices are usually way high. I can vouch for Red Coral and Concept Aquatics as good, reliable, trustworthy sources with good prices.

I would suggest you install a sump on the tank as the cost of a decent hang on skimmer is much higher than a decent in-sump skimmer. Also, the sump hides a bunch of stuff, and gives you more options for filtering.

[Nano]

Originally Posted by Myka

I don't know anything about Pisces, but personally I wouldn't shop at Big Al's. I find their staff is often uneducated and their prices are usually way high. I can vouch for Red Coral and Concept Aquatics as good, reliable, trustworthy sources with good prices.

I would suggest you install a sump on the tank as the cost of a decent hang on skimmer is much higher than a decent in-sump skimmer. Also, the sump hides a bunch of stuff, and gives you more options for filtering.

+10000 and added water volume, and possibly a future place to put frags!

[Myka]

Empty, that 90 gallon you asked about in the classifieds sounds like a pretty good setup and sounds like a great price. I would upgrade the skimmer on that one though...Remoras don't make the "decent" list in my books. The lighting and everything sounds like it would be good to grow all sorts of corals.

Look for live rock in the classifieds too...you should pay about $4/lb for "used" rock. You're best off asking someone to go with you to check out the rock to check for nuisance algae and things like Aiptasia and Majano anemones.