First saltwater tank

[jonnytens]

I want to start up a saltwater tank, what size is good for a starter and what stuff do I absolutely need to get.

Jon

[jasond]

I started with a 20 gallon, small skimmer, powerheads, and a power compact light. Problem with starting too small is it is less forgiving, and you will want to go bigger in no time. I would suggest 30-40 gallons would be a good start.

Good luck,

Jason

[noirsphynx]

I started with a 24g but within 4 months jumped to a 90g and now(3 months later) I'm wishing my 90g was bigger, lol.

[fencer]

I like 4 ft tanks (60-90 gal). But if you are just starting 33gal 2or3 ft is a good start. The startup costs are reasonable.

[martym]

Depends on what you want to keep. I found with my 50g, the fish you can keep is very limited.

[Whatigot]

Originally Posted by jonnytens

I want to start up a saltwater tank, what size is good for a starter and what stuff do I absolutely need to get.

Jon

You will find on this board that the more info you offer, the more people can help you...
What kind of saltwater tank do you want to start?
A reef or a fish only system or something in between?
Do you want to keep corals?
if so, softies or sps or both?

Do you want to have a peaceful system or a predatory one?

You'll find that your equipment needs will vary depending on what it is you would like as an end result as will anyones advice.

[Myka]

The size of tank you should start with is greatly influenced by your budget. Once we know a budget, and what kind of tank you want to keep then we can suggest a size that will suit that.

So here's a few questions to help:

What do you want to spend for initial startup?
How big is the space that you want to put the tank?
Do you want to keep corals?
If so, what kind? Softies? LPS? SPS? (do a Google search if you need to)
What kind of fish do you want to keep?

[Jay180reef]

Bigger is better, but read up on the forums and grab a few reef books as well.

[jonnytens]

Originally Posted by Myka

The size of tank you should start with is greatly influenced by your budget. Once we know a budget, and what kind of tank you want to keep then we can suggest a size that will suit that.

So here's a few questions to help:

What do you want to spend for initial startup?
How big is the space that you want to put the tank?
Do you want to keep corals?
If so, what kind? Softies? LPS? SPS? (do a Google search if you need to)
What kind of fish do you want to keep?

My budget is around 450 bucks. I want a tank that will look really asthetically pleasing, corals rock etc

[phillybean]

You'll want to start a cube then.

I'd go with a 24 Gallon Aquapod with a 150Watt HQI Metal Halide. Should be able to find one for $350 - $400 bucks or so.

There are more "hidden costs" in keeping a reef than there are in having a cell phone.

Test Kits, Salt, Refractometer, Additives, RODI Unit, heaters, powerheads etc etc etc.

When I first decided to set up my 75 gallon, I budgeted for $1500. I bought everything as cheap as I could and now, including live stock I'm at around $3500, which is quite good for my set up...if my wife asks, I'm under 1500 though...