getting started

[tpaft]

hello. i am on the verge of starting another saltwater tank. went shopping today to see what's out there. does anyone have any tips or do's and don'ts they wish to share? this is my second tank setup. the first one was 90 gallons. i moved 100 miles. set up the tank again and it was never the same. so we gave it away to someone else, then moved again. i just bought the saltwater for dummies book on ebay for a great price, and hopefully that will point me in the right direction. more than anything at the top of my list is tips and tricks to keep the paint from peeling off the wall behind the tank (another reason we didn't want to set it up in the new house). also, there are so many filtering systems out there, i don't know where to begin the research to figure out which is the best to use. so many choices!!!! does anyone recommend buying a tank/stand/canopy used or brand new. i also need to figure out what drilled and nondrilled means. let the fun begin. i will update as progress happens. thanks for any input that anyone can give me.

[yote]

Welcome to the reef.
You'll find that everybody on this site is more than happy to answer any questions you have.
Theres also some extremely helpfull aritcles at the top of the page.
How you set up,will depend on what direction you want your tank to go.FOWLR,FO,Reef.With FOWLR and reef tanks,your best filter is going to be 1 to 2 pounds of live rock per gal of water and a good skimmer.Most of us run a sump filter system.
We'll get into all that later,But first decide which way you want to go.
Good luck with it.

[MikMcgyver]

Welcome to the Reef, yotes correct, ask all ya want, you will get an answer...

LR is your best filter, look into that, then a sump system with a skimmer....Happy to have ya here...

[jhnrb]

Welcome to the site. click on the helpful articles at the top of the page. you will find quite a few articles to answer most of your questions with the experience you already have. good luck. keep us posted and ask any questions you have. you will find a helpful and friendly group of people here at living reefs.

[fishbait]

welcome to the site!
drilled means the glass has allready been drilled for bulkheads and overflows to take water to a sump or wet/dry filter beneath the tank.
undrilled means just that. it's just a regular tank.

[tpaft]

Thanks very much for the input. I have a lot of reading to do Will keep you posted

[reeffreak]

Welcome and feel free to ask questions anytime.

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome!