New to Saltwater

[Baraney]

Hello all have been reading for a Few day now. I have learned a lot and still have a lot of question that will come later. For now I would like to know if $1,000 budget for a 55 gal tank with Fish and Live Rock can be done. If not how much should I try to Budget. Any advice on equipment would be great.

[Rcpilot]

Welcome to Living Reefs.

I quit adding it all up. Best if the wife don't know how much that box of water costs.

It's not a hobby for people who like instant gratification. It's a slow hobby and takes years to grow out a tank. It's not cheap. It's a huge commitment. The best thing I can tell you is to go slow.

It's expensive, and buying the wrong equipment costs a lot of money to replace later, so get the absolute best stuff you can get on your budget. Top of my list is a good skimmer, followed by good lights.

Live rock can be purchased from local reefers who are getting out of the hobby. I got mine for $2 or $3 per pound.

I'm going to recommend T5 lighting because I know it works, I know it's better than Power Compact, and I think it's cooler than Metal Halide lights.

Think hard about what types of fish you want. In a 55g tank, I'd put maybe 4 or 5 medium sized fish MAX. Study up on fish habits and compatibility with everything else in the tank.

[HeavyHittah]

when i first started researching about saltwater aqauriums i to wanted a 55 gallon aquarium. But then i found that for about 5 dollars more (at least where i live) you can get a 75 gallon. The 55 gallon is a very narrow tank. You would be very limited to how you can aquascape it. Trust me, save yourself the trouble and go with the 75 gallon (90 gallon would be even better). i really feel that if you're just starting out the the 75 is the ideal tank for you. Its big enough to give you good newbie experience and not too large where youll feel in over your head. As far as your budget goes i think 1000 is a bit of a tight budget, but ill let one of the gurus preach on that. But just remember, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

[HeavyHittah]

dang rcpilot i thought i was going to be first

[HeavyHittah]

Oh Yea, Baraney.....
WELCOME TO LIVING REEFS!!!

[Bifferwine]

$1000... Hmmm... You may have to get used equipment to fit your budget, but that's not a bad thing. You can find used equipment pretty easily if you are patient and watch the web.

I second RC's advice to get a set of T5s. A new set of T5s for a 55 gallon tank will run you $300 to $500. If you want a fish only tank, and not a reef tank (i.e. no corals, no anemones, no clams), you do not have to buy special lights at all, and can skip that expense altogether.

Used live rock is also a good idea. You will need 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, and if you buy it new from a store, it can run anywhere from $8 to $14 a lb. You can buy live rock off of www.liveaquaria.com when they have it on sale for $3 or $4 per lb, including shipping, but if you watch Craig's List, you can usually find someone breaking down their tank and selling live rock for $2/lb.

Your skimmer will be another big investment. For cost and effectiveness, I recommend the Octopus brand. You can get a good Octopus skimmer for a couple hundred bucks. Again, with patience you can probably find a used skimmer online for a good price.

[RyanG]

Baraney I too would like to welcome you to the reef! You have gotten good advice so far and I will further back it up by recommending a 75, 90, or 120 in four foot tanks. The 55 has a decent length but its just too narrow. You should really get as large of a tank as you can afford. If you are a DIY(do it yourself) kind of person you might be able to get your equiptment for 1000. You would have to get some pretty good deals on used equiptment to get it all up and running for that. If you are buying new should figure on the following
New
Tank 150-200
Stand 150ish
Lighting 300-500 depending on quality(Cheaper to DIY in canopy IMO)
skimmer 200+
Live Rock new 5+ a pound(one to two pounds per gallon
Sand 2 bucks a pound give or take(pound per gallon for 1" sand bed)
Plumbing 100+/-(valves and unions can get spendy but worth it)
Salt 50
Ro/Di unit 100+
Thats the basics to get you started.

I would recommend the larger tank just because most people that start out smaller want to upgrade rather quickly(usually within a year) And then have to resize their lighting and equiptment and have the expense all over again. If I were going with a four foot tank I would go for a 90 or 120 myself. You could go with a 55 but it restricts what you will be able to do with it quite a bit.

Have fun, post any questions you have(the only dumb question is one thats not asked) While you are waiting for questions to be answered check out the articles section chocked full of great information. Jhnrb has put a ton of time and effort into putting it together. When you go to the bookstore or LFS grab a copy of "The Conscientous Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. Its considered the marine aquaria bible. Welcome again to the reef.

[Bifferwine]

I think that if you are looking to sticking in your $1000 budget, a 55 will be a much smarter choice than a 75 or larger. Yes, with fish tanks "bigger is better" and larger tanks are easier to maintain and keep water parameters stable, but when it comes to the price of equipment, lighting and skimmer costs go up exponentially with the size of your tank. It will be much easier to get rock, a skimmer and lights for a 55 and stay in (or at least, near) your budget than it would be to get the same stuff that is made for a 75, 90 or 120 gallon tank.

55s are not bad tanks. My first tank was a 55 gallon tank, and it took nearly 7 years for me to upgrade to a 240.

[sen5241b]

Another way to save money, use some good live rock (LR) and a lot of dead coral rock (calcerous and porous) and wait several months for the dead rock to become LR. Because LR provides major filtration for your tank and because you may start with only a little LR, you will have to be patient and wait for the dead rock to become LR and provide filtration enough to stock the tank full with fish & etc.

Also, use two thirds Live sand and one third plain marine sand to save a little moulah.

Don't spend all kinds of money on tests. You MUST test for salinity, PH and nitrates. You might get a cheapo 'ammonia alert' to stick on the glass.

If you put the tank somewhere in your place where it may overheat in the summer, you will have to turn on the a/c when temperature is only 80 or so or you might have to buy a tank chiller which cost mega bucks! Put the tank in your basement maybe where it will stay cool.

Also, others may disagree but you can save a lot of moulah by building your own stand --if you are handy with wood.

[simpleman]

Welcome! I think you can do it for a grand, I have a 55 gal with metal halide lighting 80-90 lbs of live rock, 100lbs of live sand, protein skimmer and sump and all that good stuff. I got it used from craigslist for $800! Just keep your eyes open. Keep it in mind though if you buy a tank that was a freshwater setup to clean it well with vinegar.