Hello Everyone I am brand new into Saltwater aquariums & need some help!!

I Have a roughly 150 gallon tank. I say roughly as i bought it used & have not measured it yet to be sure. I am looking to get into saltwater tank. Not fresh. I have no idea what to do though. i have a Eheim proffesional II 2026 filter brand new. Which would handle it very well i think? I don't have a protein skimmer should I? Is it required? I'm going to get the live sand & live rocks soon to get it going and such. for roughly 4 weeks right? before I add fish? Also I don't know where to get saltwater from. I live about 40 minutes away from the ocean but it would be impossible for me to get that much water from there. I have a well not town water. Is that ok to use. Should i use bottled? If so How do I get the salt in there? I;ve seen the boxed salt for it but how much of it? Also once I get it going I need to test for the chemicals in the water I know but what levels should I keep it at. And how do I adjust if need be? What aditives do I need to ad to the water for the fish & other items? What food do I feed them? Also I'm so confused on the lighting there is so much difference out there what is a good cheaper lighting system? I am putting it in a room with medium sun light. But not direct. I know its a lot of questions but I really want to get it going. But I want to do it right. Any help would be great. Thanks so much in advance. TIM

 

Welcome to Living Reefs. I'll give answering at least some of your questions a shot and others can correct me if I'm off.

i have a Eheim proffesional II 2026 filter brand new. Which would handle it very well i think?I don't have a protein skimmer should I? Is it required?
I'm going to answer these two together. A canister filter can work and it's what I have on my tank. However, it has to be cleaned every week or it can spike your nitrates. You won't need it if you use a skimmer, which is highly recommended. You will increase your chance of keeping healthy livestock with a skimmer. I have one waiting to go into service for my tank and will remove the canister filter when it goes into production.

I'm going to get the live sand & live rocks soon to get it going and such. for roughly 4 weeks right? before I add fish?
Add 1 -2 pound of live rock with your sand then test every few days to see how your water is doing. You can add a piece of shrimp or some flake food to help start the cycle. Once your ammonia and nitrites are at zero and your nitrate is under 20 you can add your first fish. It may take four weeks but could take more or less. It is recommended to only add oEheim professional II 2026ne fish every three to four weeks, up to the max for your size tank.

Also I don't know where to get saltwater from. I live about 40 minutes away from the ocean but it would be impossible for me to get that much water from there. I have a well not town water. Is that ok to use. Should i use bottled? If so How do I get the salt in there? I;ve seen the boxed salt for it but how much of it?
You need to order salt for the water. You can do a search for various brands of salt. You add approx. a half cup to each gallon of RO or RO/DI water (reverse osmosis). Walmart and some grocery stores will thell it. You can also buy premade saltwater from an LFS (Local Fish Store) but it will be more expensive. You need a hydrometer or, even better, a reflectometer, to measure the salt content in the water. The salt also contains trace elements that are necessary.

Also once I get it going I need to test for the chemicals in the water I know but what levels should I keep it at. And how do I adjust if need be? What aditives do I need to ad to the water for the fish & other items?
I suggest never adding anything that you don't test for first. You may need to add calcium if you get into SPS (small polyp stoney) corals and possibly something to adjust the PH if it's off. There are other additives you can add but probably won't need to add anything for the short term, possibly the long term.


What food do I feed them?
I recommend frozen food. Frozen Mysis shrimp, Emerald Entree, and brine that has been fortified (they don't have much nutrition by themselves) are good foods. Corals like oyster eggs and rotifers but it isn't really necessary.


Also I'm so confused on the lighting there is so much difference out there what is a good cheaper lighting system?

Lighting is a tough decision. A lot depends on what you want to keep. SPS, clams, and anenome require a lot of lighting, LPS (large polyp stoney) corals require significant light but not as much as SPS. Post what what you want to keep and others can give better estimates than I can give. You will likely be fine with a Nova Extreme Pro but can also look at metal halides. I prefer MH but they consentrate the heat in a smaller area. I would do a lot of research when you look at lights.

Hope this helps.

 

Hello and welcome to the site...Lightcs4 has you covered, and I'm sure he meant 1 to 2lbs of rock per gal...you could do mostly base/dry rock and a few pieces of live rock to seed the base rock...a protein skimmer is highly recommended, and remember, you get what you pay for...you could buy ro water from the supermarket or a wal-mart or the lfs, and just mix it yourself with the salt(1/2 cup per gal)...and most people here use T-5 HO lighting on their tanks.

 

Hi and welcome! Lights also meant to say "refractometer" instead of "reflectometer".

 

Stupid fingers didn't read my mind again. Thanks for catching it Smitty.

And yeah, it is a refractometer, thanks Biff.

I really can't wait until I get back to my normal work schedule. Getting up at 3:00 AM to patch servers is killing me. I need more than four hours of sleep a night. :frustrat:

 

welcome to the site

 

hello and welcome to the site great people with great answers

 

welcome to the site