Hello from a fish newbie in Washington

[Jakes02]

I've been wanting to get a saltwater tank up and running for a year or so but the wife won't allow it until we move to our new house(2 years away):( so until then I look forward to getting as much info as possible and drooling over everyone elses tank.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome. You should be an expert in two years :D. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

 

[yote]

Hi and welcome to the reefs.
Think of it like this
#1 You have plenty of time to decide what you want to keep and research it so you'll know how to care for it.
#2 By waiting untill you move,you dont have to worry about breaking your set up down and then having to set it back up after the move,which will save you money in the long run because you wont the higher risk of losing any of your live stock.
#3 You can save up more money to put into your system once your ready to set it up.

 

[RigoSharon]

hello...time runs fast....and welcome..living reefs rocks...

 

[jhnrb]

Welcome to the site. please visit our helpful articles, or the saltwater article forum for a series of articles that will be very helpful for you.

 

[Adrastos]

Expert in 2 years? I am going on 5 and I still am not sure what I am doing most of the time! Ha!!!

 

[Jakes02]

thanks for the welcome.

 

[reeffreak]

Welcome,Just a thought...how about a nano say 10 gallons while you wait.You can use that as a quarentine tank when you move.

 

[Jakes02]

Welcome,Just a thought...how about a nano say 10 gallons while you wait.You can use that as a quarentine tank when you move.

lol, I mentioned a small tank to the wife and she wasn't too thrilled with the idea. She doesn't want to spend the money on the tank and equipment and not have fish. I would be content with just a couple pieces of live rock.

 

[Bifferwine]

You can have a really cool looking small tank with just a few fish. Then when you move you can get a bigger one and have both :D.

 

[JellyMan]

Hello and welcome to the reefs compromise with her tell her youll wait but save up the money and when your in get the biggest and best bang for your buck. :D

 

[Jakes02]

well, the wife and I were talking and she suggested we go to the lfs and take a look at equipment and make a list of things we need and prices. In our travels we went to petco for price comparison and they were having a "buy a filter get tank 1/2 price deal" sooooo we walked out with a penguin 350, 55 gal./stand and the wood top is on order. Needless to say I'm quite content.

Now I have some searching to do for a hood, powerheads, etc.etc. If anyone has any suggestions on what to get next, any help is much appreciated.

Well off to search :)

 

[yote]

Have you decided which way your going to set it up yet?Fish only,fish with live rock,or reef?
Either way you go you'll want a protein skimmer.Id suggest a coralife super skimmer.I run one on my 55 and still cant believe the gunk it pulls out.
If your doing FOWLR or FO the the regular strip lights that come with tank will work just fine.But if your doing a reef then you'll want better lights.At least 4 watts per gallon of water for the easier soft corals like mushrooms.
You'll also need a good test kit and either a hydrometer or a refractometer.The basic test are ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,PH and alkalinity.
You might want to check out some of the online dealers to. You can get your powerheads, heaters,and stuff like that for half the price as the pet stores and most LFS.
Just dont get in a hurry with it.Saltwater cant be rushed.

 

[Jakes02]

Planning on doing a reef setup but nothing too wild or the wife will have my head on a stick. We have a local get together in a week so I'm gonna try and get some knowledge and equipment. If I'm lucky someone will let me see thier tank and learn about the tests, setup and maint. Off to see if any vendors have some good deals, and check out the Coralife skimmer. Thanks Yote

No rushing here. I'm a paranoid perfectionist with OCD :)

 

[Bifferwine]

Another good skimmer is the Aqua C Remora Pro. I'd check that one out too. Definitely take some time learning about the equipment before buying it, especially stuff like lights, which are expensive and one of the most critical purchases you will make, as your lighting will determine what kinds of corals you can keep.

 

[Jakes02]

thanks I'll check that one out too. I've read a few things on lighting and wow, so many options it boggles my mind. Everyone using abbreviations for equipment names is proving to make research a lil' bit tough.

 

[Bifferwine]

For a 55 gallon you have 3 main choices: T5s, metal halides or PCs (power compacts). All have their pros and cons. I use T5s and like them, they are quite a bit cheaper than metal halides, which are widely considered the best choice. PCs are probably the third most popular of those three.

 

[Jakes02]

Thanks for clearing up some confusion about lights

Did some searching and reading, looking at price/performance I found a good compromise, current nova extreme ho 4x54. may need another set to supplement these but still finding info on critters/corals are their light demands.

looking at: maxi-jet 1200 (2 should be enough correct?) , and a used remora pro

 

[Bifferwine]

Those are the lights I have, and I really like them. You will be able to keep pretty much everything under them, depending on how high up in the tank you place them (corals that need more light need to be placed closer to the light).

Two MJ 1200s and a Remora would be excellent too. You might be able to find a used Remora on Reef Central. I think you've done a good job researching... Keep us updated on how it goes.

 

[yote]

Thanks for clearing up some confusion about lights

Did some searching and reading, looking at price/performance I found a good compromise, current nova extreme ho 4x54. may need another set to supplement these but still finding info on critters/corals are their light demands.

looking at: maxi-jet 1200 (2 should be enough correct?) , and a used remora pro

You can get the same light in 8x54 and probably wouldnt have to use any supplemental lighting.I have the 8 bulb light which give me a little over 9 watts per gallon.