Title pretty much says it all, what do you suggest, it has two filters I can't tell whether they were made for fresh or salt water but I have a filter anyway, and the lighting is god, and I'de like some suggestions as to fish along with supplies for my tank... Firstly, I need to get a salt water kit, I know that much but I'm going to not get it for the first couple of weeks as my LFS does tests for free and knows a lot about the hobby... Secondly, I need suggestions as to any more supplies, if I even need anymore, and if so, what do I need... Thirdly, what fish do you recommend? I want to start out with a FOWLR or fish only with live sand tank whichever is cheaper, but aim to create a reef tank once I det really good... Anyway, what fish do you suggest, and I would like conversation starters lol, any suggestions? I allready have two types picked out, a clownfish or two along with some chromis... But I want one more species at least... What do you suggest?
Setting up a 70 gallon salt water tank...
- Thread starter Frogki
- Start date
hmmm first of all please read the stickies at the top of the forum as they hold a multitude of information. Then get a couple of good books such as "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta and "The Concientious Marine Aquariust" by Robert Fenner. both of these books will be huge reference sources for you. Don't rely on your lfs to test your water for you. Invest in a good test kit and test it yourself. Get used to testing the water yourself as you will be doing these tests weekly for a long time. Get about 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon this will be your filter. If getting uncured be prepared to cure it, this can be done in conjunction with your cycling of your new tank. If any of this doesn't make sense to you, then you need to do more research....good luck and welcome to the forum......fish selection is the last piece of the puzze.
Hi and I am not new to the forum, been here a while, and it makes quite a bit of sense to me but I wouldn't rely on my lfs, just gonna do the water test there for the first time since it's free. Gonna do it when I am selecting fish... I am investing in a salt water kit with tank parameter tests and marine salt... I was wondering about what you meant when you said the live rock would become my filter? Do you mean I wouldn't need a filter? Or are you saying that these would help my tank during the cycling process?
Not going with the size tank that you had in your other thread? Live rock acts as the primary biological filtration in your tank. Thats why you want to put 1 to 2 lbs of rock per gallon of water. You should also get a good protein skimmer because that will remove dissoved solids and waste from your water and help keep your nitrates in check. Don't reaaly need the skimmer until after your cycle is over and you have critters in the tank. The live rock will actually do the cycling process for you, rather than the "dead fish" method. Live rock comes both cured and uncured. If you get uncured you can just cure it yourself in the display tank as part of the cycling process. It just takes longer than it would with cuired rock.
What are your plans for a sump/refugium?
Cardinals are good fish too and should co-exist just fine with clowns and chromis, but fish are the least of your worries right now.
I would invest in a saltwater test kit right away. You will be using it religously and regularly before getting your fish. Read all the stickies as Lorna said because they are very informative.
What are your plans for a sump/refugium?
Cardinals are good fish too and should co-exist just fine with clowns and chromis, but fish are the least of your worries right now.
I would invest in a saltwater test kit right away. You will be using it religously and regularly before getting your fish. Read all the stickies as Lorna said because they are very informative.
Allright, and IDK, I'ma ask my Dad's friend about setting one up too, he's an expert on it... Anyways, I plan on investing in a salt water kit, I allready have a filter with the sump inside it I believe, and this is my first salt water making it very uncharted territory... Anyway, I am thinking that I am getting about $50 for my birthday allowing me to get a salt water kit with a bucket of salt and test kits for nitrate nitrites and ammonia, but my step brother in law told me that my pool kit had the same test kits so I might just save my money and buy the salt and use the excess money for fish... Any suggestions or tips? I'm a little nervous and I don't know if all of the listed info above is correct... I'm going to ask my dad's friend if the filter (which he gave to me) has the sump as well...
P.S. The reason I'm not going with that size FishMonger, is because this tank was given to me ROFL...
P.S. The reason I'm not going with that size FishMonger, is because this tank was given to me ROFL...
ok i will put this out there.....
please please please listen to the knowledgable people on this site. i am in the process of starting one myself and have had many many costly mistakes because all my LFS wanted to do is make money. now i have a big box of worthless equiptment and my tank is no closer to completeing its cycle then it was 7 weeks ago.
salt water is very costly and i recomend doing it right the first time because it will cost you more in the long run if not.
also thanks to everyone who has helped me so far.
please please please listen to the knowledgable people on this site. i am in the process of starting one myself and have had many many costly mistakes because all my LFS wanted to do is make money. now i have a big box of worthless equiptment and my tank is no closer to completeing its cycle then it was 7 weeks ago.
salt water is very costly and i recomend doing it right the first time because it will cost you more in the long run if not.
also thanks to everyone who has helped me so far.
I would not use a pool test kit. Pool test kits mainly test for pH, alkalinity, and chlorine. Although you will still need the pH, the range of the test probably does not meet saltwater specifications. Saltwater utilizes a higher pH range (8.2-8.4) and high range pH test kits are sold specifically for saltwater testing. You will also need ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. All four of these tests are included in a Master Saltwater test kit. API makes a good one. And it is not that expensive either.
A sump is basically a container that holds water and can be anything from a cheap rubbermaid tub to a expensive acrylic tank bought at an LFS. Many people make their own out of glass aquariums to save money. It expands the water volume of your system and holds things that take up space in your display such as heaters and protein skimmers. There are a lot of good places on the internet to find out more about a sump.
A sump is basically a container that holds water and can be anything from a cheap rubbermaid tub to a expensive acrylic tank bought at an LFS. Many people make their own out of glass aquariums to save money. It expands the water volume of your system and holds things that take up space in your display such as heaters and protein skimmers. There are a lot of good places on the internet to find out more about a sump.
Thanks FishMonger, and do I just cyphin the water back and forth from the sump to my tank or what? And I think I'll invest in a salt water kit, it's about 60 dollars, it includes a bucket of marine salt and the test kits for a salt water tank... So a sump can be any type of small container that holds water from your tank?
My suggestion: This is the best advice you will get, reread Lornas advice to you again, and go find the books she told you about. This will help you out by giving you a better understanding of how SW Tanks work. I bought them when I started and read them cover to cover about three times, and still do.
Go to Melevsreef.com - Welcome! and click on the section entitled "Acrylic Works & DIY" That will give you an understanding on how a sump works and some ideas on how to build and set yours up. It's a bit more than what you posted.
Well for my 75 gallon tank I have a 30 gallon sump, but a 20 gallon would work too. The bigger, the better. More total water volume is better. My return pump is rated at 1090 gph but I have 4 feet of head so it drops the flow to about 700gph, which is what my overflow box is rated at. There are alot of sites that help you decide how to build my sump. I designed mine from a video I saw on Youtube. I did a search on DIY sump and got lots of results.
I would suggest and take this kindly as it is meant so.......SLOW DOWN. Seriously, please think things through carefully and plan them out on paper. Make sure you understand what you are doing and why. Right now from your posts I am thinking you are a bit scattered and you need to focus on what it is you are trying to accomplish. Getting advice all over and though it is well intentioned it can be confusing. Again, I urge you to read at the very least Palleta's book, it will explain from the very start how to set up a marine tank and explain all the equipment needed and why you need it and the actual steps in setting it up. It is much better to set this up how you want it down the road and do it slowly rather than mickey mouse it together now and pay later.
You need to plan your sump carefully, allowing room in your stand to access your equipment in it. Some stands made for a 75 have a center brace which will seriously limit the size sump you can place under the tank. Sure a 30 gallon makes a nice sump but not if you can't work in there due to limited space issues. Like they say.....measure twice cut once.......
You need to plan your sump carefully, allowing room in your stand to access your equipment in it. Some stands made for a 75 have a center brace which will seriously limit the size sump you can place under the tank. Sure a 30 gallon makes a nice sump but not if you can't work in there due to limited space issues. Like they say.....measure twice cut once.......
KK Lorna, and I'm going to ask this because I honestly have been reading and it sounds like this... Is a sump neccesary? Or could I add it later? Because a sump is kinda out of the question right now, what with the fact that I don't have a tank big enough for a sunp, can't afford it, and my stand being small so that it would be difficult to get in for maitenence on the sump... I'm getting advice from my Dad's friend, asking for money or supplies for a marine tank for my birthday and I'm hoping people would give me books if not I'll try to buy them myself...
I agree with Lorna that you should read through some of the basic stickies before running out to buy equipment, and particularly fish. From my experience, no, you don't need a sump right now. With the cost of all the equipment, most people cannot afford a sump in the beginning and I don't think it matters personally. I have had my tank set up for about a year and a half, and I still don't have a sump and my fish are doing fine. No plans to get one anytime soon either.
I also, unfortunately, don't have any live rock yet either...been using a Rena canister filter, as this was given to me along with the tank. I plan to get some LR in the very near future though, as well as a protein skimmer. I haven't had any fish besides clowns and damsels, which have done fine in my setup. We'll see how much better off my tank is after I add the LR and dump the canister filter.
I also, unfortunately, don't have any live rock yet either...been using a Rena canister filter, as this was given to me along with the tank. I plan to get some LR in the very near future though, as well as a protein skimmer. I haven't had any fish besides clowns and damsels, which have done fine in my setup. We'll see how much better off my tank is after I add the LR and dump the canister filter.
Thanks animalbabe, and yes, I know and understand, I have only been given equipment so far, I have not had to buy a thing yet... I have two filter set ups, both are great however I have a much better one for salt water which I will use for this, and I think I'm going to ask my Dad's friend for help setting it up and advice on how long to wait for fish, etc... And I'll ask you guys on here as well...
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I also know that I have to take this very slowly in many stages... I know what I'de like to put in the tank but obviously I have to do a lot of work before that... I'm trying to set it all up fix it all up and get it going but it will be in stages... Every ornament is cleaned up and is drying out, killing the green algea...
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I also know that I have to take this very slowly in many stages... I know what I'de like to put in the tank but obviously I have to do a lot of work before that... I'm trying to set it all up fix it all up and get it going but it will be in stages... Every ornament is cleaned up and is drying out, killing the green algea...
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what type of ornaments? you must be very careful in putting anything into a saltwater aquarium as saltwater is extremely corrosive and some items may leach unwanted chemicals into your water and poison fish or inverts. Some/most inverts are especially succeptible to some elements such as copper etc which is leached from some types of paint and materials. So unless it specifically states it is reef safe do not add it to your tank.
These are ornaments that are made for aquariums and yes, I know that... I know what I'm doing but it is going to take a while...
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Firstly: I'm going to have to set up the filter system and get the required kits and tests and some live rock and sand...
Secondly: I'll have to have a plan for testing every day and I will have to make sure that my ph levels, nitrates, nitrites, and salt amount are steady and non-fluctuating for a long 6 weeks...
Thirdly:I'll have to also wait to start adding fish until I have money... Here is where I will start planning on what to stock and how much I can stock... I already have a plan in mind...
Fourthly: I'll start adding fish and crustaceans gradually, starting with a clean up crew...
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If there's anything I missed, let me know...
And I don't plan on using these ornaments in my a reef aquarium, I want my reef to consist mostly of live rock and that's not what I want to be the main focus, on the live rock will grow the corals later on... But for now it will be FOWLR
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Firstly: I'm going to have to set up the filter system and get the required kits and tests and some live rock and sand...
Secondly: I'll have to have a plan for testing every day and I will have to make sure that my ph levels, nitrates, nitrites, and salt amount are steady and non-fluctuating for a long 6 weeks...
Thirdly:I'll have to also wait to start adding fish until I have money... Here is where I will start planning on what to stock and how much I can stock... I already have a plan in mind...
Fourthly: I'll start adding fish and crustaceans gradually, starting with a clean up crew...
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If there's anything I missed, let me know...
And I don't plan on using these ornaments in my a reef aquarium, I want my reef to consist mostly of live rock and that's not what I want to be the main focus, on the live rock will grow the corals later on... But for now it will be FOWLR
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