i am very new at marine aquariums and i am trying to read and learn as much as i can before i drop the big bucks . what i want to know is what i would need to start a 46 gal. community tank ?also whats the better equipment with out braking the bank?
extreme newb
- Thread starter razz
- Start date
substrate: sand or curshed coral, live rock is a great thing to have. some form of filtration, heater, test kit, thermomiter, for a fish only tank you won't need great lighting, so what ever comes the tank should be fine. salt, salinity tester. books... patience.
I use a fulval filter on my 29gallon, you can get a fuvlal... like 304 or 404, there are alot of differnt heaters to choose from. live rock will be one of the more expensive things, but once you understand how it does biological filtration and how important it is you'll realize its worth it. you can get play sand from homedepot.. only a certian kind, i'm not sure which kind it is... i bought mine from my lfs and spent more money on the same stuff. test kits are different prices, read posts and find out what ones people seem to use the most without problems... other than that just shop around and see what you NEED for the fish selection you make before buying anything.
I use a fulval filter on my 29gallon, you can get a fuvlal... like 304 or 404, there are alot of differnt heaters to choose from. live rock will be one of the more expensive things, but once you understand how it does biological filtration and how important it is you'll realize its worth it. you can get play sand from homedepot.. only a certian kind, i'm not sure which kind it is... i bought mine from my lfs and spent more money on the same stuff. test kits are different prices, read posts and find out what ones people seem to use the most without problems... other than that just shop around and see what you NEED for the fish selection you make before buying anything.
Well, here's a list of all of the best brands (opinions vary though)
Heaters - Ebo-Jager
Powerheads - MaxiJets
Live Rock - TampaBaySaltwater
Lights - depends on what you're getting. For PCs, I like Coralife
Subtrate - Old Kastle/Southdown (Old Kastle is now sold by Walmart as walmart play sand)
Skimmers - the best (affordable) skimmers seem to be AquaC Remoras and CPR Bak Paks
Cannister Filters - Fluval
H.O.B. Power Filters - Marineland Emperors and Hagen Aquaclears
I'm sure that i'm leaving something off....
get tropcial play sand for your substrate, should only be about 5 bucks, redsea prizim proten skimmer $85, probably 2 aquaclear powerheads $30, and like 25 pounts of live rock, and 25 punds base rock. then lighting but thats up to you, and depends alot on what you wanna keep.
thanks as always for the help every one . 46 gal. community tank and i would like to keep some easy corals maybe some gobies and blennies also a clown of course and maybe a star and some shrimp and crabs and snails
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Face it- you get into reefing and your bank balance will go kablooey!!
The fish, shrimp, crabs and snails are almost as easy as FW. Especially if you go with live rock.
If you have the right light, and pay a little more attention to water chemistry, corals aren't too hard.
Although there is a lot of work and expense (see the thread on tank cost
), the investment in learning was a huge factor for me. There's no substitute for experience, but a couple of good books make a big difference in understanding the big picture, and help in sorting out all of the facts and myths about equipment and livestock.
If you have the right light, and pay a little more attention to water chemistry, corals aren't too hard.
Although there is a lot of work and expense (see the thread on tank cost
), the investment in learning was a huge factor for me. There's no substitute for experience, but a couple of good books make a big difference in understanding the big picture, and help in sorting out all of the facts and myths about equipment and livestock.