Where to Start

B

bdobosz

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Jan 2, 2005
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Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner looking to do a marine tank? I currently have the Wal-Mart 55G package running as a freshwater tank in my house and have been considering trying out salt with it. I just feel so ignorant about it all though and really need the salt water for dummies explanation of how everything works!!

Thus far I think I want to try just a fish only tank with possibly some live rock. I have two Whisper HOB filters on the tank and they do an excellent job of creating flow and filtering. Can they? Do I still need a skimmer? I also have just the standard lighting that tank comes with. Will that be ok if I am not doing a reef?

Also how are water changes done? I assume you can’t just refill the tank with freshwater then throw in some salt? My normal tap has a pH around 7.2 and is hard water.

I have so much to learn!!!
 
You would probably want a lot of live rock, it acts as a filter to clean out the aquarium. It can be done w/o it, but its more difficult. I would reccomend a protien skimmer also, it just keeps the tank cleaner, and SW fish are more sensitive to water quality. What I do for water changes is put it in a bucket and mix the salt the day before. I then have a pump and heater in the bucket so it gets mixed up and is the right temp, then the next day I dump out the old water, and put in the new. NEVER mix salt in the aquarium, you will kill your fish. Yes, standard lighting will be fine if you dont do a reef.
 
Is the water change frequency the same as in freshwater and at the same water levels 20%ish?

Also what would you consider to be alot of Live rock. 50lbs.? I am looking around at the dr. fosters smith site to get an idea of the expense.
 
Yes, about 20% should be fine. It all depends on the stocking levels. I would reccomend a test kit to test Nitrate and Nitrite. 1 pound per gallon of liverock is what most people reccomend. Some reef tanks have as much as 2 lbs per gallon. Saltwater can be very expensive as im finding out myself, but it sure is a lot of fun.
 
There are several good books for starting out.
R Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist"
M Paletta's "New Marine Aquarium"
J Tullock's "Natural Reef Aquariums"
J Kurtz's "Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums"
 
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