37 g/high - NEWBIE

M

mpx

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Dec 31, 2002
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After 5 yrs, getting a little tired of FW & want to try SW.

I have 37 g/high w/Eclipse retrofitted w/55 watt CF & replaced filter w/Fluval 304.

So... whut does everybody recommend as far as equipment & livestock? Also whut's a good book?

I'm not looking at anything elaborate, just a few simple, not-too expensive fishes.

Basically, the easiest SW tank setup as possible.

THANKX!
 
Here's a thread that lists several good books. I like Fenner's Concientious Marine Aquariast. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1740

As for what you'll need: I would use the Fluval for water movement only, with no media in there at all. Get about 4-6 inches of sand--most of it can be regular play sand, seed it with some live sand (not the bagged stuff they sell at an LFS, but the good stuff that's scooped up from an existing tank). Get about 45-50 lbs of live rock, and as many power heads are are needed to prevent dead spots.

With the light you have, a few mushrooms and some limited corals would be okay--avoid the 'green' things that require higher lighting. For fish, you could have a trio of basslets, a single clown, and a small goby. Add some sand bed/clean up critters like hermit crabs, snails (cerith and nassarius), a serpent star.

Keep in mind that once the tank is up and running, SW tends to be lower maintenance than FW--especially planted FW.
 
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Depends on where you buy it, and if you buy all LR or supplement with base rock, etc. I'd expect to spend about $500 setting up a 40 gallon tank. It doesn't all need to be purchased immediately, though, so spread it out over a few months, and buy the LR and hardware off the net--much cheaper.

It's not harder the FW, it's very different. Most of what you learn with FW has to be forgotten. It is more expensive to setup than a FW tank, but once it's going, the costs are low.
 
but it would cost significantly less money if he went without live rock though right? i've only just started looking into this but couldn't he do a really really simple set up with a few damsels and some snails and hermit crabs? the cost for something like that would be quite low in comparison to what you guys are recommending. of course you all know a lot more on the subject than i do but there must be a lower cost option.
 
Live rock is the better, lower maintenance option for a SW tank. The really pricy part of a tank is always the filtration and lights. There are lots of options that don't involve expensive lights, but any filter option that will work, long term, will either involve live rock, or require constant maintenance.
 
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