new to saltwater

Flying_Diamond

Flying_Diamond

RAWR
Dec 20, 2006
780
0
0
Michigan
my boyfriend and i have been keeping freshwater tanks for quite a while now, but we're looking into setting up one of our 60 gallon tanks as a saltwater aquarium. we've been reading about saltwater a lot lately, but still aren't too sure about exactly what we'd need to set up a tank for live rock/corals and such, along with a few fish, possibly. suggestions?
 
anyone want to tell us what we need?
 
Ok, you asked, here's my 2 bits...
First, plan about 2 Lb. live rock per gallon.
Now, you want to keep sps or lps? It's been my experience sps require a higher level of light and supplements (Ca reactor, etc). I would start off with some leathers, tree corals, polyps, green stars, tonga mushrooms and such. fish - flame hawk, tangs, anthias, bangaii cardinal, one pigmy angel (flame, coral beauty, potters, etc) - more than 1 pigmy and they may fight in a 60. i suggest you steer clear of triggers, big angels, (eat your corals) no eels (escape artists). And don't forget a cleanup crew - snails, starfish, emerald crabs, red-legged hermits and such.
 
thank you, that helps a lot, but what does sps and lps stand for?
the stock list definitely helps, but we also need to know about recommended equipment.
we really aren't positive of all of the equipment elements needed to set up a successful saltwater aquarium.
 
SPS is small polyp stony and LPS is large polyp stony. SPS is harder in most cases and require heavy lighting and moderate to high flow.(i wouldn't start with this type of coral). LPS is easier to keep and it depends on the corals need certain lighting and flow. I would start with mushrooms or leathers. Mushrooms require low light and low flow(most of the time) and are very hardy. Green star polyps are also a great starter coral which is also very hardy and spreads quite rapidly. As for fish you wouldn't have too many problems with what u can get. Starting the tank i would get something that is hardy and has tolerances. Chromis are peaceful and good to start with. Damsels are cheap but will get very aggressive. As for lighting i wouldn't get anything lower than a t5 setup for corals.
 
Flying_Diamond said:
thank you, that helps a lot, but what does sps and lps stand for?
the stock list definitely helps, but we also need to know about recommended equipment.
we really aren't positive of all of the equipment elements needed to set up a successful saltwater aquarium.
Click to expand...
You are going to need a good protein skimmer, some power heads (you want to aim for about 20x turnover) and possibly a wave maker. Are you having a sump?
 
ditto what hmotorsol said... SPS have different (read: higher) care requirements. beautiful, for sure, just a little more advanced care and additional equipment required. softies are what i described - leathers, tree corals, shrooms, etc. they generally tend to be lower light requirement, no calcium additions, etc.
lighting - try to get up to 2.5-3 watt per gallon (just a general rule, not hard-fast); T5 flourescent is popular, and metal halide. guessing on your 60 dimensions, my first thought might be a 6-bulb T5 fixture with a mix of actintic and 10k daylight bulbs.
Filtration - set up with an overflow and a sump - 20g long work well for sumps. you need bio filter (tower) with bio-balls for primary filtration and a skimmer. these can be built if you have the skill/time or bought ready-made. PM and I can describe how i built mine. i ran all this from one pump just fine. if you can get two, one (like a Mag 9.5) to run skimmer another to run recirc or return to tank.
Damsels are great reef fish too, but just limit number as they are territorial little buggers...
final note - find a decent lfs and get to know them. most will have a decent filtration system you can see/learn/copy. (not Petco, i suggest a private owner shop).
 
alright. this is definitely getting us set in the right direction. but, pardon our ignorance, what exactly is a sump and an overflow? i understand the theory of power heads and protein skimmers but we just don't quite understand the concept of a sump or overflow.
i know a sump is a smaller tank that sits underneath or next to or whatever the main tank, but what is the point of this and how do you direct water or whatever to and fro the main tank?
 
Water flows from your tank from either internal overflows (you will need to drill your tank for this) or a overflow box to the sump and then gets pumped back up to the tank. The sump holds your equipment like a skimmer, heaters and any reactors that you decide to use. You can also have a refugium in the sump for better filteration and a place to grow micro algaes and other things that would otherwise be eaten by the fish.
 
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