saltwater aquarium

So after about ten years off I'm starting my saltwater aquarium up again. I'm going with a small tank 29 gallon but I've already realized that I've forgotten alot. Anybody have any good websites that deal stictly with saltwater aquariums or does anybody else have one? Thanks in advance.
Chris

Loved my salt water tank but why a 29 tank? Probably would be just as easy taking care of a 40 gal, maybe???

Sick. I have a 300g shark/eel tank, 95 wavefront reef, and a 16g in-wall mini reef.

I've been through it all so blast away with questions.

Jo, going with a 29 per the wife's request. She would let me set up the 75. Raf, if I plan on doing a coral tank do I need both a protein skimmer and a filter or can I get by with just a protein skimmer. Of course I will have limited amounts of fish in it as well. Also, in regards to lighting I have an old coral life light; would I be fine with replacing the bulb with a 96 W bulb or would you suggest getting a new light and if so which kind without breaking the bank?
thanks
chris

I love my saltwater tank I have had a 120 running for almost 5 years now. If it were me I would run as big as you can sump/refugium as you can underneath the display tank. The more water volume that you can get the more stable the water will be. defiantly get a skimmer. If you are doing just a fish only tank then your lights would work if you start putting coral in then I would upgrade to at least a t5 setup. If it were me I would go for the 75 gal setup. Remember to take things slow don't rush stuff set the tank up let it cycle properly and become stable before you add fish. check out reef central lots of good info on that forum.

Chris: Protein skimmer and/or filter are not necessary but sometimes do help depending on the quality if your water. Some corals like dirty water and grow faster without a skimmer. All depends on what you are keeping. What kind of coralife is it? If its PCs, then ditch it. My favorite lighting is T5s, because they are cheap and you can get a killer spectrum with the bulbs.

Reef central is a good place for info.

Im wanting to install this... daydreaming at work right now lol

Not sure what kind of coral I'm looking at doing right now. Any suggestions on a good beginner coral? So as I'm looking into lighting it appears the T5 is the way to go but do I need the two bulb or the four bulb and are lunar LED needed? I knew I was forgetting one thing about SW...how damn expensive it is. One more question, so neither the skimmer or the filter are necessary?
Chris

BTW; I would love to go bigger but at this point I'm just lucky to have this tank...wife hates fish but hopefully soon I will have her hooked

I would go with a 4 bulb t5 this will give you more of a option on what color bulbs you want to run. lunar light are cool looking but not necessary. You will need some kind of filtration on the tank at the least plumb a sump/refugium and put some live rock and cheto(spelling) for filtration. I don't even want to know how much money I have wrapped up in my tank but once it is up and running it will level out a little till you decide that you want to upgrade.

A good coral to start with would be zoanthids/palythoas. They come in a bunch of different colors and they grow pretty good.

As far as lighting, go with the 4 bulb so you can get a good color spectrum. I would do 2x ATI Blue plus, 1x Fiji purple, 1x aquablue special. That will give you a slightly blue-ish light and make the coral colors pop really nice. On my 95g reef, I'm running an 8 bulb fixture. 4x Blue plus, 2x aquablue special, 1x fiji purple, 1x GE 6500k.

Oh and you dont really need a skimmer or filter if you are doing enough live rock. Sump/fuge is the way to go but I would highly recommend a drilled tank with overflow vs a hang on back overflow.

Raf,
Thanks for all the input! So I'm thinking about just purchasing the bulbs and having an electrician friend build a housing for me. How hard would a refugium tank be to set up and I assume you just place it under the tank? Tomorrows the day that I will be setting up the tank with water and sand. Guess I will run my current set up lighting wise until I get the other one built.
Thanks again
Chris

an electrician can build a retrofit fixture but I would highly recommend getting an ATI Sunpower. The reflectors have a lot to do with intensity and how the light disperses among the tank. Refugiums are not hard to set up, but you will need at least an overflow and a return pump.

Raf, how about this light?
http://www.aquatraders.com/30in-Meta...ht-p/54262.htm
chris

hahaha stay away from aquatraders. Their fixtures are really cheap and are known for catching on fire. They will work but you will be disappointed and end up spending more in the long run.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ATI_24_In...FIT54U-vi.html

I know its priced pretty high but its really worth it to start a legit setup if you want a nice successful tank. I started with cheap secondhand stuff and in the end I had too many problems and ended up spending the money anyways. Its sucks when you are limited to what you can keep due to your equipment.

Raf, thanks for the heads up! Not sure if I can get than one past the accounting department aka the wife! Might check on ebay and craigslist as well

Chris

Dont get me wrong, you can start with some basic lighting but in the end you will regret it because it will start to hold you back.

Get a Nano Cube if you are going to go small, completely self contained reef tank for about $300.00

Here is a pic of mine when it was first getting started they are pretty cool!

Well its up and going thru the cycle process. Still haven't found a killer deal on lights but the search continues. Will post pics soon

Here are a couple pics of mine









and some coral

finally got her complete with lights....went the LED route

What LEDs are you running?

Raf,
Ended up going with reef bright LED. Fit within the budget and accomplishes what I need it to...
Chris

Never heard of those. I'm running ecoxotics on an experimental reef that I switched over from halides and it appears to be doing pretty good. Let me know what kind of growth and coloration you get.

Chris, I've got a guy down here that specializes in saltwater aquariums. Call me if you want his info.....

I've wanted to do one of these since I was a kid. I would love to get one started...

John,
Thanks man! Adam, where are you located? I've got a 55 gal that I want to get rid of and I would be more than happy to help you get one set up.
Chris

Raf,
Also wanted to let you know that I went with my first coral the other day...ring of fire. Know anything about these?

Chris, I am just down the road from you in Somerset. Home riding spot is Lake Cumberland. I have absolutely no idea where to start so help would be appreciated. I'm sure my kids would love it!

Adam
Send me your info and I will call you

Chris

PM sent

Finally have a few more things in the tank!

Coming along pretty nice. I sold all my sharks/eels out of the big tank and I decided to start converting into a reef. Its gonna take a while but I'll get some pics once its set up.

I bought my daughter a Bio cube 29 a couple of weeks ago for her 7th birthday. Here are a few of the picture of progress. We added two clowns yesterday, its been a great project and worth every penny.

Here is a not so good cell phone pic of the 120gal old tank I had to tear it down while we built are new house. Right now I have everything in a 90 gallon tub. Almost done with the stand should have everthing back up and running hopefully by Sunday. This is the wood I am using for the new stand going for a rustic look.

Added a few new things to the tank last week.

Looking great. I've added another pair of clowns......I keep losing them. Will get a pic later.
Chris

Hey Chris, do you still have that tank you are trying to sell? How big is it? Sorry we never got connected by phone this summer. Totally my fault!

Just got everything up and running.

Originally Posted by wake26

Just got everything up and running.

Looks Great!