first-timer starting a saltwater tank

[brooklyn]

after reading up on my GSP's, i have learned that when they go full marine it is more likely that they can have other fish in there tank. for that reason i have been thinkin of doing a saltwater setup, possibly with corals. i have never had or dealt with a saltwater setup so my question is what is needed? what weekly maintenance is necessary besides cleaning and water changes? is it necessary to haver a separate sump tank? what is also needed for the corals? cost???

all advice is appreciated!

[marksrush]

You mention you might like to have some corals. You kind of need to make a decision on this, because many fish will eat corals and corals also require some rather expensive lighting. My suggestion would be to get comfortable with regular saltwater setups first, then graduate to corals/reef later, because keeping corals is not for the beginner.

For a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) tank, you need of course the basics, tank, stand, and hood with lights, heater, thermometer, etc. Figure on getting 1 lb live rock per gallon, and you'll need a power head or two for water circulation. You should also seriously consider getting a protein skimmer. You may use sand if you wish, but most people use aragonite/crushed coral for the substrate. Sump is desirable of course, but not strictly necessary.

For corals, if you can settle for just soft corals, you'll need all the above plus a 10,000K or better daylight bulb and an actinic bulb. CoralLife makes the complete fixture (those two types of bulbs sealed in a housing) at a reasonable price. If you want to do stony corals as well, you'll want to look at metal halide lighting or something similarly intense, and the list of what else you need grows considerably over what you need for a FOWLR tank. At our shop, when we're asked how much to budget for a reef tank, we tell them figure on spending $50 per gallon, and that's from having nothing to having a complete reef system running. Another fact worth noting is that if you want to mess with corals, you're going to be very limited in terms of the types of fish - and especially puffers - that you put into the tank.

As far as weekly maintenance goes for a FOWLR tank, not really anything more than for freshwater except that you now have salt to pay for and you'll want to test your water daily at first so you might as well invest in a test kit. I guarantee you that if you have been able to keep a freshwater tank successfully, you can most certainly do a saltwater tank, so don't hold back if you think you want to go marine.

[OCgatergal]

You can always do a FOWLR and upgrade to a reef when you feel your ready

[brooklyn]

that sounds like a good idea. starting with a FOWLR (jus learned wut that meant lol) now i looked at wut u listed that i would need. wut is a powerhead? and a protein skimmer? (like i said very beginner lol) and if i do not do a separate sump tank (not even sure what that would include) then wut else would i need to do or put in the actual tank?

[brooklyn]

also if i have the GSP's in a saltwater tank what other fish can be put with them safely?

[OCgatergal]

a power head is like a current maker something to circulate the tank.

[Pufferpunk]

How large a tank are you considering? I have a good 36" power compact light I'm looking to sell for $50 (+shipping). It's got one free high output bulb you can have with it. the other one broke.

[brooklyn]

im thinking of doin either a 35 or 50 gallon tank. now if i do a FOWLR tank will i still need the extra light? and also, what types of fish would i be able to put with the GSP's in a full marine tank?

[OCgatergal]

I'm not completely sure, but this is what I remember from other members saying stuff.
You don't need expensive lighting for FOWLR but you need fairly good lighting. I also heard damsels work with GSP.

[Pufferpunk]

Plain old fluorescent lights are fine for FOWLR. As with any tank, larger is always better. If only a 35, I'd forget about any tank mates.

[OCgatergal]

just a warning that live rock may take a dent in your wallet. quite expensive. 10lbs of it cost 50 bucks for me and its 1lb per gallon. But I can be worth since before I get any critters for mine, I spent a lot of time looking for new surprises

[Pufferpunk]

Definitely look for a local reef club near you: http://www.reefcentral.com.

[brooklyn]

ok. as far as the rock prices i think i found a really good deal then. on craigs list someone is sellin a 50 gal tank with "nice pine stand and matching canopy, glass top, corallife aqualight (4x65w, 48", retails new $225), unbreakable heater, Whisper hang on filter, AquaPro 50 & 70 power heads, 50lbs crushed coral substrate, 50 lbs liverock". all for 300 dollars. is this a good deal?

[OCgatergal]

The live rock alone has a face value of $250 atleast. so....yes

[Pufferpunk]

Excellent! You can use the Whisper filter to put Purigen into.