This is my first attempt ever to venture into saltwater!! Some of you may have noticed I've been asking a ton of questions And there is a LOT to learn. I agree that every beginner should begin with research and asking questions. When somewhat prepared we are better able to deal with any issues that may arise in our tank in the future.

Just to let you know, I won't have everything up and running right away. In fact I'm still looking for a 75 gallon tank that I can move I African cichlids too. I love their beauty as well and don't want to give them up. The reason I'm moving them is because one of my must have fish, a regal tang, can get pretty big so my current large tank is my best option, in my opinion. I'll update this from time to time as I'll try to collect used equipment, as that's much cheaper and doesn't hurt the bank account as badly. I'll post when I find something and try to put an ample suply of pictures up as well

First, I'm reading some books. I went to TFF's Realm of Knowledge as recommended to me by SkiFletch and looked over possible books. I'm not going to buy a book if I'm not sure if it's really what I want so when I decided on what I was going to get, I went down to the local library. They didn't have any in stock at all, but thankfully they can do something called an interlibrary loan. They can borrow a book from any library around. The first book came from a library in Wisconsin, the second and third books are from Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD. (Just thought I'd share...I find that stuff interesting.)
The first one I checked out was Reef Fishes: Volume 1 by Scott W. Michael.
It talked a little bit about conservation and history in the beginning pages and then went on to taxonomy of fish. The main species I remember from this book (as I skimmed over it and didn't thoroughly read this one) are many many Eel species, Frogfishes, Seahorses, Sea Moth, Lionfish. There are lot more in there as well. I didn't thoroughly read it because I wasn't quite ready for a book that tells minimum care requirements for specific fish (although that should be kept in mind when planning your setup if you absolutely have to have certain fish.) I would love to have a Echidna Nebulosa, commonly called a Snowflake Eel, and a Lionfish, but the downside is that I want a CUC (Clean up Crew) and I don't want to have to constantly replace snails, shrimps and such because they are always eating them. That would get expensive really fast, not to mention would be a waste of animal resources

Btw, the fish I absolutley have to have are:
1)black and white clownfish-probably Amphiprion ocellaris
2)green mandarin-Pterosynchiropus splendidus
3)dory-Blue Tang is also known as the Regal Tang, Blue Surgeonfish, and Indo-Pacific Blue Tang-Paracanthurus hepatus

Right now I'm reading: The New Marine Aquarium Step by Step Setup and Stocking Guide by Michael S. Paletta.
I've had this book for a few days and I'm on page 41. I think I'm going to go ahead and buy myself a copy of this book. It's really good for beginners and touches on all sorts of topics ranging from where to place the tank, how to pick a good stand, what size tank is best, skimmers,hoods and lighting, live rock, filtration options, heaters and powerheads, hydrometers, powerstrips and GFI (*GFI can help prevent electrocution...look into it), timers for lights/powerheads, a tid-bit on salt, substrate and much much more. An excellent read so far and I believe I shall enjoy the rest of it.

I'll come back when I have more to post. Feel free to comment, of course

This post has been edited by kj23502: Jul 29 2008, 11:10 PM

We'll have to have a talk about GFI use when you're ready . They're often touted as a safety/cureall for electrical problems and shorts. However in reality they can often fail and lead to problems for you and your tank, especially if employed improperly.

I'm also trying to figure out what equipment I should get and I came across this skimmer. What do you experienced reefers think of getting one like this?

I decided that I'm going to use a 55 gallon as a sump, so it should fit in there being 10.5" x 15", right!?!

And, I'm trying to figure this sump stuff out as well, sooo the faster my return pump works the more turnover my tank will have. So I should get something like this, the 1262 Hobby Pump?

Others...don't laugh at me please for trying to figure this "simple stuff" out. All I've ever dealt w/for filtration during my entire 25 years are 1 hob filter and 2 eheim canisters so I know nothing about what I'm trying to do and frankly it's a little overwhelming.

This post has been edited by kj23502: Jun 26 2008, 01:27 PM

That pump looks like it would be ok. I prob get a few numbers wrong here, but I think it's 5x flow you want through your sump so you want rough 500 to 600gph through your sump. This pump is ~900gph at 0 head and with a max head of 11.8 and the top of the tank prob being roughly 4 ' off the ground, I would say you will prob get roughly 550gph out of the pump.

Ox

Well, I picked up a tank and a sump today!! I decided to look for a reef ready tank so I wouldn't have to worry about drilling and water flow(as much). It's 4 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet. 120 gallons for $325. It comes w/bulkheads and durso overflow tubes.

I picked up a 55 gallon as a sump for $30. The new tank and sump are the same size lengthwise. I'll need to build my stand a couple inches wider to make sure I can get the sump in. I figure about 4 inches. That would be 2" on each side. Is that ok?

Now I still need to find a home for my cichlids...need a 75 gallon tank to put them in. I them to, and don't want to give or sell them away. I'm going to sell my old 125 gallon/stand.

I'll get pics up later!!

I found a 75 gallon tank with, hood, lights, and a filter. The cheapest the guy would go is $125. So I have a tank for my cichlids now. We really need to get the stand built for the 75 and the 120 so I can clean out my 125 and sell it. But I still need a lot of parts Ski has conviced me to use a breeder tank instead of a 55 gallon since they are 18 inches wide(55's are 12") and it will be easier to work in!! Thanks, Ski.

I figure I need these:
1) breeder tank
2) skimmer
3)return pump
4) powerheads-prob go with a few maxi-jet 1200 w/the mod kits
5)a couple submersible heaters that are sw safe
6)40 gallon garbage can for mixing/storing water (plus as I collect these pieces i can store them in here until it's time to set up)
7)instant ocean mix
8)refractometer and sw test kits
9) when I get ready to do corals I'm going to get metal hallides

If anyone knows of something I'm missing or has advice on something....please please let me know

Thanks Ox and Ski for the ideas so far.

This post has been edited by kj23502: Jul 1 2008, 09:00 PM

If I had a tank that size I would have liked a Tunze Wavebox instead of powerheads etc. Real natural looking when the corals are swaying to and fro
Consider it.
Regards
BigC

i would go with an external return pump rather than an internal. You just need to drill one hole and you have one that will self prime and will deliver 80% less heat into the water. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=12077

I would skip the regular octopus line, and go with the Extreme Octopus line, or the MSX extreme skimmer. These arent powered by the OTP pumps that the regular octopuses come with but rather the sicce pumps. http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/catalog/...k6ojepqqp1qgh17



This post has been edited by Musho3210: Jul 2 2008, 01:54 AM

Yea, I know However the wavebox is like $500 or 600. I'll just have fowlr first anyway so a few ph would be alright w/me. After I get my Hallides, I want to go through the summer months before I get into corals. I want to watch the temp of the tank first. Call me paranoid

Thanks, I'll look into them. Ski also suggested an external

Holey Cow those skimmers are more expensive I'll be checking them out, though!

GenX makes a great line of pumps. Before we suggest a pump though, what is the diameter of the pipes used for your drains? The return pump needs to be sized to the flowrate the drain can handle...

1"

And is it 2x1" drains or just a single 1" drain?

oh yea...lol

2-1" drains

Well that's perfect then. You're shooting for 600gph and a 1" drain can handle 600gph. More importantly you always want a backup for safety .

The overflows on my tank also pull in water from the bottom, mid and top levels. Is that good? I was worried about overflowing the living room, until I thought about the pipe at the top that the water has to get to. If the pumps not filling up the tank, then it won't overflow... makes sense huh!!

Anyways, are those overflows good. I figure it can pull excess food n such out of the water sooner and helpe keep the tank cleaner.

if it pulls from bottom middle and top, does it also have a second layer behind the bottom middle top layer that only lets water drain from the top?