New Marine Tank, What Do I Need?

[Macscale]

Hey everyone! I am planning on purchasing a new 29-36 gallon tank this weekend because Petco is having their 1 dollar per gallon sale.
Anyway what size do you think is better? The 29 or 36? I do have experience in FRESHWATER keeping but not saltwater. So here are my questions.
 
What type of:
Live Sand
Protein Skimmer
Live Rock
Heater
Lighting
 
should I get?
 
I think some softies might be better for the tank, but I'm not sure. 
Do I even need a protein skimmer in my size tank?  
 
Thanks in advance!
 

 

[Chad]

I recommend the largest tank you can get. With PetCo I believe that would be a 55 gallon tank. That should be good to start with. Someday you might want to go larger depending on the fish you wish to keep but 55 is good for beginner fish. Smaller tanks are more difficult to take care of when dealing with marine and tanks above 125 gallons are more difficult as well in my experience. 
 
I use Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite sand but any fine grained Aragonite works great. I've used this particular type for years and love the color, texture, and the animals I keep seem to burrow into it well. The one thing to remember with it is that it is live sand so there is an expiration date on the bag. If that has passed then don't buy it or if there isn't any liquid in the sand due to a leak or puncture. 
 
Here's an article on how to pick good live rock that might help.
 
Any good quality submersible heater will do as long as it's good quality, specifies for FW or marine, and is large enough to actually heat the water to about 78-80 degrees.
 
Lighting depends on if you plant to keep corals or not, and if you do then what corals you plan to keep. This is easiest the single most costly part of the project and the one that requires the most thought. If you don't plan on keeping corals then any regular fish tank light works. For keeping corals I recommend LED lighting due to adjustability and reduced heat. 
 
I recommend a protein skimmer for a reef tank and any fish only tank with sensitive fish. It's a useful tool that does make a difference. The thing you must be aware of is that not all skimmers are created equal in terms of function but all tend to cost a lot. It's tempting to purchase one that doesn't cost as much but I've found through sad experience you get what you pay for. I've settled on Reef Octopus as the brand for me and have been very pleased with how well it works. 

 

[Macscale]

I recommend the largest tank you can get. With PetCo I believe that would be a 55 gallon tank. That should be good to start with. Someday you might want to go larger depending on the fish you wish to keep but 55 is good for beginner fish. Smaller tanks are more difficult to take care of when dealing with marine and tanks above 125 gallons are more difficult as well in my experience. 
 
I use Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite sand but any fine grained Aragonite works great. I've used this particular type for years and love the color, texture, and the animals I keep seem to burrow into it well. The one thing to remember with it is that it is live sand so there is an expiration date on the bag. If that has passed then don't buy it or if there isn't any liquid in the sand due to a leak or puncture. 
 
Here's an article on how to pick good live rock that might help.
 
Any good quality submersible heater will do as long as it's good quality, specifies for FW or marine, and is large enough to actually heat the water to about 78-80 degrees.
 
Lighting depends on if you plant to keep corals or not, and if you do then what corals you plan to keep. This is easiest the single most costly part of the project and the one that requires the most thought. If you don't plan on keeping corals then any regular fish tank light works. For keeping corals I recommend LED lighting due to adjustability and reduced heat. 
 
I recommend a protein skimmer for a reef tank and any fish only tank with sensitive fish. It's a useful tool that does make a difference. The thing you must be aware of is that not all skimmers are created equal in terms of function but all tend to cost a lot. It's tempting to purchase one that doesn't cost as much but I've found through sad experience you get what you pay for. I've settled on Reef Octopus as the brand for me and have been very pleased with how well it works. 

 
Do you think it would be better for me just to stick with freshwater?

 

[ythao01]

I think if you want to try something new in fish keeping and have the budget for it you should go for it, but I'm sure that saltwater aquariums are going to be a little bit more expensive to start up as you'll have to buy the new equipment. Water changes will probably be a bit harder also as you have to have the right amount of water to salt ratio.

 

[Macscale]

Ok, I think I will stick with a Fish only saltwater tank. It seems a bit easier and I may add on later. Thanks Everybody!

 

[Chad]

Marine tanks do cost more and reef tanks even more than that.
 
It can be done more cheaply but still you have the extra start up costs of salt and a refractometer to measure the salinity with.
 
Top off is done with freshwater but water changes are done with salt water so there's a cost to each water change that doesn't exist in FW.
 
There are affordable marine fish but even those are generally more costly than FW fish are.
 
Certainly marine is a costly part of the hobby and reefing can be outrageously so if you want it to be.
 
Do I think you should stick with freshwater? Only you can really decide that based on your budget, commitment, interest in that part of the hobby, etc. But I do say that there are many things in the FW part of the hobby to keep one interested for years and years without ever even venturing into marine. I do both myself.