Planing To Start Marine Tank Setup

[MaNkiND]

I am planning to start a marine tank. I saw a beutiful 48x18x22 tank - 72 gallons, so ill plan to make the ecosystem in there. I know its realy costly, buit i think i can afford it in my budget. My budget is $8000. I know also know that a marine tank requres a lot of time and I know that i have time
I have done some reaserch but i keep getting confused. There is so much info i dont know where to start. I know that when you first get your tank you buy the equipment with it. I know that a tank needs a sump but am a little confused on what a sump is and what it does. There are a lot of other equipment needed as well.
If someone can help me out and maybe (if it doesnt take to much of your time) tell me the list of equipment I will need it would be really helpful. I am planning to have a fish, with live rock (and corals ) tank.

I want to go a step at a time and I think the equipment should be first.
Thx in advance

 

[Fish Fingers]

Wow I wish I had a budget like yours for my marine tanks . A sump is basically a place to put all your equipment like heater, skimmer, etc.

Equipment you'll need (some of it you dont really need but with your budget its definately worth getting)
-Tank
-Metal Halide (these are the best lights you can buy, a couple of 400w'ers and a tank full of SPS's would be awesome! I wish i had that much light )
-Skimmerm ( a nice big one )
-Powerheads ( looking for around 15-20x flow for basic corals, 20-30x for sps)
-Live Rock (again as much as you can get, aim for 1-1.5 pounds per gallon but the more the merrier
-Sand (could go SSB or DSB, up to you (you could go BB for that matter))
-Refugium (nutrient export, safe place for fish, copepod factory)
-Sump (for all your gear)

I think thats about it, I'm, in a hurry so sorry if I forgot anything!

 

[CroNiC]

i always wanted a sw tank.

EDIT: Posted in wrong topic ...

 

[MaNkiND]

Bump ......

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Yes all the research is overwhelming at first. So youre going reef. Good choice. I'd start studying up on the water chemistry, just learning about the water needs of fish corals, and the equipment so you can get the best out there with that "budget" Do invest in a reverse osmosis system if you want corals. You will know when youre ready to start when you feel assured that you know all you can about the equipment, the water and the fish you will start with. Corals need an established environment with all the LR you can fit preferably. So that part of the research can be prolonged for how ever long you want. To utilize the LR as the best filtration out there, you need good movement in the form of powerheads and a wave maker.

 

[MaNkiND]

AHHH,
Where should i start?

 

[MaNkiND]

I guess i should first make a list of what i am going to purchase (equipment-wise) and exactly what they do. K so since i want a fish with Live rock and coral setup i guess i will invest in these:

- Skimmer: Removes biological waste before it can decompose into ammonia --> reduces the bio-load.
- "Biological" Filtration (not sure exactly whats different about it)
- A Sump (I'm thinking another tank; if some1 could post another pic it would help.)
- RO (Reverse Osmoses) filters: Remove most of the contaminants from the water.
- 2 heaters: I think each being 288 watts for a 72 gallon tank.
- Thermometer
- Hydrometer (If some1 could explain me what this is; and maybe show a pic it would be helpful)
- Pump (I think it cicrulates the water; again an explaination and an pic would help)
- Wavemaker: I think it makes waves or currents which is more comfortable and natural for the inhabitants.
- Sea Salt (Any1 know any good brands in North America)
- Test Kits
- Calcium ?? (I know a tank needs calcium but how do i supply the tank with calcium??)
- MH (Metal Halide) Lights (Good for corals and such but hard to find)
or
- a light that provides 432-576 watts.

Did i miss something?

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

The biological filtration is removal of particulate matter by skimming or a canister filter. I like canisters personally because you can put different things in them for doing different things to the water. Like I have a problem getting my pH up so I put in a mesh bag of aragonite to buffer the water and get the pH up. This is also where you can have carbon for chemical filtration without investing extra in a protein skimmer with the deluxe parts. The filter is in addition to the skimmer. A lot of people think they are unnecessary, but the cleaner the better IMO.

A sump will be another small tank under the main tank with the pump hooked up to the main tank, usually by drilling the bottom of the tank. It allows for more gallons of water without the added space being taken up, and you wont have to look at the heater, filter, or protein skimmer. You will only have to see the powerheads.

Just to be clear, reverse osmosis puts your tap water through a process in which it removes about 99% of impurities in the water. Its not just a filter you put on the tank. Once a week, I hook mine up in the shop and have the RO water going into a big cooler [with a heater and powerheads for pre-mixing the salt] and stick the dirty water tube outside the door. Some people have these elaborate and IMO complicated systems to do this. Those usually make things easier than what I do, but they are much more expensive and take up space that I dont have.

You dont need 2 heaters if you get one with adequate wattage. It just needs to be placed at the bottom of the tank in the middle where the heat can be moved around.

A hydrometer measures the amount of salt in the water. It tells you the specific gravity of the water, and you want it at about 1.024-1.026. You will be told soon to just get a refractometer instead though.

A wavemaker is a device that you plug multiple powerheads into and it changes around the flow of the powerheads so it is more natural to the corals.

Most brands of salt will be just fine. Instant Ocean is really good though.

You will need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, phosphate, and should have a copper test kit on hand in case of the need to use a copper treatment to kill a disease.

They have calcium supplements that you just dose the water with when it gets too low. I personally just do regualr water changes and my calcium levels stay up because its in the salt.

MH lighting is not essential for corals but is definitely the best. You may end up needing a chiller to avoid temperature swings in the water. These can run about $300. The wattage isnt all that matters. You could have tons of plain old fluorescent lighting but it wont do anything for the photosynthesis of the corals.

 

[MaNkiND]

Could you have the sump in-built? Like not at the bottom but in the tank like a canister kind of a thing?

 

[crazyelece]

I have seen some people use larger tanks and build in a sump/wetdry in the rear similar to a nano cube. However this takes some good DIY skills or a custom tank builder. Also you need a fairly wide footprint so that you can still stack live rock up and not make it look cramped. Usually a 18" or wider tank. Say if you did it to a 75 gal tank it would effectively turn it into a 55 or thereabout.

 

[MaNkiND]

The tank i looked had like a sump-kind of a thing built in
Is it good?

 

[crazyelece]

Most of those are custom builds so I wouldn't know. To determine if it was good for me would be to determine how easy it is to do the maintenence. Can you get to the media easily so as to keep it clean? Is it a standard size tank so that lighting wouldn't have to be too custom? What kind of gaurantee/ warranty comes with it?

 

[Aquascaper]

Could you have the sump in-built? Like not at the bottom but in the tank like a canister kind of a thing?

Use a large volume external filter like an Eheim and pack it with Live Rock.

 

[Sunny.C]

The aim of a sump is to basically hide things away rather then showing them.Check out this link for sump info and pics.
http/www.melevsreef.com/

 

[MaNkiND]

Thx a lot. That really helped.
Do tanks come with a hole (or sonething like that) so the pipe/tube can be connected to a sump, or do you have to drill the hole?

EDIT: Do I have to get a sump? Also how does a skimmer work?