i have a unused 30 gallon im going to try to get into saltwater fisr tall how much would i cost for begginers starting out i probably will have1 or 2 flame hawkfish with a blood red fire shrimp i dunno how many is tht a bad choice for fish to start with can u go with wqhat equipment i need i know about the usual stuff but for salwater how much would it cost for stuff? what kind of filter would i need? :lol:

First I would like to read my article I wrote as it will give you a basic understanding of what items you are going to need: http://aquatopiaforum.com/index.php?showtopic=772

A 30 gallon tank is a great size to start with as it will make your first saltwater tank go smoother and you have more options when it comes to stocking. Hawkfish are great fish to keep and I actually kept a Falco Hawkfish awhile ago and he was great. I wouldn't house any shrimp in a tank with a Hawkfish although many people have had success with doing so. I kept snails and hermits in the tank with my Hawkfish without a problem but each fish is different. Also I would only house a single Hawkfish in a tank of this size as keeping two together might lead to some territory disputes. Other fish that might work with a Hawkfish include some larger species of Clownfish, small Puffers, Wrasses, Dwarf Lionfish, and some Dwarf Angelfish. Keeping fish such as Hawkfish require feedings of various meaty foods at least twice a day so sufficient filtration is a must. You might want to look into a protein skimmer as it will help out greatly, and there are some skimmers that are good and they are too expensive. Coralife Super Skimmers are really good from what I've heard and cost between $70-100. I use a AquaC Remora skimmer on my 20g tank and I absolutely love it but the only downside is that it cost me $170.

Do plenty of research, take it slowly, and ask about anything that you are unsure about. :)

the setup up my tank i looked up everything it comes to 187.49 okay heres the prices of things
heater-16.99
marine salt-11.99
protein skimmer-33.99
substrates-40
test kit-17
hydrometer-7.49
powerhead-9.99
refugium-49.99 these are all things u can look on liveaquaria.com thts the site i got prices from but i still need help if i get turn into saltwater im only 14 i only got right now 140 dollars lol cant work ill try my best to do saltwater or should i wait another yr ill be honest this is like my 4 month into fish right now i got 2 convicts in a 20 gallon with 4 small danios. I want to get jack dempseys and im getting a 55 gallon if i dont do salt water cause i didnt think it cost this much lol.

Saltwater tanks take alot of research, time, and money to setup and run. Did you read the sticky at the top of the page on items needed for a saltwater tank? I would also recommend using live rock in your tank as it will help out greatly. The amount of live rock depends on the set up but I like to have around 1lb of live rock per gallon of water, or you could do half base rock and half live rock as it will save you some money.

i know its goin to cost alot of money but u think im ready or should i do 55 gallon freshwater for a while then switch to saltwater 55 gallon or 30 gallon. I love this hobby its a wonderful hobby but i need to save up im not goin to get everything at once i know tht it takes a long period my friend took 2 yrs to set up his altwater tht was a 75 gallon though but he really dont know about them it is his dad's tank. BUt i really appreciate ur help. Hopefully im goin saltwater what u truly think i should start with easy care and has a great personality for begginers im going to have a refugium. What should i put in there? i need ur advice just tell me what u think i should get not w/e u want. pease help me! ty again! :D

It would be better to have experience with a freshwater tank before venturing into saltwater. For your first saltwater tank I would start with a 30g or larger tank. For a refugium you could have live rock, sand, and Macro algae. I would recommend using Cheatomorpha instead of other types. Saltwater tanks do cost alot of money for the intial setup as well as items that need to be purchased every few weeks such as salt, water, food, etc. I wouldn't jump right into a saltwater tank, but take a few months or so and research about saltwater. Reading a few good books will help, researching online, and if you know of a reputable local fish store with knowledgeable employess than you could get help there also.

if u have live rock in the refugium do u need it in the tank? also im goin to get into saltwater i think im ready im goin to read books and books. Im goin to get into it. What do u suggest fish wise in my tank? how many? i want a fish with great personality tht can be in a 30 gallon tank. i really appreciate ur help i got $105 now ill take baby steps into setting up my tank. Is this good to do i have the tank already i dont need a stand because i got this dresser i dont use where i hold stuff in too. i dont need anything but what i read the list about i dont know if my friend got me full setup or just the tank and hood for 30 gallon im getting today ill tell u. alright thx :)

I personally like to have live rock in the main tank as well as the refugium. The majority of your live rock should be placed in your main tank with some in the refugium. It depends on the size of the refugium. You don't neccessarily need to have live rock in your tank but pack it full with Macro algae as the algae will absorb nutrients using up the nitrate and phosphate that is in the water. I would keep the tank invert only for the first few months, until you get the hang of running saltwater tank. I would only house 2-3 maybe 4 small fish in a 30 gallon tank. I would look into Percula Clownfish, Ocellaris Clownfish, Gobies, some Basslets, and some Wrasses.

how many pounds would i need of live rock and they cost 5-6 dollars a pound. also what is invert? so first i should buy what with the 105 dollars for the tank. also i think i might get neon blue goby i think maybe 2. do i need to put like coral in my tank and all tht.

My honest opinion is that you should wait on starting a saltwater tank until you do more research and gain more experience with freshwater. I'm not trying to dicourage you it is just that saltwater tanks take alot of work, and if you start one too quickly then it could lead to a unsuccessful attempt at your first saltwater tank. Inverts are a group of animals that lack a spine of vertebra and they are very unique and beautiful animals. I would get around 1lb of live rock per gallon of tank water.

okay ill stick with fresh till 1 more yr also i will use a 30 gallon to put some dempseys u think 4-6 dempseys can survive in a 30 gallon for a monthh till i see a pair then move to a 55 gallon

I don't have any experience with Cichlids but check out Cichlid-forum.com. It is a good forum for Cichlids and you should find the help you need there. 4-5 Dempseys might be a little much for a 30g even short term, but I believe a pair could live in a 55g tank.

4-5 dempsey could live in a 20 gallon for about a month. But onnce reached 2 inches you would have to move them out.

r33f soon im going to start a saltwater tank when i knwo more what uthink i should get i want ur opinion on fish? it is going to be in a 30 gallon tank. what kind of invertabrates in the refugium? should i have coral or anything?

Hmm, On fishes, There are a lot of choices for a 30 gallon tank :) You can keep a pair of clowns, some small damsels, hawkfish, gobis, blennies, etc. Inverts can be snails and hermits crabs, Their the two main inverts in many reef tank. If you want corals you would have to know more than a begginer. I had my tank for almost 7 months now and I dont have coral till soon. Corals I suggest you on would be, Hammer, torch, zoathids,ricordea, or low to medium light corals. Your tank should be running for 3-5 months to keep corals. And when it is one year you might be so good you could keep anemones if your planning on keeping clownfish. Good Luck :up:

so when i start the tank i will have i quess 2 neon gobys also 2-3 hermet crabs and 2-3 shrimp in the refugium or should i put them into the tank? also what do u put in the tank for them to hide in live rock. B)

The crabs and sanils would be great in the refugium. Also you should buy around 6-7 snails and crabs so you could also put some in the main tank. For the gobies they would have to be in the main tank, since they are fishes. Live rocks would also be the best for them to hide in.

Here is a recent picture of my saltwater tank. Corals comming soon.
Picture is clear because only 10k NO floursent is on.
Here you see a little bit of my clownfish and my margarita snail. B)



This is a old picture. Picture is green because PC fixture is running.

Even two to three base rock can make a difference to your tank display. :)

how big is ur tank? also u onlya little live rock it looks like. have how many pounds of liverock in there?

The tank is a 30 gallon tank. With about 5-6 lbs of base and 2 pounds of live rock. Going to get some more live rock soon.

how much u pay for ur 30 gallon saltwater? and name the stuff u have with it please.

I spend over 200 for this tank. This I have with it are a ps75 skimmer, penguin bio-wheel, a fluval sponge filter 60 gph, A 10k NO floursent, PC 130 watt lighting. A 200 watt heater which came with the 55 but it has goldfish so I used it in my 30 gallon. Temp at 78 degrees. And that's mostly about it. Still going to repace the fluval with a maxi jet and the ps75 with a aquac when I get money.

my lfs said i can buy everything like refugium sump everything else for 300-400 dollars for any size tank. is tht a good price. aslo heres some questions.


1. good idea or bad? im thinking instead of a 30 gallon right now i can try out saltwater tank witha little 10 gallon and put some coral in there before i start getting into the whole saltwater thing.


2. would it be cheaper doing the 10 gallon way or 30 gallon?


3. what kind of coral can i put in there? can u name some?

4. what lights do u prefer for them?


5. wht would i need for the tank now tht its smaller?

Yes, A 10 gallon will make things a whole lot cheaper. You will still need a skimmer of some sort, and some powerhead for currents. And just because it's just a 10 gallon doesn't mean you can rush into keeping corals. Take your time, theres no rush :) Just keep doing research and wait until your certain that you can keep it alive, have the right conditions, water paraments, food for them, space,etc. Keeping corals isn't so easy. Your tank must be set up for about 4-6 months. And for lights I would recomend Power Compact so you can keep sps corals. Some easy corals to start with are zoathids, mushrooms, hammer, torch, xenia, hammer, etc. Corals that needs low - medium light. Also corals that will adapt to the tank faster.
Do u have hotmail of some sort, so it will be easier to talk about it? B)

i have aim my aim is wrestleingstar21 :P

im going to go with 30 gallon tank fowlr im going too have 2 real clowns and a couple snails and a shrimp is this a good idea do i have any snags.

If you are doing a 30 gallon you might need 1 lbs per gallon. And I think you might have a very good chance of keeping them, since clown are easy to care for.

okay tell me what else i need or what i have to change soon. visi jet protein kimmer-34 whisper filter 30-19.99 whisper heater 40-8.99 argamay sand(30 lbs)-21.99 instant ocean 50 gallon mix-9.99 instant ocean hydrometer 8.49 maxi jet powerhead model 900 (230 gph)-19.99 marine liquid test kit-16.99 digi mag digital thermoneter-17.99 also a small in tank refugium for 33.99 anything else i need total comes to 192.40 i know i need to buy fish which is 19 bucks online for each fish but ill buy them at my lfs how much will they be and wht do they eat. do i need the intank refugium it comes with a powerhead included.

Visi-Jet protein skimmers aren't very good from what I've heard so you would be better off spending your money on a better skimmer or something else completely. If you do decide to run a HOB filter than only use carbon as sponges, and bio media can lead to high Nitrate problems overtime. For a good amount of flow for a 30g you will want around 10-15x turnover so around 300-450 gallons per hour total. An in tank refugium is a waste of money in my opinion, and you can just have the macro algae in your main tank if you wanted to.

True Percula Clownfish can be feed a variety of foods such as:

Marine flake or pellet
Frozen foods- Brine shrimp, Bloodworms, Mysid shrimp, etc
Live food- Brine shrimp, pods, etc
Should also be fed veggies in the form of a flake, pellet, or sheet.

True Percula Clownfish are around $30 around here but vary from one place to the next.

might sound stupid but im not saying its a waste of mone buying a sw tank is there anyway u gain money from sw tanks like by selling fish u breed?


also heres new list-do i have any snag ups on equipment do i need to upgrade anything. this is going into a 29 gallon tank aragmax sand (30 lbs)-21.99 instant ocean hydrometer-8.49 whisper heater4 40-8.99 sea salt instant ocean (50 gals)-9.99 master liquid saltwater test kit-16.99 digi mag digital thermoneter-17.99 mag float small-4.89 skilters filters(400 gph)-49.99
azoo powerhead model 1800(475 gph)-18.99 total comes to 158.31 with out the fish food,fish and lr

Yea, those sounds good.

If you waste money on a sw you won't gain aby back, unless you auction it. Most petstore won't really take in sw fish from my view. Also a sw tank is a very nice tank, thats why it's worth spending money on it.

Coralife 50/50
50% 10,000°K daylight and 50% Actinic 03 blue. Great for fresh and saltwater aquariums.
that is what kind of light I'm usuing. so what kind of corals for 5 gallon bowfront can I have?


besides tht what kind of lighing is the cheapest for a 10 gallon?