Most important supplies you need to start.

[nawt2tawl1221]

Hey guys. I have yet to convert my fresh water tank into salt. There is so much information and its very overwhelming. My goal is eventually down the road to have soft corals and maybe one BTA. I want to start off slow. I really just want a couple clowns, scooter blennys, some snails and hermits maybe a gobby and shrimp. That being said I am trying to find out what I should invest in. Currently I have a hob filter and led lights for fresh water. To start off do I need a wave make and lights? Can I just do the sand live rock let it cycle then add a CUC. I am trying to get good stuff but not break the bank either. Any advice would be great. It seems like the NH for sale section is dead. I rarely see people on there. So I may have to buy new.

 

[Dolphins18]

Hey guys. I have yet to convert my fresh water tank into salt. There is so much information and its very overwhelming. My goal is eventually down the road to have soft corals and maybe one BTA. I want to start off slow. I really just want a couple clowns, scooter blennys, some snails and hermits maybe a gobby and shrimp. That being said I am trying to find out what I should invest in. Currently I have a hob filter and led lights for fresh water. To start off do I need a wave make and lights? Can I just do the sand live rock let it cycle then add a CUC. I am trying to get good stuff but not break the bank either. Any advice would be great. It seems like the NH for sale section is dead. I rarely see people on there. So I may have to buy new.

Invest in good quality live rock. This will make everything easier. Lights can come later, but a decent wavemaker will be helpful from the start, though a cheap powerhead will do the job as well, just don't want the water sitting still at all.
I reccomend gulfliverock or tbsaltwater

 

[Jekyl]

This is a good place to start

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Thanks I’ll check that out. Do you guys recommend a good website to purchase everything?

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks I’ll check that out. Do you guys recommend a good website to purchase everything?

This is a loaded question. What are your end goals? What size tank? What type of coral? The start up costs are usually insignificant in the long run.

 

[Quietman]

Size of tank would help...I'll assume smaller but the basics will cover both.

Your LED lights for FW should do fine for softies (would hold off on BTA until you upgrade lighting). The HOB on a small tank will also give you enough flow for soft corals until they grow out a bit. Take your choice of sand/rock for reef tanks from major suppliers or LFS. Live rock is nice but pricey and not really necessary but does make it easier to get cycled and up and running.

Don't overspend on test kits right off the bat. Test strips are fine at first. Don't buy the 'starter' kits. Once you're established pick up nitrate/phosphate, alk and swing arm salinity. With a good salt (any on BRS is fine) you don't need to worry about Calcium and Mg with softie.

I'm sure you've been checking out youtube pretty extensively. For a minimalist system like you're wanting to start out with, I'd check out Susan Nichols. She goes into good detail on what she has and what she needs to do maintenance.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

This is a loaded question. What are your end goals? What size tank? What type of coral? The start up costs are usually insignificant in the long run.

Sorry I forgot to post my size tank. It’s a 45 gallon tank. Just some softies. Maybe down the road once I get better lighting a BTA for the clowns. This is an experiment to see if I can maintain the tank and get back into the hobby before I upgrade and spend a ton of money. Lol.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Size of tank would help...I'll assume smaller but the basics will cover both.

Your LED lights for FW should do fine for softies (would hold off on BTA until you upgrade lighting). The HOB on a small tank will also give you enough flow for soft corals until they grow out a bit. Take your choice of sand/rock for reef tanks from major suppliers or LFS. Live rock is nice but pricey and not really necessary but does make it easier to get cycled and up and running.

Don't overspend on test kits right off the bat. Test strips are fine at first. Don't buy the 'starter' kits. Once you're established pick up nitrate/phosphate, alk and swing arm salinity. With a good salt (any on BRS is fine) you don't need to worry about Calcium and Mg with softie.

I'm sure you've been checking out youtube pretty extensively. For a minimalist system like you're wanting to start out with, I'd check out Susan Nichols. She goes into good detail on what she has and what she needs to do maintenance.

Oh good to know. I didn’t know the led lights would be ok with softies. I won’t put corals for awhile. I want to make sure it’s cycled properly. I’ll check that post out thank you.

 

[Quietman]

One of the bigger things to think about is your water. If you have smaller tank of 20 gal you can get by with purchasing DI water from stores. Anything more IMO and investing in basic RODI unit is going to be worth it. The biggest differences between FW and SW is how important the quality of water you use. Everything else you choose will be small degrees of differences in the result...live rock or dry, live sand or dry, what type of media. But water? Bad water (anything more than a couple TDS) and the chances of success drop off drastically.

Good luck and welcome to the club!

 

[Jekyl]

Sorry I forgot to post my size tank. It’s a 45 gallon tank. Just some softies. Maybe down the road once I get better lighting a BTA for the clowns. This is an experiment to see if I can maintain the tank and get back into the hobby before I upgrade and spend a ton of money. Lol.

Getting the right equipment from the start will make your life much easier. Freshwater lights are usually just for visual effects and have no growth capability at all. There are tons of build threads in the members tank section to help with equipment ideas.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Getting the right equipment from the start will make your life much easier. Freshwater lights are usually just for visual effects and have no growth capability at all. There are tons of build threads in the members tank section to help with equipment ideas.

what do you recommend for lighting. Ive seen with prime and kessil but I would have to get a couple. I love the lights that have the sunrise sunset, weather changing. I know the fish dont care just think it looks cool.

 

[Jekyl]

Starting with a 45 gal to keep coral with bare essentials (To Me) would be a HoB filter (floss, sponge, and carbon/chemipure area) 2 wavemakers like jebao. 2 heaters, and a heater controller. 5 stage RoDi system with built in TDS meter. Brute garbage can, heater and additional powerhead for mixing salt. Testing supplies- refractometer with calibration fluid, test kits not made by API (can be purchased before adding coral). Down the road- lights and a skimmer.

 

[Jekyl]

what do you recommend for lighting. Ive seen with prime and kessil but I would have to get a couple. I love the lights that have the sunrise sunset, weather changing. I know the fish dont care just think it looks cool.

If you were to fill your new tank today, you're still a couple months from needing lights. Plenty of time to research what you want.

 

[Jekyl]

If it were my brand new 45g not drilled tank I would set it up as such
2 heaters and a controller
2 wavemakers
40lbs rock from gulfliverock.com
Sand
HoB filter with surface cleaner
Skimmer
T5 4 bulb lighting (easiest plug and play)
Salifert test kits
Refractometer with calibration fluid
BRS 5 stage RoDi

 

[reefsaver]

I think the first most important thing is get water in your tank, so mix up/treat some salt water, and then the cycling process will start. Sooner water is in the better with some water movement. then I would probably go for something with a wide footprint if it was a cube like a kessil, and maybe T5's if it's long I wouldn't say RODI is essential, I use tank rain water water since I started and keep SPS fine, probably good for peace of mind. you can actually use a powerhead to filter the water by wrapping it in filter floss/zip tie, mount it high low wherever. A decent salinity checker is just the best. An auto top off is an absolute must. I would buy rock from a local marine store so you don't pay for shipping. Substrate if you want to maintain it a little less. I would say maybe skip out on the rock first and get a bunch of Aqua Marin Bio bricks and put them in a Hang On Tank Refugium so you can have a good think about how you want it to look while simultaneously providing possibly the best home for organic bacteria in the hobby, maturing your tank faster. And you could fit some quality Tunze skimmers in a decent Hang-On Refugium.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Starting with a 45 gal to keep coral with bare essentials (To Me) would be a HoB filter (floss, sponge, and carbon/chemipure area) 2 wavemakers like jebao. 2 heaters, and a heater controller. 5 stage RoDi system with built in TDS meter. Brute garbage can, heater and additional powerhead for mixing salt. Testing supplies- refractometer with calibration fluid, test kits not made by API (can be purchased before adding coral). Down the road- lights and a skimmer.

Ok awesome! I saw the jebao wave makers on Amazon. They weren’t too crazy. I have 5gallon spring water bottles. I was going to use that until I get an rodi unit for now. I don’t have a carbon filter just the white sponge. So I’ll get one of those to add.

 

[Jekyl]

Ok awesome! I saw the jebao wave makers on Amazon. They weren’t too crazy. I have 5gallon spring water bottles. I was going to use that until I get an rodi unit for now. I don’t have a carbon filter just the white sponge. So I’ll get one of those to add.

The carbon or chemipure can be purchased at any LFS in pouches as needed. They don't require a special filter. Just a pouch that you throw inside the filter as needed.

 

[reefsaver]

Activated carbon is phenomenal too, if you want crystal clear water a good amount of carbon in a micron bag will do it. The more you change it out the better quality your water will be. Hang-On refugiums are great for easy tank conversions as they add a lot of extra space and water volume. I personally would buy an AC110 Aquaclear, take everything out and customize it a lil with AquaMarin bio bricks. That's just me though as I could repurpose the AC110 for other things. But in your case I would most recommend a decent hang on refugium off Ebay, the bigger the better. It'll also give you a place to put things like skimmers, activated carbon, bio bricks etc.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Already have some great advice here on what you need to start, so I won’t add to the mix of equipment suggestions.

My two cents in regards to where to buy, I would highly recommend buying used. You mentioned the thread on here is dead for your area, but there’s Kijiji, Facebook marketplaces and the like you can peruse as well. I have legitimately saved thousands of dollars on equipment that is every bit as good as new.

As for rock, it is definitely better if you buy cured live rock straight from the start, however it is insanely expensive. An alternative if you’re on a budget, would be to use mostly dry rock, and seed everything with a few pieces of proper live rock. Not ideal, but it will kickstart your cycle.

Best of luck, and happy reefing!

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! Much appreciated.