new to saltwater.

habell617

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Hello everyone!
I'm thinking about getting my first salt water tank (I haven't completely made up my mind). if I do it'll probably be a 40 gallon breeder or 40 standard. I was wondering what all I could put in it. I'll most likely be ordering off live aquaria because I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I know they state the care level and tank minimum but Id rather have peoples opinions as well about what works with that. id also prefer fish that are captive bred. also how do you clean out the bottom of your tanks? would a siphon work? and what all products would you recommend? I have experience with freshwater tanks but I always liked the look of saltwater fish more.
if possible when telling me fish can you say how many you would get for it. I don't want to overstock my tank lol
 

Rp8

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welcome aboard gif.gif

First and foremost, welcome aboard. lots of people here to help and answer ?s.

Now for the rest, 40 gal breeder/ standard. typically the ratio goes 1"full grown fish to 1gal of tank water. so you could do 1 40" fish or 20 2" inch fish etc. I personally just try to make sure they are comfortable and not competing for territory. we always want more, lol. yes a siphon works to clean the bottom. Products depend on what tank you have. Reef tanks will need Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium regularly. if you can maintain proper levels no need for additives. if not there are many to choose from. To start your cycling, Dr. Tims is a popular one, Microbacter is another, but patience is the best but most difficult. nothing easy or fast usually works in the saltwater world. But lucky for you there are 1000s of folks here to help! happy reefing!
 

atul176

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Hello everyone!
I'm thinking about getting my first salt water tank (I haven't completely made up my mind). if I do it'll probably be a 40 gallon breeder or 40 standard. I was wondering what all I could put in it. I'll most likely be ordering off live aquaria because I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I know they state the care level and tank minimum but Id rather have peoples opinions as well about what works with that. id also prefer fish that are captive bred. also how do you clean out the bottom of your tanks? would a siphon work? and what all products would you recommend? I have experience with freshwater tanks but I always liked the look of saltwater fish more.
if possible when telling me fish can you say how many you would get for it. I don't want to overstock my tank lol
Just a suggestion, but live aquaria has a shipping cost, so if I were you, I would see if I get get fish from drreefsquarantined fish. Shipping cost is around 50 and if you’re looking for generic clowns or dwarf angels, the price won’t be majorly different. I’m a beginner as well, and I made the mistake of purchasing fish from a pretty terrible seller. Apart from that ordeal, I clean my bottom twice per month and a siphon will do that well. For fish, you could probably do a pair of clowns, 1 or two gobies, or a dwarf angel. You can do pretty much any hardy nanofish but be careful with bio filtration and aggression. Don’t overload ur tank at the start. In the 6-8 months or so I would max out at a pair of clowns, a goby, a pair of cardinals or chromis and a smaller wrasse. A 40 isn’t that large of an aquarium so a dwarf angel would be pushing it. You can definetly keep one in a 40, but I would advise against it. For cycling and all just use bio spira or microbacter and add an ammoni source. It’ll usually complete a cycle in days and you can add you first hardy fish. Good luck.
 

Weasel1960

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Hello and welcome aboard. Agree on all BRS videos but especially the 5 minute ones. I would recommend looking at build threads for the size tank you have and see what equipment they are using, then ask more specific questions vs. broad brush questions to start with. R2R is a huge pool of info so dive in and soak up as much as possible before starting your build.
 
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habell617

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welcome aboard gif.gif

First and foremost, welcome aboard. lots of people here to help and answer ?s.

Now for the rest, 40 gal breeder/ standard. typically the ratio goes 1"full grown fish to 1gal of tank water. so you could do 1 40" fish or 20 2" inch fish etc. I personally just try to make sure they are comfortable and not competing for territory. we always want more, lol. yes a siphon works to clean the bottom. Products depend on what tank you have. Reef tanks will need Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium regularly. if you can maintain proper levels no need for additives. if not there are many to choose from. To start your cycling, Dr. Tims is a popular one, Microbacter is another, but patience is the best but most difficult. nothing easy or fast usually works in the saltwater world. But lucky for you there are 1000s of folks here to help! happy reefing!
thank you! I've been doing a lot of research on saltwater tanks. I can't wait until I get little fishies. I will hopefully get a bigger tank once I get a bigger place to live
 
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habell617

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Just a suggestion, but live aquaria has a shipping cost, so if I were you, I would see if I get get fish from drreefsquarantined fish. Shipping cost is around 50 and if you’re looking for generic clowns or dwarf angels, the price won’t be majorly different. I’m a beginner as well, and I made the mistake of purchasing fish from a pretty terrible seller. Apart from that ordeal, I clean my bottom twice per month and a siphon will do that well. For fish, you could probably do a pair of clowns, 1 or two gobies, or a dwarf angel. You can do pretty much any hardy nanofish but be careful with bio filtration and aggression. Don’t overload ur tank at the start. In the 6-8 months or so I would max out at a pair of clowns, a goby, a pair of cardinals or chromis and a smaller wrasse. A 40 isn’t that large of an aquarium so a dwarf angel would be pushing it. You can definetly keep one in a 40, but I would advise against it. For cycling and all just use bio spira or microbacter and add an ammoni source. It’ll usually complete a cycle in days and you can add you first hardy fish. Good luck.
oh I never heard of that site. besides online my only other choice to get fish is petco and I'm not a fan of buying anything but supplies from them. thank you for the tips.
 

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oh I never heard of that site. besides online my only other choice to get fish is petco and I'm not a fan of buying anything but supplies from them. thank you for the tips.
I would stay away from most petco livestock as well. Anytime I have gone to one the fish and coral are so poorly kept its hard for me to look at. I really enjoyed my 40 gallon tank. It had a 16 gallon sump and that was the tank I learned the most about how to keep fish and coral from. I would really recommend looking into a tank with a plumbed sump. As for livestock look around and see what catches your eye and see if it is compatible with the tank you had in mind. For that size I loved having clownfish, royal gramma, sand sifting gobies, shrimp, damsels (kinda mean though), or any gobies. Like other comments above look at different builds with the size you are thinking about to get ideas to research and also inspiration. Videos on youtube are good as well, but you learn the most from actually keeping the tank and learning from mistakes you make. (Defiantly watch BRS's videos though! I watched the nuvo 20 video years ago like a million times when I wanted to set up a tank)
 
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PeterB113

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make sure you QT fish after you buy from live aquaria. lost 2 fish when I first started because of velvet in the water and had to wait 2 more months to stock it with fish.
 

4ktvs

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welcome aboard gif.gif

First and foremost, welcome aboard. lots of people here to help and answer ?s.

Now for the rest, 40 gal breeder/ standard. typically the ratio goes 1"full grown fish to 1gal of tank water. so you could do 1 40" fish or 20 2" inch fish etc. I personally just try to make sure they are comfortable and not competing for territory. we always want more, lol. yes a siphon works to clean the bottom. Products depend on what tank you have. Reef tanks will need Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium regularly. if you can maintain proper levels no need for additives. if not there are many to choose from. To start your cycling, Dr. Tims is a popular one, Microbacter is another, but patience is the best but most difficult. nothing easy or fast usually works in the saltwater world. But lucky for you there are 1000s of folks here to help! happy reefing!

Please someone tell me that a fish that grows to 40 inches long isn't going to be in a 40 gallon breeder. The 1 inch of fully grown fish per gallon rule only remotely works if you spit the size up between a number of fish. Even then there's far better ways to figure out what fish should go into your tank.
 

Jekyl

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Please someone tell me that a fish that grows to 40 inches long isn't going to be in a 40 gallon breeder. The 1 inch of fully grown fish per gallon rule only remotely works if you spit the size up between a number of fish. Even then there's far better ways to figure out what fish should go into your tank.
This.... there's no way I would have even 10 2" fish in a 40 gallon tank.
 

FlowGod

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Please someone tell me that a fish that grows to 40 inches long isn't going to be in a 40 gallon breeder. The 1 inch of fully grown fish per gallon rule only remotely works if you spit the size up between a number of fish. Even then there's far better ways to figure out what fish should go into your tank.
Yea, that system of inches per gallon seems very outdated in my opinion. Please just do the research and know what kind of fish you are buying and the requirements needed to keep the fish happy and healthy.
 

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Welcome to the community: Warning Info Dup ahead:

You pretty much identified a FOWLR (Fish Only Live Rock) - Remember the adage: Go Slow - nothing good in this hobby happens fast! Cycle your tank first. Make sure your Bio Filtration is adequate for your live stock as you slowly add fish (I added Clownfish to my tank first - why: they are hardy) Having said that you want to know how to tell if you tank is ready for fish. Consider where you will put the tank. Sunlight, really impacted one of my Saltwater Tanks I did a 55 Gallon with Hang On Back Filters (2 75 Gallon Filters - I came from Freshwater and I did not understand a sump). Also had 2 AI Primes (Lighting - Full Spectrum LEDs). Also did regular Water Changes - Regular Testing - Still a Disaster - why - It was a learning tank - I did not Use RODI water, I did not consider the impact of Sunlight. I could not control the algae. Ended up breaking down the tank - rehoming livestock to a 180 Gallon Peninsula tank. I would suggest you check a marine compatibility chart for the live stock. Very important for Live Stok You will want to consider two things off the bat - Peaceful, Semi-Aggressive or Aggressive fish AND how much they will grow (allow for space) - Also will you want to convert to a Reef tank later. You will also need to consider a Protein Skimmer as well as a water auto top off unit (you don't want to manually add water to your Tank every day - Evaporation which affects salinity) Another item to think about is when you go away (Vacation, travel for business) - how will you feed, top off water, etc.). Consider power outages - remember you have an active living environment here and a power failure can be bad for your tank and the critters that live in it. The pump is the most important thing to keep the water flowing (I have a UPS on my system). And don't forget to water test - Learn which elements to test for and the values you are looking for. I would suggest tracking the results of each water test. Remember your Clean Up Crew - Think of Substrate. It sounds like a lot, but you want to be successful. I did not add all this equipment at once - but its an ongoing thing. A FOWLR Tank is easier to take care of - as opposed to a Reef Tank (I have done both as well). Having said all that, it is a fun hobby. Good Luck and remember there are lots of good resources here at Reef2Reef. Would enjoy seeing pictures of your build. Check out the various forums here - they will help

As for the Salt, I use Reef Crystals - No Issues. Remember you want to keep your Salinity in a very specific and narrow range. You are probably going to want to do water changes about every 2 weeks to replenish critical elements and get rid of undesirable ones.

Remember Frozen Food for Fish and Inverts! - They want to be fed a variety too. :)
 

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