The first thing you will need to do is get a second or maybe even third job:tongue: J/K:tongue:
But really you need to decide on what size tank you want to go with. Plan ahead for the future because quite often people buy tanks and then find they want to upgrade them soon there after. For example, my first tank was a 45 gallon and now I am up to a 120 gallon.
Also another thing to consider is what type of tank, acrylic or glass. Then if you choose glass and want to get really fancy you might consider Starfire glass as well. I personally go with just plain glass, acrylic scratches when I just look at it...
After you decide on your tank selection you will need to decide on what you wish to put in it. For example, SPS, LPS, softy's, clams or a mix of everything. This decision will make your choice of lighting, fish, and other hardware a little more easy.
For instance if you want to keep SPS or clams you will need to have a higher output light and some other filtration to keep up with these animals demands. If you want to keep LPS or softy's you will need a middle of the line light setup as they don't need a huge amount to keep them happy.
Also SPS demand a crazy amount of flow so if you wish to keep SPS you will need more powerheads.
Next you will need to decide if you wish to have a sump or refugium on your system. I highly recommend these but some times it just isn't possible to have them.
Here is a little more info on sumps and refugiums.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-reef-discussions/48592-sump-refugium-what-they.html
If you do get a sump or refugium I recommend getting a in tank protein skimmer. Get one that will handle at least 2x your tank volume. Here is a thread on them as well.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/li...what-protien-skimmer-what-types-commonly.html
You will also need to decide on if you want a sandy bottom or bare bottom, there are many types of sand on the market so I recommend getting which ever looks good to you. As for rock many say you need one pound of rock per gallon of water but lately there is a lot of tanks going with minimal rockwork so just do what you think looks good.
Here is a thread with many rock scaping ideas.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...6205-aquascaping-pictures-ideas-sketches.html
Next you will need to get some salt mix, I recommend getting some good stuff like Reef Crystals to start out, cheap salts can come back to bite ya.
As for a heater just get what is recommended for the size of tank you selected.
Lighting.... This is where it gets complicated.
I personally like T5 lighting and a lot of other really nice tanks are lit by Metal Halide or LED setups. I personally wouldn't get anything less than these 3 types of lights. If so you will be upgrading it soon as many of us on here have done so painfully in the past. If you are unsure of what to get post up a thread asking for help, there is a huge variety of lights out there and it can get confusing when selecting one.
Many of us in this hobby have a mini science lab going on with our test kits and eventually you will need to buy some for yourself too. I recommend ether API or Salifert, if you have a LFS you can take a water sample to them and more often than not they will check for you.
Water, I highly recommend using RO/DI water and if you don't have a filter you can usually get RO/DI from your LFS or grocery store.
This is just a basic start to what you need to do to get your first aquarium up and running. If you have any questions please feel free to post up a thread and ask them, there are no stupid questions.
Also please read this thread and learn from other hobby'sts mistakes:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/new-hobby-sw-beginner-forum/54995-lets-give-some-noob-advice.html
But really you need to decide on what size tank you want to go with. Plan ahead for the future because quite often people buy tanks and then find they want to upgrade them soon there after. For example, my first tank was a 45 gallon and now I am up to a 120 gallon.
Also another thing to consider is what type of tank, acrylic or glass. Then if you choose glass and want to get really fancy you might consider Starfire glass as well. I personally go with just plain glass, acrylic scratches when I just look at it...
After you decide on your tank selection you will need to decide on what you wish to put in it. For example, SPS, LPS, softy's, clams or a mix of everything. This decision will make your choice of lighting, fish, and other hardware a little more easy.
For instance if you want to keep SPS or clams you will need to have a higher output light and some other filtration to keep up with these animals demands. If you want to keep LPS or softy's you will need a middle of the line light setup as they don't need a huge amount to keep them happy.
Also SPS demand a crazy amount of flow so if you wish to keep SPS you will need more powerheads.
Next you will need to decide if you wish to have a sump or refugium on your system. I highly recommend these but some times it just isn't possible to have them.
Here is a little more info on sumps and refugiums.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-reef-discussions/48592-sump-refugium-what-they.html
If you do get a sump or refugium I recommend getting a in tank protein skimmer. Get one that will handle at least 2x your tank volume. Here is a thread on them as well.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/li...what-protien-skimmer-what-types-commonly.html
You will also need to decide on if you want a sandy bottom or bare bottom, there are many types of sand on the market so I recommend getting which ever looks good to you. As for rock many say you need one pound of rock per gallon of water but lately there is a lot of tanks going with minimal rockwork so just do what you think looks good.
Here is a thread with many rock scaping ideas.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...6205-aquascaping-pictures-ideas-sketches.html
Next you will need to get some salt mix, I recommend getting some good stuff like Reef Crystals to start out, cheap salts can come back to bite ya.
As for a heater just get what is recommended for the size of tank you selected.
Lighting.... This is where it gets complicated.
I personally like T5 lighting and a lot of other really nice tanks are lit by Metal Halide or LED setups. I personally wouldn't get anything less than these 3 types of lights. If so you will be upgrading it soon as many of us on here have done so painfully in the past. If you are unsure of what to get post up a thread asking for help, there is a huge variety of lights out there and it can get confusing when selecting one.
Many of us in this hobby have a mini science lab going on with our test kits and eventually you will need to buy some for yourself too. I recommend ether API or Salifert, if you have a LFS you can take a water sample to them and more often than not they will check for you.
Water, I highly recommend using RO/DI water and if you don't have a filter you can usually get RO/DI from your LFS or grocery store.
This is just a basic start to what you need to do to get your first aquarium up and running. If you have any questions please feel free to post up a thread and ask them, there are no stupid questions.
Also please read this thread and learn from other hobby'sts mistakes:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/new-hobby-sw-beginner-forum/54995-lets-give-some-noob-advice.html