New To Salt Water

[dohntaut]

Alright so i have small amount of experience with setting up my fresh water tank( a 15 gallon). The family has decided that we should get a big tank for the house somewhere in the 80 gallon range. We decided that salt water would allow us to have nicer looking fish than freshwater. SO to begin what do i need to start? i have been looking for used tanks to cut costs. i have seen a 100 gallon set up that seemed cheap, however it is fresh water, what should i consider when converting the tank from fresh to salt water? this 100 gallon tank comes with 2 filters( not sure what type), do i need a specific kind of filter i heard of people using sumps. Just any helpful advice would be appreciated.

 

[ben1987]

you dont need a filter, research the berlin method and the use of live rock - far more efficient.

a sump is useful for adding water volume, more water being more stable and they hid ugly equipment away in the cabinet.

be careful when buying a 2nd hand tank as you may inherrit someone elses problems.

 

[dohntaut]

hmm ok so if i got this right the things i would need to set up a tank would be
fish tank
1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon of water
heater
lights
sand(live sand?)
maybe a sump?
i also heard of protein skimmers, is this necessary?, what else am i missing

 

[-Nemo-]

Don't bother with live sand, not worth the extra money, just get some aragonite based sand.

Sump would be a great addition and I would also add a protein skimmer. Both don't necessarily have to be added right at the beginning if not possible, but definitely things to look into.

Don't forget the powerheads! For a reef tank your looking at about a 20x flow per hour (ie. a 100G you would want 2000gph). Other than that, your equipment list looks good!

 

[dohntaut]

ok so i have heard of people using play sand, is this the stuff in sandboxes that can be found in hardware or toystores( i suppose as long as the sand is aragonite)is this the cheapest type of sand to use, or what is?

Powerheads- if i got this right they are used to provide a current in the water, and the live rock and coral need this to live? this is a necessity

Sumps-so this can be used to add more volume to the tank, i think that if i have one under the display tank in the stand/cabinent it can hide the heaters and protein skimmer. I might be able to get my hands on a 15-20 gallon tank that can be set up as a sump. but i am kind of scared of flooding, if the return pump fails, or what if the siphon pulls more water out than the pump puts in or vice versa. Are there fail safe systems or precautions to take when setting one up?

live rock- i see people on craigslist selling live rock for about $2.00 per pound, not sure how much it goes for at my lfs. whats the best way to handle, transport live rock. what should i be looking for when i pick the pieces?

stocking- i don't know how stocking works with marine tanks, does the general rule of 1 inch of fish per gallon of water work? all i know for now is that i want to start off with hardy fish(to reduce any possible heart break lol)
hers a short list of fish that i do want to have definitely a volitan lion fish, maybe some clowns( not sure which type), blue tangs, banggai cardinal, a box fish or puffer of some sort. any other suggestions?

still need to research more on corals and refugiums....everything