laurensdad Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 i am thinking of makeing my 75g planted tank in to salt water. what i have right now is a 75 galon tank that i can not drill. 4 t5ho lights for plants with timers etc 2 ehime pro 3 filters a 2075 and a 2073 all the heaters and other crap need for a tank. what would i need for a fish only setup? live sand? live rock? salt? stuff to test how much salt is in water.? more pails to store water for mixing. what else would i need? oh ya and 1000 to 1500$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 this isn't going to be of big help to answer your questions...I can answer them but the advice I'll give is read for 2 weeks everything you can find on this topic. the two systems are opposite...read read read. I don't mean offence but the questions asked show zero knowledge the only thing to cure it is to read. This should get you started: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=&q=saltwater%20setup%20new%20tank again no offence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurensdad Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 None taken i have been doing some reading.on the topic i am just looking for a difrent perspective on it is all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 If you still do have questions hit me up and I'll help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewherebeyondthesea Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Haha! Welcome to the Salt Side! I would start reading here : http://www.advancedaquarist.com/sort/beginner I continue to pull info from here as well as other forums. You are on the right track! I'd be happy to help you with any other questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwish Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Some general comments of 'live' rock and sand. I know many people use it and it is very common in the reef community, especially when starting a new tank. In my opinion, you don't need it. The great thing about setting up a new saltwater tank is you get to start from scratch. That means you can put in a SSB (shallow sand bed) and reef rock, and fill with RO/DI water and mix the salt right in the tank. Using dry sand and rock guarrantees you wont' have any unwanted paracites, pests or stowaways inside your rock. AND, it's signifigantly less expensive than the equivelant live version. For tanks under 75Gal I recommend a fishless cycle with a bacteria enabler. If you have 75Gal and larger you can put in 'a' fish (one) with the enabler and your tank will be fully cycled in a matter of days (and yes I know enabling bacteria in itself is a contraversial topic in itself which is another discussion, happy to engage in if needed). From my experience, I would NOT use crushed coral as a substrate, I would go for a 1 to 2 mm aragonite, if you get anything finner it tends to get blown around and makes the water look cloudy. As others have mentioned, do lots of research and you will find trends that most reef enthusiasts do and for the most part they generally are good practices, I simply point out the "live" rock and sand as I think it's really not need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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