First time reefer

[mahender]

I am finally setting up a reef tank. I new to the area (kirkland) and to reef aquariums.

I have had several fresh water aquariums over the past. I am planning to go about it slowly. Start with a 30 to 40 gal tank and run live rock in it for a month and introduce corals, hermit crabs & snails one by one after that and finally(current estimate 6mnths) introduce shrimp and fishes.

Any guidance on sources of hardware and lifestock would be greatly appretiated. I am also looking for guidance on the whole process.

-- Mahender

 

[demandrid]

welcome to saltwater check the for sale forums frequently as there are alot of sales there that would help you get started, your first and formost concern to starting out is get a good skimmer, the good ones are a little spendy but in the long run you will save a lot of money and headaches. as far as sources for livestock i would look in the sponsor list, we have a lot of very good stores to choose from and alot of good people that will give you advice over the next few days. also read thru the new to reef keeping section lots of valuable info to be had there as well as the rest of the board.

Demandrid

 

[danno14]

Welcome to Reeffrontiers- I would suggest you check out some of the sponsors on this site. For instance, Barrier Reef is just s of Newcastle and Saltwater City is in Bellevue.
Cruise the forum and you will find a wealth of information. Sounds like you you already have the right idea (letting it run its course). Best of luck, D

 

[ghazni]

Welcome Mahendar..

 

[Sascha D]

Any guidance on sources of hardware and lifestock would be greatly appretiated. I am also looking for guidance on the whole process.

-- Mahender

Tough question! hehe

Before you set up your tank, you have to decide if you want to go sump or hang-on-the-back methods for equipment. If you decide to go with the sump, you also have to decide whether to drill your tank or use an external overflow box.

Before you choose your lights, you have to decide which corals to keep. Also before you decide your fish and inverts, you have to decide which corals to keep.

The best way to get started is to read the New to Reefkeeping Forum. Go to Borders Books, read a few text and drink some coffee

 

[mahender]

Thanks for the great info folks. After bouncing all over the park I have finally settled down on getting a 12G Nano cube deluxe. I dont find it in the stores I have been to - Dennys and saltwater city. However denny's has biocube. Marinedepot is having the nano cube with free stand.

Any advice on which is better? Does the PSAS have discounts with online retailers?

 

[mahender]

Also is it absolutely necessary to have a protein skimmer. A friend of mine has his running smoothly with just corals for more that a year without one and he absolutely swears by it.

 

[Sascha D]

The smaller the tank, the more vigilance is required. Small mistakes can equal big problems if you're not careful, but you'll save money on equipment I guess.

You can get away without having a protein skimmer if you dont have livestock to produce the organic waste skimmers remove. So basically you can't add a bunch of fish.

 

[Skimmy]

nano tanks are my forte, and imo, protein skimmers are a must!!
although, there arent many out there that would work for you...you cant hang anything off back, it has to fit in the filter compartments in the back chamber. worst case scenario with this skimmer is you'd have to take off the hangar and attach it with a ziptie to a small magnet cleaner to adjust it up and down
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=H-AENS&Category_Code=aquaeuro