new tank setup

tom75a · 03-29-2007, 10:39 PM

hello
im thinking of setting up a salt water tank i have been reading on how to do it and every site i look at says diferent tings to what i need ....aney ways my question is what do i realy need to start, i have an empty 100 galon tank what other kind of equipment do i need .
and does aneyone know of aney sites wher you can see pictures of equipment setup im one of those people that think a picture is worth 1000 words.
thank you in advance.

Chitown1 · 03-30-2007, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom75a

hello
im thinking of setting up a salt water tank i have been reading on how to do it and every site i look at says diferent tings to what i need ....aney ways my question is what do i realy need to start, i have an empty 100 galon tank what other kind of equipment do i need .
and does aneyone know of aney sites wher you can see pictures of equipment setup im one of those people that think a picture is worth 1000 words.
thank you in advance.

Welcome to the forum,

As far as the equipment needs, it depends on the type of set up you are planning on. A fish only, FOWLER (fish only with live rock) or a reef all have different needs, what kind of tank are you thinking about setting up? Here are couple pics of some of my sumps, fuges and plumbing, but I have much less complex units as well depending again on type of tank.

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u...wn1_2007/sump/

Also, it would be great if you could take a moment and add a post to the introduce forum so othere members can get to know you and you can get to know us.

tom75a · 03-30-2007, 11:02 AM

i was thinking of a fish with live rock setup (and the simpler the better )any info on that would be apreciated .
thank you
tom

Chitown1 · 03-30-2007, 12:50 PM

For a FOWLER, this is what I would use.

1 1/2 - 2 LBS LR per gallon of water

A 3-5" deep sand bed

A good protein skimmer

A couple powerheads

PC or T5 lighting

Heater

Water tesk kit

Hydrometer or refractometer

tom75a · 03-30-2007, 01:26 PM

that sounds good ill give that a try ..
one more question i see a lot of setups with like a smal tank under the big tank with all sorts of hoses going to them what's that all about is that necesery and i was told that you have to have the tank driled for something not shoure what that means.
thank you

Chitown1 · 03-30-2007, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom75a

that sounds good ill give that a try ..
one more question i see a lot of setups with like a smal tank under the big tank with all sorts of hoses going to them what's that all about is that necesery and i was told that you have to have the tank driled for something not shoure what that means.
thank you

Those are sumps and/or refugiums, you do not need a drilled tank to have them, you can use a hang on overflow. Here are some pics of different versions.

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u...wn1_2007/sump/

You do not have to have one, but they serve many purposes. A Fuge needs to have slow flow rates and contains any combination of LR, LS, macro algaes and Mud, all of which add to the bio filtration of your tank. A sump has faster flow and most people use them for mech bio filtration with the use of plastic bio balls and also use it to house equipment like the skimmer, heaters, UV's etc.