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i want to start a salt water tank possibly a 55 or 60 gallon, what do i need to buy?

would i beable to put alot of salt water fish in a 55 gallon?

how much would every thing cost?

thanx

Welcome to the commonly called the darkside
equipment depends on setup as well. you have 3 basic set ups and more branch of these.

>Fish only(FO) literaly fish only with usually fake rock plants for decorations

>Fish Only With Live Rock(FOWLR) speaks for its self again. if you dont want corals i reccomend live rock to help with bacteria filteration.

>Reef- requires a few extra gadgets and great lighting.

55-60g tank you dont really get alot of fish. but the fish have that much more character and colours. proberly 5 or so 4inch fish is all i would do to, so it doesn require non stop matience.

Requirments are heater, good lighting, substrate( coral sand helps keep ph up). skimmer some will tell you is a must but their are different varibles to when you really need one. big messy eaters you need one and reef systems need one too.

when you get a skimmer though it is the one piece of equipment you should really go all out for. if you get a real good one it wont matter if one week you dont get time to do a water change.

Hope that helps i tried to keep it simple and hopefully i covered most of it

It's really hard to answer a question like that, because it completely depends on what type of set up you wanna do.

Please read the article stickied to the top of the forum, on beginner saltwater tanks.

That might help you out a little bit, and give you an idea about what it takes to set up and maintain a saltwater tank.

Then, if you have more specific questions, it will be a lot easier to answer them.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

There's a lot open to you at this point, especially if money isn't a limiting factor. I recommend reading through all of the recent threads in this forum and in Marine Setup, as both have relevant threads which discuss starting up new saltwater tanks. Checking them and the abovementioned article will help get you on your way researching, though reading through books is even better. Take your time looking things through, because there is a lot to learn about the marine facet of the aquarium hobby.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

As a matter of fact, I have a thread goign on this very subject... MAybe it would help you as well.



http://fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Marine%20Setup/65885.html?200511122139

Maybe that will give you an idea of what is takes to even start thinking abtou a SW tank



Christina