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L# Marine Aquaria
 L# Marine Setup
  L# New To Marine Aquarium
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Barb Boy
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Fingerling
Posts: 17
Kudos: 17
Votes: 1
Registered: 21-May-2007
male canada
I am getting a marine aquarium and i am wondering what a good size would be.(under 35 gallons) i also want to know how much the cost for that size would be (including all suplies)
Post InfoPosted 21-May-2007 18:41Profile PM Edit Report 
$ilver dollar
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Fingerling
Posts: 23
Kudos: 17
Votes: 27
Registered: 18-Apr-2007
male usa
EditedEdited by $ilver dollar
Its really hard to say what the supplies will cost you. It just depends on how much your willing to spend, and what kind of equip. you want. As far as tank size i would go with the biggest you can get. As with freshwater, bigger is better and a little easier to maintain.

good luck to your SW adventure

"The Earth is God's Fish Tank"
Post InfoPosted 21-May-2007 19:47Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
sham
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Ultimate Fish Guru
Posts: 3369
Kudos: 2782
Votes: 98
Registered: 21-Apr-2004
female usa
Usually a 55 is the recommend beginner size. Anything less will require very careful stocking to start out with and setting it up very slowly. Not impossible by any means since my first tank was a 20g long but alot more difficult and actually costs more per gallon to start a small tank than a large tank. I know some people have spent as much on their 10-20g nanos as others have spent on tanks over 55g.

For pretty much all setups it's best to include live rock. It helps alot in filtration, water quality, and giving the inhabitants places to hide. Generally you want around 1 lb/gal of rock. You can do some of that in dry base rock instead of liverock. Example I just moved my fish from a 20g to a 29g. I used 20lbs of dry rock I got for $1.50/lb and the 20lbs of liverock I already had which costs around $3/lb here. Cost of rock will vary usually in relation to how close you are to the ocean. You can also order bulk amounts of rock from places like http://www.reeferrocks.com/, http://www.premiumaquatics.com/, and http://marcorocks.com/ along with probably a dozen others.

You'll definitely need a way to test the salt level. Hydrometers are the cheap way but not as accurate. My refractometer is invaluable to me. You can get a mini one from premiumaquatics or drfostersmith.com for around $50. Much more accurate than a hydrometer but does cost at least twice as much. Really good refractometers can cost several hundred dollars.

Lighting and filtration are variable depending on your setup and exactly what you want to do. Filtration especially can have hundreds of options so you need to narrow down what you want. Plan your stock then plan your tank around them and you'll have a far easier time. Do you want corals in the future? A couple hardy fish? More sensitive fish? Any fish with special needs? Shrimp, snails, crabs, etc...
Post InfoPosted 21-May-2007 22:29Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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