Setting up a saltwater/reef tank

I got a friend who wants to set up a salt tank, can i get the specific details on set up and maintainece of a salt tank.. (and cost)

 

i dont know but from what i know our family friends uncle had one could not maintain it for more than a month! than gave it to his friend! and if ure friends gonan get one i suggest to hire someone to come weekly to maintain it!

 

it's not as bad as most people think. i've got 2 sw tanks now and am setting up a 3rd. it's patience and having the params a little different than fresh. sw fish and inverts are far less forgiving when things go wrong. it is most definitely more work and $ to keep up a sw tank but well worth it when done right. ph needs to be between 8.2 and 8.4. use an aragonite sand bed. protien skimmer is a must. so is live rock which is the most expensive thing in the tank (usually 6-7$ per pound at a lfs.) you can get it online for as little as $2 per pound plus shipping. lighting is another thing that is an issue. if keeping reef, which is not reccomended for beginners, you would need special lighting such as pc, vho or metal halide. for fish only tanks normal output lighting is fine. http://www.aquaria.info/index.php?name= ... file=index this place has been a life saver to hundreds if not thousands of poeple who have had problems of any kind. they've saved my neck a couple of times. exteremely knowledgable people.

 

Reef costs 20-30 dollars/gallon for the initial setup and stock. Bigger tanks are always better and more stable. If they have done freshwater before and have been successful with then maybe a saltwater setup is for them. First, lighting is an issue that I would just get everything they need for a reef right away so that way when they decide to go they can just start adding corals. Also liverock will not be really "alive" (although it will contain bacteria on it which you will need it will not have the cool little organisms without intense lighting like pc's vhos or mh (the mh being the best). So I would go fish only first, add some liverock, then go reef (all this could be done a year apart)

 

aite thx everyone, im trying to show him the cost and extreme matience of a saltwater tank (especially keeping one stable and learing basic chemistary and all that) so he doesnt wana do salt, i would never even imagine him taking care of a salt tank. He does have a freshwater tank, which so far is doing good (even thou big lack of decorations)

He still got a long way to go before its all ready.

 

here is a good beginner's saltwater linkhttp://www.fishchatter.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21