setting up a tank

[ncaines]

Hi I am new to saltwater fish. I am trying to find out what I need to set one up. and what the best setup for a saltwater tank is if anyone can help.

[sticks_wife]

Hello and Welcome! How big of a tank are you wanting to set up?

[ncaines]

I would like to set up a 125 gallon tank. not sure how to do it I am looking around but need some direction

[lazylivin]

Welcome ncaines. How about you start by letting us know what equipment you already have, what livestock you are looking to keep i.e. fish, corals etc....

[Viggen]

Do you already have the tank/stand?  If not I would consider a 150g instead of the 125g, same footprint just taller.  There is also the 180 & 210g which is the same length just a few inches deeper.  The bigger you go.... the easier it is to care for & the more cool fish you can buy

Like mentioned what do you want to keep in there??  If a full blown reef then you will want to go a refugium route with lots of live rock (gets expensive) & you also need to add additives to keep all the inhabitants happy.

IF you want fish & only fish then a wet/dry filter is all you need, this is what I use on my aquariums.  You do not need any live rock & zero additives are required.  Lighting is also up to whatever you want it to look like vs reef tanks needing a lot of lighting to keep corals & everything else thriving.

Either way you will want a reef ready tank which has internal overflow boxes which allows for a sump to easily & safely be used under the tank. 

A good protein skimmer isn't a necessity but it makes life for you & also the fish a lot better

Interneal or external return pump, heater, gravel/sand & that's about it for what you need

If you already have the tank & if it's not reef ready I would have it driled so you can install a overflow box in it. 

[ncaines]

well I am thinking about doing a fish only tank. I would like to do a reef tank but never doing a saltwater tank before, a fish only might be the best way to go. I dont know how hard it would be to do a reef tank .

as for the equipment I do not have anything yet. I am still doing my research to find out what way to go.  reef or fish only that is the question. I will take any and all opinions on that. 

[ncaines]

Viggen thank you for all the info you gave me I would like to do a reef tank with fish but I am thinking fish only might be the best way to go to start out

[Viggen]

agreed.... FO might be your best bet.  If the reef bug bites at a later date you can always switch it over to reef.  I tried reef a few times with smaller tanks (29g-90g) & FO's is what I prefer.  I like fish.... big colorful fish & the majority of those do not work in reef

Unless you want new equiptment keep your eye out in this forum, the sites sponsors & even craigslist for a tank,  Going with a 125g+ tank would be great for a FO tank, go as big as you can like I mentioned & you can get a lot of cool stuff. 

A properly sized w/d will take car of filtration