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[Mike_ftw]

well salt guide time i've got alot to cover so it will be over several entries.

there are two major types of saltwater tanks:

reef: traditional saltwater tank with corals, good lighting, usually non-aggressive fish that dont eat coral. usually the most expensive option.

fowlr(fish only with live rock): these setups are typically no corals, with fish being the centerpieces, angels, puffers, triggers, eals, lions etc. lighting on these tanks is usually alot less, these tanks are typically alot less money and hassle

equipment:

refractometer- used to tell the specfic gravity of your water(salinity) essential in a saltwater aquarium. hydrometers are junk imo

powerheads- you need powerheads to cause current in your tank, current is needed to move waste around so it can be processed by your live rock and sand, also corals need to current to feed, very important for reef tanks. recommended current in reefs is typically 20-40x an hour. less is acceptable in fowlrs.

protein skimmer- all a protein skimmer does is pull dissolved organics from the water before they can decompose in your tank, it also reduces the oils on the top of your water column thus improving gaseous exchange. it is recommended to have one of these.

lighting: there are five popular types of lighting for saltwater.
metal halide: very hot and very bright lighting usually for the highest light applications. they come in 70w, 150w, 250w, 400w. a 2-3ft spread per bulb
vho- a older style of lighting it is essentially high powered t12's great for supplemental lighting, but really is not an efficient lighting type these days
t5 ho- a fairly new type of lighting that is very successful and powerful if the right fixtures are used. can be customized for almost any application and really are the jack of all trades.
power compact fluorescent- a light used in lower light applications, for lps and softies this light is great, relatively inexpensive, most nanos come with this type of lighting.
Led- a new type of lighting that has proven to be very powerful, and also extremely expensive i dont have alot of experience with this type.

filtration

refugium- a place where macroalgae can grow, really needed in most tanks, needs lighting

live rock- the mainstay of your bio filtration, no other bio media in your tank.

sand- same thing as live rock.

the water:

most people run there tank in between 1.023 and 1.027(mine is 1.025). there is debate as how much salinity to have, generally reefs have salinity on the higher end of the spectrum.

salt mixes- not all salt mixes are created equal- i use instant ocean.

dosing:http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

temperature- 78-82

clean up crew- crabs, snails, and other critters that clean up left over waste in the tank.

more stuff later......

[vittleking]

Great information Mike! Make sure to put the additional info into this thread, so we can keep it in one spot. You can post it here and we can add it to the orignal for you. I'm going to pin this if thats cool with you Mike?

[Mike_ftw]

yea go ahead, if anyone has questions as ill try to answer them, i am by no means an expert.

[vittleking]

I don't have mod buttons ATM. Maybe another mod can pin it???

[dl88dl]

Great info...Btw, I also keep my reef tanks at 1.025

[danz]

Good info here, I know a lot of people have asked about having salt tank and this will answer a lot of questions. I myself have been thinking about it again and miss my clowns, they are some fun fish! A friend of mine just setup a small dwarf lion fish 10g tank and they are killer!!!!!