Hey guys and gals! I am a total noob when it comes to aquariums as I am literally just now getting into my very first one! So I have been doing a ton of research and plan on going with a Salt Water set-up because I think it provides a wider variety of features. So my plan is this (and let me know what else to add or change).

I would like to start out slow and work my way up so I plan on getting a 75 gallon tank and set it up with “Reef Saver” Eco Dry Aquarium Live Rock. I heard for this I need to introduce some actual "live" rock into the tank as these have nothing "live" on them. For the substrate I chose "Black Diamond" sand because I think the black will make the colors POP when I get to that stage. So once I have those in and cycled I would then need to purchase some lighting for my new corals right? I'm thinking at this point I will then go ahead and introduce a couple of fish or should I introduce one at an earlier or later stage? Also what type of fish do you recommend starting out with?

My main goal was to house a variety of fish including jellyfish and seahorses as the main attraction but then again they may be incompatible.

As for the equipment will I only need a filter to begin with when I am in my live rock/sand stage? What filter do you recommend for this size of a tank and what other necessary equipment will I need once I start adding corals and fish?

Thanks guys for taking the time to read this and replying

I have some experience with salt water aquariums as I had a 55 gallon and a nano tank. One thing I will tell you are that sea horses are quite difficult as in they can not have a lot of water flow in the tank, where corals and many other salt water fish need flow to do well. I am not quite sure about jelly fish as I have not had any.

A heater and or cooler may be required depending on the temperatures of the area you keep the tank. Most people just keep a heater because the temperature of the tank is normally slightly warmer than what people like inside.

I am not sure that you "need" a filter to cycle a tank, but I have always had one on when I cycled for water movement. You also might want a power head (I think that is what they are called) that creates flow in the tank. If you are planning to put corals in, they need the food to come to them by water motion as they don't really move.

As to the filter.... There are a variety of ways to do this. As to which is best depends on what the tank will become, budget, and preference. You can setup a natural bio filter with plants and a skimmer in a separate 10 gallon aquarium underneath, which is what I went to. I originally started with a basic sit on top filter with carbon cartridges. They also have inline contained filters which allow you to put it out of the way and all you have are 2 pipes coming into the tank.

You will also need a tub of aquarium salt. This too comes in many different varieties. I used coral salt because I had lots of coral.

A water test kit and salinity tester are helpful, or you could just take many trips to the fish store as they normally test water for free.

Lighting varies a lot in quality/style/price.

Price seems to be the restrictor on a lot of things, at least for me it was... If you are planning for lots of coral, be prepared to spend 2,000-4,000 on a decent setup.

Hope I was some help, if you have any more questions, or more specifics just post.

One more thing... The black sand does look really cool... but with fish and everything it often does not stay where it is and gets on your rocks and stuff causing them to look a little off. They also offer live sands at your many fish stores that help jump off the cycling of a tank, along with other "live" cultures in a bottle which can help to.

Hey I appreciate your reply :D So what I am looking at to start off with is a tank, sump, and just a regular ol' fluorescent bulb and I am all set if I am just doing a FOWLR set-up right? Once I move onto coral then I step up my lighting system and add in the power heads right? Or do I need power heads regardless if I have coral in it or not? Now one more question...is coral necessary for some fish or is it just an added bonus for aesthetic looks?

I lied. I have one more Q :D How many fish do you suggest I place in a 75 gallon tank before it is considered crowded (with rock and all)?

Thanks once again for your replies.

Regular bulbs are fine if it is just fish. By sump, I assume you are talking about a full setup including overflow box, sump, and a refugium. Bio balls and a bag of carbon are also good to have in there. The power heads are not "needed" for just fish, but are pretty cheap and don't hurt generally.

Things I think you would need listed:
Aquarium
Stand
Cover
Light
Heater - proper size for the tank
Thermometer
Hydrometer or refractometer
Filter/Sump w/activated carbon and bio balls if you do sump
Protein skimmer <--- not required but I would highly suggest
Marine salt, not aquarium salt I wasn't thinking when I wrote that, aquarium salt is for fresh water
Also look into as someone else put a "clean-up crew" like snails and shrimp and stuff

I don't believe coral is necessary for any fish, not 100 percent, but I haven't heard of any that do. Clown fish really do like it and can be happier with it, but live fine without it.

How many fish really depends on the fish, how many water changes you do/how often/ what percent and how good your filtration system is. 15 small fish are fine and it could be just 1 shark wont even have enough room depending on the shark. Be careful to see that fish go well together.

Other things you will need to know are how to cycle the tank <-- Many different tutorials out there

And how to acclimate fish properly <-- couple different ways

If you are planning on converting to a coral tank I would definitively purchase water that has been through a RO DI filter. Just going off of memory but I believe that is right. I would not suggest using tap water alone. Many fish store have a filter and sell water for pretty cheap. The good filters are normally 250+

Ok, so jellyfish are out, they require a different type of tank, like a cylinder tank. Seahorses should be kept in a seahorse only tank with low flow.
Equipment needed.
Skimmer rated at 2 times your water volume
Heater or Heaters in the 300watt range
Powerheads, these move the water around in the tank.
Refractometer to measure salinity
Live Rock at lease 1.5lbs per gallon, or 10lbs and the rest Lace Rock.
Reef Master water testing kit
Salt
You do not need a filter on the tank at anytime. The live rock and sand bed and skimmer are your filters.
After the water cycles its your choice when to add fish. I would not add corals until your tank is a few months old, so you might want to throw in some fish until then. Lighting for corals will have to be strong, depending on which corals you plan on keeping. SPS and Anemones will need very strong lighting. Softies and LPS not so much but high light nonetheless.
Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums
Jellyfish Aquarium
Sea Horses in Aquariums
Saltwater Reef Aquariums: Live Coral for Saltwater Coral Reef Aquariums

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Hey thanks a lot for this incredible info! I am currently looking at DIY projects for skimmers and such...so man out there. I'll be sure to post pics when I start getting my setup going.

Alright as for a sump I am getting confused on how to get the water cycled so i came up with a quick diagram to see if I got it right. If this is how its done then great! I know what i am doing if not then where can I get a visual on how to set one up if I am going to make it a DIY project?



So basically I have the intake tube which will be gravity feed and suck water out of my aquarium into my sump which then will go through a skimmer and the refugium then get suctioned out at the other end back into my aquarium. Do I got the process down or am I way off? Thanks once more guys I think I am almost ready to get my tank and start my very first aquarium!

I recently saw a video that described it very well... You have it pretty much down but it is pumped back into the tank. You have to also be careful with overflow due to power outages. You have to do tweaking and test runs at max water level to make sure if the power goes out you don't flood ur house.

Drew's Fugue
here are 2 basic setups.

Thats right, you got it correct. No suction for your return, thats done by a pump.
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

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Thanks a lot guy! I plan on getting my tank Saturday and then get the measurements, build my stand, and design my sump! After that i will be ready to do my first cycle and "leak" some pics :D

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The largest single ingredient in a reef system is water. Make sure you either own a good RO/DI unit or you have a reliable source of RO/DI like a trusted LFS. Stability is important and tap water cannot provide that.

There is no way you will support 15 fish safely and humanely in a 75 gallon tank, it will be more like 5 or 6 small to medium sized fish. Remember, you purchase and stock fish considering their full adult size since it should be your goal to keep them for their entire lifespan. I have had many fish live to be 13 yeras old and older and to this day have an anemone and corals that are almost 22 years old in my systems.

Both jellyfish and seahorses are out as they have very specific and different needs and are extremely hard to keep.

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Phew setting this system up is a lot more work then I thought. So just an update.. I have designed and finished my stand (I wish I took some progress shots) Got my 29 gal tank and am wrapping up the design for the sump and am now tasked with figuring out how to plumb my overflow and return. So i will post some pics hopefully tomorrow of the stand and where I am at with the sump and if all goes well I will have it setup in my room by Friday at the latest and my live rock should arrive sometime next week. So my system should be ready to cycle then and will have some fish in it shortly after that :D

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Alright so here are a couple shots of the finished setup! I made the cabinet myself and was going to add some molding and trim but I may do that at a later time because I just wanted it to be done :D I got the DIY sump placed and I will be adding my saltwater/ sand this weekend!

Your last baffle looks alittle high. You need to have enough room so that when you have a power loss, the water form the tank and lines does not overflow the sump.
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

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Yea I actually thought about this last night...i have been looking for auto-off switches that I can add to the pump area so if my overflow ever stops working and the level gets to high in my sump then the switch will shut off my pump so no more water would go into the main tank. i may end up having to build one.

If your power ever goes off, your tank will siphon some water back into the sump, along with what water is still in the lines. You have to drill antisiphon holes into your inlet and return lines so that when the water level in the tank starts to go down, the holes break that siphon and no more water goes into the sump.

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