30 gal saltwater tank in the making with no experience
 

Right now I am the owner of an empty 30 gal tank that used to be fresh. I want to make this a salt water tank with live rock, live sand, and fish no coral (fowler i believe). many questions that my pet store has taken me in circles with...

first off if I am doing the live rock I need approx 30LBS? but how much live sand? is all this too much live?

Secondly with the live rock and sand is a filter necessary? or just a skimmer?

thirdly besides those items do i need a power head or anything else of equipment?

can a heater and chiller run be hooked up at the same time?

any help would be soo appreciated!! thanks in advance!

Sincerly,
absolutly lost.. ;-)

the cheapest thing... is the tank :wink:
my best advice is to read.
i would go with 40 maybe even 50 pounds of live rock (see what 40 looks like), 4-6 inches of sand, a sump if you can with skimmer no filters. a heater and chiller can both be hooked up and a sump is good for hiding equipment. i suggest a hydor K for a powerhead.
look around your area for a local reefing club. you meet people and pick up used stuff cheap.
keep reading.
welcome to the forum.

I agree. The basics of every marine aquarium will be the live rock, live sand, and protein skimmer. On a 30 gallon tank you may not want to get into the expense of a sump, but the benefits are worth the cost if you have the budget. If costs are a concern, then there are plenty of high quality hang on skimmers that can do a great job on a 30 gallon marine aquarium.

I would also strongly suggest using a UV Sterilizer, and of course, you need to set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank as well.

A chiller is generally an advanced piece of equipment. Why do you feel the need?

ten gal quarentine tank? I haven't heard about setting one of those up anywhere...what for?

and the chiller is due to living in south florida and the tank being in an unairconditioned room with the hot summer coming probably will need one.

If you haven't heard anything, it is only because you have not read deep enough or had deep enough conversations. A quarantine tank is one of the most essential factors of marine aquarium success.

All new fish need to be isolated for a period of 3 weeks prior to being added to the display tank.

quarantining is a 75% must on a system with LR. a 99.9999999% must on a system with corals. i can't say 100% because there's always that person that can run their tank without it. those people are extremely lucky. its quite simple-all u need is a 10gal tank, a cover, any light that u can observe the fish well in, a small heater, a sponge filter w/ air pump, and a stick-on thermometer. for your list of equipment, i would say:
coralife super skimmer
eheim jagar heater 150W
aquaclear power filter-to be made into a DIY fuge
desktop lampw/hang-on clip (part of DIY fuge)
API test kits for high-range pH, ammonia, nitrite,nitrate, calcium, carbonate hardness
red sea test kit for magnesium
seachem reef
1 hydor koralia #2 powerhead
40lbs of live rock
30lbs or more of arogonite sand-don't waste your money on live sand
regular stocklight hood(will need upgrade if u plan on going reef)