• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

My first salt water

SCE_Thor

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Jun 28, 2008
Messages
1
I'm remodeling my basement. I have a 75gln tank recessed into the wall between the family room and a room that will be an office. The tank in the office will be enclosed in what will appear to be a closet. The adjoining room is the utility room. I'm thinking about running water supply as well as a drain to the closet to assist in maintaining the tank. I will have a double gang GFCI outlet in with the tank for the power supply issues.

The question is, Am I overlooking something that I may want to include now as to oppose to later?

Also I would like to have live rock. Do I need to set the tank up with salt water and base gravel before introducing the live rock?

lastly what is a good resource for salt water beginners?

I want to set this up to be a smooth and fluid as possible so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor.
 
SCE_Thor;120956 said:
I'm remodeling my basement. I have a 75gln tank recessed into the wall between the family room and a room that will be an office. The tank in the office will be enclosed in what will appear to be a closet. The adjoining room is the utility room. I'm thinking about running water supply as well as a drain to the closet to assist in maintaining the tank. I will have a double gang GFCI outlet in with the tank for the power supply issues.

The question is, Am I overlooking something that I may want to include now as to oppose to later?

Also I would like to have live rock. Do I need to set the tank up with salt water and base gravel before introducing the live rock?

lastly what is a good resource for salt water beginners?

I want to set this up to be a smooth and fluid as possible so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor.

:welcome: to TONMO! One thing that comes to mind is that planning for a sump and the related plumbing is good to do from the start. Also, if you're thinking of an octo eventually, planning the overflows and such for octoproofing is a good idea, too. Those are the main things I can think of that are hard to retrofit.

Usually the live rock is included as part of the cycling, so getting I think getting it in early on is a good idea, but wait for confirmation from the experts on that one. There's a book Thales recommends, but I can't think of what it is off the top of my head.
 
The book that helped me get everything straight at the beginning of my saltwater endeavor was (and still is) The Complete Encyclopedia of the Saltwater Aquarium, by Nick Dakin. Its got EVERYTHING! Its a huge, red hardcover book, it covers everythin from biology, setup step-bystep guides, tips for selecting specimens, ideas for tank layouts, feeding guides............not to mention writeups and full color pictures of over 400 marine fish and inverts. They even have a decent cephalopod section!
 
when i was starting out with saltwater tanks i went out and got a copy of "saltwater aquariums for dummies". it helped me a lot. and it was pretty cheap too.
 
The two books I found very helpful and informative when I was starting out were "The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide" by Michael S. Paletta and "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists" by Robert M. Fenner.
 
You may want to consider setting up an RO/DI unit in your closet (you will need the drain) and shelving/drawers/pegboard (my favorite and it can be placed on any wall and utilize wasted space above the work area) for filtration and RO/DI supplies. If you can fit it, a wash tub (sink - even a small bar sink) it would be helpful.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top