[finding-nemo]

Hi all
I am in the process of setting up a new tank which was used as a freshwater tank the tank is only a 25g tank it as been scrubed I have changed the bulb to a T5 daylight bulb, after talking to a few of the local shops the keep saying that I HAVE to have a skimmer I HAVE to have a sump tank I HAVE to have a 80gallon external filter etc etc etc all of which is the expensive route. Now 1 guy said its only a small tank all you need is....
- an internal filter £25/$50 approx
- live coral sand £10/$20 approx
- ready made salt water (I'm not at the stage for making my own yet still new to saltwater)£10/$20 approx for 50ltr
-and finally puragen not sure on that price yet

Now once I get more experience then I will be going down the road with sump tanks skimmers etc but until I know I can maintain a healthy tank I dont want to spend a massive amount of cash (being in the uk things aint cheep).
What do you guys think

[Future]

Never take a shop's (LFS) word with anything more than a grain of salt. If they can convince you that you NEED something, then they'll be able to sucker in another person who doesn't research and do homework.

Now it isn't needed, but a skimmer is a wonderful thing to have. I bought a tiny nano in-tank skimmer for $15usd and every time I clean it, there is always some nasty stuff in it. Not a lot, because the tank is small, but enough to make a difference.

The sump isn't a needed item, but it helps with what you plan on having as livestock. I've come to the conclusion that a refugium is a great investment as to help with water readings, but this is easily fixed by making your own for pennies.

Anyway my thoughts being said, you don't want to blow all your cash on expencive stuff straight off the line. That's great and respectable, so start off with a FOWLR set-up and here is all the information you'll need to get that going Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

[The R/C Man]

Hey!

My tank is a 25 gallon reef. So where to begin? Well, for a sump I used a 10 gallon aquarium which I added a couple baffles to. After a leak in that one I upgraded to a 20 gallon long as the sump/refugium to increase the systems water volume a bit. Either of these tanks are inexpensive and easy to convert. My return pump of choice is a Mag 7. As for the skimmer, I believe this is probably the most important piece of equipment on a reef or FOWLR tank. Reason being is that it physically removes dissolved organics from the water column before they are converted into nitrates and ammonia. I use an AquaC Remora for this job. Unfortunately skimmers are a little bit expensive but this is not a piece of equipment you should skimp on. The hobby as whole when everything is purchased retail can get bit expensive. So my advice is to wait and save a little cash so you can buy the proper equipment so will only need to do so once. I see so many people buy cheaper (which usually equals improper or inadequate) equipment and need to upgrade shortly after which means they wasted the money they spent on the first item.

1. Internal filter - don't do it! Live rock, a deep sand bed and a protein skimmer will be all the filtration you need.
2. Live sand? - If it is in a bag with water and labeled as "live" don't waste your money. Its not live! Just pick up some Aragonite Oolitic sand. It needs to be .2 - 1mm. You'll want 3-4" worth.
3. Salt water is easy to mix yourself. Just use a clean 5 gallon bucket and drop in a small power head and a heater. The salt is always added to the water not the other way around. You should let the water mix over night. You may want to buy the RO/DI water from the fish store though. This will save you money on the unit for now.

I hope that helped a bit. Keep the questions coming.