thinking about starting a 10g or 20g long for the first time...... need help/info on accessories...

[fishfrenzy]

My girlfriend and I are planning out our first SW tank. we have 3 FW tanks and Im getting a 75g bow front tank which i am turning into an african cichlid tank. Anywho over the past yr she keeps falling in love with the oh so pretty SW fish at the stores and want to have a small SW tank so I caved in and said ok. LOL Heres what we have so far. We are going either with a regular 10g or a 20g Long tank. we are going to go with a sand base, some live rock and eventually want to add some corals etc. As for fish we dont really care, once we got the tank stabilized we are going to pick fish that are suitable for the tank. Now what other items do we need to get this thing up and running.

Filters: should we use a HOB or get a protein skimmer?? If a skimmer what size/kind should we get??

Lighting: I was looking at power compact set-ups but wasnt sure how much light we really might need. how many watts should i count on needing with live rock, corals etc??


Should we get some powerheads? how many?

OMG my mind just went blank--------- lol i guess thats what happens at 1 am when ur waiting for a snow storm to hit!! LOL

Anyway, we basically need everything. if y'all could be so kind to kind of make a list and we'll go from there, we'd greatly appreciate it!! also any comments/info would help also!! Thanks in advance!!

[Fishfirst]

Filter - protien skimmer if any... (can get buy with frequent water changes... but I would highly recomend a skimmer for the tank) Berlin or backpack skimmers should be sufficent... seaclone has had some success (just look on what its rated for gallon wise)
Lighting - power compacts work, halides are better... I believe on the 20 gal you might want 24" 2 65 watt bulbs.
Powerheads - Yes get one! this stirs up detritus so your skimmer can take it out of your water.
You will also need a hydrometer, heater, and of coarse sea salt.

may I remind you, saltwater is a lot easier in bigger systems, 10 gallons is harder than 20... I'd get the 20, and get a 10 gallon as a quarentine tank.

[TheOldSalt]

The very first thing to get is a good BOOK.

"The New Marine Aquarium" by Mike Paletta or "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert (Bob) Fenner would be very good choices.

These are both very good, very useful, and pretty cheap. Either one will save you a lot of hassle and expense.