What equipment is needed for a saltwater tank?

The choice of equipment is one of the fundamental steps for the success of this hobby. This post is a small introduction and wants to help people to carefully select the right and “sized” equipment  for the reef tanks. I will try to stay at a high level in order to give you a complete overview. I will try later, with other post to go into detail in the individual topics.    When you decide to start this hobby it is very important to answer first what are the animals you would like to keep in your marine aquarium. Animals obviously influence the choice of tank, equipment and methodology as they have different needs and the answer to this important question allows you to understand what kind of tank and equipment will be needed to start this fantastic hobby.   There are various methods used to mange the saltwater tank , but in order to simplify this topic , I consider only two :  

• DSB (Deep Sand Bed) Method (DSB introduction)

• Berlin Method (Berlin Method Introduction)

  In order to have an introduction to these two method, please have look in the link above.   After the decision about which animal have and the method, it is time to decide the tank size. Please, not underestimate an important point : the support. Even more important than the design is the fact that the support must be created with the purpose of supporting a heavy weight.  Safety is the first thing.    

                       

    The tank must be open in order to allow gas exchanges and of course I recommend use the sump.     The Sump is nothing more than another tank, usually positioned under the main tank, where most of the equipment find space. (See the photo below, regardless of the chaos of the cables in the left side 🙂 )  

  The water arrives from the main tank to the Sump by overflow, from this, through a return pump present in the sump, it returns to the main tank. Based on the tank size, the whole equipment will be chosen (eg. Skimmer, Light).   This in order to allow a very useful exchange between the tank and the sump. This exchange  between the tank and sump  should be three/four times the volume of water in the tank. Of course we should also have a skimmer capable of working this quantity of water.   If you want “big” fish that need space to swim, you should consider a tank of at least 120/150 cm in length.  In case you want to use the DSB method, you need a tank with 60 cm high. About the Tank depth, I recommend having a tank at least 55/60 cm deep. This is to allow you to create a useful rock.  

               

    To choose which protein skimmer is correct for your tank, you must evaluate the water that is treated and the management method. With the DSB you can focus on a less performing skimmer than one needed in the Berlin method. You can choose the skimmer based on the total water volume of your tank with the manufacturer recommended tank size that comes with the skimmer. Each skimmer has a tank size rating / range that will allow you to figure out which one is right for your tank. Remember that the manufacturer’s estimates are very generous.  

  At this point that you know:  the animals, the size of the tank you can choose the lighting. I am quite in favor of T5 tube (yes I love to be old school and to be honest because I don’t have much experience with LEDs). For this reason, in this small introduction I do not consider the LEDs but only the T5 tubes.   Withe the T5 tube ,it is possible to make this type of association  : Watt -> Tank size.

• · 24 Watt, it will be fine for a tank long 80cm .
• · 39 Watt,it will be fine for a tank long 100cm
• · 54 Watt, it will be fine for a tank long 120cm .
• · 80 Watt, it will be fine for a tank long 150cm .

        Other basic things not to forget are the movement pumps and a system that produces osmotic water (water with good quality is mandatory). This post of course is just a basic introduction to this complicated topic. For any further info, questions I am always available.                  

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