A few more ?`s

Salt. My first 3 years all I did was a water change every 2 months and everything thrived. Then I started putting iodine, extra calcium and other junk in my tank and stuff didnt do so good. Now I went back to changing water every two weeks and not adding anything and its going great again. Try not to do too much from the get go. Add little by little. Dont take short cuts or go cheap. In this hobby you get what you pay for. And for qting fish have a different tank and keep new fish in it before introducing them to your main tank. You can keep copper on hand, But read the instructions will kill inverts.

 

I have to agree with jstngates on the cheap route. In this hobby nothing rings truer than you get what you pay for. You end up spending more in the end if you don't do it right the first time,(coming from expensive experiences) I whole heartedly believe in QT tanks for all new specimens being introduced to your system. That would be the best way of keeping unwanted diseases out of your display tank. Take it slow and don't do too much too fast and you should have a good experience. And ask lots of questions on this thread. There are tons of people with years of knowledge that can prevent you from going through alot of pain. You have to filter everything and do your own research as well to make sure what you are doing is best for your system. I did not see your RO post but if you are doing a RO system I must say you need DI chamber as well. I am fighting algae right now and I wiould almost bet my setup on my water being the main culprit. Good luck and have fun setting up the system.

 

Yeah, salt. I've found it's challenging to have enough of it around.

And I agree that you get what you pay for...within certain boundries. I set up a cheapish ATO that works great for my set up. The most expensive thing I bought for it was the Eshopps float valve. I wanted to go gravity fed and that has worked great for me. Otherwise, a sturdy storage bin and a few inexpensive plumbing parts and I was golden. Well, it did take some futzing, but that's part of the fun.

Here are the things I think you can't cheap on:

1. Skimmer. Buy the best one you can possibly afford. Some might say if you can't afford to buy a good one you might as well not try. I would agree. I had a cheaper skimmer for a while and it was not a positive experience. Now, I didn't go crazy when I bought a better one. I ended up getting a good deal on and Eshopps cone skimmer and it has worked reall well for me. Some would say it's cheap. But it isn't. It's cheaper, but not cheap.

2. Return pumps. Buy something that's well known for being reliable. Again, it doesn't have to be the best ever, but do some internet research and find one that's got a good rep for reliability. I have a Marineland pump on my tank right now and it has been working great. It's not the best in the world, but it's reliable.

3. LIGHTING. This is, in my limited experience, the one area where cheaper is not better. Ever. Might not be as big a deal in a FOWLER tank, but lighting is not only important to the tank, it's important to the enjoyment of the tank.



Anyway, maybe this is more than what you were asking for, but my few cents anyway.

 

I think dead fish is right on track.

Lighting is an interesting topic, for so many years with coral everyone wanted brighter and brighter. With the lights now you really don't need to spring for over the top, my stock biocube 14 PC's bleached two brain coral due to the intensity - I know because the coral was angled and the area facing the light bleached. I see many people replacing those lights for LED and just having LPS - not much reason imo, just the old idea that every light needs to be more intense. My coral has now recovered, but my point is that while you don't want something really cheap you don't need to go over the top, even for coral. T5 for fish only gives nice color and will grow coraline well. If you can get an expandable fixture you can add to them for coral if you ever desire.

Additives? None, just change your water. Medication to keep for a QT tank? I would say a copper solution for ich if needed.

 

Agree with taking it slow. With my first tank I went way to fast and ended up getting ick and lost most my fish. I ended up getting out of the hobby because of it. Two years ago I got back in and decided to take it slow and it's paid off.