New- To salt or not to salt?

36 is fine for the first time to salt.

You've had freshwater experience, so you're already know the basics. Grab The New Marine Aquarium or Nano Reef Handbook. Something that will tell you a little more about salt. The big difference is the live rock and salinity.

And ask questions. I've only been doing salt for a year, I too jumped from freshwater. But I did read for a long time before I did set up my tank.

 

Yes do some reading and here is a new publication from GIRS to get ya started. And like was mentioned by Reefer keep asking questions. We are here to help.
http://www.greateriowareefsociety.o...ochure.pdf

 

#1 suggestion is read read read and don't ever be afraid to ask questions, there is no such thing as a stupid questions on this site. Take your your time and the rewards far outweigh the headaches.. Good Luck.. Take the plunge you will love it..

 

First off, welcome to GIRS!
I can give the perspective from someone who had very limited experience with freshwater before switching to salt.   I would say that if you are accustomed to all of the husbandry that goes along with keeping a freshwater tank, you will have little trouble running a salt tank.   It's true that there will be a few new parameters you need to keep an eye on (salinity, calcium, etc) but the technology and knowledge about saltwater tanks has improved a lot over the last few years making keeping a saltwater tanks pretty easy to manage.   In fact, I would go as far as to say that in certain circumstances, saltwater tanks can be a lot easier than freshwater because the entire nitrogen cycle can be managed naturally.
Of course, it all depends on what you are trying to do.   If you want to keep a 36 with some soft corals and a few non-aggressive fish, you will be able to do so with out much trouble or expense.   However, (and I'm sure this is true in freshwater as well) certain things have much higher requirements than others.   SPS (small polyp stony) corals have much higher lighting and water quality needs than do softies.   Therefore, if you decide you want an SPS tank, you are going to have to buy more expensive lighting and either be very vigilant about water changes or have a much more elaborate filtration system.   Likewise, if you want to keep big messy aggressive fish (eels, lionfish, triggers, puffers, etc) you are going to have the potential for water quality issues as well.
I think the bottom line is that if you have reasonable expectations for what you want to keep and you have been successful in keeping freshwater tanks, there is no reason why you shouldn't be successful in salt.
BE WARNED THOUGH!   Saltwater tanks (Reef tanks in particular) are hyper-addictive.   Because there are so many types of organisms that show up in the tank (many of which you won't have added yourself) they can be mesmerizing to watch as they mature from "new tank" to "mature tank".
I hope that helps!
P.S.   One of the first things your going to want to decide on when setting up your 36 is whether or not you want to run a sump.   If there is a way you can setup a sump (even a small 10 gallon one) I would recommend doing so vs using canister filters.   If you do decide you want a sump (assuming your 36 is not reef ready) you way want to consider having it drilled to avoid problems with siphon based overflows.   The other thing I would recommend is looking for a decent skimmer that will work on your system.   The protein skimmer is probably the most important piece of equipment you can have when it comes to filtration.

 

I think that post alone was worth the 20 bucks to become a member.

 

Welcome, I think JB has summed it well. This club has a great group of people with years of knowledge, so do your self a favor and ask allot of questions we're here to help.

 

Angelbethany- Welcome to the reef addiction! Hey random question, did you used to post up on Dragsource under the same name? Drive a neon r/t if I recall?

 

My first saltwater tank is/was a 12 gallon nano.  With the smaller tanks, you just need to stay more on top of your water changes.  I was following a thread a while back on Nano-Reef where a guy had an absolutely amazing nano with softies and some LPS.  His #1 piece of advice for his success?  Regular water changes.  He didn't even have a skimmer.  Now that's not to discount the importance of a skimmer, rather to emphasise the importance of regular water changes.  When I don't do them on my tank, I can notice it.  Cyano starts to bloom, polpys don't open as much, etc.  When I do, then things are much happier.  36 is do-able.
Oh, and welcome to the site!  I hope we are able to provide the information that you need to be successful in the hobby.
--AJ