I Live in Corpus Christi TX and free dive in the area regularly I have checked local regs on collecting fish and have found them to be lenient. I have kept planted freshwater tanks for ages and am thinking about diving into the world of saltwater. I would like to start off with A native saltwater because of the many attractive native fish we have including goby's, damsels, angels, and many others. I was wondering what steps I would take to get this moving I have access to jetty rocks covered in native anemones and algae. So what steps do I take to get this on the move and what new equipment do i need?

I am a total novice when it comes to saltwater

Thanks, Taylor

There are a number of ways you can go and it all depends on what you want to keep how complex you want your system and how big. Obviously the bigger the better. The bigger your tank the more stable, if water evaporates in a salt tank the salt concentrate goes up, so bigger is better. Filtration wise.........im going to say you need a protein skimmer, im trying out another way of filter without a protein skimmer that involves no chemicals and a filter sock. We will see how well that goes. But generally you need a protein skimmer that is really really good. Thats your main filter. Anything else you put in there is dandy. Your jetty rocks will provide biological filteration, and if you want angels......you need 110 gallons or up so they are comfy in there home. To start you would want pretty strong lighting..........for the anemones and algae, along with a sump for added stability. Add your water and equipment let it settle a little bit and cycle and go from there. Its all fun from there.