Thanks for the advice, gonna take this as slow as I can, been lurking here before Christmas last year learning the ropes. There is so much information in this hobby its insane, but thoroughly been enjoying this from a technical perspective.
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Thanks for the advice, gonna take this as slow as I can, been lurking here before Christmas last year learning the ropes. There is so much information in this hobby its insane, but thoroughly been enjoying this from a technical perspective.
No I don't really have a specific fish in mind. Although the more research I do the more I get interested and may develop some wants. I really like the color of tangs and size of some tangs but I heard they are not a beginner fish and can be really aggressive.If you have specific fish that you want it will also dictate the size tank you will need. The smaller the tank, the more limited options you will have. This isn't a problem if you don't have strong preferences. Another huge consideration to consider is water changes. Consistent water changes are keys to successful tanks. The bigger the tank the more water to change. This isn't a problem at the beginning but has been a big reason others have failed in this hobby over time.
Definitely stay within your budget for the tank itself because most of the expansive stuff comes after with all the equipment you'll be buying. If you're new to the hobby, you don't want to end of spending $6-10K and end up not liking the hobby and having to waste a lot of money on it.
But if you're serious and willing to work hard at it then I would say minimum 80-125Gallons. At that size you have most options for fish and water changes are only about 10 gallons/week, which is very manageable.
Hope that helps.
Most of us are using Brute trash cans with wheels and pump water in and out of the display tank with a pump. if you're new to all this I would not even think about auto-water change and all that. You also need a lot of equipment to automate all that stuff and a lot can go wrong. These are all things you need to consider. Like where are you going to store fresh saltwater and how much space you have for equipment and things.No I don't really have a specific fish in mind. Although the more research I do the more I get interested and may develop some wants. I really like the color of tangs and size of some tangs but I heard they are not a beginner fish and can be really aggressive.
Quick question regarding water changes. How do people do water changes at the larger tank sizes? %10 of 200 gallons is 20 gallon of water. I have seen some Auto water change systems but I guess that with a certain size big these AWC becomes somewhat of must have? I fortunately have a strict water change schedule on my planted tank and don't let anything distract me from doing it first thing in the morning. I hope to transfer that to the reef world
Yes set up cost is ridiculous, but saves money down the road to go big. I for one wanted bigger but live in a small box myself so I had to go 10 gal to start. I love it, but ive made typical rookie mistakes , so I do anywhere from a 20 to 40% water change every 3 days right now to keep at a perfect balance. NOTE RESEARCH EVERY ITEM BEFORE BUYING!!! Freaking petco got my with the spontaneous purchase of a hatian pink tip anenome. 10 min at home and it was smh, needless to say if I do succeed with it I will need to upgrade this year already.Yeah what put me down the most was the complications and the cost of all those equipment for the bigger tanks, protein skimmers, rollers, reactors, UV sterilizers, and high tech dosing systems, ATO and water change systems. I mean I do wanna get to familiarize my self with them, but frankly I have no idea if I "need" this piece of equipment or not. I realized something that is obvious around here, but everyone does their tank somewhat differently. Everyone has their own way of doing things even down to needing certain pieces of equipment or not.
So you are saying just go big and upgrade as I go?
yeah you bring a very valid point, I dont even wanna stock in day 1 or month 1 even If wanted. I wanna take it slow and get to understand the basics a bit.
i started off with a 13.5 gallon nano (fluval evo) and yes it was harder to keep stable than a larger tank but i think the pros out weigh the cons. it is WAYY cheaper and you can learn the hobby without losing a trillion dollars if the tank crashes. also maintence is so incredibly easy. the tank is small enough that one 5 gallon jug for a water change is more than enough and a 5 gallon jug of RODI lasts forever for ATO. If you need to remove a fish or move stuff around its not a wild goose chase and everything is easily accessible. also the fact that the fluval 13.5 is a penisula is awesome, i didn't realize how much i like the peninsula style until i got a new tank thats a lagoon but the fluval 13.5 is a truly beautiful tank, rimless peninsula is the way to go. also theres a billion people out there with a fluval evo so there are known and tested upgrades that dont require a bunch of research or trial and error. usually bigger is better but if i were to reccomend a tank to a beginner it would be a fluval evo 13.5. big enough that you can have some nano fish and load it with corals (i had pair of clowns, hog fish, six line, goby, mandarin, fire shrimp) and small enough that maintence is such a breeze. also nano tanks just look beautiful IMO.Hello everyone! I am excited to join this forums after lurking and reading for months. I apologize if this is a repetitive question, but I didn't really the exact answer I want. Also I want to pick the brains of seasoned reefers to steer me in the right direction.
Here's my dilemma. Read a lot about avoiding smaller tanks and issues with unstable water parameters. Also I don't want to repeat my mistake of the fresh water hobby, I started with a 10 gallon and wanted to upgrade like a month after. So for the salt water tank I don't wanna spend the money on like 3 sizes of tanks and upgrading the equipment over and over again. Buying the best option right now will be cheaper than buying 2-3 variations of equipment down the line. I am gonna skip to the larger size first. Does that make sense? I agree with most people here on the consensus on starting with the biggest tank possible.
BUT! I am arguing with my self. I wanted to start big (when I mean big I mean like 100+ gallons) but I was hesitant here's why:
1- I am afraid of starting something too big for my skill level and becoming overwhelmed with the amount of maintenance and difficulty. My background comes from freshwater planted tanks which their maintenance is extremely simple compared to reefing. I've read times and times how the reefing hobby can be notoriously difficult sometimes and I don't want to overwhelm my self. Just watching the BRS reefing for beginners there was ALOT of information to take in.
2- Financial reasons, let me preface this explanation by saying that I won't get into this hobby if I can't afford it. Although I still feel nervous starting a big tank with TONS of corals, I mean how many corals do I need to fill a 120 gallon tank? A simple beginner mistake will cost me quite a bit, and that's what scaring me about the hobby. I heard stories about tanks crashing and folks losing thousands worth of corals and hard work by people with years of experience. I feel like I wanna mess around and do mistakes in a smaller tank so I can gain confidence and most importantly understanding on whats happening in a reef tank by actual hands on experience.
3- Moving? I am not planning on moving anytime soon , but you don't know where life takes you. I feel like setting up and big tank is like a 5 year commitment minimum. It would feel really bad having to sell everything after a year or so with a definite loss. I would feel more comfortable being able to sell a smaller tank if I was forced, not that I am planning on it.
But still after all this I feel itching to start a big tank.. I am confused what do you guys think? Take it slow and practice with a smaller tank as my first reef tank without the long term commitment, money, and effort-wise and upgrade later? or just build the dream big tank currently and build on the final vision right now? I asked this question some months ago to my self I decided I want a larger size tank (100 gallons to 200 gallons.) So I said Ill just wait for the right time for this project, but now I am thinking, Why am I limiting my self to no tank at all or big tank, I could start something small (like a 40 gallon breeder) and gain tremendous amounts of experience for the later big dream tank.
Sorry this post is an extreme example of my overthinking..
I second this, at least to consider, but I like shorter (height) tanks. (I think the 60B is same footprint as standard 75, just shorter).If I were new to the hobby I wish someone told me about a 60 breeder with 40 breeder sump. They have ideal dimensions for beginners and both make great sumps for larger tank upgrades.