To start, or not to start... a reef tank.

[besces]

Hello all,

What are some good information sources for deciding whether or not to start a reef tank? Cost, equipment list (I have an 80 gallon tank and all freshwater supplies), logistical and time considerations, etc.
Thank you so much in advance! Any advice is also welcome.

Bryan

55g African cichlid
20g African cichlid
45g community
80g ????

[Gemini]

Have a read through some of the threads that people have started in the saltwater thread.
Read through the stickys in the saltwater section.
Saltwater is NOT something to jump into - you need to do months of research first to ensure you get a great marine tank. It also takes over a year for a salt water tank to mature.

[dgoulston]

had my marine nano for 1 year now, and never had a problem with it.

BUT, only because i did my reserch first (mainly on ultimatereef.net ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])) which is the forum i use for my marine aquarium, and this one for my tropical.

And its very expensive hobby. so make sure you are in for the long run, becuase you will be looking at prob at least £500 setup for a 18G nano. and the bigger u go the more it costs. so depends what kind of size marine tank u want.

also think if u want just fish or coral etc...
marine fish cost on average (£25-60) (can cost upwards to £2000 lol depending on the fish)
corals cost (£10-100) (agian u can pay more for special ones)
LiveRock is about £10 per kilo (for the good stuff, and u want the good stuff) and u need approx 1K per G on average. (i have 10K in my 18G)

And it takes constant maintance.

I have my Trop tank as well, and that one i just clean the filter once a month and feed them.. (with the water change now and agian) and thats it.

whereas my marine tank takes daily maintance..

D.

[travie]

A 55g or above tank is a good choice for your first reef. I would suggest buying a book or two and researching on the Internet for a good month or two before you starting buying equipment or setting up a tank.

Do not go low quality/cheap on equipment. Low quality/cheap will only end bad. Shop around for great deals, but make sure quality is up excellent.

Lighting, wave makers (or anything to make a flow), protein skimmer, and live rock, are the four main items that should be the best quality to help success.

[dgoulston]

A 55g or above tank is a good choice for your first reef. I would suggest buying a book or two and researching on the Internet for a good month or two before you starting buying equipment or setting up a tank.

Do not go low quality/cheap on equipment. Low quality/cheap will only end bad. Shop around for great deals, but make sure quality is up excellent.

Lighting, wave makers (or anything to make a flow), protein skimmer, and live rock, are the four main items that should be the best quality to help success.

totally agree with all the above,. its an expensive hobby so there is no cheap route, by buying cheap equiptment, will cost u more in the long run with loss of livestock, which is just simply not right!

[Miltonic]

I suggest that if you have the money and do the research to start into the hobby, it ill be a great experience. Im in the process of starting my reef tank and have done lots of research and now im buying the equipment needed. YOu could read some of the threads i started so ou can get an idea.

Read this ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

and

this. ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Those threads have excellent advice members have given me and will give you an insight on what you'll be getting into.

[besces]

Thank you for the advice, I will begin my research!

[The Wedge]

Take the trip...just prepare yourself for the journey. Don't fight it...or resist it...just go with the flow. thumbs2:

[Rue]

Also read ILuvMyGoldBarb's sticky...

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I agree you need to do your research. No two ways about that.

However, SW can be as simple (a relative term) or complicated as you want to make it.

I have very little interest in the mechanics of a SW tank. I'm plumbing-phobic and light-challenged. I'm interested in the biology of the reef tank, of the inverts in particular, less so in which clamp fits best on which type of vinyl tubing.

I opted for an 'all-in-one' system. I'm also in the process of setting up a frag tank based on the all-in-one system. The mechanics are essentially looked after for me. I basically understand how it all works, but thankfully don't have to fuss overly much with any of the components.

Even so, I'm learning more about the mechanics as I go along, but I'm happy I was able to start without having knowing very much.

However, with an 80g system you HAVE to be knowledgable about the mechanics, you don't have the all-in-one system option. In one way it is a better system, you have more options open to you.

****If I were to upgrade to a larger tank I would incorporate a refugium - within a large sump system - right away.