Horrors pros/cons and journal.

[HorrorShowRot]

All right so today I went to big Alls and saw a beatiful tank a 200 gallon tank. Now I have been researching salt water tanks on and off for a few months now. And just seeing the SW inverts and fish in the tanks at the stores just strikes me as fascinating. I know that they are more expensive then a FW but hell. I figure even on a low budget if you save up you can run one? Now heres a list of pros/cons

FW
Pros
Have all the necessary equipment.
Doesnt need high powered lights.
Less work.
Tap water works with declorinator.
Not as pricey

Cons
No amazing fish/corals and I can go on.
Same old drab tank.
Not as eyedropping for guests and such;)


SW

Pros
Beatiful.
Concept of having a reef in my house amazes me.
Cool fish/verts etc
Dont have to travel to cuba etc just to see these beaties

Cons
Pricey
Harder to maintain
Will need an RO system.
Not sure what i am doing.XD


And now If I were to set up a tank what necessary equipment do I need. I will be getting a large protein skimmer but how do they work? And I notice in lots of SW tanks theres the overflow to the sump why is that? Do i need it?

[MCHRKiller]

lol, may want to consider a smaller tank for your first SW...55-90G is perfect. I spent over $1800 on a halfdone 15G reef...before the epic poweroutage of '09...reefs also dont get much cheaper the larger they get. Average price is around $100 per gallon. :22:

[Lab_Rat]

If you have the cash to drop on it and you've really done your research, it would be awesome to have that big of a reef tank. Of course that's if you've really done your research...

[HorrorShowRot]

Hm.. Well from what I have researched having a larger tanks help with the water quality?

[HorrorShowRot]

Lab I dont plan on starting this year or next year for that matter:P. I am actually afraid to start it I want to learn everything and anything about SW before I get my hands wet. And I will start of with just live rock and anenomes and such then add fish slowly.

[MCHRKiller]

Larger is more stable, but this large for your first reef will also be overwhelming. Not to mention the $10K startup cost is a bit extreme for a first attempt. Something a bit smaller will be more manageable for you and less expensive.

Anenomes are some of the more difficult creatures to properly keep in an aquarium, they are filter feeders which require extremely intense lighting and ample food source. Sure an aiptasia or some invasive pest species are unkillable but the nice show worth anenomes are just as needy as coral. A FOWLR would be an easier start IMO.

[HorrorShowRot]

Allrighty. Well have any reading material that you would highly recomend?

[MCHRKiller]

The Reef Aquarium series(#1 pick)
The Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums(great intro)

and anything else you can get your hands on, a good marine fish atlas would be excellent...Marine Fishes and Reef Aquarium Fishes are both good choices and fairly inexpensive.