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I am about 8/10 happy. I have a couple of fish that are halfway through QT, knock on wood they will join the tank at the end of the month, and the problems I have will be correct by another reef tank that I hope to get going by the end of the month as well. If you're not happy with your reef start another one! - That probably isn't the best advice but in this case it works for me
Voted no simply because my tank is a figment of my imagination and the hobby is, otherwise, just too expensive to get started in. Near as I can figure, a system that one can hope to enjoy modest success with and hope to have a chance of avoiding crashing starts at about $1000 (without livestock) and quickly goes up from there.
Definitely not a hobby for a lower/middle class income household IMHO.
This confuses me as keeping coral in a vase is as simple as water changes and a 30 dollar par bulb. I was really poor when I started this hobby and no way I came even close to 1000 on a tank and it ran beautifully. It was a petco 40 breeder and Chinese black box and koralias I bought both used.
Anyways I voted happy...not everything is perfect yet but it's all going in the right direction and coral seem to look better every day. That is good enough for me.
Your comment makes me realize I likely need to look more into the attainability of a stable system. When I start looking into it at any length, all I see is tank, power heads, pumps, led/halide lights, protein skimmers, fuges, carbon/gfo reactors, kalk/calcium reactor, chems for cycling a tank and establishing nitrifying bacteria, salt, live sand, live rock, chem tests to check nutrient levels, etc. and then, of course, all of the beautiful coral, fish and inverts!
Maybe keeping coral can be as simple and affordable as a vase, water changes and a $30 PAR bulb (are there any links I can have a look at that showcase people's success with such a modest setup?), but everything I've seen for a starter AIO reef tank on BRS or some other supplier's website start at around $600 and that seems to be rather barebones from all of the "standard equipment" I see on the majority of people's builds.
Any other experienced reefers care to chime in on any misunderstanding I have? Can an enjoyable, rewarding and stable reef system be setup for no more than the cost of a vase, a $30 PAR bulb and regular water changes?
Thanks for any input folks!
You read my mind. I'm trying to keep up with Lasse, on his photography, and I cant, crap, yeah crap.what I'm most unhappy with is my reef photography. Its crap!
Its just too hard !!!! :mad:You read my mind. I'm trying to keep up with Lasse, on his photography, and I cant, crap, yeah crap.
This is actually really awesome news. Thanks to the both of you for the feedback. I really had no idea that the hobby could actually be affordable while still managing to be enjoyable. I think it's easy to conclude people have all of the bells and whistles because that's how they avoid a crash that's going to cost hundreds of dollars worth of livestock. I was under the impression that beginners are often dissuaded from nano or pico tanks because of the precarious balance of water quality and likelihood of a crash.I definitely second @Tamberav 's comment!
The reef tank I had before my current one was a $50 3.7 gallon pico tank from Petco with a bag of activated carbon that I swapped every few weeks, a $20 heater, $20 powerhead, $30 of live rock and sand, and a light. I sprung for a $200 AI Prime, but I ended up having to dim it way down over that tank so a $30 PAR 30 bulb would have honestly worked just as well. Still, a light is a nice place to splurge a little for a little extra control (like spectrum and dimming so you can tweak it as you add different types of corals. My only real filtration beyond the carbon was a 2 gallon weekly water change done with two gallons of distilled water from the grocery store ($2) and about $1 worth of salt. It worked great. Pico tanks are a great starting point because you can easily correct problems with a quick 90% water change and "reset" things any time you want.
Why not just get Berghia and be happy? I made one call to reeftown to find that happiness.I said no, aiptasia...