Beginner Saltwater Tank Start up

[Faithy]

Hello Everyone, so I currently do not have a saltwater tank and have been doing months of research on the type of fish and corals I will be starting with as a beginner along with equipment necessary, etc. I wanted to just going all out with the top of the line equipment for lighting, auto dosing, ATO, checking water parameters, and getting a Waterbox AIO 50.3 but my mind is telling me to start on the low end of the budget as a beginner.

Any suggestions on if I should just start off with a budget tank and what equipment I should start off with? The end result would be to house 2 clownfish, watchman goby, pistol shrimp, yellow clown goby, fire shrimp, orchid dottyback(maybe not since it’s semi-aggressive), bubble tip anemone, 3-4 types of zoanthids, And some lps corals along the way.

 

[Beau_B]

If you are sure about the size tank you want (most end up going larger, myself included) then definitely get the tank you want.

Lighting is important both for coral growth and visuals... so that’s a good thing to spend on. Highly recommend going in person to see various options if you can. Sometimes, for instance needing 2 fixtures for a 3’ tank, you can get half of it now, buy the other later when corals demand it.

Same for dosing/autotesting... you won’t need it for months so that can wait.

I’m a proponent of buying good stuff once rather than low end and needing (wanting) to upgrade later. Some things don’t need to be high end, but as you research I think you can figure out what is important to go quality on.

 

[scott11106]

Hello Everyone, so I currently do not have a saltwater tank and have been doing months of research on the type of fish and corals I will be starting with as a beginner along with equipment necessary, etc. I wanted to just going all out with the top of the line equipment for lighting, auto dosing, ATO, checking water parameters, and getting a Waterbox AIO 50.3 but my mind is telling me to start on the low end of the budget as a beginner.

Any suggestions on if I should just start off with a budget tank and what equipment I should start off with? The end result would be to house 2 clownfish, watchman goby, pistol shrimp, yellow clown goby, fire shrimp, orchid dottyback(maybe not since it’s semi-aggressive), bubble tip anemone, 3-4 types of zoanthids, And some lps corals along the way.

there are many ways to do it and there is no right answer as it depends on you, your budget and research. I opted to get most of the gear and best i could afford so that i had the best chances of success. it worked great and from day one things worked well. having said that you can have a successful tank utilizing very little gear so please do not thing you have to have expensive gear to be successful but i think it makes things easier and it worked for me. please check out my build thread and other build threads as that is where i learned the most.

 

[scott11106]

Hello Everyone, so I currently do not have a saltwater tank and have been doing months of research on the type of fish and corals I will be starting with as a beginner along with equipment necessary, etc. I wanted to just going all out with the top of the line equipment for lighting, auto dosing, ATO, checking water parameters, and getting a Waterbox AIO 50.3 but my mind is telling me to start on the low end of the budget as a beginner.

Any suggestions on if I should just start off with a budget tank and what equipment I should start off with? The end result would be to house 2 clownfish, watchman goby, pistol shrimp, yellow clown goby, fire shrimp, orchid dottyback(maybe not since it’s semi-aggressive), bubble tip anemone, 3-4 types of zoanthids, And some lps corals along the way.

oh yea, for first tips i would get the biggest tank you can afford and fit as the size will not effect your gear too much in the size you are talking about getting and you will thank me later as you will fill it and want more space...

 

[Weasel1960]

In the next couple of days you will see a lot of opinions and responses. I am like you, just getting started. I plan to spread the wealth to get the most for my budget. As I make my equipment list I look at reviews, cheapest isn’t always the best but sometimes so neither I s most expensive or most popular. Make your list, ask for input, upgrade where you can. I am still working on my homework.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Dom]

You have started off correctly!

The first thing you should do wen planing a saltwater tank is to determine what you wan to keep in it. Then tailor your equipment around that. Most people put together a tank and then figure out what it can support. This usually results in people posting questions such as:

"Is a 40 gallon breeder tank big enough for a purple tang?"

You make mention of things such as auto-dosing. But from your stocking list, I think you will be able to replenish consumed elements through faithful and regular water changes. So I would hold off on equipment like that until the rate of consumption exceeds what can be replaced with water changes.

GO SLOW. We have an expression in this hobby: "nothing good happens fast". And be patient! Quarantine everything before you put it in your display... even if you purchase from a reseller that claims to pre-quarantine everything before sale.

Dom

 

[Kaaaarrrll]

Hello Everyone, so I currently do not have a saltwater tank and have been doing months of research on the type of fish and corals I will be starting with as a beginner along with equipment necessary, etc. I wanted to just going all out with the top of the line equipment for lighting, auto dosing, ATO, checking water parameters, and getting a Waterbox AIO 50.3 but my mind is telling me to start on the low end of the budget as a beginner.

Any suggestions on if I should just start off with a budget tank and what equipment I should start off with? The end result would be to house 2 clownfish, watchman goby, pistol shrimp, yellow clown goby, fire shrimp, orchid dottyback(maybe not since it’s semi-aggressive), bubble tip anemone, 3-4 types of zoanthids, And some lps corals along the way.

I found myself in a similar situation to yourself re: choosing high end or low end equipment. In the end i decided on choosing higher end equipment. Reasons for this were that I felt long term I didn't want to spend more money than if id just brought what i wanted initially anyway and secondly, if it didn't work out for whatever reason, high end equipment would be easier to sell and hold more of its value. I also like that some of the high end lighting is a bit more restrictive in what you can change so you cant really go wrong (Red Sea and Kessil), which as a beginner I feel is key to keeping people in a hobby. The lower end less restrictive options could be like giving a monkey a machine gun and cause more harm than good, of course the same can be said for high end lights (Aqua Ilumination).

I'm currently in the process of finishing a somewhat DIY build and looking to go with similar selections as yourself in terms of livestock.

Good luck with whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll have loads of fun either way!

 

[moorjames]

I would say go smaller for the first one- for a couple reasons- but if you went big that’s still cool.
I’m just starting out too- I grabbed a Biocube 32 cause the guy at my lfs said it would be a great place to start. However I quickly regretted it and wished I had gone bigger like a 120 or 150. However- now I’m kinda glad I went small because I can make all the mistakes and it’s not gonna be too drastic. I cheated to because I wanted to enjoy the tank sooner so I bought wet live rock, colonies of corals, etc.- and those came with issues. I have to learn how to deal with those issues but at least it’s on a smaller level. I wanted to learn quickly too. But IMO that’s great because I’m still gonna get a bigger tank- and that one I know exactly how to put together (well at least better than this one). Plus all the upgrades I bought for the Biocube (like the light XR15 and the MP10) I know I can take to the new tank. I’m looking forward to my next tank- I can take it as slow as I want (the better) and I won’t waste money on buying thing I won’t need (I bought so much crap for this tank and didn’t use half of it)