Brand New to this!! Lots of Questions!!

[CaitG]

Hey! My name is Caitlin, I live in the Gardendale area near Birmingham. I have been reading about reef tanks for about a week now! I have visited Eds Pet World and just kind of looked around at some of the things they have. I am so interested in starting a reef tank but don't really know where to start!! I have been looking at tanks online, and lights, filters, protein skimmers, fish, coral, inverts.... There is so much to do, and everything new is so expensive! I know owning a reef tank is going to be expensive, but wow. I have been told to start at 55 gallons or up, because it is easier. Also I have seen posts on full tanks for sale with everything already ready to go, is that a good idea or bad. It definetly looks to be better on the price. And I am still not sure to use a tank with a sump, or not. Would it be better to buy everything brand new and wait for weeks? Or buy someones older setup and keep it up. Any feedback would be helpful!

 

[BarbH]

Hello Caitlin and welcome to r2r and to the hobby. There is a lot to learn when first starting in the hobby and at times it can start to feel a bit overwhelming. Finding setups or even equipment is imo a great way to be able to start in on the hobby especially if you are working on a budget. If you have any questions about different setups you might find you can always post and ask any questions that you may have. A larger tank tends to be more stable and for someone who is starting out it can make things easier since water parameters don't tend to shift as quickly. If you are able to go with a sump I would suggest that you do so, a sump will add to the water volume of the system and will help to give it more stability. Also with a sump you are able to place your equipment like heater and skimmer in there so that it is not in your display tank. As for going with buying new or used most of the stuff that is on my system I got used. The only new things are my powerheads and my heater (which I already had from another setup) and when I am able my lighting will probably be new. Hope this helps some and as you have more questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I would start from scratch so you can gain experience because if you get a tank already setup you will get over whelmed with what it takes to run it. As far as starting with a 55g or bigger that isn't a bad idea because it will be more stable than say a 10g when it comes to temp, salinity, and ph. I would go with the biggest tank you can afford and have room for. Most everyone I know runs a sump but some people on here run sumpless and have great tanks. A sump lets you put all your heaters and stuff out of site instead of being displayed in your main tank. The best advice I can give you is to research every piece of equipment and get the best protein skimmer you can for your tank because that is what pulls out all the gunk out of your water. Have you got a idea of what you want to keep.

 

[CaitG]

Thanks so much Everything helps! haha I am looking to possibly keep clowns, and maybe damsels and goby's Maybe a Tang at some point. I havent quite got it exact on the kind of fish yet. And starting from scratch sounds ok, but it seems to be easier for a budget if I could get used items or a complete system. The tanks that I have seen just have filters and lights, no sump, so protein skimmer. I would love to go with a Sump setup. I just would have no idea how to put it together.

 

[Paul_N]

Thanks so much Everything helps! haha I am looking to possibly keep clowns, and maybe damsels and goby's Maybe a Tang at some point. I havent quite got it exact on the kind of fish yet. And starting from scratch sounds ok, but it seems to be easier for a budget if I could get used items or a complete system. The tanks that I have seen just have filters and lights, no sump, so protein skimmer. I would love to go with a Sump setup. I just would have no idea how to put it together.

Majority of the equipment I had was purchased used. There is nothing wrong with buying used but if you are buying an entire setup, make sure you need most of the equipment in the setup. Like everyone has said...research what kind of tank you want to keep and go from there. Me personally, I would never have a setup without a sump.

If you are even considering going with a 55 then I would say get a 4 ft 120 gallon. I had a 55,75, and 225 over the years and the 55 and 75 were just too shallow from front to back.

You will get tons of help putting together your system on here....:bigsmile:

Oh and stay away from damsels...they are mean lil suckers....lol

 

[BarbH]

Just to let you know Damsels are not a good fish for a community setup as they mature that get very territorial and will go after the other fish. Some fish that are considered part of the damsel family which would work within a community setting would be clowns and also chromis. For Tangs you will get some varying opinions about the smallest size tank that you can have for a Tang but general consensus seems to be 75 gallons for some Tangs like the Kole Tang or other bristletooth Tangs. One of the areas on the forum that you will probably find helpful is the fish database which you can find information such as max size of the fish, minimum size tank needed what they eat and some other information. There is no problem with picking up used equipment to build your system and than going and buying your fish and such.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I would go used if your on a budget. There was someone one here that was selling a 75g with stand and sump yesterday. I have a 75g and love it but sooner or later you will want to upgrade trust me. Feel free to ask any questions you want. And welcome to R2R.

 

[CaitG]

Oh gosh this is so much better than trying to read and search on google!!! How often do people on here sell whole setups? And yes damsels are out of the question then! haha I want beautiful, NICE fish. The boyfriend wants all the crazy stuff like squid, Shark, eel and octupus?? weirdo..... Lets just say he may not be getting what he wants this time!! So hearing this I may go with a 75 Gallon setup, with a sump, used.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I would look in the for sell forum on here and see what you can find. As far as sharks and squid I would stay away from. Lol

 

[CaitG]

haha yes I have already burst his bubble on that subject! Maybe a snowflake eel if he can learn to get along with the reef and other fish. I was wanting seahorse very badly. Heard they have to be seperate from everthing though. Is it possible to keep them in a community tank?

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

To much flow but you can setup what is called a satellite tank that is plumbed into the main tank so they share the same water. That will give you something to work toward but I would stay away until you get more experience. The aren't easy to keep. A snowflake would get along with most fish but that nice pretty shrimp you have pictured would be a snack.

 

[CaitG]

haha Well then I guess hes not getting an eel either! haha And yes I am going to wait for the hard stuff until we get more experience!! Just want to start with a couple fish for now and build over time from there! I can't seem to find that many setups on here! They sell so quickly!

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

you can check Craigslist to see but don't know if you will find something or even want to trust it. or you could keep a eye out on here. if you just want fish for now that make it a lot easier. you don't need powerful lighting and stuff like that. so you can get some experience under your belt and save toward a reef tank.

 

[revhtree]

Welcome to R2R! Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

 

[BarbH]

Things that are going for a good deal will move quick, for the larger stuff I would keep an eye on the local forum for Birmingham you can find the local forum towards the bottom of the forum page. For smaller pieces of equipment you also have the option of shipping which can open up what is available. Saw that you also posted in the want to buy section so hopefully that will help also.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I'm on here all the time so i will keep a eye out for you. if your boyfriend is a DIY Guy he could build you a stand and sump which will cut cost a lot and a new 75g is only $240 at petsmart. i know because that is what i did.

 

[CaitG]

Haha yeah We are both Diesel Mechanics for Cummins, but im afraid to build something that is going to be holding almost 80 Gallons of water. I just bought my house and would not like to flood it yet hahaha. Trust myself with a 80k engine but not with a fish tank!

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

my stand is built better than the house i live in. i start to go to nadc when i got out of school but figured with all they busted knuckles from working on my own vehicles there was no way i would want to work on someone elses vehicle. but that is cool that your a gear head too. lol

 

[strange33w]

I built my own stand for my 165 Gallon and it is very strong. Take a look in the DIY section and you should find some good stand ideas to help. Building the stand can save a lot of money most were quoting me around 600 to build the stand and I built mine for under 200. You can take a look at my build and you can see a little of the process. Good luck on your venture and Welcome.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

Yeah with building your own stand you get away from that cheap press board that cost so much. All four corners of my stand have double 2x4's just because I didn't have 4x4's at the time. Is it overkill maybe but I trust it to hold. Plus I used construction screw and 3/4 inch plywood. And yes after moving it there are no more kids is my future and I had my brothers help. There was never any hope for him anyways.:roll: