Lokking to start my first tank and looking for advice

[Lucky713]

Due to certain physical limitations and living in a 2nd floor apartment I have to go with a nano tank. I was leaning towards an aio so my first question is would the JBJ Nano Cube be a good place to start or shoulb I hold out for something like the Red Sea Max Nano. I am of course also open to suggestions. My timeline is very flexible and the only reason I am considering the JBJ at all is I could start a bit sooner. Side note the wife is fully supportive of the build and understands it will be expensive. Thank you in advance
Edit I forgot to add I am looking to keep soft corrals in this starting tank as well as more hearty fish

 

[UCF Alum]

Welcome to R2R! This is a great form with a lot of knowledgeable people.
My first question is what is your budget?
We can start there!

 

[Lucky713]

My budget isn't really an issue as I can just save a bit longer if I had to give a number the budget for the aio would be about 3,000 with a total around 4000-5000. It will just determine how long I will need to wait. also thank you for the warm welcome

 

[Katrina71]

How many gallons or what type of dimensions do you feel comfortable with?

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Welcome to Reef2Reef and an amazing community.

 

[Blitheran]

Best advice I could give is to figure what you want. What equipement do you want ok the tank? What kind of pump do you want to use for flow? Do you want to use a gyre, ecotech, jebao? Once you figure it out. Determine do you want to buy a new vortech? Which could cost you $300 or do you want to buy a slightly used/new one for nearly half the price?

I highly reccomend making a list of what kind of light you want on the tank, flow, filtration, rock, what kind of a “saltwater” tank do you want? Make a list! It will make everything.

Watch selling forums rather than buying new, you could potentionally save your self hundreds of dollars.

Also I recommend starting with high end gear and not cutting corners. If you want a thriving reef with expensive corals and fish you want to know your equipment won’t fail you. Also you will kick your self in enjoying your tank because you will always say I wish I did that or I want to do that.

Lastly tank automation will help your enjoyment. Using an ATO, having a controller, etc... the less you have to “mandatorily do” the less you feel forced.

Sorry for the long post

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

Due to certain physical limitations and living in a 2nd floor apartment I have to go with a nano tank. I was leaning towards an aio so my first question is would the JBJ Nano Cube be a good place to start or shoulb I hold out for something like the Red Sea Max Nano. I am of course also open to suggestions. My timeline is very flexible and the only reason I am considering the JBJ at all is I could start a bit sooner. Side note the wife is fully supportive of the build and understands it will be expensive. Thank you in advance
Edit I forgot to add I am looking to keep soft corrals in this starting tank as well as more hearty fish

Jbj makes very nice affordable all in one tanks. You can’t go wrong with them and compared to a Red Sea that size.. jbj everyday. My personal favorite is waterbox as they make the cleanest nano on the market imop. Price is in the same range you’re already looking at.

Best advice in reffing you will ever get and the hardest to follow even for people doing it for years..
1) buy quality from start. Cost more short term but less long term as you’re not upgrading and reselling things for a fraction of the price.
2) move at a snails pace for setup. It should take you 3-4 months to setup a new tank. This can save you a ton of headaches down the road especially for new people but it’s worth it in the end. Hard to stare at a tank full of just sand and water for 4 months though and most of us who know this and say it still don’t practice what we preach however we have experience in our side.

3) plan you’re entire build from corals to fish to equipment and physically write a plan out and then follow it 100%. While making this plan do lots of research on each bullet point. This is something that again will save you a small fortune long term and a lot of headaches short term.

4) establish a regular weekly routine from the Star even though it’s not needed when cycling, maturing for few months etc. this will make it less a chore and more habit. Stability and consistency is key above all else. A weekly routine is stable even if water chemistry is a mess.

 

[Lucky713]

How many gallons or what type of dimensions do you feel comfortable with?

Not including the sump I would say a max of about 40g. Dimensions can be a bit flexible as I am willing to rearrange my apartment.

 

[Katrina71]

Not including the sump I would say a max of about 40g. Dimensions can be a bit flexible as I am willing to rearrange my apartment.

That gives you lots of options!

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Katrina71]

I agree with the above post. Watch for used. It can save a ton of money. Save? Lol. More like redistribute to fish and coral.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Best bet is an all in one system (AIO) with stand which has a built in sump for easy maintenance and ability to use a whole array of lights ( Ai Prime or Hydra 26 recommended) and will still house about a dozen small fish
40 gallon would be a good size .
Cube tanks such as 56 cube is an option but you are now looking at a full size sump and space requirements.

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

That gives you lots of options!

Go with a waterbox 40.3 and be done.. no sump needed. Premium starfire glass all around (not just front like some do) baffle separating the filtration from the display is lower Incase of overflow it stays in the tank. (Simple design but somehow many don’t do this still)

Or look at the 40 cube from jbj. It’s super nice too and jbj has a lot of aftermarket support for Thier designs.

The issue is waterbox makes Thier back filtration compartments able to fit more common devices where most others rely on aftermarket support though popularity to resize things to fit in the small chambers they provide. Look into waterbox and if it’s finacialky obtainable do so. Second best down the line is without a doubt the jbj cause everyone makes stuff for it and it’s a solid tank.

 

[Katrina71]

@dantimdad happens to have an inside on Waterbox

 

[dantimdad]

Nope not waterbox.


Fijicube.com

 

[Darth.Daddy12]

Nope not waterbox.


Fijicube.com

I’ve no first hand experience with them sorry for advising everything else lol.

 

[King Turkey]

my best advice. is take it slow and show around for a wail. it pays off big instead of later thinking o I wish I did that instead.

 

[Lucky713]

So my wife came home and said she had a surprise for me and it was a bio cube 32 so it looks like my first tank is going to be that.

 

[krbshappy71]

So my wife came home and said she had a surprise for me and it was a bio cube 32 so it looks like my first tank is going to be that.

What a surprise! How do you like it? Debating cubes, myself and reading up on them, saw this thread. Do you have a build thread?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Congratulations!!!

I second the build thread