Lowest maintenance tank for beginner (money is no object)

[nag2139]

Hi all --

Looking to get into the hobby and finally purchase my own saltwater aquarium. I've had freshwater fish growing up but have never had a saltwater tank before, so safe to say I have no real experience other than what I've been learning and reading online. I know that I would like to have both coral and livestock in my aquarium, but am relatively impartial at this stage as to the type(s) of coral or livestock. I work a job with crazy/irregular hours and have to travel occasionally for work, so I'm really trying to prioritize a tank size/brand/type with the lowest maintenance. Cost isn't really a factor as I'm willing to spend whatever money I need to to get the setup I want (including additional accessories, etc.).

That said, I've been looking at (i) the Red Sea Max NANO Peninsula, (ii) Red Sea Max E-170, (iii) the Red Sea Max E-260, (iv) the Red Sea Max S-400 and (v) the Red Sea Max S-500 (I really can't fit anything bigger than the Max S-500). Of course, I understand that this hobby involves work, which I am willing to do, but I'd prefer to minimize maintenance as much as I can at the expense of a more expensive/premium set up.

I've read many opinions online that beginners should get the biggest tank they can afford/fit, so I've been considering the Red Sea Max S-500 for this reason. That said, I've read other views that posit that it would be a bit crazy for a complete beginner with no experience to get a Max S-500. Would be curious for an opinions/thoughts on this.

I also travel fairly frequently for work and leisure, being away from home for anywhere from 3 days to 14 days at a time. I could always contract someone to come by while I'm away, but it would be most ideal if any particular model would lend itself better to an ATO that could run on its own for two weeks.

Above all else, I'm very eager to continue to learn from you all on these forums and from everything else I've been reading and watching online. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

 

[NotReefsafe]

My recommendations:

-Google "Reef builders nano" and watch the YouTube videos.
-Go with the max nano
-If you do ornamental shrimp like sexy shrimp or cleaner and no fish, you may never (or very rarely) have to feed if you have live rock/sand and corals
-duncan, Green star polyp, pipe organ, zoas, xenia, kenya tree, toadstool leather corals are attractive and known as easy
-clownfish or firefish are fairly easy and would be just fine with just a few pellet feedings a few times a week
-lower bio load means less maintenance

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all --

Looking to get into the hobby and finally purchase my own saltwater aquarium. I've had freshwater fish growing up but have never had a saltwater tank before, so safe to say I have no real experience other than what I've been learning and reading online. I know that I would like to have both coral and livestock in my aquarium, but am relatively impartial at this stage as to the type(s) of coral or livestock. I work a job with crazy/irregular hours and have to travel occasionally for work, so I'm really trying to prioritize a tank size/brand/type with the lowest maintenance. Cost isn't really a factor as I'm willing to spend whatever money I need to to get the setup I want (including additional accessories, etc.).

That said, I've been looking at (i) the Red Sea Max NANO Peninsula, (ii) Red Sea Max E-170, (iii) the Red Sea Max E-260, (iv) the Red Sea Max S-400 and (v) the Red Sea Max S-500 (I really can't fit anything bigger than the Max S-500). Of course, I understand that this hobby involves work, which I am willing to do, but I'd prefer to minimize maintenance as much as I can at the expense of a more expensive/premium set up.

I've read many opinions online that beginners should get the biggest tank they can afford/fit, so I've been considering the Red Sea Max S-500 for this reason. That said, I've read other views that posit that it would be a bit crazy for a complete beginner with no experience to get a Max S-500. Would be curious for an opinions/thoughts on this.

I also travel fairly frequently for work and leisure, being away from home for anywhere from 3 days to 14 days at a time. I could always contract someone to come by while I'm away, but it would be most ideal if any particular model would lend itself better to an ATO that could run on its own for two weeks.

Above all else, I'm very eager to continue to learn from you all on these forums and from everything else I've been reading and watching online. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Cant beat all in one tanks and also Water box and red sea units

 

[DeepBreath]

Welcome to the community!

My best recommendation is to go slow- and that's true with everything in this hobby. Maybe start off with a 10 or 20 gallon big-box-store glass aquarium. Get yourself a couple of power heads on Amazon, a hang on back filter, and a light. Spend money on a good heater, good quality salt, and dry rock. Get it set up and running and start practicing your basic maintenance routine (water changes, testing, etc.). It's a lot easier to do a 10% or 20% water change in a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium than trying to get used to a water change on a 100+ gallon tank.

There's a couple of benefits to doing it this way:
1. As I mentioned, it get's you used to the maintenance and upkeep. See if you even like the hobby before you invest a lot of money into it.
2. Now once you catch the reefing bug and you go bigger, you have a quarantine tank set up and ready to go. Or use it as a frag tank. Or just an experiment tank. Or whatever you want to use the lil guy for.

There are loads of people in this community that buy equipment second hand and have stellar tanks. There are other folks that love DIY equipment. The animals don't care what equipment you have or where you got it. Your focus should be on keeping the inhabitants happy.

When I started out I spent A LOT of time and money setting up my system. I thought it was going to be a perfect set-up. Then I researched some more and added a component. Researched some more, and I took some components away. Now like I'm sure lots of us out there I have a graveyard of unused expensive equipment (and just stuff) sitting on shelves.

With your travel schedule you should be looking at what's the easiest for you to maintain. Less moving parts the better. Another thing to really consider is what are you trying to achieve and grow in your tank. If you're going with a FOWLER, you don't need much to keep fish happy. SPS or NPS dominant, you need a lot of persistent upkeep. More than just a feeding a couple of times a week. So the real question here is what do you want to invest in TIME into this hobby?

I'm not discouraging you, just wish someone told me a long time ago not to keep buying stuff I didn't need. You'll find in this hobby that you'll keep trying different things as you go until you find your sweet spot. It's been about 6 years for me and I'm still trying to get there!

All the best and good luck! We're all here to help if we can!!

 

[Reef-_-Noob]

There's soo many products . I'm a noob and felt overwhelmed by the options last year. Not only the options but how to incorporate them into the build, what are they used for AND which ones make life easier!!

I would recommend a skimmer for filtration and water quality. I found filter socks became annoying and a burden after so my tank right now only has a skimmer for nutrient export. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

You definitely need a auto top off because being away for a week is hard. I don't have one but wish I did bc this is the only real maintenance I perform.

I don't know if it's possible maybe someone can explain, I think you can connect a doser to a fresh water bin and add through the doser. I believe it is safer bc I've heard ato has failures. Also this way stops you from having to prepare saltwater.