New hobbyist and seeking advice

[#R_TST]

Hi all. I'm new to the hobby. My adult daughter has a saltwater tank and I keep wanting to put stuff in it so she said I need my own tank! I'm completely new to saltwater tanks so I've been spending endless hours researching, learning, and educating myself. I have decided that I really want a reef tank with lots of coral and mushrooms and I seem to really like the invertebrates, CUCs, and there are a few fish I'm thinking about. So I'm looking at a diamond goby, Cardinal, firefish, shrimp, snails, maybe a couple crabs, but mostly mushrooms, soft coral and considering eventually other corals.

Right now I'm stuck on trying to decide what tank I want. I am debating between the Fluval 13.5 gal and the larger Fluval Flex 32.5 gal. I really like the AOI option as a starter and have seen some very nice builds of the 13.5 gal. But I'm wondering if I should bump up to the 32.5 gal Flex so I have room to grow without having to buy a new one and start a new bigger tank down the road. BUT, I've seen some concerning posts here and there about the quality of the 32.5 both in craftsmanship and hearing of structural failure/cracking. I don't know if those are rare cases or if I should be concerned. With all the sales, I'd like to order one this month so any expertise about these 2 tanks and recommendations as to which one I should start with would be great.

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

 

[Hydrored]

My opinion is always go bigger, and welcome to the reef!

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R always go bigger!

 

[Weasel1960]

Hello and welcome to the reef. Like you I am still doing my homework and planning. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[#R_TST]

Hello and welcome to the reef. Like you I am still doing my homework and planning. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks. Same to you.

 

[Leah Ryan]

 

[DinoMagnet]

As @Hydrored said it’s best to go bigger. Once the saltbug bites you will be over that 13 in no time at all. I started with a bio cube 14 and that lasted as long as the cycle period LOL

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[maceto]

Welcome!

 

[KWT]

Bigger is better, some price difference in the beginning but evens out after a while

Welcome to R2R, come in sit down and relax, enjoy

 

[Anubisxii]

I started in June 2020 with the 18.5g cobalt. Lasted me 3 month before I went to a 40g and now I'm ready for 80-150g so all that within 5 month I would say start with the larger. Keep in mind buying stuff that you will want to upgrade at some point.

I got bit hard by the salt bug, here is a pik of the current 40 I have set up

 

[#R_TST]

I started in June 2020 with the 18.5g cobalt. Lasted me 3 month before I went to a 40g and now I'm ready for 80-150g so all that within 5 month I would say start with the larger. Keep in mind buying stuff that you will want to upgrade at some point.

I got bit hard by the salt bug, here is a pik of the current 40 I have set up

Very pretty!

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[#R_TST]

I’ve decided to go with the larger tank as it is the unanimous recommendation. Placed the order and can’t wait to start cycling!

 

[Steph1]

HI I cant agrue with the guys saying bigger is better, it is both subjective and objective. I like nano tanks they have a charm for me. I own a 16 gal AIO and am happy and satisfied with my tank and not looking at "upgrading"
Whilst it cannot be argued that parrameters are more volatile in a smaller tank, with a large tank water changes are much more work, so you will find yourself doing less of it and less frequent, and having to dose the tank with nutrients and test for calcium and dose.................
I do a 50% water change weekly takes about half an hour and calcium (amongst other elements) take care of themselves. So the benifits of small over large is not cut and dry, at all

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Hi all. I'm new to the hobby. My adult daughter has a saltwater tank and I keep wanting to put stuff in it so she said I need my own tank! I'm completely new to saltwater tanks so I've been spending endless hours researching, learning, and educating myself. I have decided that I really want a reef tank with lots of coral and mushrooms and I seem to really like the invertebrates, CUCs, and there are a few fish I'm thinking about. So I'm looking at a diamond goby, Cardinal, firefish, shrimp, snails, maybe a couple crabs, but mostly mushrooms, soft coral and considering eventually other corals.

Right now I'm stuck on trying to decide what tank I want. I am debating between the Fluval 13.5 gal and the larger Fluval Flex 32.5 gal. I really like the AOI option as a starter and have seen some very nice builds of the 13.5 gal. But I'm wondering if I should bump up to the 32.5 gal Flex so I have room to grow without having to buy a new one and start a new bigger tank down the road. BUT, I've seen some concerning posts here and there about the quality of the 32.5 both in craftsmanship and hearing of structural failure/cracking. I don't know if those are rare cases or if I should be concerned. With all the sales, I'd like to order one this month so any expertise about these 2 tanks and recommendations as to which one I should start with would be great.

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

@#R_TST Nice to meet you and welcome to r2r.looks like a good ideaof what kinda stock to start.My firt Saltwater aquarium was a fish and LR when i was in highschool roughly 15years ago,my dad bought me a 29g long for my first tank and we didnt have alot of the information we had now so it was alot of trial and error but a great family expirence, i kept tomato clowns that i bought from petco and looking back now as a reefer id never do that now(lol because they always have ich)and saltwater used to cost top $$$ and was a pay to play type deal ;now we have observered our oceans closer and our knowledge of marine biology and aquacultire would change drastically in the information age... i guess long story shot what im trying to say is the internet throws out alot of the guess work that you used to have to find out the hardway for yourself.so back to you here are 10 steps to sucsess
1.Buy a RoDi this is a must have your in the hobby daughter probably has one if shes already into fish keeping,buying premixed is always a good option if you second gues yourself on your chemistry skills another route if moneys tight go buy some gallons or 32 pack ofpurified not distilled make sure it says reverse osmosis not distillied and mix in a vessel with a powerhead and heater

2.bacteria,bacteria,bacteria,buy live rock from lfs make sure they aquacultire their own in shop and carib sea wet live sand,add nitride and nitrate fixing bacteria maybe fiji mud if youre doing hardcorals add your ammonium chloride 1 drop per gall then wait

3.if you think you need to wait chances are you need to wait some more... like anything people get impatient but the saltwater hobby isnt for those who are in a hurry or looking for instant gratifaction because they saw it on tv or online. Wait and wait some more all good thing take time and dont happen overnight and while your waiting you can watch this playlist


4.fancy gear is overated,sure AIOs are cool but lets all be real for a minute their pricey for what they are and u can make your own for less if your crafty,sure sumps and skimmers are cool too but you dont need it,its more of a want if your running a nano(anything under 35g) and uvsterilizers have their purpose but dont put all of your money into these thing people liketo brandwhore and use the band wagon appeal and buy something just because they see the name fluval or red sea on it..realistically if its your first tank dont waste your money on an AIO or something fancy,Remember KISS in saltwater your liverock is the bread and butter a lb a gallon,(wait till chain like petco supply or plus has a$ a gal sale)scoop up a 29g long or a 40 gallon breeder a cheap powerhead or ciculation pump run 2 100w-200w heaters,suction thermometer and hygrometer and seachem combo alert a power filter or quiet flow(chemipure blue,floss,biomedia) and youll have a bigger tank than a fluval or redsea AI0 at a quater of price and can spend more on maitnence and livestock because youre filtration cost more than the tank...

5. Buy 5 in one test strip ,test weekly for water quality to start out

6.top off daily with freshwater use product like prime or pristine by seachem once a week

7.10 to 15% water change weekly(.15 x(gals)=gallons to replace..check water quality though sometimes yoy can get away with bi weekly

8. Dont buy into hype(do something for the clout as the young kids say,or get it because it was online. Do the propper research and look around for the best buy sometimes it wort it to pay more to support someones efforts or get something from a cleaner system sometimes your getting waxed ,i guess what im trying to say is know your rights vs privalleges as a buyer and know that nothing is a guarentee

9 stay away from certain inverts and exotic or expert livestock,weve all seen something thats caught are eye like seastars urchins(some coral and fish harassers)or nems or cucs (begginers beware some maybe be toxic and can swell under stress and cause complete toxicicity in aquarium and cause a complete marine die off due to params(cucs in specific)stay away from eels and cephalapods theyre notorius escape artist may have trouble adapting to new food and require different light cycles as they arefound in deeper benthic zones than most saltwater fish and lastly ask your self the who what when where why and how and if you cant answer these questions dont get it certain creatures require special care,it goes back on doing the propper research

10.always keep reading article things are always changing

Heres a little secret sauce to buy a bottle of dr tim or bio spyra after u add sand lr wawa etc and add 1 bottle per 30 gallon,cover tank with tarp towel old blanket dropcloth sheet etc for 2 weeks to build full bacterial bloom leave covered in darkness no light then when 2 weeks is up test water with 5 way test strip addfiltration powerhead amoniamum chloride 1 drop per gal wait a week test turn lights on test again after the fith week with no dpike you should see diatoms start to grow add pioneer species like dwarf hermit or turbo snail to see if it lives then add fish week 5 or 6 after you see no more spikes in nitrate level,

Before you invest measure the space and figure out how much space you can have dedicated also fix in a monthly budget for aquarium cost(petstores allways upsell people)realistically your first setup will be 150$ too 300$ if planned correctly(buying online and sale item(not 1000 to 2000 lol like petco told me in 2004)its all personal prefeence,space budget but follow the steps above and youll have little to no troubles‐ Nick

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[#R_TST]

@#R_TST Nice to meet you and welcome to r2r.looks like a good ideaof what kinda stock to start.My firt Saltwater aquarium was a fish and LR when i was in highschool roughly 15years ago,my dad bought me a 29g long for my first tank and we didnt have alot of the information we had now so it was alot of trial and error but a great family expirence, i kept tomato clowns that i bought from petco and looking back now as a reefer id never do that now(lol because they always have ich)and saltwater used to cost top $$$ and was a pay to play type deal ;now we have observered our oceans closer and our knowledge of marine biology and aquacultire would change drastically in the information age... i guess long story shot what im trying to say is the internet throws out alot of the guess work that you used to have to find out the hardway for yourself.so back to you here are 10 steps to sucsess
1.Buy a RoDi this is a must have your in the hobby daughter probably has one if shes already into fish keeping,buying premixed is always a good option if you second gues yourself on your chemistry skills another route if moneys tight go buy some gallons or 32 pack ofpurified not distilled make sure it says reverse osmosis not distillied and mix in a vessel with a powerhead and heater

2.bacteria,bacteria,bacteria,buy live rock from lfs make sure they aquacultire their own in shop and carib sea wet live sand,add nitride and nitrate fixing bacteria maybe fiji mud if youre doing hardcorals add your ammonium chloride 1 drop per gall then wait

3.if you think you need to wait chances are you need to wait some more... like anything people get impatient but the saltwater hobby isnt for those who are in a hurry or looking for instant gratifaction because they saw it on tv or online. Wait and wait some more all good thing take time and dont happen overnight and while your waiting you can watch this playlist


4.fancy gear is overated,sure AIOs are cool but lets all be real for a minute their pricey for what they are and u can make your own for less if your crafty,sure sumps and skimmers are cool too but you dont need it,its more of a want if your running a nano(anything under 35g) and uvsterilizers have their purpose but dont put all of your money into these thing people liketo brandwhore and use the band wagon appeal and buy something just because they see the name fluval or red sea on it..realistically if its your first tank dont waste your money on an AIO or something fancy,Remember KISS in saltwater your liverock is the bread and butter a lb a gallon,(wait till chain like petco supply or plus has a$ a gal sale)scoop up a 29g long or a 40 gallon breeder a cheap powerhead or ciculation pump run 2 100w-200w heaters,suction thermometer and hygrometer and seachem combo alert a power filter or quiet flow(chemipure blue,floss,biomedia) and youll have a bigger tank than a fluval or redsea AI0 at a quater of price and can spend more on maitnence and livestock because youre filtration cost more than the tank...

5. Buy 5 in one test strip ,test weekly for water quality to start out

6.top off daily with freshwater use product like prime or pristine by seachem once a week

7.10 to 15% water change weekly(.15 x(gals)=gallons to replace..check water quality though sometimes yoy can get away with bi weekly

8. Dont buy into hype(do something for the clout as the young kids say,or get it because it was online. Do the propper research and look around for the best buy sometimes it wort it to pay more to support someones efforts or get something from a cleaner system sometimes your getting waxed ,i guess what im trying to say is know your rights vs privalleges as a buyer and know that nothing is a guarentee

9 stay away from certain inverts and exotic or expert livestock,weve all seen something thats caught are eye like seastars urchins(some coral and fish harassers)or nems or cucs (begginers beware some maybe be toxic and can swell under stress and cause complete toxicicity in aquarium and cause a complete marine die off due to params(cucs in specific)stay away from eels and cephalapods theyre notorius escape artist may have trouble adapting to new food and require different light cycles as they arefound in deeper benthic zones than most saltwater fish and lastly ask your self the who what when where why and how and if you cant answer these questions dont get it certain creatures require special care,it goes back on doing the propper research

10.always keep reading article things are always changing

Heres a little secret sauce to buy a bottle of dr tim or bio spyra after u add sand lr wawa etc and add 1 bottle per 30 gallon,cover tank with tarp towel old blanket dropcloth sheet etc for 2 weeks to build full bacterial bloom leave covered in darkness no light then when 2 weeks is up test water with 5 way test strip addfiltration powerhead amoniamum chloride 1 drop per gal wait a week test turn lights on test again after the fith week with no dpike you should see diatoms start to grow add pioneer species like dwarf hermit or turbo snail to see if it lives then add fish week 5 or 6 after you see no more spikes in nitrate level,

Before you invest measure the space and figure out how much space you can have dedicated also fix in a monthly budget for aquarium cost(petstores allways upsell people)realistically your first setup will be 150$ too 300$ if planned correctly(buying online and sale item(not 1000 to 2000 lol like petco told me in 2004)its all personal prefeence,space budget but follow the steps above and youll have little to no troubles‐ Nick

Thank you for the wonderful advice. I actually just placed my order and even created my build page! https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-tank-of-art.777428/

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Thank you for the wonderful advice. I actually just placed my order and even created my build page! https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-tank-of-art.777428/

Should be an awesome setup for your first build cant wait to see what you do with it!

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome! I would definitely go bigger. There are other vendors that offer AIO if you have concerns with their quality.