New to forum - Long way from buying anything

DanNelson

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Hi! My wife recently got a tiny (5g) tank for our girls and after going to the pet store, I was immediately drawn in to reef acquariums. I know myself enough to know that if I am this drawn in that I will definitely be buying a tank setup when I have been able to save up enough money.

I basically want to create a list of all of the components that I'll want to buy for my ideal system and in what order. That way I know how much I'll need to save up in order to get started. Might buy some smaller components piece-by-piece as I save up.

My main interest right now are that I want as much automation as I can fit / afford (I like the idea of having some controls and auto top offs and testing/dosing).

The Red Sea type of tanks look nice, but I'm more drawn to the Apex compatible components so I can have more flexibility for the automation.

I read that for starting up tank you'd want 75 gallon, but I'll probable go to the 115 to 120 gallon range (with the expense being so high I want to get what I'll eventually want and that seems like a good size).

Going to be lurking for a while and building out my list, but anyone who would like to reply with some comments on how to best build out your list of components and get them picked and prioritized would be nice.

I would also be interested to hear from people in the 100-ish tank range how much it costs to keep the tank maintained after all initial expenses of tank setup and stocking are done. Also, If i get fully decked out tank system at around 100 gallons I assume I may need to get some electrician work to handle all of the power?

Thanks! I'll be going slow and steady to learn while I define what I want and save up. I am very excited about this. I love long-term endeavors!
 

Big Smelly fish

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jdmee

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Welcome.

The first thing I would do is Google pictures of softy, LPS, SPS, mixed and Fish only reef tanks and decide what direction you want to go. This will determine a lot of what you will need in terms of lighting, flow, dosing requirements, etc. That will begin to help establish your budget.
 

Antics

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Welcome to R2R!

120 gallon (4x2x2) would be an excellent midsize tank to begin or end with in the hobby depending on your budget and fish stocking goals! I don’t think you’ll need an electrician specifically for work related to the tank but it also depends on your individual set up and equipment choices.
 
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DanNelson

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Welcome.

The first thing I would do is Google pictures of softy, LPS, SPS, mixed and Fish only reef tanks and decide what direction you want to go. This will determine a lot of what you will need in terms of lighting, flow, dosing requirements, etc. That will begin to help establish your budget.
Thank you for the reply. I'll eventually want to go SPS with fish. I would probably follow the recommendation to start with easier coral to establish ability to control so I can be ready for them.
 

JumboShrimp

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Welcome :)

A true FOWLR, once established, carries negligible monthly costs; really fish-food only (depending on whether you even need salt for water changes).

As someone mentioned, you may or may not need an electrician. Some equipment only pulls as much as a 150-watt lightbulb or less, sometimes way, way, less. Best wishes!
 

Milkman420

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It’s not required to get electrician work done especially if your in a newer built house. I would recommend getting a Gcfi outlet though. My house was older and my father in law was an electrician so he put in a 20 amp breaker for me cuz my whole house was on one breaker and if someone plugged something in that drew a lot of power the breaker would trip and I didn’t want that to happen when I wasn’t thereu
 

Kristopher Conlin

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Welcome to Reef2Reef!!

When I was setting up my 120 gallon I installed a new electrical box behind it with 4 gfci outlets and ran that into my circuit breaker panal to a brand new dedicated 20amp breaker. I probably didn't need to do this but I didn't want to risk tripping that circuit with anything else plugged in(without the upgrade it would have had my TV and an electric fireplace on the same breaker)
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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