New to the site and new to saltwater aquariums

[jodindave]

Hello

I am new to reef2reef and salt water aquariums. I have been on the site before for a short period of time and now I am back again to learn. I have been trying to look around the page and I am overwhelmed there is so much information, links and various other things. I don't even know what i don't know if that makes sense.

At this time I want to get a salt water aquarium somewhere around 20-30 gallons. I do not have a lot of room in my home but this would work size wise. I like inverts but I really want my vision impaired grandson to be able to see the creatures in the tank.

Where do I start? Is there a step by step guide somewhere? Are there mentors available?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Jodi

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Hi Jodi and Welcome.

You've found the perfect place. Information overload is easy to achieve and Tons of people ready and willing to help.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum!
Lots of great people here to help with everything you need, and some things you didn’t even know you needed!
Post any questions you have and we can try to answer!

 

[Big Smelly fish]

 

[jodindave]

Welcome to the forum!
Lots of great people here to help with everything you need, and some things you didn’t even know you needed!
Post any questions you have and we can try to answer!

I don't even know where to start with the questions lol. I guess my first question would be is a 20-30 gallon biocube appropriate to start with? I have room for that but not much more.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I don't even know where to start with the questions lol. I guess my first question would be is a 20-30 gallon biocube appropriate to start with? I have room for that but not much more.

Definitely a good first tank, I don’t have any experience with the biocubes but they seem to work well for a lot of people on here.

 

[CincyReefer07]

I don't even know where to start with the questions lol. I guess my first question would be is a 20-30 gallon biocube appropriate to start with? I have room for that but not much more.

Welcome! Go as large as you can fit and be happy with. If 30 is your max, I say go 30 then. It’s a decent size for a beginner. I wouldn’t personally recommend anyone going smaller than 29-30 gallons, but that’s just me. You can set it up using hob filter equipment, sumps are generally the preferred better method to go. But hang on back(hob) filters can be used as well on smaller tanks and work fine. Just a bit more maintenance involved, having to stay Up on routine maintenance and what not.

 

[CincyReefer07]

Hello

I am new to reef2reef and salt water aquariums. I have been on the site before for a short period of time and now I am back again to learn. I have been trying to look around the page and I am overwhelmed there is so much information, links and various other things. I don't even know what i don't know if that makes sense.

At this time I want to get a salt water aquarium somewhere around 20-30 gallons. I do not have a lot of room in my home but this would work size wise. I like inverts but I really want my vision impaired grandson to be able to see the creatures in the tank.

Where do I start? Is there a step by step guide somewhere? Are there mentors available?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Jodi

Even though Bulk Reef Supply likes to push their products they own so much to the point it’s almost annoying, mainly being Neptune & Ecotech, nothing wrong with those products, they just push them way too much when their are many other good alternatives out there as well.
I will say, look on YouTube for the BRStv-Saltwater Aquariums YouTube channel and they have A LOT of great beginner videos to watch and get you started. They just recently started doing a new beginner series on their channel within the last year or so that’s been pretty good. An old one where some of the info is a bit outdated but is still a great beginner series to watch that Bulk Reef Supply did is also the BRS 52 weeks of reefing. But it’s older and now some of the info is outdated, not that it’s all bad. It’s mostly good info and great for someone with little knowledge to learn from

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R! There are a lot of people on here running BioCubes. I personally think they are a very good choice for a beginner (or even seasoned veteran) tank as it is big enough to be somewhat forgiving but small enough to be easier to equip and maintain.

I would suggest that you start by looking in the "Nano Tanks" and 'All In One (AIO)' forums and do a search for BioCubes. Then pick a few that you like and read them thoroughly. You should be able to gain a lot of insight into the pluses and minus of that style tank. Good Luck and ask questions. The people here are very friendly and willing to help.

 

[Karen00]

Welcome to the salty side and the community Jodi! There is a ton of knowledge swimming around this forum. Not sure if you have been to the "New to Saltwater" section but there are a bunch of sticky threads that help folks to get started. This is a good one: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/. If you have questions about anything related to the hobby it's best to ask first rather than trying to figure it out after the fact. I look forward to seeing your setup.

 

[Bpb]

Hello

I am new to reef2reef and salt water aquariums. I have been on the site before for a short period of time and now I am back again to learn. I have been trying to look around the page and I am overwhelmed there is so much information, links and various other things. I don't even know what i don't know if that makes sense.

At this time I want to get a salt water aquarium somewhere around 20-30 gallons. I do not have a lot of room in my home but this would work size wise. I like inverts but I really want my vision impaired grandson to be able to see the creatures in the tank.

Where do I start? Is there a step by step guide somewhere? Are there mentors available?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Jodi

Biggest piece of advice I can give is in the area of TAKING advice. Make sure to verify advice before taking it. Lots of people with lousy looking tanks will try to show you the way. At least try to ensure the advice being given to you is from a reputable source. Most people have build threads you can investigate.

Same goes with product reviews. Be cautious trusting a favorable review from someone who literally just unboxed the product. You will find LOADS of people with 2 months more experience than you who say something like “just opened these lights 30 seconds ago and my corals LOVE them. The growth and polyp extension is tremendous!”