Prebuilt or From Scratch for First Time Reefkeeper?

howboutdemcubies · Feb 29, 2024

Hi All,

I have kept freshwater tropical, lizards, and a number of other animals over the years but am new to reefkeeping and excited to take the plunge! I don't want to outgrow my first tank too quickly and have been looking at 110ish gallon display tanks to get started. After doing a ton of reading and YouTube watching over the last few weeks I think I am down to a couple of options. Short term I'll be starting with start fish and corals, but down the road I hope to introduce SPS once my tank is stable and I know what I'm doing a bit better.

I am looking at RedSea Reefer Max 525 (maybe 625) G2+ and also getting a quote from my LFS for a Planet Aquariums ready to go do system this Friday. Do you all have thoughts on RedSea vs. Planet Aquariums or going with a ready to go system vs. crafting my own for my first tank? I'm leaning towards a full system so I know everything is compatible and I can focus on water quality without needing to worry about the compatibility/functionality/quality of my set up, but curious for the communities thoughts.

Any thoughts or advice for a new reefkeeper would be much appreciated!
Thanks all!

TX_REEF · Feb 29, 2024

Plug and play is gonna be your best bet as a first timer! Red Sea is decent, but please also check out waterbox.

Nate Chalk · Feb 29, 2024

Agree. But if youre handy build it. Rewarding

bryce.martin · Mar 2, 2024

If you have kept other animals like the ones you stated id piece it together. You can make a whole heck of a lot better system than an all in one unit will cost. Like folks have said RedSea is decent, please be aware of the leak issue they have but the G2 has the brace in the middle so you should be ok. I have a RedSea 625 on a custom metal stand, its a nice sized tank and I dont think you will outgrow that tank anytime soon. Probably have a good 5 years in that tank depending how well you do with this hobby.

PeterC99 · Mar 2, 2024

You want to set yourself up for the best chance of long-term success in this hobby. There is a lot to learn to have a successful saltwater reef. For first time Reefers, I highly recommend a gently used, relatively new, plug & play aquarium setup.

Good luck!

Readywriter · Mar 2, 2024

With any sort of animal/fish keeping I always go with if I am capable of building it myself then thats what Im going to do, I wind up enjoying it much more. Also, a lot of the "new stuff" is superfluous. Do your research but ultimately this hobby is for your enjoyment and a lot of people want to tell you to do it the way they enjoy it.