Rookie Questions

[SaintVolante]

I am going to start a saltwater aquarium soon. I have a good idea on how to take care of it, have all the good books and have read them before hand. I’d like to start with something big not because i’m afraid of failure but I would like to have certain fish like a yellow tang eventually along with a nice coral variety; a center piece in my home. Is there any recommendations on which brand provides the best out of the box new tank with good plus features? I know it’s expensive but i don’t plan on upgrading after other than better equipment add ons. please let me know any info on this and recommendations!

 

[PharmrJohn]

They charge more, but Glass Cages is known for quality. You can get online and let them know what you want. Even dimension wise. I've put in what I wanted and it calculated what kind of bill I was looking at. IMO, don't skimp on a tank, a skimmer and lighting. You don't need to buy the most expensive thing a brand has. Just research your choices and know that EVERYONE is gonna have a different view on things. For me, I am still waiting to pull the trigger on my tank, but I've looked at Reef Octopus for my skimmer and a Reefbreeders light fixture. My planned tank is in my signature. And go slow, slow, slow. Don't rush things. Ever.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Also, you mentioned a tang. Now, I kept a yellow tang in a 48", 90g tank. Tangs like a good sized swimming lane. For them it's more about length, compared to width and depth. Now, I was pushing it with a 4 foot tank. They need 5 to 6 feet of lane space to be comfortable. Mine was happy tho, despite the lack of space I gave it. I just didn't know that guideline when I bought the thing!

 

[tbrown]

A couple of things to consider are do you want an all-in-one or sump design - if planning a sump, do you want drilled with internal or external overflow or undrilled with siphon type Hang-On overflow.

Another consideration is if you want it along a wall or Peninsula sticking out into the room some.

As mentioned by @PharmrJohn , Glass Cages does good work. He can work with you to custom build whatever specifications you want.

There are a lot of ready made tank manufacturers as well. Lots of people will warn you away from Red Sea due to a significant amount of recent seam failures so make sure you do your research on whichever manufacturer you decide to go with.

Another potential consideration is flow and lighting. Peninsula can be harder to get good random flow throughout the tank, but not impossible.

 

[tbrown]

Good brands a lot of people like are going to be Innovative Marine or ESHOPPS. I've heard good things in the past about Cade and Waterbox. There's plenty more brands out there that are good as well.