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Welcome! I came into salt water after Africans as well. Still have a 7ft 210 with frontosa and some haps. Started out with an IM 25. It was a good choice to learn the ropes. I now have a 100 mixed reef...definitely easier to keep stable than the 25 but the 25 was easy to clean and maintain. I'd do it the same way again. Reef tanks have a pretty tough learning curve.Hi All - I'm in the very early planning stages of a system and I have a fundamental question that will determine my path forward.
This will be my first reef tank (up to now I've only kept freshwater community and African cichlid tanks), and I'm trying to decide between starting off with a small system (I'm thinking a 32 gal Biocube) with the understanding that I'll be upgrading in the future, and waiting a while longer to go big (~150 gal) off the bat. I've researched the pros and cons and understand that a smaller tank will be more difficult, but my thinking is that I can get the hang of things while the stakes are much lower, and I could even convert the smaller system to a hospital or QT tank to serve the eventual larger tank. I think getting some hands-on experience with a smaller system (at a much lower price point) would be beneficial vs. going big right away and potentially making some early mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided.
I would start smaller because it's easier to take care of and easier to upgrade... i would just buy the equipment that can handle an upgrade (such as higher watt heater, etc) all the good gear is programmable now anyway and you can start with 1 light, 1 wavemaker, etc. then add a second of each as needed IF you upgrade . Big tanks are a lot of work and maintenance takes two times the strength and time and money!
I've been into aquariumsHi All - I'm in the very early planning stages of a system and I have a fundamental question that will determine my path forward.
This will be my first reef tank (up to now I've only kept freshwater community and African cichlid tanks), and I'm trying to decide between starting off with a small system (I'm thinking a 32 gal Biocube) with the understanding that I'll be upgrading in the future, and waiting a while longer to go big (~150 gal) off the bat. I've researched the pros and cons and understand that a smaller tank will be more difficult, but my thinking is that I can get the hang of things while the stakes are much lower, and I could even convert the smaller system to a hospital or QT tank to serve the eventual larger tank. I think getting some hands-on experience with a smaller system (at a much lower price point) would be beneficial vs. going big right away and potentially making some early mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided.
Hi All - I'm in the very early planning stages of a system and I have a fundamental question that will determine my path forward.
This will be my first reef tank (up to now I've only kept freshwater community and African cichlid tanks), and I'm trying to decide between starting off with a small system (I'm thinking a 32 gal Biocube) with the understanding that I'll be upgrading in the future, and waiting a while longer to go big (~150 gal) off the bat. I've researched the pros and cons and understand that a smaller tank will be more difficult, but my thinking is that I can get the hang of things while the stakes are much lower, and I could even convert the smaller system to a hospital or QT tank to serve the eventual larger tank. I think getting some hands-on experience with a smaller system (at a much lower price point) would be beneficial vs. going big right away and potentially making some early mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided.
I think the bigger the better in my opinion and experience in both fresh and saltwater aquarium keeping... it’s a bigger volume of water for things to keep from going bad compared to a small body of water where it can have issues in an instant!Hi All - I'm in the very early planning stages of a system and I have a fundamental question that will determine my path forward.
This will be my first reef tank (up to now I've only kept freshwater community and African cichlid tanks), and I'm trying to decide between starting off with a small system (I'm thinking a 32 gal Biocube) with the understanding that I'll be upgrading in the future, and waiting a while longer to go big (~150 gal) off the bat. I've researched the pros and cons and understand that a smaller tank will be more difficult, but my thinking is that I can get the hang of things while the stakes are much lower, and I could even convert the smaller system to a hospital or QT tank to serve the eventual larger tank. I think getting some hands-on experience with a smaller system (at a much lower price point) would be beneficial vs. going big right away and potentially making some early mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided.
And a big question also how much room do you have? You rent? Own your own home? as that may have bearing on the size also I think smaller tanks can look just as good or better than larger tanks it’s also less expensive to stock .