Where do I start? What are the 'must haves' for starting a reef tank?

[Peace River]

Where do I start? What are the “must haves” for starting a reef tank?

Whether you have a new tank, are thinking about starting a new tank, or have advice for someone with a new tank – what do you have to have to a reef tank? Of course, we all have our preferences – live rock or dry rocks, sand or bare bottom, AIO or sump, refugium or not, and much more, but what do you actually need for starting a reef tank? We may or may not all agree, but let’s talk about it in the discussion thread!

Photo of Eshopps Deskmate by @Premium Aquatics

 

[Timfish]

You left out light.

 

[Mark Goode]

Money. Lots of money.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Can't have a reef tank without a tank/container!

 

[TK_KW]

Patience, lots and lots of patience!

 

[HankstankXXL750]

Yes all of the above. Plus a light, test kits, powerheads for circulation. Plus plenty of time and patience.

 

[AtlantiCat]

Every single test kit and/or checker under the sun.

Also, check your sanity. You probably want to make sure you're at 0-0.25ppm.

 

[Renaissance corals]

Forgot money, lights, and test kits

 

[Piscans]

motivation

 

[cathihaas]

Research what you are doing. Read, read and read or UTube

 

[GARRIGA]

Research
Research
Research

 

[PotatoPig]

So… recently started my first aquarium and was more involved than I initially expected. My shopping list if I were to start over:

1. Tank (duh…)
2. Stand. I’m a diy enthusiast so made my own but didn’t realize how big a requirement this was.
3. Sump, at least to get the heaters and filters out of view.
4. Pump
5. Power heads
6. Overflow box
7. Tubing + Connectors + Tube clamps. Make sure matched with pump… Tubing is much easier than pipes. Starting out keep it simple.
8. Sand (optional I suppose)
9. Rock (I assume non optional)
10. Heater. Size for tank.
11. Test kit(s)
12. RODI. Not *essential* but for anything large you’re gonna spend a ton at the LFS and lug a ton (possibly literally…) of water back and forth. Don’t forget any extra tubing needed for getting waste out.
13. Net.
14. Clip on Acclimation Tank
15. Airline tube for acclimation
16. Some sort of hood
17. pH tester
18. Refractometer
19. Salt. Should be with RODI above but forgot and don’t want to renumber.
20. 5 gallon bucket. IMO 3
21. Small power head for mixing water
22. Lights (essential for corals, not *essential* for fish.
23. Filter socks + holder. If making a DIY dump make sure it’s sized for the holder…
24. Tubing for siphoning for water changes
25. Multi-plug, pref with GFCI. You’ll prob need two by the time you have all power heads, heaters, pumps, etc plugged in.

Maybe not essential but very very handy:

1. Heater controller with Wi-Fi. I got this on a whim and it saved my fish when we were away for thanksgiving and the heaters couldn’t keep up with the house heating turned too far down. The alert allowed me to get a neighbor to come round to turn heating up.

2. Small backup tank/quarantine tank/hospital tank.

3. Refugium light.

4. If at all possible have the sump in/above a waterproof “bath” in case of overflow. Also helps reduce splash issues during maintenance. This saved my floor when I learned about “siphons” while setting up my tank and turned the pump off.

5. Water addititives/treatments - Prazi/Metro/Prime

6. Quarantine meds (copper)

7. Some PVC connectors for QT

Things I’d skip:

1. Tried DIY dry rock. This was a very time consuming waste of time, especially as the savings were marginal over store bought dry rock.

2. If first tank skip the hard plumbing. Pipes, valves, connectors, pvc cement, etc etc are time consuming and really add up. IMO go soft plumbed with tubing. Very quick. Very easy. Unlike many things in this hobby it’s very cheap.

NOTE: Some of these are small. Like a few bucks a piece. But lots of $5-10 items really start to add up… as I’m sure y’all found out. But better to get them all at once rather than between 20 separate driving trips.

 

[sixty_reefer]

Always start with research and gain knowledge, a must have in our hobby this will determine how cheap or how expensive the hobby will be. We don’t always need the latest piece of gear to have something that we can appreciate at home.
Second is make your tank in a way that you enjoy personally, not something that may get some likes on IG.

 

[ReefCheef]

Where do I start? What are the “must haves” for starting a reef tank?

Whether you have a new tank, are thinking about starting a new tank, or have advice for someone with a new tank – what do you have to have to a reef tank? Of course, we all have our preferences – live rock or dry rocks, sand or bare bottom, AIO or sump, refugium or not, and much more, but what do you actually need for starting a reef tank? We may or may not all agree, but let’s talk about it in the discussion thread!

Photo of Eshopps Deskmate by @Premium Aquatics

You left out by far the most important component to starting a successful reef: an RODI system.

Don't start a reef tank without one of these!

 

[Peace River]

You left out light.

Good catch! I have added "light" as an option and offer my apologies to those who have already voted or are concerned about the late entry of poll options. Thanks!

 

[liddojunior]

Most of these options are basically the things that make the saltwater aquarium. So I want to answer with something that is not required to make an aquarium set up but are must haves.

You can get away without a filter.
I think the only real “must-haves” are ATO, a timer, and test kits. I would say these are must haves to make sure your livestock are healthy.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

Patient is probably the most important.

 

[liddojunior]

You left out by far the most important component to starting a successful reef: an RODI system.

Don't start a reef tank without one of these!

I don’t think this is at all true. If you live near an LFS, you’ll always have access to hassle free RO water and premixed saltwater.
Don’t even need to live near, if your LFS is an hour away. You need to commit to picking up water.

 

[DDMN]

Lots of disposable money

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

Money. Lots of money.

Ive always told peopke that for a reef you can expect to spend $20 to 50 per gallon not counting livestock. Im building a 34 gallon that im into for about 1k and i dont hsve any stock in it yet. And that with a lot of used gear i got a great deal on, and getting the rock for free. I was expecting it, but a lot of newbies (and significant others) are unprepared once things start adding up.