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

[flashsmith]

A must have is your own rodi. Even if you do just 5 gallons at a time. Secondly is an ATO. Stability is the biggest factor in success and these are the most important things to achieve that. Not 5k in lights and another 2k in fancy monitors. Without stability you won't be successful. Don't even think for a second that you'll just go down to the lfs and get your water or top off by hand. Life happens and thinking that you can do these things daily is unrealistic.

 

[JC1977]

Mental toughness. Are you willing to do the water changes and weekly testing? Are you willing to clean the tank glass every couple of days? Weekly testing or even daily testing? Equipment maintenance? Are you going to battle through the tough times when things don’t go smoothly like ich outbreak or other setbacks? To me that’s more important than the financial aspects of the hobby because none of that equipment means anything if you don’t have the will power to push through the bad times. And there’s almost always bad times sooner or later it’s just how we deal with it!

 

[charliethetuna]

R/O system

 

[Cichlid Dad]

A cracked skull for even thinking about it!

 

[Just John]

A towel

 

[reeftivo]

as much knowledge as you can absorb through forums and articles (i.e. cycling & nitrogen cycle basics, natural filtration methods, sand, rock etc..)!!!!!!

Then budget plan the most reliable tech (fltration, lights, pumps etc..) that will suit your system and stocking wants and needs.

then the draining of the wallet can begin LOL

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

PATIENCE

 

[Krw]

Did anyone mention lots of money, time, and an understanding significant other ?…

 

[jhadaway]

Brstv on youtube, tidal gardens on youtube, coral euphoria on youtube, reef builders and reef2reef. Heck, most anything reef on youtube. Watch everything. If it bores you, pick another hobby. Success seems to require an obsession. Lots of money and patience.

 

[Pkunk35]

100% this hobby goes way better with a mentor or buddy. Seek one out if u can even online.

 

[bxclent]

Some knowledge and a great reef shop

 

[GDiaz]

Research, have medications on hand prior to needing them. For example copper or antibiotics to quarantine/treat fish. Maybe Cipro for a sick anemone. Different coral dips. It hurts when you purchase a VERY pricey coral and something you can not pin point goes wrong now you have an emergency because you’re trying to save it.

 

[Piscans]

if you want to enjoy the reef tank experience without a tank, all you need is a flamethrower and a pile of money

 

[marcus aurelius]

Patience

 

[Peacocksm]

Money. Understanding significant other if you have one. Time. And read. Patience, patience, patience. You will get very impatient and do things that will cost you a lit of wasted money. Focus on the echo system and start slow. Watch a lot of videos. BRF has a lot of good information

 

[skimmerman]

My advice don’t get caught up in all the high tech gadgets.they won’t make you a success.keep it simple. Ask any questions no matter how stupid it sounds.all I use is skimmer ,calcium reactor. Good lighting.

 

[JKBrown]

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.

In my experience, this is spot on and is a helpful metric. Like any hobby, you can go way less or way more, but if you are talking round numbers for people with medium home tank setups and a regular day job, you will need a certain level of automation so you have some time for enjoyment. The research will help you not buy things twice.

 

[Rusty_L_Shackleford]

In my experience, this is spot on and is a helpful metric. Like any hobby, you can go way less or way more, but if you are talking round numbers for people with medium home tank setups and a regular day job, you will need a certain level of automation so you have some time for enjoyment. The research will help you not buy things twice.

Absolutely spot on. I already bought an ato, wifi temp controller, and programable LEDs, before i even put water in the tank. When it comes time to stary dosing, ill automate that too. I enjoy the maintenance aspect, doing water changes, testing, etc. Its relaxing for me. But at the same time i need to the tank to be able to run itself for a few days if life happens. Buy once, cry once. If taking care of the tank is easy when life gets hectic, youll actually do it. Set yourself up for sucess from the start, and youll have a long enjoyable experience with the hobby.

 

[Daddio64]

No one has mentioned protein skimmer. I never thought it was optional.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

No one has mentioned protein skimmer. I never thought it was optional.

Hello, there are lots of tanks without protein skimmer but way in the minority. Lots of water changes though