Saltwater... (1 Viewer)

[Carrie Jo]

Okay so I have been reading up on some well documented threads. I have a new appreciation for the threads of tank building experimenting etc that the 1st 2 years I was so busy trying to wrap my head around what to learn first instead of just learning.

This is what I gathered so far.
1. T5 lighting, don't bother with the other stuff swallow the bulb price and get over it. [emoji24] (need to find an awesome cheaper place to get them especially since I have weird 34" size ones.
2. When one does saltwater you need 4 tanks minimum don't you? [emoji15]
A. Display
B. Sump
C. Frag tank
D. Quarantine tank
3. The crazy plumbing all over one's house is a necessary evil to make life easier. (Don't see that one happening)
4. Need to start a binder with all this info to add to and correct as you guys keep doing all this wonder documentation. So I can I an idea of which way to go if I ever get to try it. [emoji123]
5. You guys are EVIL sucking people in with such BEAUTIFUL tanks, coral, and fish not to mention being so brave always experimenting and trying to improve stuff for your fish and reefs. At the same time you guys are FANTASTIC documenting what you are trying so others can benefit! [emoji7] I don't know how you do it all!
6. No matter how much you love a fish, animal, or coral it matters more what they do for your reef or to your reef and how they interact with others. [emoji15]

7. Yep a binder, lots of revising and reprinting of word documents and maybe in 5 to 10 years maybe I will be able to learn enough to take that plunge. And added plus in 5 to 10 years hopefully the kiddos are having their own lives and just maybe I will have time and more funds!
8. One could have a long hobby just trying to get ready correctly!
9. Glad I am working on fixing up a freshwater for now I have a LOT of GROWING to do! And I have learned I really didn't know much about fresh water even though I had tanks all of my married life except the last couple of years when my tank leaked (I think it happened just before a holiday maybe it was Christmas) and doing all the walking back and forth for a 29 gallon those nice long hoses is a luxury I don't want to live without anymore!

 

[jonjon3321]

Not even ...there are several simple ways to setup a successful reef tank that don't brake the bank. The problem comes in after that...it's hard not to start going overboard after the first successful reef

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[reeftopia]

You have a lot of misconceptions. starting with the lighting. I have used them all t5 Mhalides and now leds.
Will go with the leds everytime. I can buy a good led fixture cheaper than the bulbs in your t5s and not have to
worry about them for years. Instead of having to buy new t5s in 9 or 10 months.
Second you only need a sump you don't need any other tanks. A lot of stuff can be helpful are nice but
you don't have to have them.

 

[TX_Punisher]

Don't need a frag tank. 20longs make good qt tanks.

 

[Bigfishy]

QT is not a must have. It is a nice to have / insurance. Many people added fish to to their systems without issues, but it only takes one time of getting a sick fish with something like marine velvet and wiping out all your fish. Like Tx_punisher said a 20 gallon long works perfect and you can get for 20 dollars when Petco runs their dollar a gallon sale. I think I spent like 90 dollars total setting up my QT (hang on back filter), light and lid. It does not have to be anything fancy. I spent a little more on the light so I can QT frangs when not using for fish. You can't use copper in frag QT as it kills corals.


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[PorpoiseHork]

If there was a case for running a budget tank and getting really good results.

My current setup is a 40G tall. No sump or anything. I'm literally currently running a $35 Beamswork 10K LED bar with a pair of 4 led true lumen atinic LED's on it. I have a LPS and soft tank and all my corals including the challenging to keep long tentacle plate coral are happy, healthy and growing nicely. I'm running a $45 Jeabo wave maker and an a Fluval 306 canister filter. The tank is heavily stocked with about 11 or 12 fish ranging from clowns, wrasse's, chromis fish etc. All fat happy and healthy. I just do regular weekly water changes and clean the sand bed and filter once a month. no algae issues or anything else.

My new setup is a 75g with 20g sump.
So far I have invested in that tank setup is as follows.
- Tank, found on craigslist for $40.
- Stand $200 MARSH member selling custom stand for cheap. (But I see them on Letgo and Craigslist all the time)
- 20G sump tank $20 (bought during the currently running PetCo $1/galon sale)
- Glass custom cut for sump baffles $18. I do know a guy in a glass shop for this but you can still get it cheap if you shop around.
- Jeabo DCT-8000 return pump $88.00. (actual out of pocket $15 after saving Amazon gift cards)
- 35lbs of dry rock. (so far) Free off a CraiglsList add.

Plumbing materials cost estimate
15' PVC sch 40 1.25" pipe @ $4.75/10' section total $10.00.
Assorted angles, and unions $35.00
True union Valves $18.00 per total of 4 needed.
Check valve $35.00

Lighting if you go cheap can run as little as $250. or as much as $1k. just depends on what you do. You need to note that T5 lighting can be cheap at first but you will be spending $$ to replace those bulbs annually.

Rock/sand dry rock from online vendor runs $2/3 per pound and most offer free shipping on that.

Reef sand $20-30 per bag.

Skimmer $ 150-300 depending on size and brand but not needed if you are under 40G.

All this can be setup and contained within a good quality stand and you dont need super high end equipment to get great results. Your biggest ally is going to be patience. The more you have the better things will be for your setup. Granted the initial setup cost can be high, but this is an investment. Ultimately you will get to a point where your corals are growing and will need to be fragged out to keep them all looking good and healthy. You can then sell those frags to start recouping some of the initial investment. Eventually you can break even, or in some cases start making a profit if you sell high demand corals that can fetch a good price.

 

[Luman01]

One thing if u don't want to record every little bit in a binder which I hate doing. I started my YouTube channel @ROYAL REEFER. Had to plug lol! And it's great cuz u can get input on ur tanks from all over the world! And on ur free time go check out This channel @RicosReeftank! Rico has been in the hobby 20plus years and know a lot! So does every on this fourm too! And I would say leds are the way to go! And the other tanks are nice to have a frag tank but like what everyone else it's not needed! In some cases I found saltwater easier then freshwater and I did freshwater ever since I was 5! It's been 10 years since my first fish tank! And I'll never go back. That's just mean!


Lucas. Happy reefing!

 

[Tangs]

I will never go back to t5 lighting I had a bad algae growth problem and not any more with my led lighting of 3 years. But I use charcoal filtered Lake Huron tap water with florid added to it. If you are very interested in the hobby I have found that you need a big tank. I have had my 125 for 20 years now and is probably the best investment I ever made. Only tank I need or want for my salt water hobby. I do not run a sump but that is up to you. I only want a basic coral reef where the fish and corals last forever and with not a lot of time or effort. Good Luck down yonder

 

[Carrie Jo]

You have a lot of misconceptions. starting with the lighting. I have used them all t5 Mhalides and now leds.
Will go with the leds everytime. I can buy a good led fixture cheaper than the bulbs in your t5s and not have to
worry about them for years. Instead of having to buy new t5s in 9 or 10 months.
Second you only need a sump you don't need any other tanks. A lot of stuff can be helpful are nice but
you don't have to have them.

This is exactly why I feel I still have so much to learn I am sure I have tons of misconceptions...

Yea and the thought of losing a reef just because I didn't QT is an expense I wouldn't have the heart to go through financially or hurting and killing the coral, fish, and everyone else in the tank involved.

I used to breed birds and studied quite a bit on it. Even have a few vet books on it that I invested in. When you really read up on birds and diseases which one has to do to be responsible and in hopes not getting a sick bird you cannot QT correctly unless it is in a separate building with a separate a.c. all together because most diseases are airborne. And I couldn't afford to do that so I had to be super super picky and careful where I bought my breeding stock from. I still think I was very lucky even though I would come home change my clothes and take a shower before going into by bird room. Seems silly not to run another QT tank for the safety of your tank when you are having to worried about separate a.c. and buildings. Of course there is another problem with that? where to put it. LOL
I remember wanting to get into saltwater years and years ago. Back then everyone I spoke with would say to make sure you had at least a 100 gallon tank so one would have a little wiggle room for fluctuations. While I know technology has changed and we can get away with things more nowdays I still like the idea going more low tech and old school. Not sure how well that would work or even if it would work for me, and not even sure what it all means.

But I do know that I don't have the type of room nor the budget for some of the super fancy gizmos that some of you guys use. (Plus it is more to learn and adsorb. at least for now) I still have high hopes to get the 92 fixed (use for fresh water for atleast a little while which one thing I have to figure out is do I need to put the baffle in the day I redo the inner seal so I can still use for saltwater later? and Something worring me is do I have to worry about what dirt I use for FEAR of copper contamination to my tank!!! As soon as I get the front of the house clean I am going to try to start to tear apart a 40 breeder that someone was kind enough to give me to practice on. It will give me a chance also to see how well I can clean it up etc. Not quite sure how I will do a water test with a drill hole in the bottom when it comes time but maybe a bulk head with a plug.

 

[sneezebeetle]

This hobby can get expensive...but its more out of choice than necessity for most folks. I use leds and am very happy with the results I get with them. A sump and fuge can be combined into the same tank and are simple to build. You dont have to have your qt tank always filled and ready, but it is good the have the necessities on standby for quick set up. We have a great community of folks here, most learn by trial and error, its not an exact science lol! The build Im working on has only cost me about $250 so far...im a huge fan of upcycling and recycling! Ive tried journaling and keeping binders and just dont keep up with it. Thankfully threads are always around packed full of info and I use an app to plug all my readings in and let it keep track of numbers for me. Sure it can be intimidating, but it is oh so rewarding

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[Carrie Jo]

Don't need a frag tank. 20longs make good qt tanks.

Yea but fraging sounds like so much fun and also seems necessary if something goes wrong trying to save a start of something before you loose it all but then again if no one is in the QT at the time could use it instead. Then again might try it and not like it?

 

[Carrie Jo]

QT is not a must have. It is a nice to have / insurance. Many people added fish to to their systems without issues, but it only takes one time of getting a sick fish with something like marine velvet and wiping out all your fish. Like Tx_punisher said a 20 gallon long works perfect and you can get for 20 dollars when Petco runs their dollar a gallon sale. I think I spent like 90 dollars total setting up my QT (hang on back filter), light and lid. It does not have to be anything fancy. I spent a little more on the light so I can QT frangs when not using for fish. You can't use copper in frag QT as it kills corals.



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Okay I knew to stay away from Copper didn't know there might be a time where I might want to use copper on something? See what I mean so much to learn!

 

[jonjon3321]

There is always new methods to learn but that's the fun part

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[Bigfishy]

Yes, you use copper to treat some diseases in fish. This hobby is kind of like learning to swim. At some point you have to jump into the water. Start slow. Get a piece of live rock and put something like Dr T bacteria to cycle the tank. Take the wAter to a local fish store and have them test it. When they tell you it is ready add a damsel. Remember when water evaporates replace with fresh water and not salt water as salt does not evaporate. Buy saltwater and fresh water from the fish store. As you gain experience work your way up to harder to keep fish and eventually easy to keep coral. If you see something you want research first and then buy.


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[TooSalty]

Just don't buy cheap lights, skimmer, or pumps.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

You can do cheep lights if you know what to look for and what to stay away from.

 

[porkchop]

My first saltwater tank was 6 gallons.

Aquaclear 20 HOB Filter, Live Rock, Sand, Heater, Par30 LED bulb. SUPER SIMPLE

With this tiny reef, I learned a LOT and was able to gauge my desire to stay in the hobby long term. Only reason this tank came down was the lack of surface skimming...I just got frustrated with the film on the top of the water (and I had 3 other tanks going by then).

I may not recommend something as small as a 6 gallon to start with, but I personally think a large reef (75+ gallons) may be TOO costly, TOO intimidating, and TOO hard for a lot of people to plan as a newb.

 

[Carrie Jo]

My first saltwater tank was 6 gallons.

Aquaclear 20 HOB Filter, Live Rock, Sand, Heater, Par30 LED bulb. SUPER SIMPLE

With this tiny reef, I learned a LOT and was able to gauge my desire to stay in the hobby long term. Only reason this tank came down was the lack of surface skimming...I just got frustrated with the film on the top of the water (and I had 3 other tanks going by then).

I may not recommend something as small as a 6 gallon to start with, but I personally think a large reef (75+ gallons) may be TOO costly, TOO intimidating, and TOO hard for a lot of people to plan as a newb.

Well I plan to use the 92 gallon for 5 to 10 years I hope as a freshwater. If it is fixable I am going to work on the inside of the stand. I saw that someone lined their stand with a nice rubber linner. Sounds like a great idea.

So with that in mind I am trying to start growing some plants to hopefully do a planted tank with some Cardinal Tetras, hopefully some shrimp, and maybe another small pretty schooling group.

I would love to get some tissue plants going for the big tank when if it up and running. I kinda screwed up and burnt the leave of my plants. Now I have the correct bulbs (came in today) on the 29 gallon maybe I can get some slow growing stuff going ? I need some of the slow growing smaller ones.

Need to find some safe pretty driftwood. Don't have too ut it wouldbe nice to start on a piece of scenery before doing the tank.

 

[Carrie Jo]

Day 1 I will try to post a pic every week or 2 so you can see how it is doing.

 

[Bigfishy]

I can't see the pictures you posted.


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