How Hard is a Reef Tank Really?

[kraiz]

How hard is a reef tnak? I'd really liek to start a nano reef, liek 25gallosn with a pair of clown fish and seem inverts and a bunch of coral. I've never done saltwater before. How hard and different is it from freshwater? I'd hate to spend so much on the fish and corals only to have them die.

 

[Tony]

I have a 26 gallon setup for sale. Bowfront tank, canopy and stand, 10g sump, skimmer, return pump, overflow, all plumbing. Everything you need to get started.

 

[kraiz]

I have a 26 gallon setup for sale. Bowfront tank, canopy and stand, 10g sump, skimmer, return pump, overflow, all plumbing. Everything you need to get started.

How would i transfer this? would you help me set it up for a small fee of sorts? How much is it?

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Honestly, if you don't know, then the answer is 'its too hard.' Reefs are another world compared to freshwater, and nano reefs are even harder to maintain than larger systems. It can be done, but I found out that the time and cost it takes to maintain saltwater would be the equivalent of maintaining 4 medium freshwater tanks.

I'm not trying to shoot you down, just trying to help you see the end result. I USED to maintain 2 saltwater tanks and 3 freshwater tanks. I now maintanin 10+ freshwater tanks and spend less money, time and energy keeping them going. I know other people in the club in the same boat.

Starting saltwater means new types of food, chemicals, lights, buffers and other various items. Every time you run out of one thing it means another trip to the store or online order. Most of the supplies I have for my freshwater tanks can all be used on every tank.

Just my 2 cents, but an honest opinion.

 

[kraiz]

Honestly, if you don't know, then the answer is 'its too hard.' Reefs are another world compared to freshwater, and nano reefs are even harder to maintain than larger systems. It can be done, but I found out that the time and cost it takes to maintain saltwater would be the equivalent of maintaining 4 medium freshwater tanks.

I'm not trying to shoot you down, just trying to help you see the end result. I USED to maintain 2 saltwater tanks and 3 freshwater tanks. I now maintanin 10+ freshwater tanks and spend less money, time and energy keeping them going. I know other people in the club in the same boat.

Starting saltwater means new types of food, chemicals, lights, buffers and other various items. Every time you run out of one thing it means another trip to the store or online order. Most of the supplies I have for my freshwater tanks can all be used on every tank.

Just my 2 cents, but an honest opinion.

yeah but it may be worth it to be able to sit and watch clownfish dance in and out of the corals. starfish, corals, clownfish, cool *** inverts, and sea horses all are enticing.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

I have a 26 gallon setup for sale. Bowfront tank, canopy and stand, 10g sump, skimmer, return pump, overflow, all plumbing. Everything you need to get started.

Sorry didn't mean to step on your feet Tony. I was typing my response while yours had already been posted.

Your system is a good choice for a starter because its plug and play, its just a whole nother ballgame.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

yeah but it may be worth it to be able to sit and watch clownfish dance in and out of the corals. starfish, corals, clownfish, cool *** inverts, and sea horses all are enticing.

If you have the time and money go for it. I wouldn't let anyone else tell me otherwise when I started my reef tank. They are a lot of fun to watch once they're set up and functional. Tony will be glad to be a consultant for keeping the tank going.:lol:

 

[kraiz]

If you have the time and money go for it. I wouldn't let anyone else tell me otherwise when I started my reef tank. They are a lot of fun to watch once they're set up and functional. Tony will be glad to be a consultant for keeping the tank going.:lol:

yeah, im still young and "hood rich" (no bills) so now is the time to experiment i guess. PM sent tony...

I also plan on going to the seminar at Tropical Fish World about basic reef keeping.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

yeah, im still young and "hood rich" (no bills) so now is the time to experiment i guess. PM sent tony...

I also plan on going to the seminar at Tropical Fish World about basic reef keeping.

Thats a great start and a good idea. Tony is only a few minutes from TFW, so if you like what you hear, you could drive over to Tony's afterwards and pick up his setup (very nice BTW).

 

[Spine]

Saltwater isn't to difficult but you need to be dedicated, not much room for error. The bigger a tank is makes it easier to maintian

 

[bschuhart]

I think smaller is harder, I had a 110 reef for 12 years and it was not any harder than freshwater.

 

[Billy Rocket]

Go for the reef tank. It's A LOT of fun. I've been playing with saltwater for years. I started with saltwater and added freshwater. It's not hard. IMO, for a display tank, you can't beat a reef tank.

 

[Andrew]

Depends on you. If you are prepared to be patient, research compatibility before making purchases, have a vision for what you want from your tank (you have this so far) and spend money in the right places instead of going cheap, you'll be fine.

The biggest problems people have are going too fast, making unsuitable livestock additions and trying to go cheap on critical supplies or equipment.

The biggest issue? When things go wrong, they go very wrong and fast. On the other hand people pay better attention to their reefs because there's so much more invested in them, time, money, knowledge, etc.

Tony's setup would be a good start, but make sure you get what you eventually want instead of hedging on a smaller system to start because you're nervous about doing it. Bigger is easier. Smaller is cheaper. Balance the two wisely.

 

[Billy Rocket]

Andrew is right. Buy good stuff the first time. Go and see as many reef tanks as you can BEFORE you build your tank. You are welcome to come see my tanks.

Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank!!

 

[kraiz]

Andrew is right. Buy good stuff the first time. Go and see as many reef tanks as you can BEFORE you build your tank. You are welcome to come see my tanks.

Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank!!

i don't know if i'm right for a reef tank then. I'm very impatient and currently have an overstocked fw tank due to this impatience and noobism. I still might but tony's set up. I think it'd be so cool to have clown fish and inverts crawling all over cool corals.

 

[YSS]

I've had my 36G Bow Front set up for over three years now. I started with a 20GH and switched over to the 36G after about a year and half. Don't know what it is. I've had a lot of issues in the beginning and killed a lot of clowns and other fish. But for the last two years, it's been on a cruise control. But, only have 3 fish in my tank. 2 clowns and 1 firefish. I have a few inverts and a few soft corals. I do 4G water changes every three or four weeks. I don't have a skimmer, but have probably 50lbs of liverock and a decent sand bed. It was difficult getting started and learning, but now, it's as easy as any of my other tanks.

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Saltwater isn't to difficult but you need to be dedicated, not much room for error. The bigger a tank is makes it easier to maintian

Yeah, I didn't mean to sound so negative in my first post. Reef tanks are much harder to start than they are to "keep." They're nice and not too difficult once they are established, but thats the hard part. If you're starting from scratch then it could be over a year before you have "cool inverts crawling all over corals and stuff." I had a 12 gallon nano cube that I loved, but it took a while to get it properly stocked and have evrything getting along and growing. Good luck if you decide to go this route.

 

[kraiz]

Yeah, I didn't mean to sound so negative in my first post. Reef tanks are much harder to start than they are to "keep." They're nice and not too difficult once they are established, but thats the hard part. If you're starting from scratch then it could be over a year before you have "cool inverts crawling all over corals and stuff." I had a 12 gallon nano cube that I loved, but it took a while to get it properly stocked and have evrything getting along and growing. Good luck if you decide to go this route.

thanks.

 

[breeia]

A display reef tank is one of the most beautiful things IMHO. I don't do marine today, and haven't for about 7 years, and am in no way speaking from an expert perspective. I can empathize with you that while in college I was star struck by this type of tank. In my apartment I had a 10 gal (not a reef set up) with a clown fish, an anemone, some corals and I think maybe a goby. This was not terribly expensive but definitely more time consuming to maintain than my freshwater tanks- which were of course significantly larger. I'm not sure I would recommend such a set up but it was a successful tank for me for my four college years and I did enjoy it. In addition, one of my college "jobs" was maintaining a newly installed 300 gallon reef tank the college set up in one of the dorms. This required significant ongoing research, time, and an "expert" whom I could call on with any questions. I enjoyed the experience and as previously stated, after the tank stabilized (I think about 8 months if memory serves correctly) it was much less work. Everything from the equipment to living things was expensive and if you want to be successful IMHO you would want to make sure the initial set up is quality and well thought out. I seem to recall that overstocking is a huge issue with this sort of set up- quite a bit more so even than in freshwater tanks. I guess I would say, that if you are truly interested in a reef set up a tank that can be extremely rewarding- I would read as many books on the subject as I could and speak to everyone I could with successful tanks before taking the plunge. That 26 gallon set up Tony posted has me drooling a bit....if your not interested .....Best of luck!

 

[jthefishguy22]

It's not as hard as everyone says. I have a 150G saltwater, it has some coral, but not considered a reef. I've had a few salwater tanks, and with each move I buy a bigger tank. The water changes are less, but the equipment is more expensive. There are certain ways to save....for example....my house is always warm, so I don't use a heater. So to make up for that extra outlet I put in an extra light. Smaller tanks are easier just because the equipment is cheaper. I'd start off with a biocube and see how you like it.