Need A Little Help!

[flushed]

hi all

I've been wanting to get a tropical fish tank for a while now, and after a look around on the internet and a few local shops i've decided to start a reef tank. I dont have any experience in reef tanks and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a good starter tank.

you're probably gonna tell me to down size for a starter tank but i want one around 100cm in length, ive seen this one:

Aquastart AR980A

but im unsure weather i will support corals as well as marine fish

Any advice would be great



Aqua One Aquastart AR980Aqua One Aquastart AR980Aqua One Aquastart AR980Aqua One Aquastart AR980

Aqua One Aquastart AR980

[flushed]

around 50 gal

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by flushed

...
you're probably gonna tell me to down size for a starter tank but i want one around 100cm in length, ive seen this one:
...

Actually... no. I think most folks will tell you to start with as big of a tank as possible. With saltwater, smaller is NOT better. While it's easier to do a water change on a small tank, it's harder to maintain stable (and good) water parameters - which is what will ultimately give you a successful reef tank.

Any tank will support a reef... that's the easiest part of the decision. As you start researching lighting, skimmers, substrate depth... that's when the fun begins! Welcome to aquariumadvice!

[divedeep1689]

Kurt is right bigger is better in a saltwater system. the more water volume you have the slower the parameters can change, take your salt for example small tank the water evaporates your salt does not leaving you with a higher salt level faster than if you had a bigger tank. same with your nitrates nitrites ammonia and any other tank level. my first tank was a 29 gal tank i had to do a lot more work on that tank than i do with my 55 gal or my new 125 gal tank. and as like kurt said on your lights skimmers substrates make good decisions and do very good research on the product "ask us before you buy". Alot of us in our start of this hobby has made impulse buys on equipment only to have realized we wasted hundreds of dollars on a piece of junk. But for now just chose your tank size and you will be fine just remember bigger = better

[Jnam]

A starter reef tank... Their are quite a few tanks that are perfectly capabale of supporting a reef tank. As others have mentioned bigger is easier or at least more forgiving of lack luster maintenance. With that said, a smaller tank lets say something like a nanocube or biocube in the 24 gallon range is still considered small but will have lots of the things you need to start a low light reef. The key is maintenance PWC's and Top off's if you are diligent in your schedule you should be able to make any size reef work.
Research it first. While a 55 gallon tank would be a good starter tank if you have the room but the initial costs could be daunting. Where a smaller All in One tank might be a less expensive option but will limit you.

I would say ask your self this "how much time am I willing to commit to this endeavor?"

Like the others have said pick your tank and then we can certainly help you from there.

[fishmonkey]

depending on your budget, you can make a tank as large as you want, but it is true that bigger is better.

and are you sure that you want to do a reef tank? or do you just want to do a Fish Only With Live Rock or do you want to do a Fish Only tank. A reef tank is a lot more expensive than a FOWLR or FO tank. you need good lighting and other things that can get the price up there. not saying that you cant do a reef tank, its just more expensive and needs a little more mantenance...