Needing a big marine/reef tank

[Eelzor]

Sorry if this question has already been clarified somewhere else, I just couldn't find anything about what I am saying now. I know that several people say on this forum for marine tanks that the bigger the better and that big tanks are really quite necessary for the marine/reef setup. This leads me to think, that would mean spending a hell of a lot more money, and the tank being bigger would mean more scenery, filtration, rock, etc. So, really you have to spend a lot of money when starting a marine setup. So my two questions are,

1.There is no way to have a small cheap 10 gallon setup?

2.Why?

Sorry if the question bothers some, because of telling 50 something people already. Just saying the question clearly to get a nice clean answer clearly. If too many people have already said something like this, maybe you can pin it.

Regards,

EelZoR

Edit: P.S - I know Great Lakes has already mentioned the topic but he says "Trust me on this" in that topic. So, the main reason this post was done, is to ask a question, in short, I don't trust you, now I want to know why.

S'all good, thanks for letting me talk.

 

[EddieW]

Eelzor,

You can go small with a marine tank, it is just a lot harder. The smaller the tank the less water, the less water the more variable the quality, the more variable the quality the more work you have to do to keep it right.

You would spend more per gallon on a small setup than you would on a larger one, but you can do it for a reasonable amount. There is defintely no such thing as a cheap marine tank

I have just set up a 20 gal nano-reef tank. It is not complete yet but it is coming along nicely. I have spent about £400 so far and I had the tank, cabinet, heater and one filter to start with......

If you have a look on Nano-reefs you will see reef tanks down to about a US gallon.

HTH, Eddie

 

[Eelzor]

ok thanks, well clarified.

 

[ostrow]

And because it is harder to keep the water stable, you spend more time on it, and can have more cataclysmic disasters. And, for those reasons, nanos are best attempted by experienced reef keepers only.

Your increased expenses from larger tanks are the tank and stand, of course. The water isn't really a difference as you need RO/DI anyway. Larger tank requires less frequent water changes so really not a big deal.

You'll need more salt initially. Not much money there.

You'll need more pumps for circulation. Even the best, Mag pumps, are under $100 for 2.

Filtration? I don't know what you mean. You only need a protein skimmer if you have live rock and live sand, and you need one anyway. Protein skimmers aren't really that expensive and, again, you need one anyway.

Yes, more live rock needed. If you start with base and add just a few pieces of live you save money. Or look for someone in your area on reef central selling theirs -- you won't have to wait more than a month to find someone if you are anywhere near a metropolitan area.

Lighting is needed for nano or large, and the cost difference may not be huge if you are staying 90G or less.

The biggest cost difference then is the tank/stand. Yes, it's more. But it's a one-time expense.