Do that then! It'll be way cheaper
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- Thread starter Torkel
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FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
My local SW fish shop advised me to begin with FW & then a small SW tank. I’d never drop 5K as a total newbie.
Think I saw a YouTube guy named Ben who does saltwater. He begins his vids outdoors with 2 cute beagles. I found him while looking for info on my FW sump tank. He had some great ideas that never occurred to me.
Bruce Leyland-Jones
Fish Aficionado
Personally, I think you're setting yourself up for a whole world of pain and that's before we start talking about the suffering you'll inflict on living creatures to get there.
Imagine that you haven't yet passed your driving test and you've just bought yourself a superb Ferrari to learn the ropes in...
I'm sure that we can all guess what's likely to happen at the first tight bend.
Many people fail to realise just what a responsibility taking on a tank can be and how complex a task.
Don't get me wrong...it IS a great hobby, but we are talking about establishing a complex ecosystem, from bacteria upwards to intelligent vertebrates and molluscs, (if you're having octopii
) and having both the skills and knowledge to do this without causing suffering in another living thing.Then there's the issue of Multiple Tank Syndrome, where just the one tank is never, ever, enough.
Having set a tank up, you will then start to hanker after another, with different species. You might decide to focus on a particular geographical area, or a certain species, or group of species...you might even want to get into breeding.
You won't know any of this until you've successfully established your first tank and, if you blow everything, before you've even started, you'll have nowhere to go.
E.X.A.C.T.L.Y. I think its amazing, Torkel that you want to get right in there to salt water with a huge aquarium. (I would do it toPersonally, I think you're setting yourself up for a whole world of pain and that's before we start talking about the suffering you'll inflict on living creatures to get there.
Imagine that you haven't yet passed your driving test and you've just bought yourself a superb Ferrari to learn the ropes in...
I'm sure that we can all guess what's likely to happen at the first tight bend.
Many people fail to realise just what a responsibility taking on a tank can be and how complex a task.
Don't get me wrong...it IS a great hobby, but we are talking about establishing a complex ecosystem, from bacteria upwards to intelligent vertebrates and molluscs, (if you're having octopii
Then there's the issue of Multiple Tank Syndrome, where just the one tank is never, ever, enough.
Having set a tank up, you will then start to hanker after another, with different species. You might decide to focus on a particular geographical area, or a certain species, or group of species...you might even want to get into breeding.
You won't know any of this until you've successfully established your first tank and, if you blow everything, before you've even started, you'll have nowhere to go.
) But, you need to start small (by small it could be a 55 gallon) but try not to make it a super pricey set-up (try to go for under $1000)
Hi and welcome to the forum
We can help you set up a coral tank and we can help you set up a fish tank if you want to try that first.
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Your shopping list does not include artificial marine salt or a reverse osmosis (R/O) unit. If you have access to natural seawater that is clean, then you won't need artificial marine salts. However, if you don't have access to clean seawater, then you will need to buy artificial marine salts and that can cost a bit of money.
Depending on your tap water supply, you might need a reverse osmosis unit. These filter impurities and chemicals from tap water and leave a water that is almost pure. You need pure water for coral tanks to make up artificial saltwater, and to top up the tank after water has evaporated. When water evaporates it is only pure water that evaporates. All the minerals and salts are left behind. If you have contaminated tap water and add it to a coral tank, you can kill the corals.
If you contact your water supply company by phone or website, you should be able to find out what is in the water. Try to find that and post a list of it here. If you have nitrates and other contaminants in your tap water, you will need a reverse osmosis unit. R/O units come in a range of models and sizes and they can waste a lot of water. The best units have a 1:1 ratio whereby they create 1 litre of pure water and 1 litre of waste water that cannot be used in the tank. Cheaper quality units might have a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio where they make 1 litre of pure water and have 2 or more litres of waste water.
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Anyway, if you have questions, feel free to ask them here. Read up on cycling aquariums. Find out what is in your water.
Most people start with a fish and live rock tank before graduating onto a coral tank. You can go corals straight away but as others have mentioned, corals need good water quality and aren't the easiest to keep. You can do corals as a beginner, but you need a good reliable source to help you navigate everything.
We can help you set up a coral tank and we can help you set up a fish tank if you want to try that first.
-----------------
Your shopping list does not include artificial marine salt or a reverse osmosis (R/O) unit. If you have access to natural seawater that is clean, then you won't need artificial marine salts. However, if you don't have access to clean seawater, then you will need to buy artificial marine salts and that can cost a bit of money.
Depending on your tap water supply, you might need a reverse osmosis unit. These filter impurities and chemicals from tap water and leave a water that is almost pure. You need pure water for coral tanks to make up artificial saltwater, and to top up the tank after water has evaporated. When water evaporates it is only pure water that evaporates. All the minerals and salts are left behind. If you have contaminated tap water and add it to a coral tank, you can kill the corals.
If you contact your water supply company by phone or website, you should be able to find out what is in the water. Try to find that and post a list of it here. If you have nitrates and other contaminants in your tap water, you will need a reverse osmosis unit. R/O units come in a range of models and sizes and they can waste a lot of water. The best units have a 1:1 ratio whereby they create 1 litre of pure water and 1 litre of waste water that cannot be used in the tank. Cheaper quality units might have a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio where they make 1 litre of pure water and have 2 or more litres of waste water.
-----------------
Anyway, if you have questions, feel free to ask them here. Read up on cycling aquariums. Find out what is in your water.
ClownLurch
Fish Gatherer
Don’t run before you can crawl would be my advice.
Whilst you could make it “cheaper” you will not be near as happy with it. Some of my friends have RSR tanks and I have seen some in person as well. They are very well made and will last you a super long time.
If you’re going to spend that much on lights anyway, I would look into Noopysche K7 V3 or Radion G5’s.
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Definitely start with a FOWLR before even thinking about coral. Since you are very new to saltwater, do your research and then setup just the tank. Make sure your salinity is correct and stable, and then start your cycling process. This can take around a month, so it should give you time to get your salinity and other parameters correct, along with lots and lots of research.
After your tank is completely stable for at least 3 months, then I would look into getting some beginner soft coral.
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FF_Member146894
Guest
if you have the skills, you can make it even better than the store bought stands
you won't get the perfect stand on your first or second attempt, though, i can tell you that
and it doesn't hurt to try to put in some little money for the cheaper option before you drop $1000 on something
You have apparently have never seen a Red Sea stand/setup, lol. At the end of the day, you will be happier with the deluxe, sleek stand that the RSR offers, rather than a ugly DIY plywood stand.
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FF_Member146894
Guest
alright, you obviously have no experience with DIY stands, i won't try to force my thinking into you
Not only are salt water fish easier to kill (not to put too fine a point on it), they are BLIDDY EXPENSIVE to buy.
You could lose a couple of grand's worth of fish in a heartbeat.
I'd do as others suggested - start with a middling sized tank until you learn about your new hobby. It won't be wasted as you can use it as a quarantine tank for new fish when you get your Big Tank put in in a couple of years' time.
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