saltwater

So i might be getting a nano reef tank. it will only cost my 25 bucks annd it come with everything i need. it also will come with live rock, sand and a few nano fish. The question is should i or should i not? give me your thoughts. i wanna know what others have experienced.

It will still be expensive if you keep up with all the supplements water changes, light bulbs etc. It really just depends on what you want to do with it, what, if any, corals you will be growing, adequate filtration, protein skimmer. The list goes on. No fish or minimal fish is usually better for a first reef tank. It can be pretty easy to overload the filtration and spike the tank when you have a large number of fish in it.

There are plenty of forums out there, if you haven't had a reef tank before, read read read. Like any other forum you will encounter folks that will tell you their way is the only way to keep a reef tank, sound familiar? Read as much as you can and then if you still want to do it, dive in and see if you have a salt thumb.

Saltwater tanks basically are their own eco systems. They can take care of themselves. It will be a learning curve. For $25, i would absolutely do it. You can't buy an experience any cheaper. See if you like it. See if you can do it. Just remember it takes at least six weeks to cycle. If you don't do it, I'm gonna let my kid kick you in the you know whats.

For 25 bucks, I would do it. I don't know much about saltwater tanks, but fish in general are fun to watch. I have all kinds of excitement in the three tanks that I have here.

junglefries said:

Saltwater tanks basically are their own eco systems. They can take care of themselves. It will be a learning curve. For $25, i would absolutely do it. You can't buy an experience any cheaper. See if you like it. See if you can do it. Just remember it takes at least six weeks to cycle. If you don't do it, I'm gonna let my kid kick you in the you know whats.

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Yea. I'm buying it from a friend of mine. its already set up. he has had this 10gallon nano reef tank for years. he said he doesn't have time for it anymore with his three kids and other fish. so that's how I'm getting it for only $25. I'm think I'm going to try my hand at it. Iv been keeping freshwater tanks since i was 7. so i think it might be time to change it up. and thanks for the warning. lol

junglefries said:

Saltwater tanks basically are their own eco systems. They can take care of themselves. It will be a learning curve. For $25, i would absolutely do it. You can't buy an experience any cheaper. See if you like it. See if you can do it. Just remember it takes at least six weeks to cycle. If you don't do it, I'm gonna let my kid kick you in the you know whats.

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Yeah, not so much but then what do I know I have only been doing it for 30yrs. Oh and also deep water collecting for 20yrs. Depending on your setup you will be replacing elements that the corals use up while growing. Also if a tank is constantly being changed i.e. fish, corals, rock being added or subtracted you will be playing hell with the biologic load and in a small tank that change will be rapid. Evaporation is something you have to pay close attention too in small tanks as you can change the salinity quickly since there is less volume.


For $25 it's going to be about as cheap as you can get to start one but the costs are ongoing and if you are on a tight budget they can add up fast.

Ask him when the lighting was changed last, unless it's LED. You will usually only get six months out of saltwater aquarium lighting, similar to Chams but add the corrosion factor of the saltwater.

Good luck

Montium said:

Yeah, not so much but then what do I know I have only been doing it for 30yrs. Oh and also deep water collecting for 20yrs.

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I managed two wholesale suppliers for twenty years, one shark exhibit, and one marine aquarium. So yeah, they do take care of themselves. It is only specialized corals and exotic feeding fish (i.e. feed on crabs, corals, plankton, anenome, shrimps) that will never fit into a 10g aquarium that require extra maintenance. I have taken literal baths in methylene blue, malachite green, and acraflavin treating fish. Less is more. Like I have said a million times before, just because something is sold, doesn't mean it HAS to be bought. It's not lke the guy is going to try and fit a garibaldi and a yoo stone in this tank. It's ten gallons. A couple cute perculas, some live rock, pom pom crab, a scooter blenny and he's done.

It will cost you $25 now but that is a very expensive hobby. Make sure you have a good idea the direction you want to take it. If you just want something nice to look at with mushrooms or hardy and small lps, you can prob get away pretty cheap.

I had a reef tank for a few years a while back, and from experience, the smaller the tank, the harder to maintain. As someone previously stated, evaporation causes changed in salinity and can wreak havoc on your inhabitants. I had a hair algae infestation so bad that I ended up getting completely out of the hobby after fighting with it for over a year. I still have all my equipment downstairs (including my coral light) and refuse to start over again due to sheer frustration. It's an expensive hobby, and can really be trying if you don't know what you're doing. JMO

christineacero said:

I had a reef tank for a few years a while back, and from experience, the smaller the tank, the harder to maintain. As someone previously stated, evaporation causes changed in salinity and can wreak havoc on your inhabitants. I had a hair algae infestation so bad that I ended up getting completely out of the hobby after fighting with it for over a year. I still have all my equipment downstairs (including my coral light) and refuse to start over again due to sheer frustration. It's an expensive hobby, and can really be trying if you don't know what you're doing. JMO

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Second that! Nano reefs are the hardest to keep healthy. For a beginner I would try at least 100 gallons. I had a 70 and it still was tough keeping my levels correct. I also had some crabs come in on cured live rock that wrecked havoc on my corals. I spent months trying to trap those beasts but to no avail. The $ I was putting in was crazy and had to sell off the livestock. I too have the equipment because the resale value is horrendous.