to SW or not to SW

magakitty

magakitty

Normal people scare me
Apr 5, 2007
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Palm Springs
mysobrietyspace.ning.com
We are committed to buy a 55 gal SW setup on Friday. The problem is, we just read a book on marine tanks, and we are concerned about the technicality of it all, and the expense (not that we have cheaped out on anything for our FW tanks (4 in all)...

What are your thought on entering the SW world? Were you scared? Did you have second thoughts? Did you just plunge in? What were your early SW experiences like?

Thanks

Steve and Kitty
 
Welcome to salt!

For me I had always wanted a reef tank, I tried to dip my toes instead into FW but quickly learned that if I was willing to do the work and money on that I should just stop looking like a kid pouting at the outside of a candystore and get into SW.

Yes, it is more expensive. Yes, it is a bit more work. Yes, I was scared when I saw some of the huge tanks with what looked like gadgets way beyond my knowledge.

In my newbie opinion if you're going to be successful in SW you have to be willing to read, read some more, and when you're exhausted yourself reading go and read some more. If you're really interested in the hobby it will be fun and fascinating not a chore to do this. Ask lots of questions in this forum and others. AquariaCentral is very friendly towrds newbies but in my thought it is best to gather thoughts from many, research what you hear and then filter what you think is best for you and the tank you want.

I have a 55g as well and made some mistakes the first few months and will most likely make some more. It is a great sized tank for starting off I think but I already finding myself wanting more. ;-)

Give us an idea of what you want in a SW tank and we can help guide you. Check the articles here about starting new tanks in SW. The differences between Fish Only (F0), FOWLER (Fish with live rock), and Reef tanks. Decide what you want to stock before making purchases (such as that new tank) and THEN buy the new equipment.
 
Your concerns are valid. Like Grins has already said, it is expensive and it is a bit more work, but trust me, it is all worth it in the end.

Research till your eyes bleed. Not only will you learn a hell of alot, but it also kills time during the cycling process and when you are bored at work :).

To displace cost a bit you could space your purchases out over several weeks or even months. It has helped me this time around. The first time I tried SW ( a decade ago) I ended up maxing out two credit cards. Ahh...the sweet ignorance of youth. Parents were not happy.

The most important thing that you will need to succeed in this hobby is Patience. Extreme amounts of patience. At least that is free. That is the one thing that I lacked the first time I tried SW and it crashed my tank. (Well acutally it was a combination of lack of patience and no RO/DI filter for my tap water.)

Other than that....:welcome:. Hope you decide to go Salt. Good Luck!!!
 
We are newbies too, but took the plunge, we will never be sorry we did it is well worth it. we tend to still mother hen our one salt tank to death! lol. We just got back from a trip to Destin Fl. where we went snorkling for the first time, what was really cool is that from our learning about salt water fish, we knew some of what we were looking at! we were like look, theres a goby! I even spotted a yellow tang. it made it all the more cooler. Good luck with yours and mostly, have fun!
 
Okay - What we are buying is a Uniquarium set-up that is one year old. The guy that bought it spent $1600 on it, including the stand. We are getting all of the equipment, but will have to add a protein skimmer, since he was using it for a FW tank!?!?! We are getting it for $300 because he is moving out of state, and our friends that own the lfs told him that we couldn't afford what he wanted for it ($800 was his starting price), and we are the only people interested in it. They know our budget well, because we spend a great deal of money in their store, including a new 37 All Glass tall, w/ stand and hood that we bought last week (my birthday gift).

What we have been wanting to do is a reef tank, with a few fish, invertebrates, sand sifters, etc. We love the diamond and the tiger gobys. We have checked out the different corals and other critters that live attached to the stone (been told to stay away from anemones because they will move and smother the other critters, and that we have to be careful who is placed next to who so they don't "go to war" over space. We spent a good two hours at the lfs checking out their various tanks and different critters and fishes. We were "educated" on the mistakes they made setting up their 100 gal reef tank.

We will buy RO water from them (50 cents a gallon) and make our own sea water. That is what they recommended, rather than buying the salt water premixed, so that we know how to mix it in case of an emergency.

We have come to the conclusion that it will take a long time to set it up. Live Rock (Fiji) that is already cured ($4.99 lb), live sand. Just getting the basics is going to be $$$. Darlene said that they have a protein skimmer that was made for this tank, that someone bought and returned. She thinks Arnel would let us have it real cheap.

We think we would like to get the reef going before we get the fish. Has anyone done this?

We heard that we have to put the most docile fish in first. What about the corals, crabs, shrimps, etc

Any opinions, hints, shared experiences, etc. are welcome
 
You're on a good track so far. You could have a great deal or an OK deal depending on what their specs are. You can spend a lot of money on not so great equipment and $1600 can go fast.

The gobies are great, you'll love them. The Diamond is a popular choice and should do well in a 55g.

I agree with your LFS that nems aren't for beginners and will move and sting sessile inverts. You will need to exercise caution on some corals as well due t the sweeper tentacles that some have.

Good choice on the RO/DI water. When you're ready for an upgrade your own RO/DI unit will save even more money in the long run.

$4.99 is a good price for cured live rock. Look for ones that have lots of nooks and crannies versus dense pieces. You'll not need as many pounds of if this way.

You won't need to buy live sand. It will be come live sand with live rock. If you want to speed it up even more add 2 cups of live sand from an established tank. Do buy sand versus crushed coral though.

What is the brand of skimmer they are offering used? Used is fine but some skimmers are great, some not so great.

Getting the reef going before the fish is fine, no worries there. In fact it is great you're not wanting to overstock with fish. Your experience in FW is going to help you with that I'm sure.

You can your clean up crew after you cycle. My advice is to get what you need to battle the types of algae you have so you don't overstock on them and starve them.

For extra advice, get us a list of what the package you're buying includes and we'll suggest what we'd add, replace, delete.
 
magakitty I found you! LOL!
 
The tank is only 1 year old, and he kept blood parrot cichlids in it.
I'm not sure which of these it is. I have seen the identical tank in the lfs, but I'm not sure if it was the tall or not.
http://www.fishtankwarehouse.com/cart/shopper.cfm?action=view&key=CFL010
http://www.fishtankwarehouse.com/cart/shopper.cfm?action=view&key=CFL009

The front corners of the tank are rounded and it is acrylic. it will have the bio balls with it. The hood and stand are included.

The skimmer is a "clear for life venturi" - I'm not sure which model. We will have to buy this. Apparently the one I was talking about was not used for any length of time, and is functioning as it should.
http://www.oceanproaquatics.com/shop/product_info.php/cPath/30_202_228_280/products_id/2684

We are thinking about 2 powerheads and eventually a wave machine.

We spend a lot of time on our tanks and we enjoy it. The time we spend each evening is a great way to transition from work to home life. We often just sit at the table watching the fish and talking to each other. We are total fish geeks, and we are proud of it...

Can we do this? Just how complicated is it? We have "mastered" the chemistry of the FW tanks, and just setup a DIY CO2 reactor in the 37, and if it shows promise we will add one to the 20. If we can handle 4 FW tanks from 5 to 55 gal., ranging from frogs and platies, to community planted, to semi-aggressive planted, to african cichlid (high Ph and crowded), we should be able to grasp the subtleties of SW reef, do you think?
 
Magakitty, do me (and lots of us) a favor and write a diary of what you do when and even the mistakes.

I would eventually like to have a reef tank. That comes after the wife's cichlid tank gets going.
 
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