new to the forum

hi,

I am new to the hobby and I have seen a lot of great tanks. I plan to start a reef tank and just wondering how hard to keep it?

TIA

welcomepic
I think once you develop a maintenance routine all's you have to do is stay on top of it. And research everything before you buy, so you could avoid impulse buy's. Hope you enjoy, this hobby is very addictive and prepare for a empty wallet. Reef addict = Broke reefer :rofl:

Enjoy

you came to the right place for info. as mark said, research before you buy, impulse buys can get you in trouble. also, patience as you are starting up, don't go adding too much life, too soon. tank needs time to mature. once its up and going, it is a labor of love, i spend maybe 10 minutes a day, and 30 minutes on the weekend to keep mine up and going, and it is worth every minute!
welcome
jonathan

feel free to post any other questions, no matter how simple or newbie sounding they may be.

If I might offer a suggestion...

Find a local club and go to a meeting. Meet up with some folks who do this and I'm sure you'll make some great friends and save yourself a LOT of head and heart ache!

Even guys who have been doing this for 20 plus years STILL have things to learn... Very challenging, very expensive but VERY rewarding...

Welcome!

First the warning

1. This hobby is expensive
2. It need lots of patiense and dedication
3. And its "ADDICTING"

:beer: Now :top: WELCOME :cheers: to the site ask way and will try to help you and where are you located :ciao:

so, I plan to have a 100g tank, how much it costs to start up? what equipments I should buy? the LFS gave me a long list, and $$ is out of my budget.

I would start off with going to your lfs. GET A LIST of what he suggests, and bring that list back here to discuss.

Most everything can be had for less then the lfs, but keep in mind, that the cheaper stuff will be used, and yuo will have some things not work for you and some things that will. you may end up spendig the same amuont, but it will take yuo longer to get there, but you will learn a heck of a lot more during the experience...

You can find many bargains online.

And you will find many discussions, pro and con on may subjects...

Ultimately it will be you , your budget, and your knowledge / and patience that will excersized in this hobby...

you will make mistakes, yuo will read about others mistakes.

Learning is the only thing you can control... Will you learn quickly or slowly, that is up to you...


Your original question is a good one, but is subjective, i.e. what is hard for some maybe easy for others...

But I believe, like most things you have learned probably, at first they were difficult, maybe to the point of overwhelming, but after a while, they are now automatic.

I suggest you look at why you want to be in this hobby, and what you are willing to do, and learn to make it successful. Hopefully somewhere in that equation, is for the benefit of coral and sea life in general..

With that earnest reflection, you will know what you want. And I am confident you wwill find sufficient support here to help you get up to speed in the least amount of time, (basically irony there cause it takes time, i.e. a good initial 'cycling' will take no less then one month, and I suggest two months before you put anything (fish or coral) into your tank...

Think of growing a trees, except slower..

Good luck, and lets see that list of what your lfs is thinking of, and maybe you are thinking of also...

Bill

OK here is the list:

CPR skimmer $250
mag 18 $220
Sump $200
Tunze 6100 $350
Lighting 2 x 250w $350 each = $700
LR $6.99/lb- 100lb x $6.99 = 699.

****, it's almost 3 grant. Just forget it.

you don't have to go new. used stuff is good stuff, keep an eye out for a complete setup, many full running systems sell for $1000 or less, don't get discouraged, you can start small and build up. it took me nearly 2 years to get where i am at, and i'm not done getting there either, much more $$$ needed to finish, but i have loved every minute and every dollar i have put into it.
jonathan

I agree. I've bought so much used stuff it isn't even funny... Even new stuff isn't new but for 5 minutes...

Figure out how much you are willing to spend, and how large you want to TRY to go and let us know. Then we can go from there trying to figure out what's what.

Heck, I know a guy selling a glass 220 with stand, sump and pump for 1000.00... So there ARE deals out there...

I am selling or at least trying to sell my 100G reef Tank. Take a look at one of my previous post for information on it. I have a guy coming to look at it today, but nothing serious so far.

like Jon said, you will find deals online, sometimes complete, sometimes PARTED out... so, lets look at what is in your list...


CPR,,, CRAP... overpriced. for that price youi can geta skimmer for a tank twice the size of yours...

Mag 18 --- www.marinedepot.com has that pump for $120 Brand NEW

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI..._Pumps_Submersible_Over_1000_GPH~vendor~.html


The sump can be made for less then $50

Tunze, great powerhead, (maybe the cadillac of the bunch) Is that what you want to go with when you start up??? If you can afford, it great... But you can go other routes...

btw, i bet you can beat that price anywhere...

Lighting is expensive. but again, going with used will cut that price in half..

Live rock--- depending on how quickly you need it, or if you can store it while you put your tank together, you can find LR for free, up to $2/lb


So, your lfs, charged you more... that is how they stay in business... You will need them to be in business so youcan go into the brick and mortar place, and TALK face to face with someone, and if you dont buy from them, or if others dont buy from them, you and I will lose that one on one contact...

That is a deep discussion, i.e. big box store vs the mom and pop store...

Many great advise has been given already and here are some my 2 cents.

Already stated but I just wanted to restate and repeat 2 things again: 1. research, research, research research and 2. Keep it slow with livestock.

If you want to go even cheaper and have all the aquascape fast is to get mostly died/ dry rock which you can get really cheap at some place and seed it with just a few lb of LR. I think I started my old tank with 200lb base, plate, display rock for around 50 cent per lb avg. It will take you longer to have a mature tank but it will also give you time to research info.

Used is great I have never paid new price on my MH (always buy new bulb unless someone give you them for free and they are not too old), other stuff from the net are new or used depending on what deals are out.

You can always buy frag they are cheaper in cost. My logic on this was that if I'm still learning getting a frag or colony doesn't matter if I can't keep it alive while learning, so frag is cheaper. I also find it more rewarding to say and see corals that you got and see them in the future and know it was because of your hard work.

Thanks for great advices! I think I might have to go with fish only tank first tan try out some softies to see if I can go on into this expensive hobby.