5 Things I have learnt in the first 12 months.

[Dombake]

So it's a year this week that my cycle finished and I thought I would share 5 things I have learnt that people new to the hobby should know.

1. Nothing good ever happens fast. You'll see it time and again on here and it's true. DO NOT IGNORE. Most of the problems I have had are due to rushing something. Be it a water change, changing/cleaning equipment or anything really. Stop and think and always take your time.

2. You will spend more than you think. As with most things, there are cheap options and expensive options. Think carefully about purchases to avoid needing to replace/upgrade kit. There will always be something else you want so I'd challenge any newbie who set a budget and stuck to it.

3. You will want a bigger tank if you start small. I started with a 90 litre + sump. I would never talk anyone out of starting small, I think knowing you have to stay 110% on top of things from the beginning is a good place to learn. I do wish I started a bit bigger now but It was the right choice for me at the time. Perhaps my desire for a 6ft tank now might be a little less if I started a bit bigger (but probably not).

4. Everyone's experience is different. I've asked for a lot of advice online, in stores and from local reefers. There are always different methods, views and experiences. Ask questions, listen and then decide what is best for you.

5. Keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. My tank always looks its best when I have been away for a week and it hasn't been touched by anyone, with consistent feeding from auto feeder.

I could make this 10 or even 50 things I've learnt, but thought these 5 are worth sharing.

Good luck to everyone starting out.

 

[jlmawp]

All good point and on-par with my experience.

It's been a year for me as well this week, and the main thing I noticed is that not everything is doing 100% well at the same time. It seems like there is always something "wrong" in the tank. Changing a bunch of stuff for 1 small issue is bout to lead to other issues. Although this has reduced a lot as the tank has matured.

 

[swiftvision]

I'm just now 2 years in.

The budget part is right on.

I've been told for a reef tank, expect $100 per gallon.

My 100G DT is probably right around that number but mine is all one-off.

 

[Civicman86]

I'm just now 2 years in.

The budget part is right on.

I've been told for a reef tank, expect $100 per gallon.

My 100G DT is probably right around that number but mine is all one-off.

$10k? What are you buying? Curious as I'm starting a 75g and I'm no where near 100/gallon. Didn't really think I was going cheap either (expected $2k investment).

 

[Cliving1]

I would say thats a bit much as well. 10 gallon tank costing 1000 is excessive...maybe he meant 10/gallon

 

[swiftvision]

I would say thats a bit much as well. 10 gallon tank costing 1000 is excessive...maybe he meant 10/gallon

Nope. My 8 gallon was $800-1000.

Yes, my 100G is about at 10K. It's not hard. My light was $1500. Tank $1000, stand $1000, $600 sand and rocks, skimmer $400, sump $400, ATO $300, pumps $800, fuge $200, plumbing and wiring $500, heater setup $200, calcium reactor setup $700, reactors $400, RODI setup $800, media $300, etc, etc etc......

A 75G for 2K must NOT be nice equipment and/or used. Even with an off the shelf tank, stand, and cheap breeder sump your at $1000. BUT I see your 'FOWLR' which is 1000x easier, cheaper, etc.

Buy Once Cry Once.

 

[SycoCell]

I did the math for $10/g and that's close to my 125.


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[rjjr1963]

I started with a smallish tank and glad I did. I learned a lot of hard lessons in the first year. Much easier to recover a small tank from a disaster.

 

[TheOtherDB]

So it's a year this week that my cycle finished and I thought I would share 5 things I have learnt that people new to the hobby should know.

1. Nothing good ever happens fast. You'll see it time and again on here and it's true. DO NOT IGNORE. Most of the problems I have had are due to rushing something. Be it a water change, changing/cleaning equipment or anything really. Stop and think and always take your time.

2. You will spend more than you think. As with most things, there are cheap options and expensive options. Think carefully about purchases to avoid needing to replace/upgrade kit. There will always be something else you want so I'd challenge any newbie who set a budget and stuck to it.

3. You will want a bigger tank if you start small. I started with a 90 litre + sump. I would never talk anyone out of starting small, I think knowing you have to stay 110% on top of things from the beginning is a good place to learn. I do wish I started a bit bigger now but It was the right choice for me at the time. Perhaps my desire for a 6ft tank now might be a little less if I started a bit bigger (but probably not).

4. Everyone's experience is different. I've asked for a lot of advice online, in stores and from local reefers. There are always different methods, views and experiences. Ask questions, listen and then decide what is best for you.

5. Keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. My tank always looks its best when I have been away for a week and it hasn't been touched by anyone, with consistent feeding from auto feeder.

I could make this 10 or even 50 things I've learnt, but thought these 5 are worth sharing.

Good luck to everyone starting out.

I dunno about #5. I have a hope to one day scuba dive in my tank. I plan to take my hands with me ... just sayin!

Seriously ... nice list, and absolutely accurate with maybe a little fudging based upon one's own set of unique circumstances.

I whole heartedly echo the "go bigger" observation.

Bravo!

 

[Civicman86]

Nope. My 8 gallon was $800-1000.

Yes, my 100G is about at 10K. It's not hard. My light was $1500. Tank $1000, stand $1000, $600 sand and rocks, skimmer $400, sump $400, ATO $300, pumps $800, fuge $200, plumbing and wiring $500, heater setup $200, calcium reactor setup $700, reactors $400, RODI setup $800, media $300, etc, etc etc......

A 75G for 2K must NOT be nice equipment and/or used. Even with an off the shelf tank, stand, and cheap breeder sump your at $1000. BUT I see your 'FOWLR' which is 1000x easier, cheaper, etc.

Buy Once Cry Once.

Well I did have the luxury of having the tank and stand already. Planning on the reefbreeder 48" and 6" reef octopus skimmer, TUNZE power heads with controller, brs rodi unit. Those were the largest equipment expenses.

I'm not doing reactors so that may be where a bunch of cost is saved. See if I cam keep fish alive them graduate to corals.


Good post by the way. Helps us noobs!

 

[swiftvision]

Its the small stuff.

For example rodi...

I have the brs 150 gpd $350

But i needed nice barrels $150
Rack that can hold the batrels weight $200
Extra pump and heater $100
Plumbing, valves, uni seals $100

So what started as a $350 cost, the soft costs get you and next thing your at $900.

 

[ZenGuitarGuy]

4. Everyone's experience is different. I've asked for a lot of advice online, in stores and from local reefers. There are always different methods, views and experiences. Ask questions, listen and then decide what is best for you.
.

This!

 

[FPSD]

Its the small stuff.

For example rodi...

I have the brs 150 gpd $350

But i needed nice barrels $150
Rack that can hold the batrels weight $200
Extra pump and heater $100
Plumbing, valves, uni seals $100

So what started as a $350 cost, the soft costs get you and next thing your at $900.

It sure adds up huh. Just don't tell the wifey.LOL

 

[air2mag]

I am hoping to use this fact in my favor for an upgrade. " Gee honey, we already have spent all this money on equipment, we might as well get a bigger tank to better utilize it all".

 

[Ron Reefman]

This is an entirely new system. Everything. The tanks, the stands, the sump, the pumps, the lights... everything. It's 225 gallons and not counting for fancy coral but adding in fish, RO/DI, salt, sand, LR, test kits and other odds and ends, I have about $5500 tied up. That's $25/g.

IMHO swiftvision buys all top of the line stuff and all brand new in order to get to $100/g. The $350 RO/DI is an example. I have a 75gpd I bought new for $200 and now use an 1000gpd RO I got used from a coffee shop that was going out of business for $250 and added a basic DI filter.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I dunno about #5. I have a hope to one day scuba dive in my tank. I plan to take my hands with me ... just sayin!

DB, I agree. I have 4 tanks and spend time at least every other day in one or more of them. Heck, I even use our Tough camera we use to snorkel with and take my coral pics inside the tank!

 

[Dombake]

Interesting thoughts on #5.... maybe an example of #4?? I think my experience here is that fiddling with stuff in my tank can knock things off a bit for a few days and overfeeding more evident... probably a result of it being smaller.

 

[McPuff]

While it's true that you'll probably wish you had gone larger, I feel that it's definitely a good idea for newbies to start small-ish. The first reason is that you need to see if you're REALLY interested in the hobby. Many people think that reefs are beautiful and "boy would it be cool to have one in the house." But once the system is in place and the work adds up, they may realize that the juice isn't worth the squeeze. The learning curve is steep for reef systems, and saltwater in general, but it's easier to pick yourself back up if there is a crash in a 20 gal versus a 200 gal. And instead of giving up, the aquarist can learn what went wrong, hopefully do more research, and then try again, potentially on a larger system.

How many threads have we seen on RC where someone jumps right in with a grand plan, hundreds of gallons, tens of thousands of dollars invested, only to fizzle out in a year or two. It can get overwhelming really quickly when you go with larger systems and if you don't already have some experience with hardships on smaller systems, then it may be too much.

For many of us, the setup, maintenance, cleaning, husbandry, and time spent viewing are all equally pleasurable components of reef keeping. All reefkeepers-to-be need to determine if this is the type of person they are and having that first small tank provides such an opportunity.

As for cost of the system... eek, I don't even want to know. Truth is that I've never set up a system from scratch with all brand new equipment. Over the past 25 years, I've constantly evolved one system into the next, reusing, trading, or re-purposing equipment wherever possible. And there is no way I'd ever try to give my wife an estimate! :0)

 

[dmarkham]

Glad you learned them. It is so hard for people to get these basic things in the beginning. I was one of the hard headed ones lol. The only one I would add to this is do your research.

 

[TheOtherDB]

Hey, McPuff...
Yah, good point. I knew what I was getting into. But, many may be less aware and sticking a toe in rather than diving in head first from the high dive is a smart pre investment. I still want my swimming pool! Lol!