I'm new, advice please...

[OneArmedBandit]

I’m new to this forum and wish to introduce myself: my name is Steve, I’m 30 years old and live in a northern suburb of Detroit, MI. I’m a 3-time Cancer survivor, which actually brings me to the hobby of reef keeping as it has taken me away from my previous life as an avid (and responsible) Dirt-Bike rider. In December of 2006 I lost my left arm to a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. Now I have potentially fallen in love with the possibility of starting my own marine or reef tank.

I haven’t really been actively searching for a “new” hobby but recently visited a local retailer specializing in salt-water aquaria. From the moment I set my eyes on the abundance of sea life and the multiple ways of keeping it I was hooked (no pun intended). I’ve since been researching some various set-ups but haven’t decided if I want to do a reef or marine tank.

I have quite a few things on my plate right now, physical rehab, recent self-employment, etc. so if I do start a tank it will most likely be a year or so down the road. The nice thing is that I will be moving to a new home this Fall that has an un-finished basement, my wife and I are partners in a local Home Improvement business and the open basement is a welcomed “blank canvas” to me. I’ve already come up with a few floor plans and a couple of them incorporate a large fish tank as part of the architecture/ décor. My ideal scenario would include an in-wall setup that is located between the living area and home office consisting of a tank in the 180 gal. range.

I’ve never attempted to tackle a salt water set-up but am aware of the vigilance and determination involved in being successful with a salt water tank. I’m envisioning a reef tank including mainly live rock/ sand, corals, inverts, anemone, urchin, some shrimp and a small variety of reef-friendly fish. Many people have been less than supportive when I mention keeping a salt water tank mostly complaining about the work and upkeep involved (even though they’ve never had a salt water tank), to me; that’s exactly the point! I’m looking for a hobby, not instant gratification…

I am mainly in the beginning planning stages and am the type of person who likes to be prepared with financial numbers before undertaking a new project, the beauty of my situation is that as long as I know what I will need I have no problem being patient with acquiring the necessary items; that’ll also help with not taking such a financial hit with jumping in head first to a hobby that I’m not 100% sure that I want to get into. I’ve purchased a few books and am reading up on the proper way to keep a reef tank and feel that I’m up to the challenge, I’m not one who just wants to throw something together and look at what I’ve done, I understand and accept the challenges of owning a reef tank.


I guess I’m looking for technical specs on in-wall setups in the 180 gal. range as well as all the “support equipment” necessary for that size tank… Lighting, filters, sump, refugium, skimmer, heater, etc. (whatever is involved in successfully keeping a reef tank). Even the amount of live sand & rock I should use and a basic monthly budget I should be prepared for would be good to know. Remember, I’m Very new at this and appreciate any info you all can provide.

-Steve

 

[auntynatal]

I'm a newbie to this, but the most important ingredient to this hobby is a total obsession! Welcome to the site and best wishes for your recovery and the discovery of a fantastic new hobby!

 

[owenb01]

High-five on beating cancer THREE TIMES:thumbsup: !!! I will keep you in my prayers.

You've definitely got the right mindset for this hobby; to do it successfully for any length of time takes a lot of planning, and (inevitably) a lot of money.

Believe it or not, you will have a much easier time keeping that big tank stable than you would a smaller tank (more water=more room for error). We need to know what you plan on keeping before anyone can advise you as to what you will need regarding filtration, skimming, and lighting.

In general, the best filtration is a LOT of live rock. Skimming is VITAL for a reef tank, get the absolute best skimmer you can afford (that doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive skimmer). As for lights that comes down to what you will stock the tank with and what look you prefer (bright white light, subdued, bright blue, etc.).

Welcome to the club.

Ben

 

[nctommy]

[welcome]

You have been through a lot and I admire you. Congrats on finding the exciting hobby of reef keeping. You sound as though you have a great attitude towards this hobby. Patience is the one thing that most of us need to learn and you already have that. Congrats.

As for the specs, I would say that you should research T5 or MH(metal halide) as these give you the most choices of coral to choose from. With MH you probably going to need to go with 400 watts each(deep tank), but some go with 250's (shallow tanks). You will need one light per 2 feet of tank length.

As for filters, I wouldn't worry about getting any of those. You won't need them with the live rock, protein skimmer, sump and fuge. The sump and fuge can be as large as you want them or have room for. More water = more stable.

As for the protein skimmer, get the best you can afford and I use the rule that you should use a skimmer rated for double your tank size.

As for live rock the general rule is minimum 1 lb per gallon, but the more the better. Sand can be calculated using the calculator on the first page of the site. It is down on the left side about where the reefkeeping mag section is located. There are also other calculators that will be helpful to you like head loss and drain overflow.

Good luck and keep reading posts and asking questions. By the time you are ready to get the tank up and running you will be very well informed.

 

[spoiledcats]

There is alot to consider, so I will limit my reply to only a couple things, cause there are more techy type people that can help with stuff like lighting, skimmers, etc.

Live rock-personally I would have about 250 lbs. of live rock in a 180. You can have more than that of course, but that is what I would have. Don't buy all live rock though, it's really expensive to go that way. There are several online places that sell base rock- I bought 60 lbs. for around $100.00 from www.reeferocks.com-really nice rock. I would buy mostly base, and seed with about 20-30 lbs of live rock. Same with sand-just buy the cheap play sand(someone else on here would know the name of what kind to use). It will be seeded by the live rock. If you have patience, and can wait, that is the way to go.

 

[ggk1988]

I think that the best way to get into this hobby is to first start with fish only. You can still start with LR and just keep in mind whenever you buy anything that it will eventually be reef. After successfully keeping the tank stable after 6months to a year, then you can add corals. This method will help you out in several ways. The first being you will be able to get into the routine of general aquarium maintenence. The second is that you will be able to save some money in the beginning by not having to buy a good light fixture, which you will want to spend your money wisely on. What ever you do make sure you take things slow. If you rush in this hobby it is more likely you will become discouraged by setbacks. Good Luck

 

[XSiVE]

My tip for ease of maintenance: Build a fish room. plumb your tank's water there so you can have your sump, your refugium, your skimmer, your top-off container, salt-mixing container, kalk reactor(if keeping stony corals) all easily accessable. the worst thing about maintaining any tank is if your equipment is all crammed into a small space and you've gotta contort yourself to get to it... if you have to do this, chances are you will do maintenance less and thus the livestock will suffer.

my equipment tip: Buy a good RO/DI filtration system to filter your own water.

I'm in a similar boat as you right now.. Im really wanting to go with a 125g-180g room-dividing or in-wall tank but my wife says she wants to move in a few years so I'm not willing to do any major construction on our house... I've got some rough Ideas on what I want to do.. I'd probably end up with my current 55gallon as the sump, the 20gallon as a refugium, and a much much much larger skimmer... but I would most definitely section off part of the basement for all of the equipment.

 

[ricsreef]

I admire you for your strength,patience and determination.The best thing anyone can do is research.Knowledge is everything in this hobby,the more you learn about it,the easier it gets.Welcome to RC!!