Scared to get started

[benoit808]

So for the last 3 weeks, I've been doing lots of reading and watching lots of video, researching tanks, accessories, rocks, fish, etc...

I feel like I'm ready to get started and I already picked out which tank, pump, skimmer, heater and light I want but did not buy yet. I have a rough idea of the costs and I'm aware that it will cost more than I think . I'm currently looking at a 120G, FOWLR at first and corral later.

Now, from those article and forum readings I got to a point where I feel like by getting into this hobby I'll be giving my life away. I'm scared of getting started but regretting it because it's eating up all my time. I have a family and a job and other occupations on my free time. Will I be able to handle it?

If you just went through establishing a new tank, how bad was it? Are things getting less time consuming as you are figuring it out?

If you're experienced, any advice to get a tank started with a budd schedule?

Finally, I like to travel for vacation, about once a year. I'd this hobby compatible with traveling assuming I don't know anyone with saltwater tank knowledge?

I hope you guys can convince me to take the plunge because I really want to but please be honest

Thank you

 

[Rover88]

Welcome to Reef Central!

I took the plunge in September. It is a fair chunk of work up front. But there are things you can do to make it easier.

Go -slow-. Don't think just because the tank is cycling and rock are in it you should start throwing in fish and coral!

-Quarantine-. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I am going through some very big issues right now because I tried to skip QT.

Saltwater tanks once set up with some of the new technology take a lot less work then you'd think... I would be comfortable leaving my tank for a week or two with someone only coming by to feed it sparingly. The first thing for me that would 'run out' without my touch is my ATO bucket, and I could solve that by getting a bigger one. The only maintenence I do is water changes and I use that opportunity to vacuum the detritus out of my sump, and thats... about all the care the tank needs from me?

If you go FOWLR you won't need to worry about dosing supplements to keep the corals healthy and happy, and wouldn't need to get a more expensive light to grow coral. Personally I wanted it, and I will be getting a doser hopefully in the near future so I can stop handdosing.

I've found it definitely worth taking the plunge!

 

[Yolly416]

So for the last 3 weeks, I've been doing lots of reading and watching lots of video, researching tanks, accessories, rocks, fish, etc...



I feel like I'm ready to get started and I already picked out which tank, pump, skimmer, heater and light I want but did not buy yet. I have a rough idea of the costs and I'm aware that it will cost more than I think [emoji3]. I'm currently looking at a 120G, FOWLR at first and corral later.



Now, from those article and forum readings I got to a point where I feel like by getting into this hobby I'll be giving my life away. I'm scared of getting started but regretting it because it's eating up all my time. I have a family and a job and other occupations on my free time. Will I be able to handle it?



If you just went through establishing a new tank, how bad was it? Are things getting less time consuming as you are figuring it out?



If you're experienced, any advice to get a tank started with a budd schedule?



Finally, I like to travel for vacation, about once a year. I'd this hobby compatible with traveling assuming I don't know anyone with saltwater tank knowledge?



I hope you guys can convince me to take the plunge because I really want to but please be honest



Thank you

Hey it's kind of scary but you can't go buy other people bad experience get everything you need setup everything buy Dr Tim's one and only for saltwater and a few cheap lab rats aka fishes and cycle your system for a month before your first water change and you'll be fine


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ryeguyy84]

just cycle the tank with a shrimp from the grocery store. There's no need to use fish for it. Dr Tim's does speed things up, I used it for my tank when I moved twice just in case and never had a cycle or mini cycle.

it's going to take a portion of your time, there are tasks that you'll need to perform daily (feeding) weekly (Water Change, Skimmer cup, testing) and monthly (random things you'll find, cleaning salt creep, trimming chaeto) and there will be times when you just want to pack everything up. push through and trust me it gets easier.

when you start be prepared for algae, it's just one of those things that happens. Maybe you'll be lucky and it will go away in a week or 2 but expect algae for at least the first few months. you're setting up an ecosystem and everything takes time to balance.

for the positives, I learned a lot about plumbing. I used that to re plumb a few sinks in the house and even my water heater. the science knowledge is fun as well.

 

[lapin]

Go for it. Get you feet wet. The fun is in the learning. Last year someone built a tank out of acrylic. He was so afraid he didnt do a good job, it took months of " do I , dont I" before we got him to put water in it. He was so happy he did...........

 

[ssky]

In my opinion if you go the simpler route you will have spend very less time on maintenance. First go very slow. Let the tank cycle completely. Add some fish. Do water changes every two weeks.

you mention that you want to do a 120g. Remember the bigger the tank, the more time and money it may require so plan accordingly. If you are on the fence then try a smaller tank and get a feel. Try a 40 gallon long tank from any big store and see if the hobby is for you.

Don't plunk thousands of dollar just to put everything out for sale at half price 6 months later.

 

[top shelf]

A tank can be as simple or complex as you would like. The best advice is to keep things within your comfort level at first and as your knowledge grows you can branch out and expand. I have a fairly busy life as well but don't find my tank to be that overwhelming and it has been doing good with little intervention.

A fowlr is a great way to go if you want it simple and don't want your tank to own you so to speak. An ato will be a must though if you plan for vacation with no one to monitor the tank while your gone. Just make sure you buy a solid ato unit, I love my tunze, and have a big enough reservoir for the duration.

Usually after the first month or 2 once things start to settle out it gets a little easier and doesn't require as much time on your part. Your tank will let you know how much maintenance is needed. Some people get away with biweekly water changes, some monthly, some not at all just depends on the tank. I do weekly because otherwise things start to look unhappy.

There is no need to use a fish for your cycle and has become outdated and frowned upon. You can use either shrimp, flake food, and pure ammonia without surfacants. Which ever you choose raise to 2ppm and wait.

Take the plunge and if you go slow and do things right the first time you won't regret it.

 

[benoit808]

Thanks guys for all the responses, it makes me feel better and think that I may have just focused too much on few people's bad experience.

Another thing that worries me a little is the amount of water for the initial and regular water changes. Is it worth it to get an RO/DI from day 1? That would add another thing for me to screw up with water mixing but would certainly save me some money.

 

[sde1500]

Just do it. It really isn't that time consuming. Especially for a FOWLR. Feed daily, do weekly/biweekly/monthly water changes and you're good. There are even ways to automate the water changes so you don't have to lug buckets around, just completed doing that myself. I spend maybe an hour a week on the tank, and that includes the work I do growing phytoplankton and copepods in separate systems. I would absolutely get a RODI unit. Better to start with pure water, and control what is in it, otherwise you run the risk of algae outbreaks or adding some sort of metals you don't want into the water. If you are worried about screwing up mixing water, are you considering buying water from and LFS? Because pretty sure you don't want to figure out how to transport 120 gallons of water home.

Hey it’s kind of scary but you can’t go buy other people bad experience get everything you need setup everything buy Dr Tim’s one and only for saltwater and a few cheap lab rats aka fishes and cycle your system for a month before your first water change and you’ll be fine


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also, don't cycle a tank like this, there are better ways. Do it fishless and then add the fish you want after QTing them.

 

[Special K85]

Another thing that worries me a little is the amount of water for the initial and regular water changes. Is it worth it to get an RO/DI from day 1? That would add another thing for me to screw up with water mixing but would certainly save me some money.[/QUOTE]

I would get it now as it will save you trouble in the long run. My tank has been set up since Dec and wish I would have gotten one from the start. They aren't to expensive and seem easy to hook up. I just ordered one from BRS. Hope to hook it up this weekend.

 

[Bagabaga]

Learning from other people’s mistakes is huge. Setting up your first saltwater tank is pretty daunting but very rewarding once it’s all said and done.

Advice I can give is don’t try to save a few dollars going cheaper, I usually worries myself sick if the cheaper stuff without warranty would last long enough. Name brand seems expensive but you want to be successful the first time and every time.

Get that ro/di unit first, it’ll save you a billion hours getting water and hauling it everywhere.

Second bit of advice is redundancy, make sure you have back up plans for your initial plans. Better safe than sorry right?

Make sure you drill your tank for whatever type of overflow you want, boxes are not safe 100% if the time.

Another thing is a controller, they save time and money. I never got a controller for my nano and I think if I did I would have been way more successful. I would have had some monitoring to help me with my tank while I wasn’t there.

Biggest advice of all: PATIENCE. It sort of what this hobby is all about in the end. All your hard work will pay off. Believe in yourself and you will succeed.

 

[allendehl]

I started in Oct last year. A few things have gone wrong but not terrible. When people see my tank they all ask the same question, "how hard and expensive is?"

Well, this is what I tell them

- Less hard that what you'd think if you setup right
- It is expensive, because you will discover things you need you never thought about if you want to make your life easier. Yes, you can do it the hard way but it'll become a PITA instead of a pleasure. I rather spend some more and keep it manageable and enjoyable than let it become a problem.
- About how fast you can move, common sense plays a big part. I know I've done some things faster than what I probably should have but I've taken my measures and read and asked a lot and yes some risks as well. If you're well setup you may be able to do things a bit faster. If you learn some of the basic concepts you'll be able to determine when you're ready to the next step instead of waiting a "rule of thumb" amount of time.
- By well setup I mean:
- Your own mixing station : This is a MUST. If you have to go to your LFS every week to haul 10 5G buckets and unload them at home you'll hate this hobby in no time, or at least I would. You will need way more water than what you can calculate now. QT and TTM are water black holes. If something goes out of params in your tank, you'll need a quick unplanned water change, etc
- Water tests, all of them. At the beginning you'll test for things that you wont test as often later but that'll help you learn the basics.
- Place your tank in a spot where it is easy to change water. I have mine by a window and my mixing station is right outside. I just through pumps in and do my WC.
- Get your partner on board(or sort of)...or risk your relationship over fish and coral expenditures. A trip to a LFS is like the wife going to Macy's for window shopping..no way you can resist.

Good luck!

 

[kmbyrnes]

Go for it!
I started small and gain experience with each new tank.
It can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.
You will learn from your mistakes.
I now have a thriving reef and a large FOWLR almost ready for fish again after a heartbreaking disease breakout.
I am fortunate to have a daughter-in-law who can tank-sit and handle a 2 week stay.
The joy of this hobby out weighs the work, for me anyway.

 

[reefteaser]

Welcome to the hobby. Since you haven't purchased anything yet, do so with an eye on what will happen down the road. If corals interest you, get a suitable light. If you save money now, you'll just spend more later. When you do get fish, make sure they're reef safe.
Get the RODI filter from the start. I put that off WAY too long, it absolutely pays off, especially for the size tank you're getting.
Automation is your friend. Get a feeder if you can feed dry food. Supplement with some good frozen stuff if you wish, but the feeder will keep your fish happy without tying you down. Don't worry about a doser until you get into the coral. You can even keep some "œstarter" coral without it, but sooner or later it will make you more successful, again without tying you down.
Figure out a way to do water changes easily. This was probably my biggest hassle hassle until a divised a simple process.
Some people use controllers, and I've considered that. For me, a "œsmart" power strip (6 outlets, 5 of which are individually timer controlled), controllable LED lighting, DC pumps, and a doser work well.
Set up an ATO from the start.
I use two return pumps for redundancy. Losing a pump while you're away will be costly. Two smaller pumps cost a little more than one larger one now, but really you've paid extra for insurance.
Many people have had success with less expensive "œJeabo" type equipment. MANY more do better with Tunze-level. Spend what's comfortable for you, but there are definitely differences.
Most importantly, have patience. It's been said many times, the good stuff happens slowly. If you rush things you will fail, simple as that.
Lastly, share your experience. Good decisions come from experience. Experience often comes from bad decisions. Learn from mine and others, and pay it back. This website is a great resource.

 

[daviesp007]

There's some good advice in this thread already. It took me a while to take the plunge, but I'm glad I did. I learned a lot of hard (and expensive) lessons along the way, but you can avoid 90% of issues by being patient, and using a quarantine tank.

Personally, I would recommend a larger tank for beginners because there's more water, therefore things go wrong slower. This gives you more time to research the issue and fix it before things start meeting their maker. Like all things, the longer you do it, the more efficient you get at it.

One point I would note, you mentioned starting off with a FOWLR, then getting corals in time. This is a great strategy, but make sure the fish you select don't then stop you getting the corals you want later down the line. For example, many butterfly fish like to chomp on coral.

Have fun, and welcome to the hobby!

 

[JTL]

I am going to take a different position than the previous posters. If you are not very convinced that you want to get into this hobby don't. It is expensive, especially in the beginning, and can be very frustrating. It may be fish only at first but my guess is you will want the beautiful coral tanks like you see in the pictures. Believe me the high quality tanks that are so gorgeous are not easy to achieve, at least for me and I have been in and out the hobby for lots of years.

I had fish only marine tanks back in the ancient 80's and they were a breeze compared to mixed reef. No live rock, just mechanical filtration. They were also nice to look at but it seems like the hobby is now coral ($$$) driven.

I started my current tank 10 months ago and to date have spent $8K and I don't even have a fancy controller or expensive lights, I did purchase about 60 nice frags though. The ongoing expense isn't bad unless I get on a coral buying binge.

My wife and I spend a lot of time on keeping the tank clean and researching things on RC. Thankfully, she loves the hobby and is willing to do the cleaning and rock scapes while I do what I am doing right now, BS'ing on RC. Oh, I do the WC's every week and keep my sump nice and clean.

Having said all of this and with all of our diligence after 10 months and hundreds of hours of work the tank is by no means show quality. It seems to be one thing after another trying to get the params and lighting right. Anyway I really don't mean to discourage you but just be as sure as you can be before you jump.

 

[squeakymcmurdo]

As a general rule, the bigger the tank, the less likely something is to go catastrophically wrong. It's a bigger expense at first, but because of the size it is easier to maintain parameters. My 10 year old is currently doing a pretty good job taking care of mine since I broke a couple bones and am supposed to stay inactive.

Looking back on my entire fishkeeping life, I won't ever have a tank smaller than 75 gallons. It's just less work keeping things balanced.

 

[JTL]

As a general rule, the bigger the tank, the less likely something is to go catastrophically wrong. It's a bigger expense at first, but because of the size it is easier to maintain parameters. My 10 year old is currently doing a pretty good job taking care of mine since I broke a couple bones and am supposed to stay inactive.

Looking back on my entire fishkeeping life, I won't ever have a tank smaller than 75 gallons. It's just less work keeping things balanced.

I agree. The cost between say 50 and 150 is not much different. I once had a 55 and that was too small.

 

[Rjukan]

Imo the "bigger is better" argument is only valid when talking about a 20g vs a 55g+. I feel as though once you're over 55g and add a sump, you have enough water volume to keep the parameters easily in check. Once you're at 75g or more you have a large system. Making the jump to a 6' tank should be for an experienced hobbyist who knows what to expect with costs of equipement, LR, LS and water changes.

 

[Tyler438]

I started in March and am having a blast, I have a full time very demanding job and 5 kids, with a lot of travel and I have managed to be successful the 1st time around (knock on wood). It is very relaxing for me to work on the tank and the kids love it. I have a long way to go but I'm having a blast doing it.