New to the hobby

idaho11 · 03/02/2019, 05:36 AM

Hello. Im brand new within this field. Can anyone recommend a tank for someone who is brand new to it?

Uncle99 · 03/02/2019, 07:44 AM

In saltwater, bigger water is easier to maintain than small.
Perhaps an "all-in-one" (I like RED SEA) would be good.
I would never set up a reef less than 30g....

Newsmyrna80 · 03/02/2019, 07:52 AM

Depends on your budget but bigger is better. Also depends on the kind of fish/livestock you want to keep. Don't know where you live but you can get great deals on used tanks either in your LFS or online.

FireViper · 03/02/2019, 10:05 AM

Bought our 55 gallon as a kit from PetSmart on clearance for less than $100. Used the lid and lights for a freshwater tank, kept the heater and carbon filter. So far, so good.

Petco occasionally runs a $1 per gallon sale for the tank itself.

As I quickly learned though, glass is the least expensive part of the hobby.

Tastee · 03/03/2019, 01:05 AM

I’m 18 months into my reefing journey and went with a Red Sea Reefer 250. Very happy with my choice. I also asked my trusted LFS to kit it out for me, install and set it up. I am very hands on, but knew I went into this knowing 4/5 of b-all so wanted some expertise to help me get started. My choice of the 250 was driven by available space - needed to be ~3’ wide and couldn’t be much more than 18” deep.

I would not hesitate to recommend the RSR range, and if you have more space and the budget accommodates it, go a little larger. As said don’t forget the initial investment is just part of the cost, so make sure you can afford to stock and run whatever it is you choose.

Happy to share more details if you want.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Subillbo · 03/03/2019, 05:22 PM

I agree with bigger is easier to keep your tank parameters stable if u run into a bad episode...but I have a nano evo 13.5 and have had no issues... I had a 55g years ago and had trouble keeping up with larger water changes. With the nano I do a 3 to 5 gal water change per week and find it easier to keep. I've had no issues with the nano and find the small water changes easier to keep up with. Of coarse this all depends on your bio load. I have 2 clowns 2 shrimp (cleaner and peppermint) 3 nassarius, 2 scarlet hermits, 3 blue leg hermits and 3 trochus..... 6 zoas, pulsing xenia, hammer, a candy and gsp..... all is running smoothly with no issues. Hope this helps, good luck going forward!

03/02/2019, 05:36 AM	#1
idaho11 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 3	New to the hobby Hello. Im brand new within this field. Can anyone recommend a tank for someone who is brand new to it?

03/02/2019, 07:52 AM	#3
Newsmyrna80 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Florida Posts: 2,312	Depends on your budget but bigger is better. Also depends on the kind of fish/livestock you want to keep. Don't know where you live but you can get great deals on used tanks either in your LFS or online. __________________ 80 gal frag with 30 gal refugium, Orphek Atlantik LED, Red Sea RSK300 skimmer, predominately SPS and LPS Current Tank Info: 80 gallon reef tank with 30 gal refugium

03/03/2019, 05:22 PM	#6
Subillbo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Rochester, ny Posts: 54	I agree with bigger is easier to keep your tank parameters stable if u run into a bad episode...but I have a nano evo 13.5 and have had no issues... I had a 55g years ago and had trouble keeping up with larger water changes. With the nano I do a 3 to 5 gal water change per week and find it easier to keep. I've had no issues with the nano and find the small water changes easier to keep up with. Of coarse this all depends on your bio load. I have 2 clowns 2 shrimp (cleaner and peppermint) 3 nassarius, 2 scarlet hermits, 3 blue leg hermits and 3 trochus..... 6 zoas, pulsing xenia, hammer, a candy and gsp..... all is running smoothly with no issues. Hope this helps, good luck going forward! __________________ Subillbo "Hey... where do these stairs go?" "They go up!" - Ghostbusters 1984 Current Tank Info: 16 gal

03/02/2019, 07:44 AM	#2
Uncle99 Crab Free Zone Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,906	In saltwater, bigger water is easier to maintain than small. Perhaps an "all-in-one" (I like RED SEA) would be good. I would never set up a reef less than 30g....

03/02/2019, 10:05 AM	#4
FireViper Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 120	Bought our 55 gallon as a kit from PetSmart on clearance for less than $100. Used the lid and lights for a freshwater tank, kept the heater and carbon filter. So far, so good. Petco occasionally runs a $1 per gallon sale for the tank itself. As I quickly learned though, glass is the least expensive part of the hobby.

03/03/2019, 01:05 AM	#5
Tastee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 277	I’m 18 months into my reefing journey and went with a Red Sea Reefer 250. Very happy with my choice. I also asked my trusted LFS to kit it out for me, install and set it up. I am very hands on, but knew I went into this knowing 4/5 of b-all so wanted some expertise to help me get started. My choice of the 250 was driven by available space - needed to be ~3’ wide and couldn’t be much more than 18” deep. I would not hesitate to recommend the RSR range, and if you have more space and the budget accommodates it, go a little larger. As said don’t forget the initial investment is just part of the cost, so make sure you can afford to stock and run whatever it is you choose. Happy to share more details if you want. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk