I feel very discouraged!

[greece86]

A week ago I spoke with a local professional aquarium builder/designer. His company builds, installs and sets up aquariums. He was very kind on giving me equipment recommendations. However he did give me pause to think. I told him about this forum and some of the recommendations being made (which I thought were good). He stated that he is a professional and that to have a really solid aquarium set up you must make a serious financial investment. He said that there are so many variables that most aquarium equipment work very inefficiently and are junk. Stating that what makes aquarium supply companies rich are hobbyists. They buy every gadgets but don't have a grasp or knowledge about all the equipment and there nuances. What makes them inefficient or rip offs. He never heard about starting a cycle with raw shrimp. He firmly believes that "crushed" coral is best. When all was said and done, I felt just plain depressed. Maybe I shouldn't buy the MRC 2 protein skimmer. He said it only works well if the sump level is always right otherwise it only works well about 10%. There were so many nuances that I feel overwhelmed and ready to quit!!! I can't spend thousands more? Maybe I am kidding myself.

[garnto]

You will be much more likely to get good information from a conglomerate of people(just like this forum) than an individual who profits from you buying expensive items.

just take a step back, take a big breath, and relax

[tkeracer619]

Bah

I worked as a professional for 3 years and can already tell you this guy is just trying to sell you what HE sells.

Stick with this site.

A lot of us do buy useless things. Sometimes because we want to try other stuff. Thats what makes this hobby great.

What do you have already. Many people have very nice aquariums but haven't spent a fortune. Some people have awful tanks and have spent fortunes.

Its all about educating yourself and learning what works for you.

I have used the MRC 2 protein skimmer. It works great. I think there are better skimmers out there but in the end no two systems are the same.

The thing is... there are a million and 1 ways to run a reef tank. You just have to choose 1 that works for you and stick with it.

[greece86]

At this point just a 260 gal acrylic aquarium in the middle of the dinning room. I don't have anything else yet. Was planning on using the Novus scratch kit, but thought maybe I better try to sell instead.

[albano]

There are 'professionals', in every line of work, in every town around the world...that doesn't mean that they are 'experts'! You can only hope, that they have a 'clue', as to what they're doing.

[mullinsd2]

Man, if you have the time and money to get through the learning process, just do it. I spent at leat 2 thousand so far, and now all I have is a jbj 28 gallon tank. I went from a 45 high to a 75 and back before I realized what it took to run a sucessful tank for me. What I do is run some sort of phosphate removier (chemi pure elite), an adequate skimmer (tunze 9002) carbon for the hell of it, great flow (vortech mp10) and I do weekly water changes. This keeps my sps more than happy!!! I feed rodi feast, too. Good luck. Never let someone else ruin your ambitions, btw.

[tkeracer619]

A MRC 2 skimmer will work just fine on a 260.

What do you plan on keeping in the tank. That really determines how much investment you will need.

The best investment is in yourself and your education on salt water tanks. Asking these questions and reading other peoples mistakes on this forum will save you a ton of cash.

Taking your time and asking if you don't know or are unsure about something will save you a ton of cash.

This site is great for learning. Stick with it and buff that tank out!

[Tuscaquatics]

Almost no skimmer will work well in a sump without a constant water level. This is why we build compartments in our sumps with baffles that maintain a constant level.

This guy didn't tell you anything mind-blowing. Beware of anyone in a hobby that tells you that they're a professional. That means they are in it for money. Which is fine; I'm not a communist. But I do what I do because I care about my tank and its inhabitants, as do most others on here. That means the advice we give you is what's best for your tank, not simply to make a buck off you.

I've had that same type of discussion with professionals or "experts" at the LFS, and you would be shocked at the incompetent advice I've been given.

And crushed coral is the best? I'd love to have a face-to-face discussion with this guy.

[tkeracer619]

Hey we don't need to turn this into a professional bashing thread.

There are crooks and cheats in all industries. Everyone knows that.

[Tuscaquatics]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Hey we don't need to turn this into a professional bashing thread.

There are crooks and cheats in all industries. Everyone knows that.

Nobody said they were crooks or cheats. It's a dream of mine to do this professionally. It's simply a matter of their perspective. They are in it to make money, so their interests and motives are different than someone who is in it to spend money.

They formulate ideas and advice based on what they plan to get out of it, and, at times, these can clash with those of someone whose goals are entirely different.

You can't tell me that the "professional advice" being described by the original poster isn't sketchy at best.

[tkeracer619]

If they are retail sales then yes, most often that is the case. Someone who sets up tanks usually gets the same mark up regardless of the equipment they sell or install and simply want to supply quality products since a happy customer and a great running tank will provide you will more residual income.

The person the OP described def is a bit sketchy. I get this feeling while he was stating all this (how people get rich) stuff his nose was strait in the air.

[Tuscaquatics]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

If they are retail sales then yes, most often that is the case. Someone who sets up tanks usually gets the same mark up regardless of the equipment they sell or install and simply want to supply quality products since a happy customer and a great running tank will provide you will more residual income.

The person the OP described def is a bit sketchy. I get this feeling while he was stating all this (how people get rich) stuff his nose was strait in the air.

Agreed on all counts. Except maybe that the maintenance guys don't have extreme bias in their choice of equipment and techniques. Once they find a way of doing something, God forbid you tell them there is another way.

I had one of those guys laugh in my face when I told him I use T5s. "T5s?," he said. "T5s have nothing on VHOs!"

[greece86]

This tank would be a fish only tank. No corals, no live rock.

[tkeracer619]

lol yeah it all depends on the service company but I know what you mean. I had to fix a LOT of peoples work who were stuck in the mid 80s. To the point I could tell the owner who set up their tank without even asking.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by greece86

This tank would be a fish only tank. No corals, no live rock.

You won't need a lot of expensive equipment.

The MRC 2 skimmer would be just fine.

Crushed coral is just fine because you can siphon out the detritus with each water change. If you go with sand and its an aggressive tank it will be harder to maintain that pristine white sand.

The lighting should not be very bright, you want enough to see the fish but not enough to grow tons of algae.

A community fish only tank is much easier to keep clean then an aggressive FO.

What are you looking to keep fish wise?

[greece86]

That is still somewhat up in the air.
1. Yellow tang
2. Auriga Butterfly
3.?
I would prefer not to have too many fish. I have seen tanks on youtube that just are fish overkill. Not sure what would be the best number of fish. Any suggestions are welcome. Remember I will have no live rock. Their diet will consist of what I feed them. Again its 260 gal tank.

[tkeracer619]

What will you have for structure in the tank? Or do you want just substrate and fish?

Are you against weekly water changes?

[greece86]

I was thinking about using some type of rock decor running along the middle of the tank. Having varying elevations. Not sure yet what type of rock I can safely use. As far as water changes, I have no problem with that. Any rock you could recommend that is safe and non leaching? For me the focus are the fish.

[tkeracer619]

Check out www.marcorocks.com great product.

You will have to figure out how you are going to manage the algae. Most fish only tanks require some scrubbing to keep the rock work clean. If you go with a community fish only you can use snails to keep the rock clean along with good husbandry skills.

A lot of fish only tanks use inserts like ones sold by living color. They are expensive and require scrubbing.

If you go with a community FO you can turn it into a reef simply by adding powerful lights, more flow, and some corals.