Scared of getting a saltwater tank... - Page 2

SamuraSun · 04/15/2018, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

For a long vacation, bring a rubbermaid Brute trashcan into play as your topoff reservoir and relax. A 50 gallon tank can evaporate a gallon a day, but if you are gone 14 days, you will not run out of water, which is the biggest danger. An Eheim autofeeder poised atop your feeding port can feed multiple times a day, be it only flake, which is enough to prevent fin nippage; and your lights are on timer. If your skimmer sits in the sump, the worst it will do is overflow a bit and send some skimmate back where it got it, to no great detriment in 14 days. I have left mine as long as a month with instructions to a house sitter to switch the hose to another topoff Brute, and found my tank quite happy. We all have lives. This is an exacting hobby and you WILL learn salt water chemistry and a bit of plumbing, but it is far from rocket science. Join a reef club, best source of help. And read the information in the top of the New To Hobby forum BEFORE you spend money on wrong equipment. HTH!

Having the buckets ready is a good idea. I can tell my neighbors to watch over the fish when I'm gone but prepare everything in case something goes wrong!

Sk8r · 04/15/2018, 03:23 PM

Absolutely every water change and initial setup or phosphate (algae) is apt to send you raving mad in the streets. Ro/di will save you a lot of grief and money.

IPT · 04/15/2018, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamuraSun

Did you ever had any issue with using tap water in NY? I'm thinking of having a coral heavy tank but not a lot of SPS corals! I will start with RO water but I wanted to know if I need that for every water change.

It was like literally 20 years ago so a lot might have changed. That said, I did go to an RO system. I think it was from Phosphate and algae issues. Now I also had a crumby skimmer so that could have been part of the issue.

You can always start with tap water. It would be ideal to use RO, but not mandatory. As you do water changes it will finally replace all the RO water you started with. How are you starting with RO, but not continuing with it? Also don't forget the top off water too is a source of nutrients as well. You could actually be adding more water via top off in hot months than with your water changes.

I had mostly LPS and softies back then and they won't care. If you start having algae issues, or want to get decent SPS, or just want to up your game then the first "upgrade" I would do would be RO. It is definitely tried and true, and as mentioned it may save you some frustrations. It is however not mandatory to keep fish and "easy" coral.

IPT · 04/15/2018, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Absolutely every water change and initial setup or phosphate (algae) is apt to send you raving mad in the streets. Ro/di will save you a lot of grief and money.

This can be true. That said, I am using city tap water right now and have been for years (in Alaska though) and I do not have algae issue at all. In fact all my stuff it totally happy. These are "easy" corals though with leathers, ricordia's Frogspawan (almost 2 feet across now!) and hammers, and some other one I can't even remember the name of. I also have an Acro colony that is brown (

) but doing just fine.

It will be an experiment, but I agree if you start having algae issues the first thing I would change would be going from tap to RO.

Jesterrace · 04/16/2018, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamuraSun

Hi all,
I've had many freshwater tanks, small and big, but I've never had a saltwater reef tank.
I've been recently doing a lot of research on how to setup one, the maintenance required and etc. To be honest I'm getting really scared of the amount of effort and time it needs!!!
I really love aquariums but I'm very busy and once or twice a year I go on long vacations (two weeks).
What would you suggest to a person like me? Is it possible to have a tank considering a busy schedule? how about when you go on vacations? is it going to be a big hassle or blocker?

Cheers and thanks for helping an interested newbie

One of the biggest factors with cost and maintenance are corals. If you can go without for the time being it will save you money with lighting and a certain amount of upkeep. Before we go any further you need to answer 3 questions:

1) What sort of fish and/or corals are you interested in?

2) What is your budget?

3) How much space do you have?

While larger tanks tend to be more stable, they require more equipment and can take longer to clean. In your case it might be worth trying a 20 Long with 3-4 smaller fish and seeing how it goes. Other than feeding, water changes and water top offs (you need to refill with fresh RODI water as water evaporates, since water evaporates but salt doesn't) you won't have much regular maintenance with that kind of setup once the tank is properly cycled.

04/15/2018, 03:23 PM	#27
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Absolutely every water change and initial setup or phosphate (algae) is apt to send you raving mad in the streets. Ro/di will save you a lot of grief and money. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.