Reef Aquariums in Apartments?

[NomiGold]

As I have finally found a place to live when I move, and it being an apartment, I was curious to hear about anyones experience with keeping a reef tank in an apartment. Or keeping a reef tank with roommates, at that.

I would like to know things like what size and shape of aquarium best fits an apartment, or rather how big can you go in a small space? As well, how would/did you set up and RO units?

ETA: Ahh, I misspelt reef in the title! :O Fixed.

[manycolors]

1. Under 75 gallons- Any more and I felt like it was taking far too much space
2. Make sure the floor below the location of the tank is solid
3. Put the tank on the interior wall of the apt. (I live in MN and the exterior walls make heating a tank nearly imposable in the winter)
4. Make sure you don't spend your rent $$ on fish stuff- That's the point you'd have to worry about the roommates and your tank

[danel]

I have my 125g 6' running in a studio apartment on the first level with no problem from my landlords. As far as the the ro/di goes, I have it attached to the kitchen faucet and the waste water goes into the kitchen sink. The only thing my landlords where worried about was if I was growing weed because of the intense light from the MH, once they saw the tank they just laughed

[mikeyj28]

I have done two the first is when i was 18 and had roommates, we had a 55 gallon that was 48" long. That was not to bad of a set up.

The second was my 34 gallon solana that i set up in an apartment.
I had no issues with either set up and did not worry about the weight of either tank.

As for the RO/DI i just hooked it up to the washer outlets via a splitter.

[Misled]

This fits mine the best.



My RO/DI has a faucet connector.

[NomiGold]

Thanks all! Do you leave the RO/DI unit on the kitchen sink 24-7? Or do you just have it running enough to fill a few bins of top-up and mixed saltwater each week?

Because I am beginning, I wouldn't really want to go smaller than a 40 breeder. I was wondering if a cube or corner aquarium would work better space wise?

[floydie83]

I have mine in the kitchen too. I put mine in some trash cans in the closet. So the RODI is not in the way.

[PiXieCath]

Everything depends on the space you got in your appartment...in my last 3 1/2 (who was really big), I've owned up to 5 SW tanks, including a 6' 125g. If you didn't have enough place, a cube can be a good idea.

For the RO unit, mine was under the sink, in the kitchen. I used a faucet adaptor and pluged it only when needed.

[Cj923]

I got a 75g in my condo no problems at all

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by NomiGold

Thanks all! Do you leave the RO/DI unit on the kitchen sink 24-7? Or do you just have it running enough to fill a few bins of top-up and mixed saltwater each week?

Because I am beginning, I wouldn't really want to go smaller than a 40 breeder. I was wondering if a cube or corner aquarium would work better space wise?

I just leave mine hooked up to fill my containers for the week -- usually do it on Sundays while watching football. Make sure to set a timer to remind you that a container is about full -- otherwise it will overflow -- yes, it will. For my unit that is about 2 hours when the pre-filter is new, and 2:30 when dirty, for a 5 gallon bucket.

When I am done making water I make sure all the lines are above the RO membrane -- so it doesn't drain out, and store it under the sink.

This is the water being made;

[capecoral]

Boy don't the homeowners with concrete slabs have a big advantage here....

[travis32]

Well, I own a town home and first floor is 4 feet above the ground.. (I have a 4 ft crawlspace. Could almost make it into a basement if there wasn't a house on top of it... Makes digging it out a little difficult. Lol.

[NomiGold]

XD Gosh, you never think that you would be wishing for a concrete slab!

I like the idea of storing the RO/DI unit under the sink. And how much water should I prepare each week for a tank somewhere between 40-75 gallons? I know I should make enough for a weekly water change and top-offs (top-offs being fresh). How much should I prepare for each, or should I instead wait until I am cycling the tank to calculate how much I need to top off?

And I've come across a bit of confusion on how much and how often one should change the water on a reef tank. Weekly? Bi-weekly?

Bah, I'm getting off track. Of course I'm going to talk over any reef tank plans with my roommates to make sure everything is ok by them. Living in Canada-land (even though I'm moving to a much warmer part of Canada-land), I know interior walls are a must for pretty much any fish or reptile! I've always liked the idea of setting up an aquarium of some sort in the kitchen, since that is where most everybody spends most of their time.

[jrapp13]

As far as top-offs go, my 40breeder with sump and separate fuge uses slightly over a gallon per day. I would shoot for around 10% weekly water change.

[Misled]

I go through a gallon a day. I make about 30 gallons every other weekend. My set-up is like Todd's. I have Guest valves on all three lines and just shut them to keep my system wet.

Todd, if you get one of those Rubermaid dish drain trays, you can sit it by the sink on the counter. Put your water tanks on the tray. Leave one of the caps on top open and if you forget, the water drains into the sink.

[Toddrtrex]

Originally Posted by NomiGold

XD Gosh, you never think that you would be wishing for a concrete slab!

I like the idea of storing the RO/DI unit under the sink. And how much water should I prepare each week for a tank somewhere between 40-75 gallons? I know I should make enough for a weekly water change and top-offs (top-offs being fresh). How much should I prepare for each, or should I instead wait until I am cycling the tank to calculate how much I need to top off?

And I've come across a bit of confusion on how much and how often one should change the water on a reef tank. Weekly? Bi-weekly?

....

I have a 33, 58, and a 75, I use about 50 gallons a week, which includes 5 gallon (( weekly )) water changes on each tank. Plus, I drip Kalk, and make up about 20 gallons a week for that -- this also counts for my top off - at least a good portion of it.

Originally Posted by Misled

Todd, if you get one of those Rubermaid dish drain trays, you can sit it by the sink on the counter. Put your water tanks on the tray. Leave one of the caps on top open and if you forget, the water drains into the sink.

Pure genius!!!!!

[NomiGold]

Originally Posted by Toddrtrex

I have a 33, 58, and a 75, I use about 50 gallons a week, which includes 5 gallon (( weekly )) water changes on each tank. Plus, I drip Kalk, and make up about 20 gallons a week for that -- this also counts for my top off - at least a good portion of it.



Pure genius!!!!!

I agree! Anything that will prevent flooding in an apartment is a godsend.

I'm getting all these great ideas, and I didn't even have to muddle through bad ones to get them. XD It doesn't seem fair.

I'm so used to my big, messy freshwater fish and their big, messy water changes. Is any consensus at all about the suggested percentage of a weekly water change on a reef tank?

[b0bab0ey]

A "corner tank" (see link below) would make the best use of space, assuming you have an open corner:

http://www.pathogen.co.uk/wp-content...sc00260-sm.JPG

They come in a variety of sizes. Also, I can tell you as someone living in a 1-bedroom apt. with creaky wooden floors: Make sure your tank is perfectly level before you fill it up, recheck it over and over again as you're filling it up, and then recheck it every couple of weeks to make sure the floor isn't sagging on you.

[geo11]

If you're in a condo you should speak to management as they may have size restrictions

[NomiGold]

Originally Posted by b0bab0ey

A "corner tank" (see link below) would make the best use of space, assuming you have an open corner:

http://www.pathogen.co.uk/wp-content...sc00260-sm.JPG

They come in a variety of sizes. Also, I can tell you as someone living in a 1-bedroom apt. with creaky wooden floors: Make sure your tank is perfectly level before you fill it up, recheck it over and over again as you're filling it up, and then recheck it every couple of weeks to make sure the floor isn't sagging on you.

Great tip on making sure the floor isn't sagging. I think I am going to try to find where the supports are in the floor, and place the tank accordingly.

This may be a silly question, but how would I best fit a sump under the corner tank? (I do like the corner tank. Are they very hard to find reef-ready?)

[Misled]

Info about corner tanks.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1698273

[NomiGold]

Originally Posted by Misled

Info about corner tanks.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1698273

Awesome, thank you!

[Misled]

There are a few splits, (back with the old software a thread only went 250 posts). It you go to page one, there's a link.

Have fun!!!! It's pretty long!!!!

[Toomnymods]

if you have a decision on what floor make sure you choose a first floor apartment.. lugging around fish stuff up stairs sucks as well as being restricted to a measly 20-40 gallon tank sucks as well..
I've lived in apartments for the past 5 yrs and i have a oceanic 90 gallon reef ready tank.. it doesnt take up too much room as it's only 48" wide and 18" deep

[Gamepro_inc]

Most everyone has hit the important topics. My maintenance guys know to tell me before any in house repairs which are few. However you may want to check on weather or not they do pest control monthly mine does and luckily I was home the first time they came by because he was spraying walls and everything so I just kept him away from the tank. Now he knows to avoid the area and I have a schedule of when he comes now so I just put a note up reminding him, or if a new guy comes by he knows too.