Complete beginner

Discussion in 'Say Hello!' started by Sami, Mar 5, 2016.

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  1. Sami

    Sami Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Hey guys,

    I am looking forward to getting involved in the forums as I take the plunge into the world of reefing and marine tanks. At this point in time I do not have a tank, I had a freshwater tank back when I was at school (15-18 years old), during this time I also had a tank with two terrapins. When I moved to University the terrapins were given away and my fish moved to a friends tank. I had always wanted to get a marine tank, but always thought it was very expensive and only for 'experts'. As a kid I would go to my friends house and his dad had a 2500g tank covering the wall of his living room, I remember just sitting and watching the fish(Lionfish, Eels, Clownfish amongst others) for hours. However, I do remember he had several incidents where he would lose everything and in doing so lose 10's of thousands of pounds.

    Of course, I will not be having a 2500g tank. I am still unsure as to how much the livestock (fish and corals) would cost for say a 75g to 180g tank? I understand from what I have read that larger volumes mean more stability (in theory) and as such are easier to maintain. When does this efficiency of scale come into place, in your opinion?

    I am in a wheelchair so I am aware that will provide some additional challenges when dealing with the tank, but I do have someone to help me with some of the tasks if necessary and also know that my local fish shop provide a service to help maintain marine tanks (my friends father used them years ago).

    Sorry for the blurb but I figure might as well make the most out of my first post! Feel free to ask me anything or offer any advice.

    Thanks,

    Sam
     
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  3. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2011
    Messages:
    4,732
    Location:
    A Texan in S.E. Wisconsin
    Hi Sam, I think reefing is a great hobby, and at times provides for selling orf gtrading coral to re-coup some money, or make it more affordable.
    I've run a reef on a shoestring budget- you wouldn't know by seeing my system though.

    I suggest not buyhing anything until you have done a fes months of reading, reading others posts, pros and cons, etc.
    Then, I would search the local reefing clubs for great deals on used items, trades, etc.
    If you have 'craigslist' in the UK, or a similiar site- I'd look there too.

    Take your time, START with a drilled tank, sump of some sort, etc.
    And, you don't have to keep any corals- especially the Sps and many lps- at least not at first anyways.
    With easy or no corals- lights are really an issue either.
    I always tell people- the fish are easy to keep alive- the corals/sps are much more sensitive.
    I'd also try and get a system running where you could most of the simple maintenance yourself and with a little help- like for partial water changes; than rely on a service.
    But it's all up to you.

    Welcome to 3Reef! It's a great site
     
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  4. Sami

    Sami Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Hi Todd,

    I have been researching it for around a month or so, and will continue to do so for a while yet. I plan to visit my local store this week, just to ask some questions take a look at tank sizes up close and purchase another book for me to read.

    Why is a drilled tank so important to start with?

    Thanks for your reply!

    Sam
     
  5. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2012
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    Location:
    Cocoa, Florida
    A drilled tank simplifies things in my opinion. Dealing with an external overflow is a pain and noisy. I had both and I'll never own another tank that isn't drilled. It really does have a lot more benefits. From surface skimming to the amount it drains is far superior to external overflows. I also had overflows leak which was a headache.
     
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  6. dacianb

    dacianb Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2016
    Messages:
    77
    Location:
    Belgium
    Welcome Sami, great decision.

    My first sw tank was a Juwel Rio 180 (you may find them in UK on bargain prices I think too) - it is a FW tank and I use it for years like this until I decided to go SW.
    The only change I made was to drop in an internal Tunze 9004 skimmer and replace the daylight 2 tubes with one actinic + one marine white (also coming from Juwel). I kept the filter box inside for charbon and floss and later added 2 flow pumps (small, cheap ones).
    With this setup I kept few easy fishes and LPS corals without issues for more than 3 years until get into larger, more "pro" tanks.

    Here is a pic of those times (on picture I am using already a led module which I planned for my new tank, as the RedSea reefer was already ordered :) ) - but for years lived only with 2 x T5 tubes. I think the corals in the tank were more expensive than the setup itself. The only work I made was to change 10-20% water / week - with such "light" filtration is a must.

    IMG_1696.JPG
     
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  7. 79chopperdr

    79chopperdr Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2016
    Messages:
    7
    I would recommend a all in one such as a bio cube to start. They are very manageable and good to learn with. Also try to buy your equipment secondhand to save money.

    Good luck Sam
     
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  9. jonjonwells

    jonjonwells Great Blue Whale

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2008
    Messages:
    2,835
    Location:
    SE Kansas
    Welcome to 3reef!

    You are very right that there will be challenges, but there is always a way. There was a tank build thread done by a guy in a wheel chair on here a few years ago. He was doing a double 55 gallon in wall setup, if I remember correctly. There were several things that he did to redesign what he did to help him. I will try and find that thread. Maybe give you some good ideas for yourself.
     
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  10. Sami

    Sami Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
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    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Hey dacianb,

    Appreciate the response, especially from a fellow European! Seems like the forum is dominated by Americans (not that there is anything wrong with that, everyone has been very helpful!). I had a Juwel in the past, so I am fairly used to them. I would love to see a picture of your most recent set-up if you have a chance?
     
  11. Sami

    Sami Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Hi Chopper,

    Have you had experience with BioCube's yourself? How did you find it?
     
  12. Sami

    Sami Plankton

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2016
    Messages:
    9
    Location:
    Surrey, UK
    Hi Jon,

    I would love to see these set-up if the post still exists. I tried searching a couple of things but was unable to find anything.