Do I want an aquarium?

If you are this on the fence I would start with freshwater and go from there. It will teach you the basics of owning a fish tank without the large financial investment of the smack down that comes from messing up or being lazy in a saltwater tank.

Imo a school of tetras in a planted tank is pretty sweet.

 

freshwater is the first easy step. then saltwater "fish-only" then reef tank. 29g HQI biocube would be a great starter tank for a reef. For used/cheap search craigslist and ebay. Drfostersmith.com is a good company to browse there site for equipment,etc.

just fyi: A reef tank will take up all your free time and money, but is the "cat's meow" when it comes to aquariums. lol good luck & welcome to 3reef!

 

Personally I find freshwater aquariums to be notoriously boring, unless you go way out of the box with one and include freshwater stingrays or exotic species or have a north american freshwater tank with panfish and whatever. Or a fresh planted tank. However, you can put together a decently priced, simple, and yet wonderful saltwater aquarium fairly easily actually It's all about doing the research first and asking questions questions questions. The first few months can be a huge learning experience. And as others have said, it can take about a year for a tank to get "established" and really look like a wonderful piece of work (that's about how long ours took, it's amazing today after almost 1.5 years now)

But just because the tank isn't at it's best until after about a year, doesn't mean it's not awesome the beginning months. The whole process of building and shaping your tank is quite an adventure, and nowhere near as hard as people make it. You'll just need to be prepared to drop the money into the system, but you do that over time so it's not a whole wad of dough down the drain in one purchase. It's easiest to buy the tank, stand, sump (I recommend a sump), sand, and rocks first and let the tank cycle, then you'll buy the other stuff as you need them (don't need lights until after the cycle, don't need a skimmer until 2 or 3 months after the cycle, etc).

The minimum tank size I'd start with is a 29 gallon or so. Any smaller and you'll just give yourself headaches. We started with a 46 and it's been perfect for us. Some others start with 55's, it's all a matter of preference and budget.

Also, all in one tanks can be great (such as the biocubes and nanocubes). However, I still stand firm on the "don't go less than 29" plan, and they actually make a 29 biocube. So if you want to know if saltwater is right for you and want to keep it simple, you can pick up one of those and be on your way for fairly cheap, and have a decent setup. Put 30-45 lbs of rock in there as well as 30lbs of sand, and you'd be golden.

All I can say is to research research research. Learn what's out there and how much you'd want to spend on time and money, and make a decision from there.

 

The cheapest place to find a good decent used tank is on Craigslist. If you prefer brand new, you can check out your local fish store or a chain petshop like Petco or Petsmart. If I were to start all over again, I would first buy a big tank because you'll eventually want the kinds of fish that can only live in bigger tanks. It would've saved me a TON of money on fish tanks. I started out with a one gallon and then kept on upgrading 'til 130 gallons (still planning to upgrade to a 300...maybe 500 in the future).

Some tips:
1) I started out with freshwater because it's slightly simpler and more accessible (water-wise)
2) While maintaining your freshwater, if you want to switch to saltwater, keep researching and reading on how people start and what their problems are when starting.
3) Research the break-in cycles that both freshwater and saltwater have. There's a period in the beginning when you set up the fish tank, you have wait for a bit for the water to cycle and build bacteria. If you add some fish during these initial cycles, they may die which would be a waste of your money. There's are spikes in nitrite and ammonia which you have to look for during the initial cycle.....just research this.
4) When adding fishes, just add peaceful hardy fishes first, then sensitive fishes, and then aggressive fishes. (Keep in mind the hierarchy that's created when you add in fishes)
5) Also, when adding fishes, make sure you look at their compatibility - some fishes may eat the other fishes that you have...or bully them to death.
6) Start big so you don't have to worry about upgrading later on.
7) Watch your temps and parameters. Local fish stores should do these for free.
8) Once everything is done (setup and all) - make sure to sit back, grab a drink, and relax.

MAIN POINTER: WATER CHANGE IS KEY to keeping your fishes alive and healthy

>these are only pointers, there's much more to learn!

 

Hello & welcome to 3reef. I have had freshwater, brackish water (African Cichlids) & now saltwater. I have found saltwater being FAR easier to maintain, you get a lot more back on your investment (frag coral later on & such) and you get a much better color selection. I would just start with saltwater. Why buy things for fresh, then you want to convert to salt. Empy the the tank, get new equipment, new light fixture. Just a pain.

Just as others have stated. You must deside if you want fish, coral, or mix. Either way here are some very important things to remember.

1: Bigger is better (within reason), the more water you have the more room for error you have.

2: Get live rock, live sand, & a protein skimmer that is bigger than your tank size. (Having these items, you will NOT need mechanical filter system.

3: I can not stress enough, do your research first before buying.

4: Most LFS (local fish store) will sell you what your don't want or need just to make a buck. I have seen a lot of people get out of this hobby, do to LFS.

5: 3 Reef & Craigslist has some great deals at times & you can save a lot of money.

Finally have fun! Remember your limit is your imagination & wallet. ;D

 

dude, it took me a thousand bux to get my 29g looking good lol, its for sure an expensive hobby, but it pays for itself.

 

x2
yeah thats about right. $550 for 29g HQI biocube with all the goodies.. then the another $100 on test kits, and the remaining $400 on rock, sand, inverts,fish and corals. at least with the hqi 150mh light that comes with the package he'll be able to keep whatever coral he wants. ;D

 

yeah, it just keeps adding up to lol, soon ill be like, WTF i only spent a thousand on equipment and corals, fish,sand,LR,light, etc.........but then think about water, gas to the LFS,cleaning supplies, all that stuff.

 

First off... you are at the right place... this forum will provide you with all the information you need in order to understand this quite pricely hobby better. One thing you must realize is that although it is quite easy to maintain, once set up, you WILL go through phases of frustration and possibly losses of fish or corals. I think we all made mistakes in the beginning, so as long as you keep active on this forum I hope you can circumvent that . It is a great hobby.... I personally would not want to do without it. I get great pleasure from building and watching my tank grow. So, think about your budget.. and yes, craigslist is a great source to look for bargains... and do your research. Once you get into it, you will be hooked!!! Trust me

 

ok... so lots of folks wrote novels on this thread! awesome.

what I see here is someone with still only 1 post... Is OP still out there?


IMO, if you have to ask that question, then I would say 'no, you do not want the responsibility of a tank'.

I'm not one of those folks that thinks folks need or even should be talked into this hobby.