salt water reef tanks

Sunday_Hacker

Release Your Inner Diablo
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I had a very nice 29 gallon reef tank about 7 years ago and starting to get the itch again. there have been so many new product advancements since I had my last tank. leaning towards a nano system. either a 6 gal or 12 gal reef setup. any other salt water tank enthusiasts at there? if so lets see some photos!
 
dude i want one so bad! In college they would not let us have animals but fish were allowed in the dorms so i got a 10 gallon freshwater tank and still have it! 2 big gold fish and 1 fresh water shark fish and i love it! i want a huge one like on deuce bigalow male gigolo lol
 
No salt water here sh, but had a 50 gal and 29 gal fresh water for a long time. Those things wore me out, I can't imagine a reef tank, lol. I was more into the plants than the fish, but had plenty of those as well.
 
My mom and dad had a huge saltwater tank when I was a kid. They had big money tied up in the fish too. They bought this one small little trigger fish and in two days he killed all the other fish by eating their tail fins. It pissed my mom off so bad she flushed him. They went and replaced all the fish again, a couple hundred bucks worth atleast. Well my mom gets everything all set up and thinks the coral looks a little dingy so her and my pops gets the bright idea to bleach it. Well it worked, that coral was just as brilliant white as ever and mom was thrilled. It's a shame they didn't realize the coral was basically a hardened sponge. I'll never forget the look on my moms face as she placed that coral in the tank only to see every fish start jerking around on their sides minutes later. That tank sure was heavy as we carried it to the dump.
 
I haven't graduated to a salt water tank yet but when I do a reef tank is what I'll have. My favorite salt water fish would be a Mandarine goby, it's a must have for a reef tank. Here's a few pics of some fish I have in my 30 gal. oceanic cube.

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freddy.jpg

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In my last office I had a 240 gallon custom reef setup. Also had a 110 home setup. Both full reef.

Fun hobby but certain things are needed for sure. Patience to wait for tank to fully cycle before acclimating fish. Money and lots of it for great live rock, lighting systems, live sand, fish, and corals, etc. Time to clean, syphon, and take good care of the investment.
 
wow 240 gallon reef that must have been awesome! no doubt patience is the most important thing when setting up a reef tank. I really like the looks of these nano systems. I am looking to setup probably a 12 gallon reef tank with live rock, live sand, inverts, corals and maybe one or two fish.
 
wow 240 gallon reef that must have been awesome! no doubt patience is the most important thing when setting up a reef tank. I really like the looks of these nano systems. I am looking to setup probably a 12 gallon reef tank with live rock, live sand, inverts, corals and maybe one or two fish.

No, the most important thing is money. Live rock and live sand as well as the inverts & corals get VERY Costly!
 
nice photos lngnokr and no doubt the mandarin fish are very cool looking and great for reef tanks. its actually a dragnet and not a goby. the green , red and
spotted are so colorful. check out this website, very informative and a great resource. dont know if I would buy from though, prices are good but cost of shipping and hassle on returns might not be worth it

http://www.liveaquaria.com/
 
oh I remember that part of it quite well! thats why I am just looking to do a 12 gallon nano system


No, the most important thing is money. Live rock and live sand as well as the inverts & corals get VERY Costly!
 
Yeah, I would think that a 12 gallon Nano done right is easily $500, if done the way I would do it anyway. Thats a lot of money for a spot that can only house 2 fish at the most and are limited on those fish. Nothing like a yellow tang in there. Have to find fish that do not require swimming room.
 
Yeah, I would think that a 12 gallon Nano done right is easily $500, if done the way I would do it anyway. Thats a lot of money for a spot that can only house 2 fish at the most and are limited on those fish. Nothing like a yellow tang in there. Have to find fish that do not require swimming room.

seriously?! 500 beans for a fish tank? i don't know much about these sort of things but i'm pretty sure that a couple of fish aren't worth that much of an investment. i guess i'd rather use the money for golf related stuff.....haha. i could buy up a good amount of raffle tickets with that....hehe
 
seriously?! 500 beans for a fish tank? i don't know much about these sort of things but i'm pretty sure that a couple of fish aren't worth that much of an investment. i guess i'd rather use the money for golf related stuff.....haha. i could buy up a good amount of raffle tickets with that....hehe

Yeah, reef tanks are expensive to start and maintain. Sure you could go cheaper, but for nice live rock, nice live sand, great inverts and corals and fish, the cost is huge. This is just on a nano tank where the lighting is included.
 
the fish will be small, not really a fan of yellow tangs and their too big for 12 gallon anyway. probably go with a purple firefish and maybe a catalina goby. I am more interested in the inverts and the corals then the fish

Yeah, I would think that a 12 gallon Nano done right is easily $500, if done the way I would do it anyway. Thats a lot of money for a spot that can only house 2 fish at the most and are limited on those fish. Nothing like a yellow tang in there. Have to find fish that do not require swimming room.
 
the fish will be small, not really a fan of yellow tangs and their too big for 12 gallon anyway. probably go with a purple firefish and maybe a catalina goby. I am more interested in the inverts and the corals then the fish

That is what I meant. You could not have a fish like a yellow tang because tangs need swimming room.
 
yeah $500 is about right but it wont be all at once

12 gallon nano tank $180

live sand $60

live rock $80

fish, inverts and corals varies and will be over time

and accessories like salt, trace elements, net, test kit ,hydrometer etc etc
 
Live Rock for 12 gallons I would expect to be closer to $120. For good high colored live rock anyway. Especially in the Tampa area. Some great stuff at Marine Warehouse.
 
gotcha, I really like the crabs, shrimps, sea stars, star fish, snails, urchins, feather dusters etc. dont know how much and what kinds I will be able to put in a nano but the tank will be mainly inverts. might end up with the 24 gallon so I can put more critters in it, only about $40 more for the tank but then the cost of live rock and sand will double

That is what I meant. You could not have a fish like a yellow tang because tangs need swimming room.
 
The cost of live rock and live sand will double. But also remember lighting will double as well, unless you get a built in system. It is a very expensive hobby. I did it for a very long time.
 
theres a local fish store about 5 min from my house. really nice guy and has great live rock with great prices. the $80 is for 16lbs of pre-cured nano rock. might need a little more then that but thats what I'll start with. I have heard great things about Marine warehouse though and do need to take a ride to check them out. thanks for the tip on them.


Live Rock for 12 gallons I would expect to be closer to $120. For good high colored live rock anyway. Especially in the Tampa area. Some great stuff at Marine Warehouse.
 
yeah those will double for sure but thankfully the nano tanks come with the lighting, filteration, pumps and fans built into the system

The cost of live rock and live sand will double. But also remember lighting will double as well, unless you get a built in system. It is a very expensive hobby. I did it for a very long time.
 
theres a local fish store about 5 min from my house. really nice guy and has great live rock with great prices. the $80 is for 16lbs of pre-cured nano rock. might need a little more then that but thats what I'll start with. I have heard great things about Marine warehouse though and do need to take a ride to check them out. thanks for the tip on them.

I would say you definitely want a little more than 16 lbs. Its harder to add it once you have stuff in the tank.
 
very true, whats the rule 1 1/2 lbs of live rock for every gallon. so I should go with at least 18lbs maybe even 20lbs

I would say you definitely want a little more than 16 lbs. Its harder to add it once you have stuff in the tank.
 
that is the standard, but some would argue that in smaller tanks even more is needed. I would say 18-20 lbs is the right amount.
 
cool, thanks for all the knowledge JB, I might have a ton more questions along the way!

that is the standard, but some would argue that in smaller tanks even more is needed. I would say 18-20 lbs is the right amount.
 
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