What size tank to start with?

[knight03]

If i am thinking about starting a reef tank what size tank would be good to start with and not have to buy a bigger one in a year or two/ What is the basic things that I need to start?

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF!! I hope you enjoy it here As for tank size, go with the biggest you can afford. The bigger the tank, the more stable it will be. As for what all you would need, would all depend on what you plan on keeping. Are you going for a full blown reef, a few corals, or just fish and rock? The type of coral as well will determine things like what form of lighting you should go with and how much flow, but just going on a general list, you'll need lighting, flow (either supplied by powerheads or a closed loop) rock, salt, a few test kits (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate etc) skimmer which is optional, but I'd say the vast majority of reefers won't be caught without one, possibly a sump (great idea to keep all of your equipment in under the stand out of view) and the list can go on. I'd say, share with us what you'd like to accomplish with the tank, and then we can go from there. Best of luck

 

[spongebob lover]

Welcome to RF dood !!! .

i agree with my friend Krish, go as big as you can afford .... i'm telling you this too because sometimes you go small and you run out of space

 

[macronut]

First question you should consider is what livestock you want to keep? Keep that in mind and stick to the plan. Size? again this depends on what you want to keep. A good size to start out with is a 75 gal tank. A 75 has good length, depth and is usually easy to find in most reputable dealers. I would suggest a built in overflow. I prefer built in overflows to the hang on the back styles. It's a preference. Cabinetry is easy to find and easy to make for this size tank. Glass or acrylic? Matter of choice. Glass tanks are easier to find and cost less.

Get a good skimmer like ASM or deltec, good quality lighting, and reliable pump for circulation. Don't skimp on these items. Get the best right from the start or you'll have extra unneeded equipment lying around the house. Lighting, again, will depend on what organisms you plan on keeping. Metal halide is a good choice. In a 75 you could use 175watt 10000K's, if keeping all sps you could upgrade to 250 watts. You would need one bulb every two feet. If you increase your K's or kelvin # the bulb will be much more blue. If you already know this Great! Depending on what you want to keep you could also use PC's or powercompacts if the choice is made for lower light loving organisms.

If you are looking to keep smaller fish a 50 gal is a great size too.

Just keep in mind the budget. What can you afford? It is better to have a smaller, thriving healthy tank with good reliable equipment than a larger one that does not have the proper equipment due to costs. It's an investment. I hope this helps.

 

[ronj]

Welcome to Reeffrontiers (knight03)!!!!how much space do you have to spare for a tank??? do you have a price range you are looking at???? i would go as big as possible as well!!!! you will need a light(depends on what you want in the tank), a heater, skimmer, liverock(unless you want fish only), some sort of filtration(depends on if you get a reef ready tank), and powerheads or a closed loop for good flow!! i may have missed something..i can't think of anything else right now

 

[Scooterman]

I agree a 75 is a good size to start out with but if you have deep pockets then go bigger

 

[ronj]

if you can go bigger, try a 125g...it is a good size 6ft tank

 

[Meche]

I just set up a 55gal and love it. When I bought it, I thought it was huge. That lasted a week. Now, eventhough I love my tank and don't have any plains for an upgrade (for now), the extra width of a 75gal (or width and depth of a 90gal) would be really nice. If this is the general size tank your looking for (48") I would go with one of the larger two.

 

[spongebob lover]

75 is ok but i don't know.... for me i think it'd be a 100 gal tank .

 

[Jiddy]

Thats an easy question, 220gal, that will keep you content for awhile

 

[NaH2O]

First question you should consider is what livestock you want to keep? Keep that in mind and stick to the plan. Size? again this depends on what you want to keep. A good size to start out with is a 75 gal tank. A 75 has good length, depth and is usually easy to find in most reputable dealers. I would suggest a built in overflow. I prefer built in overflows to the hang on the back styles. It's a preference. Cabinetry is easy to find and easy to make for this size tank. Glass or acrylic? Matter of choice. Glass tanks are easier to find and cost less.

Get a good skimmer like ASM or deltec, good quality lighting, and reliable pump for circulation. Don't skimp on these items. Get the best right from the start or you'll have extra unneeded equipment lying around the house. Lighting, again, will depend on what organisms you plan on keeping. Metal halide is a good choice. In a 75 you could use 175watt 10000K's, if keeping all sps you could upgrade to 250 watts. You would need one bulb every two feet. If you increase your K's or kelvin # the bulb will be much more blue. If you already know this Great! Depending on what you want to keep you could also use PC's or powercompacts if the choice is made for lower light loving organisms.

If you are looking to keep smaller fish a 50 gal is a great size too.

Just keep in mind the budget. What can you afford? It is better to have a smaller, thriving healthy tank with good reliable equipment than a larger one that does not have the proper equipment due to costs. It's an investment. I hope this helps.

Great post. I think the first thing to think about is what you are most interested in. I think a 75 gallon is a great size to start, but as was stated, it is better to have a smaller thriving set-up with good/reliable equpiment, than one that you can't afford proper equipment for. Also, space available in the home will need to be taken into account.

Keep the questions coming, and hopefully, we'll be able to give you some good advice and recommendations towards your set-up.

Also...Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

 

[shallowreef]

I think the their are acouple of things that need to be considered before you pick a tank size. Such as how dedicated are you? How much can you afford? How much room do you have?

How dedicated are you?

This is a hobby that takes dediccation and patience. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in this hobby if you do not stay consistent. Are you ready for weekly or bi-weekly Water changes and what about scheduled matnience for your pumps and equipment?

How much can you Afford?

This hobby can get very expensive in a blink of an eye when you start buying equipment and stocking your tank. Not to mention the electric bill for large systems.

How much room do you have?

Tanks may only be 4',6' or 8' long but then you need to take into consideration where do you store all of your unused equipment and dry goods? Where do you store RO water if do an RO unit. Is the house cool or warm in the summer? can the floor support the extra weight?

These are just a few things that i never took into consideration when i started my tank that i wish i would have. Don't be discouraged by it just use it to help you plan things out in the future.

Nick

 

[varpanus]

i have never owned a reef tank so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but i think you should go with a tank that supports your lifestyle. sure with a small tank there's no room for lots of corals and the like, maybe not even enough room for fish;but at least if you can keep up the maintenance and the patience in a small tank, then you can move to a bigger one.

 

[knight03]

Should I buy a new tank and equipment or if I can get a good deal get used? If used what do I look for? There is only one pet store in my town and they only have one salt water tank. Should I make a couple of hour drive to someone that specializes in salt water? Thanks for the suggestions so far

 

[patmayo]

As well cost. Just to give you an idea, 90 gallon aga, decent metal halide lights, live rock, pumps, dosing pump, decent skimmer, sump,good stand, livestock, ro/di unit, test kits, refractometer, ph meter, heaters, controller, light timers can easily run $5000.00. If you had a chiller, kalk reactor, fancy all tank controllers like a Aquacontroller and now you most likely can get close to $7000.00 without breaking a sweat.

Sooooo, get a budget and see what you can afford. As well there are DIY, "do it yourself" projects that can save a bundle.

Regards,

Pat

 

[shallowreef]

My best suggestion would be to buy the tank NEW everything else can be used except the tank. The reason i say that is if a tank is really old the seals could get old on you and start to leak or just completly give out. Everything else i would come here and try and find used. You get really good deals here if your patient. If your looking for anything special let me know and i can try and hunt it down.

 

[Brenden]

Keep your eye open for a used deal if you have time to look. I bought a basically new 180gal with oak stand and canopy pumps UV and sump for $500. The guy got transferred and had to sell. I was going to make a pred tank out of it but changed my mind and sold it to a LFS for $1000. There are deals out there.

 

[burning2nd]

i say oposite,

get everything new, get the tank used, give it a once over with a bead of silocone cleaning over checking closeing with your eyes,

as far as size go's i would start with a 55, and 20 gal sump get your self use to the life of owning a salt water fish tank,

reserch a lot, and have fun, no mater what size you buy first, your gonna want a bigger tank

 

[reefman069]

the bigger the better. i started with a 45 gallon. then went to a 125 gallon. as time goes they fill up pretty fast. now in my 125 gallon reef tank its hard to find a place for a new coral. so to add to my reef tank i just set up a 160 gallon frag tank. i got it bad. its hard to only have one tank.

 

[sihaya]

I agree with the 65g-75g suggestion. Big tanks can be easier in that they're more "forgiving," but they're a pain when it comes to needing lots of top off water and just having to have more of everything (sand, rock, etc...).