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AdamT
06/25/2007, 11:49 PM
Hi,

I've been considering a reef tank for about 9 months, and let me say, this is a tremendous forum. What a great asset to the hobby. Anyway, I am obviously taking my time here, doing research, and seriously considering whether this is something I want to do. I love my planted freshwater tank, and I enjoy working on it (I'm about to fully automate it with a reef control system that will auto-dose my ferts :D ), but I'm finding that it is not always easy to make the time to keep it up. I always manage to get things done before anything bad happens, but sometimes my maintenance schedule slips. Sometimes I just blow off that weekly water change, forget to dose ferts, etc. I have a busy job and a family, so you get the idea. I estimate that my weekly maintenance is about 2 hours currently.

How many hours should a newbie expect to devote per week on a new reef tank (excluding initial setup and cycling)?

I'm thinking 65 - 125 gallons, LR, fish, and beginner corals, DSB, sump, fuge, skimmer, reef controller, RO/DI.

drummereef
06/25/2007, 11:57 PM
It's dependant on the size of tank, imo. I keep it fairly simple with my 40g. I spend no more than maybe 2 hours per week max. Most of the time is spent one day per week with water changes. Depending on how much maintenance I perform it could be as little as 45 minutes. I think you'll find the more comfortable you get with your tank, the less time it takes to maintain. ;)

kuoka
06/26/2007, 12:03 AM
I agree with drummereef. I spend no more than about an hour to two hours with my 72gal. My water changes take about 15min. The rest is dosing chems, feeding, and keeping the glass clean. Although I recently aquascaped my tank and it took over 4 hours! LOL :D

serum153
06/26/2007, 12:06 AM
HAHA kuoka...I just did the same thing. I went to move two rocks which I thought would be about 5 minutes. About 2 1/2 hours went by and my back and neck were aching.

alexb518
06/26/2007, 12:09 AM
it's hard to say. they only time i really consider is water changes. other than that, the rest is done while staring at it. once you know the basics, it's really not that hard to keep one up.

AdamT
06/26/2007, 09:38 AM
Thanks everyone. Wow, you guys must have a different perception of time than I do. Sounds like you all spend less time on your reefs than I spend on my planted freshwater tank, which is very surprising to me. Somehow, I suspect that my experience will be different if I start a reef.

kevin2000
06/26/2007, 10:02 AM
Time depends on what you have in the tank.

A heavily stocked tank means greater water quaity issues and the associated tank maintenace ... on the other extreme no fish means little maintenance. A lightly stocked tank allows you more flexibility than a heavily stocked tank.

I tend to go "light" on fish .. that allows me cut way back on my time .. probably 2 hrs a month.

SaltyDr
06/26/2007, 04:53 PM
As you get further in to the hobby you spend less and less time. Learning, reading, etc take a lot of time. If you do things right the first time you won't have to do things multiple times before you get it right. The first month is very time consuming, atleast it was for me. There are lots of things to figure out, and ways to do things better. Lots of trips to the store, etc. When you are first starting out, plan on a couple of hours a day for the first couple of weeks. Lots of testing, water changes, tweaks, etc.

kuoka
06/26/2007, 05:24 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10220566#post10220566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyDr
Lots of trips to the store, etc.

LOL I go to my LFS almost everyday. The owner accuses me of loitering. :D

Shagsbeard
06/26/2007, 05:45 PM
I'd say it's not nearly as time intesive as a planted fresh water can be. In that system, you are fighting a battle... plants vs the world. A reef tank can be almost self supporting.

HBtank
06/26/2007, 05:54 PM
I spend a couple hours every day maintaining it with my eyes. And a couple hours every week with my hands :)

That's not counting RC time of course..lol

Nano Chris
06/26/2007, 06:13 PM
I spend a few hours, upon hours with my tank per week, topping off, doing water changes, feeding, keeping an eye on it while i sleep lol, love this hobby, always new things to learn, i also spend time on this site also, helping others, and learning from certain things i didn't know yet.

I invest almost my whole paycheck each week into my tank, lol... YES its VERY addictive.

AdamT
06/26/2007, 06:48 PM
Thanks again. I must say that maintaining a hi-light, hi-tech planted tank has been MUCH more time consuming than a regular, low light, low tech, plastic plants, tank. You are right, it is a constant battle between giving the plants the light and ferts they need, fighting algae, and keeping the water quality good for the fish. It would really be nice if I could actually get away with the same or less maintenance on a reef.

pezcubano
06/26/2007, 09:02 PM
I have to say that for the past month I've been completely addicted to getting this thing going. Probably around 2 hours a day (not including staring time).
I've definitely learned to take it slow and ask questions before doing ANYTHING.
I'm guessing that as I finish putting together all the components my time dedicated to the tank will go down substantially. I too am planning on keeping it light on fish...

1F2FRFBF
06/26/2007, 09:26 PM
The time cost, like the financial cost, is mostly front-end. Once you get the water, rock and sand in the tank and get all your gadgets in place, you'll have more time to shop for livestock and watch the changes that are taking place in your tank.

Maintenance for me is water change (once a month - gonna see how that works out), topping off (every couple-few days), skimmer cleaning (once a week), feeding (every other day at least), and wiping the inside glass with the mag float every once in a while. Not much at all now, really.

AdamT
06/26/2007, 10:03 PM
You guys make it sound very do-able. Thanks.

Lotus99
06/26/2007, 10:14 PM
There are also a lot of things you can automate on a reef tank, like topoffs. You can speed up water changes with various pumps, etc.

I probably spend less time on the saltwater tank than I used to on planted tanks. I switched out a lot of my plants in my freshwater tanks to minimize growth somewhat, which minimizes trimming time. The longer my freshwater tanks are set up, the less algae they get, and the less time I have to spend on them, too.

t5Nitro
06/26/2007, 10:24 PM
You can make a tank almost fully automated if you have a few extra $. Auto top off unit to replace evaporated water (all you do is fill the resevoir when needed), calcium reactor (if you decide to go SPS corals later) to keep alkalinity and calcium levels stable and right on, all you do is replace the media when needed and fill CO2 bottle. You can get timers for the lights to be on and off. You can even have a unit to do your water changes. It is called the Liter Meter III which I think runs maybe 500 dollars new for the set up. For example you have a big 40 gallon brute can in your basement or something and the liter meter III unit drains maybe 2 gallons per day and replaces 2 gallons from the 40 gallon in the basement using pumps. It gets the water changes done and all you do is fill the brute can every so often and add salt to get the right salt level.

The more money you put into it I think the less time consuming it is because of all of the equipment. I don't have all of that stuff and I don't spend a lot of time with it. Maybe a few hours a week.

AdamT
06/26/2007, 10:26 PM
I would automate the tank. In fact, I'm about to buy an Aquatronica reef controller with a triple dosing pump to handle dosing my ferts and top the water up from and RO/DI reservoir. It's overkill for a planted tank, but I figure it will be useful when I get a reef. Same reason I have an RO/DI unit.

Reefbox
06/26/2007, 10:27 PM
It can b done with minimal time invested. My 125 is on auto pilot as i work out of town for 15 days at a time, but i have someone supplement feeding every other day or two, webcams, monitors and resources to go and fix any problems that could arise, whil;e im gone. My 20-30 g water changes are as ez as open a valve to drain, open valve to refill. takes minutes.

It all comes down to the simplistic and efficient design of your system, which u learn through experiences.

My first tank i could spend 30 hrs a week and it would not look good but i learned through experience what works and what doesn't.

t5Nitro
06/26/2007, 10:32 PM
Go for it, you will set it up and not regret it especially if you are starting out with an automated tank :lol: I would also say go with the largest size tank you want to keep/afford because it seems many people upgrade tank sizes soon after they start a smaller tank anyway. A 125 is nice because of the 6' in length and able to keep a more variety of fish too. You should also do that. Go look at the type of fish you want to keep and post them in the reef fish forum and see what size tank you would need for the fish you like. On your original post, you mentioned 65-125 gallons, I would go with the 125. Mine doesn't take all that much time and it isn't automated, yours will be automated you said, so it will be real easy to keep.

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:13 AM
Careful guys, you're talking me into a reef tank here!

kuoka
06/27/2007, 09:21 AM
T5Nitro is right about tank size consideration. I'd also consider the color, canopy, lighting, etc. I started out with a 55gal and oak canopy as much of the wood work in the house is oak. Then thinking 55 was too small, I moved up to a 72gal. And wouldn't you know it, I changed the canopy to black too. You also might consider what kind of animals you'll be keeping as that will dictate the single most expensive component - lighting. I started out with PCs but recently went with MH. I regret not doing it sooner. Now I have an extra perfectly good PC that's collecting dust. LOL Ps. If you do any entertaining, it's a great thing to show off too (better than a fine piece of art IMO).

Do go for it though because I highly doubt you'll regret it.

WaterKeeper
06/27/2007, 09:24 AM
:lol: Adam

Should we rest our case?

Scraping the glass and such other mundane tasks are not really daily events and don't eat up much time. If you keep a wide variety of inverts then target feeding can be a daily labor of love that can consume maybe a half hour or so. I've never understood why water changes make so many people cringe at the thought. Once you set up a system they are under a half hour a week.

Overall it is a bit more work than a FW tank but is by no means monumental in time spent of upkeep.

snuggle2me
06/27/2007, 09:26 AM
Good now go get that tank! :) Like most are saying you might start off with alot of your time up to your elbos in sw but as time goes by you will learn to tweak it to allow you to do as little maintance as possible and more time to just sit and enjoy it.

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:31 AM
LOL kuoka, all I do is think about that stuff :p

Black canopy and stand for sure, and it will go with my stuff too, since the tank will be next to my entertainment center, which is dark wood and lots of black components. My current tank is black with a black stand and hood, and it looks great. I like black backgrounds too, as it lends depth IMO. I'm about 90% sure I'll go for a 125. My first tank was a 3 gallon for some goldfish I got for my kids, then I bought a 17 gallon tall for myself, and I returned it before I even took the plastic off to get a 30. ;) Now I wifh I had bought a 65 gallon :p There's no doubt that you should get the biggest you can, so it'll probably be a 125.

I wend through the same issue with lights, so I'll go MH, unless I decide to spend a bunch of money on LED so I don't have to worry about temp, although I think I probably would not need a chiller in any event. I really like a super-clean look to my tanks, so I don't want fans and stuff to be visible.

I want to do LR, corals, lightly stocked with fish, and a DSB.

Man this is going to be $$$$$$. My wife is going to be shocked and chagrined, but she owes me one, so I'll be ok ;)

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:35 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10224949#post10224949 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
:lol: Adam

Should we rest our case?

Scraping the glass and such other mundane tasks are not really daily events and don't eat up much time. If you keep a wide variety of inverts then target feeding can be a daily labor of love that can consume maybe a half hour or so. I've never understood why water changes make so many people cringe at the thought. Once you set up a system they are under a half hour a week.

Overall it is a bit more work than a FW tank but is by no means monumental in time spent of upkeep.

Ok, twist my arm! :lol: Fine, I'll do it!

kuoka
06/27/2007, 09:35 AM
As for keeping the glass (I prefer glass btw) or tank clean, I use a mag float and go over the tank every few days. It makes a huge difference in mine.

kuoka
06/27/2007, 09:37 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10225018#post10225018 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AdamT
Ok, twist my arm! :lol: Fine, I'll do it!

Cowabunga! Congrats Adam! :D Please post pics of it and your progress.

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:37 AM
Yes, my current tank is acrylic, and I regret that decision too! Scratches way to easy. Reef ready glass tank for sure. So much to learn.... The bottom line is, there is simply no substitute for experience (or displacement, for that matter).

iwishtofish
06/27/2007, 09:39 AM
I am finding that once the initial set up is done and the tank is filled, I just spend the majority of my free time on RC while waiting for my cycle to finish! I was so busy buying equipment, building the stand, looking at friends' tanks, and going on field trips, that now I won't know what to do with myself! :)

I would say expect a LOT of time and work at first, and then after that the routine maintenance will seem comparatively minor!

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:41 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10225031#post10225031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kuoka
Cowabunga! Congrats Adam! :D Please post pics of it and your progress.

Oh yes, I will. You guys are going to be thoroughly sick of me, I'm sure. I'll be like a 5 year old in a museum ("what's that?" "what's this?" "how does that work?" :p ).

Here's a somewhat outdated pic of my current tank:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c100/AdamT1966/6-11-07Tank3.jpg

cartouche
06/27/2007, 09:54 AM
I know i'm a bit late but.....


Daily = 5 minutes - cleaning glass / 4 litre top up / feed / talking to fish.

Weekly = 15 minutes - water change (20 gallons)

6 Monthly = 1 day - cleaning out filters - replacing carbon - changing bulbs - (basically checking everything)

As has previously been said, the most time consuming item is visiting your LFS! :)


Edit - forgot to say, its a cliche but its always a case of fail to prepare - prepare to fail... eg I have two large water systems, one for top up and one for water changes all linked to my RO unit. So top ups and water changes are really easy.

kuoka
06/27/2007, 09:56 AM
That's an awesome FW tank Adam. I especially like what you did with the plant work. I tried FW a long time ago as my mom was really into it but I couldn't keep the plants "planted"! LOL

AdamT
06/27/2007, 09:58 AM
Thanks Kuoka! The secret to planting is the use of long tweezers that allow you to push the roots into the substrate, then withdraw your grip without unearthing them.

kuoka
06/27/2007, 10:05 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10225186#post10225186 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AdamT
Thanks Kuoka! The secret to planting is the use of long tweezers that allow you to push the roots into the substrate, then withdraw your grip without unearthing them.

Doh! That explains it. I found myself pulling them up when I removed my hands. LOL Then I reverted to using stones, bricks, and any other heavy objects to secure them. :D

WaterKeeper
06/27/2007, 05:56 PM
Just remember folks----It is harder than keeping Guppies. :D

kevin2000
06/27/2007, 06:07 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10228451#post10228451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Just remember folks----It is harder than keeping Guppies. :D
Nah .. I killed my share of guppies to :cool: