Just cant bring myself to take the plunge.

[ReefingWerewolf]

I have been wanting a reef tank for nearly a year now. And the plan was to buy my tank this summer so I would have lots of time to tinker with it and set it up. I have a somewhat limited budget (around 1.5-2k) so craigslist was the obvious choice. But I am finding it incredibly challenging to convince myself to pull the trigger on a tank. My favorite fish is the purple tang, but they require a somewhat large tank and I worry that getting a tank that large (like 125 gallon) would be too much for me to handle as a beginner, especially as the tank must be a reef (thats the main reason I really want this tank :D). So basically I am trying to tell myself that getting a larger tank and getting my dream purple tang is out of the question and to purchase something like a nice 60 gallon cube reef as my first tank. Hopefully you guys can set me straight. How big should I start out with. The most frustrating part is tanks that are drilled a good size and condition dont pop up as often as I wish and my parents refuse to drive me more than a hour to pick up the tank :(. Cant, wait, to, get, my, cycle, going, syndrome, lol.
Thanks in advance for anyone helping to point me in the right direction.

[reepher315]

Once you sart a tank all your going to say is... Man i should have went bigger. This hobby is addicting. Also you can have a tank drilled or drill it yourself (do your research first). But 60g cubes are really nice to start. I started with my 55 now I want a 90...

[m0nkie]

good luck!

once that trigger is pulled, money is going to start pouring down the drain.

- Drill your own tank. It's VERY easy (my first time too) and it saves a lot of money. Unless you find a nice reef ready deal on CL
- How big? make your fish list. Go on Liveaquaria and start looking at all the fish you want.. then come here and find out capacity. Once you have your fish list, you will know how large of a tank. I thought my 100gal was good for a starting tank.. I should have gone 300.. I say start with at least a 150gal. + 50-100gal sump. that's a good amount of water volume for your favorite fishes
- spend time looking at used Tank/Stand, Skimmer, Lights. You should get a quality one (usually expensive). Once you have those in hand, you should be good to jump in. A lot of costs will follow, but at least you don't have to ditch out major money at once.

[Heathcoot]

I tell you what don't jump right in if your not ready some say it's easier to own a larger tank but also the bigger the more expense in maintaing it but it is very rewarding especially if you get in to it as much as you can lol if your married make sure the significant other is in to it as well it just makes things most easy or possibly worse lol they want one now too ha

[Scott07]

I would suggest trying to do a pretty extensive search of your area (on line, this site, google, etc...) to see what LFSs are around. I know that sounds pretty basic, and like something you've most likely already done. But I've found that at least around my area... a lot of these smaller hobbyist geared stores don't advertize, barely have an on-line presence at all, and you wouldn't even know it's something worth visiting until you gave it a shot. It took me about a year to find (what I think) are all the prime reef stores in my driving radius. And several of them have HUGE used sections with some awesome equipment at very low cost. Had I known this from the beginning... I probably could have saved some serious $$ and possibly started w/ even nicer equipment than what I did.

[shesacharmer]

While a larger tank is more forgiving in terms of water parameters and keeping your levels straight the entry cost is often a lot more...the lights cost more and you need more of them...the skimmer needs to be bigger but you have to have room in your sump...it's the small details that add up. I started with a 75 gallon and 30 gallon sump/refugium. I wish I could have a 125 but it won't fit in my house so I'm forced to make sacrifices. Another issue I never thought of is physical depth. My tank is 20" high and even with a two step ladder I can barely reach in through the canopy to clean near the bottom. Anytime I see something that needs to be adjusted on the bottom of the tank I sigh...here goes half my body in the tank!

[Uncle Salty 05]

If you can afford it go with a 180.
That extra depth from front to back makes a big difference and gives you more options.
If you go the natural route and don't buy every gadget made, you can do it for less than you think.

[HumbleFish]

I would say you have two choices:

Go big. A 180 gal is a nice sized 6' tank most people seem happy with. And the only difference between it and a 125 is it's 6" wider and a little taller. That extra 6" will come in handy when you do your aquascaping.

Go small. A 40 breeder or even 29 gal is a great startup reef. Of course, you'll have to forget about the Purple Tang (for now) if you go this route. But you can always upgrade down the road, and convert this smaller tank into a frag or QT. The latter you will definitely need if you plan on keeping any tang, as they are very ich prone.

Being you live in Seattle, there's got to be a local online fish club or two. IME; that's where you will find the best deals on second hand tanks. There's a guy on my local club currently selling an entire 150 gal setup for only $375 (guess he just needs the tank gone).

[KAMIKAZE0214]

You may also want to consider the fact that moving a large tank is more work than a small tank (highschool - > college - > after). I started with a 20G in college- I couldn't imagine moving my 72G more than a few times- if you went as big as a 125G that's a days project.

I'd start smallish/er, and then plan on upgrading in the future. You may also want to start small to see if this is a hobby you want to stick with. It's not always easy :) Either way, I've always wanted a bigger tank- I almost upgraded to a 210G before the wife convinced me it would be to expensive (electricity, better lights, larger skimmer, etc).

I managed to pick up my 72G with liverock and fish for $350 off of craigslist. For another $100 I got a used HOB skimmer, after test kits and random corals I'm probably in about 700ish?

Good hunting!!!

[Sk8r]

The smaller the tank, the harder it is to keep it alive and healthy.
The larger the tank, the more physical work the tank is.
For a beginner, I'd recommend (if financially possible) a 100-120 gallon long, up to 150, with about a 30 gallon sump, drilled, downflow box, skimmer, adequate lights for stony coral unless you're sure you will prefer softie corals. That preserves the most options for fish type and coral variety.

[Borntovin]

I am new to SW as well and I believe I have a successful reef tank so far. I made a mistake of over populating the fish , with all my excitement of having SW tank after having FW for 15 yrs. I am taking steps to correct that. That being said, in my perspective 1.5 k to 2k budget is more than enough for a nice sw setup, if I say if you buy a whole setup on Craig's list.

I did not have budget or time to start everything from scratch, so I was hunting for a tank that I can want that I can afford and also manage it on CG. I always look for a running SW setup, so I suggest you to go for CG. With your budget of over 1.5 k, I can easily find setup of more than 120g easily in Dallas area. In the whole you gotta have these, 120+g tank of your shape and dimensions! Live rock, live sand, led lighting or set least t5, wave makers, protein skimmer, some basic coral to start. It's good to a setup with sump, over flow setup etc.

Let me know you city and I will help you find a nice setup way under your budget.

[Borntovin]

I got a 2 yr old 75g setup with LR, LS, lots of coral, 10 nice fish, skimmer, sump, ro/di brs plus, over flow return pump, canister filter and all for 400$.

I had some large level 3 coral, which I had to trade in as I was not ready for hard to maintain corals and did not want to kill them with my ignorance. I got 100$ back. Point here is , I got a well established tank with all the ground work already done. Go for it and be very patient while adding live stock.

[toothybugs]

If you need some help taking the plunge, spend 50 bucks at the LFS and buy a bag/ bucket of salt, then go look at the fish for a few minutes and go home.

Dare ya. :)

[reepher315]

If you need some help taking the plunge, spend 50 bucks at the LFS and buy a bag/ bucket of salt, then go look at the fish for a few minutes and go home.

Dare ya. :)

Yes. Then scope out till petco has the buck a gallon sale and get a nice sized one! Or check cl. I found a reef ready with a stand for 250. But make sure you inspect the tank really well. Reptile used tanks usually dont hold water well.

[ReefingWerewolf]

Thanks for all the advise guys. Im checking craigslist waaaayy too often, but good tanks are rare...

[Mcgeezer]

I scored a 70 gallon Oceanic Tech Tank (star fire glass) with Berlin sump, stand, uv sterilizer and a powerful eheim return pump for $400 on craigslist

Those tanks alone sold for close to $1000 brand new


Good deals can be found. When you find one...pounce!

[m0nkie]

Thanks for all the advise guys. Im checking craigslist waaaayy too often, but good tanks are rare...

don't forget to check the local forums on this forum.. I've seen so many tanks on sale.. itching to buy a new one.

[ReefingWerewolf]

I am unfamiliar with local forums. If you know of any please, inform me of them. :)

[apstreck]

I'm starting with a 75 gallon and like it a lot. It's easy to do maintenance on, but also big enough that you can get certain types of tangs like bristletooths. I drilled it myself, and really like it a lot better than the typical reef ready tanks, plus I made it a beananimal overflow and it works like a charm. PM me if you have any questions I just went through everything you are going through and don't mind sending you details.