getting back into hobby

[Ben in San Diego]

Hi all:

I've been reading a lot of posts and have decided on intering the marine hobby again (i've been gone for about 7-9 years) previously I owned a 40-gallon fish only setup with bio balls etc.... This time I want to do it right and am fortunate to have an excellent lfs in san diego near by. anyway I am curious to the following.

1. Is 150 FOWLR setup somthing that is worth the extra$ over say a 90gallon?

2. Is live rock worth the extra effort and $ since it is primarly a FO tank?

3. I don't claim to be very experienced but should i be going the extra mile to a full reef? ( i only plan on having one tank....) I do have time and some money.

4. what would you do if you could start again???

thanks for you help.

Ben.

 

[amstar15]

first off welcome back. glad you are asking questions first before you start again.

1. a 150 comapred to a 90 to me is better, its bigger, more options ect.

2. Live rock is worth the $ even with just a fish only tank. it will help with filtration, cycling the tank, and overall look. plus some of the fish you may want to get will benefit from some of the things that grow/live on live rock (copepods ect)

3. as far as going the extra mile for a reef...in the long run.. yes you should. this ties into my what would I do different thing. I started off with a wet dry, and some vho lights. fish only tank with some lace rock. i started to add small easy things like polyps ect. well as I bought more and more corals as my fish/coral experience grew I need to upgrade my lights, more powerheads for water movement and better filtration. (I bought a mudd filter.) so all in all you may not be ready for a reef tank, but dont skim on the products you buy (example lights/filtration) because I have found that usually people want to move from fish to reef or something different and they have to buy new products.

so my suggestion. Live rock, good lights, and a mudd filter. buy powerheads as needed. with fish only at first powerheads are not as important. as experience grows then you can start to add corals/polyps/mushrooms when you feel comfortable because you will already have the right hardware in place even though you just started as a fish only tank

hope this helps

 

[Ben in San Diego]

thanks for your reply.

Currently I am planning on a plexy tank but i have been told that for reef most people go with glass because of some additive that has ill affect with the plexy. i.e. if i go fish and want to convert it means my pretty tank could get that foggy look.

I have decided on the live rock and will be going with the 150. It's a ton of cash to start out though approx. 4,500 for tank/stand/canopy/liverock/filtration/etc..(no fish)

Do you guys think I should purchase a DI/RO filter the fish store says they have a decent one that will do 100gallons a day for $300. is it worth it? because I will definetly be going the RO route from the start.

this tank better be awsome cause i'm digging myself a financial hole

anymore ideas?

Ben.

 

[parker313]

I would definitely go ahead and get the RO unit. I don't know much about the specifics of the unit itself, but I do know that you definitely want RO water for your tank. With tap water, chances are your phosphates will be high and you're going to have an algae bloom that will pretty much be uncontrollable. With as much water as you'll be changing out, buying the water from the lfs will quickly add up to more than the cost of a unit!

 

[amstar15]

okay right off the bat. if you are in the states.. that a look at petsolutions.com and www.drfosterssmith.com these are good places to buy your lighting, filters, even live rock. much much cheaper than your lfs.

as far as a r/0 unit. I bought one off of ebay for 135 (that includes shipping) it is a 6 stage DI/RO unit and is 100 gph plus it came with a 4 gallon metal storage tank. take a look on ebay for your ro unit first. good idea about the live rock.

if you want let me know and i can send you a link to the DI/RO unit I bought. what type of lights and filtration are you going for?

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..agree with newibe15...if you are in the States, you can buy an RO/DI filter for much less. You can get it even cheaper if you don't buy the tank. The tank is for installation under a sink and storage for drinking water. If you ditch the tank, you can find them for under $90. I use mine portable...got it with both a faucet attachment and a garden hose attachment. I make water once every two weeks for topoff and SW storage. SH

 

[Ben in San Diego]

do you have a link for the ro unit?

 

[amstar15]

http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...4389895650&rd=1

take a look at the 6 stage DI/RO kit. I think its 70 bucks with 22 dollars shipping. 125 gph per day. just a thought there are many more online as well.