In The Inital Stages Of Planning New Tank

[pscl227]

Hey,
Well I am moving house in 6-7 months time, so i have decided to get a new tank for it, I am planning for it to be between 100-200 gallons, which i believe would lend its self well to a reef setup?

I am at the stage of deciding if i should go fresh water with a cichlid / discus setup or go for it and get a marine setup?!??

From what i have read (i have a few books on marine/reef fish keeping) there seems to be a fair bit more equipment involved in keeping salt water, not that it is a problem, just not familiar with it, such as protien skimmers and UV chambers to treat the water.

If i do this i want to do it properly, get my own RO unit, and stock it very well, probably set aside around £3000/4000 would that be enough?

what are the pros to keeping salt water and what are the pit falls?

thanks,

Paul

 

[Colin_T]

pros to saltwater
colour of corals and fish is great
lots of variety in the different things that you can keep
if the corals do well you can frag them and sell the surplus

cons to saltwater
you have to make up or collect natural sea water
more expensive to set up
fish cost more than average freshwater fish
requires a little more work but it's easy to do when you understand it

you don't need a UV steriliser on a marine tank. Some places suggest them but they aren't necessary.
A protein skimmer is useful but get a good one or make your own. Cheap quality skimmers are a waste of money.

 

[SkiFletch]

Sounds like a good amount of money for that sized tank. How handy are you with DIY projects and the like? A lot of the cost in larger reef tanks like this can be with the difficulty that most setups have a lot of customization. Paying somebody else to do things like build a stand/hood, and building/designing a sump system for the tank can get expensive quick for their time. You can save a fair bit if you either set it up yourself, or buy used. I'd definitely reccomend having a look through ebay or aquarist classifieds for some good deals on tanks and equipment. Most of it lasts decades, so buying a used custom setup is often a great way to go