Should I Go Ahead With This? Urgent.

[gouramiKeeper]

I am thinkin of buying a 160L uk aquarium (40 gallon), I've already been extremely successful in the freshwater setup and have had a stable setup for years now with no deaths or disasters. Now I have a bit of money, I'm desperate to either move my tropical fish to this 40gal and make my 20gal a nano reef or keep the fish where they are and have a 40gal reef. I only want a couple of nemo fish, no fancy corals etc. Whats my VERY CHEAPEST option since im slowly running out of money. I need the bare minimum, yet I don't want to fail because im not supported by the best financial backing.thanks

 

[DrRob]

All things being relative, to answer the question we'll need some idea of what you mean by cheap and what you're willing to spend. Do remember that marine keeping tends to have a higher ongoing cost than freshwater, so that will need to be taken into account.

Overall smaller tanks are cheaper to set up and run but more likely to crash and kill lots of valuable livestock. Going fish only does reduce the cost considerably though.

 

[gouramiKeeper]

I plan a Fish and live rock setup. Again, I dont plan for much livestock either. I already have ordered the tank, after this tank my budget will be Max or £120, no more lol, this doesnt have to include livestock.

 

[DrRob]

Not being a reef keeper, I am more than happy to be corrected, but I suspect that you're going to end up using most of your budget on live rock, leaving nothing for the lighting and filtration. A local store to here was quoting £12 a kilo of LR for uncured that you didn't get to see beforehand (they order it in for you). I know you can beat that, but for the 20 gallon you're looking at around 10kg, which is going to seriously dent your budget.

 

[gouramiKeeper]

Not being a reef keeper, I am more than happy to be corrected, but I suspect that you're going to end up using most of your budget on live rock, leaving nothing for the lighting and filtration. A local store to here was quoting £12 a kilo of LR for uncured that you didn't get to see beforehand (they order it in for you). I know you can beat that, but for the 20 gallon you're looking at around 10kg, which is going to seriously dent your budget.

I suspect because i plan very low levels of stocking i will not go ahead with the ideal 10kg, which ive always suspected i'd need. I plan to spend perhaps 80% of the budget on this. What about filtration, will i use a sponge filter or an external filter? I already have a powerhead and some sand and some DI water and salt, and maybe as a substitute for live rock could i use live rock rubble? im a bit of a newb

 

[Donya]

First up, never set up a marine tank when the word "urgent" is involved unless it's a hospital tank or something and the time-sensitive part is to do with salvaging an existing marine system that is in trouble. If you are in a situation where you either have to act super fast to have a marine tank or lose the opportunity, then frankly you should pass and wait until you are in a position to do things slowly and calmly. Slow and steady is what it takes in marine.

Whats my VERY CHEAPEST option since im slowly running out of money.

Marine tanks generally have elevated maintenance costs. If you are not financially stable, it is not a good thing to start. You can do marine tanks super cheap on ramen-noodles type budgets (I have done it), but you will be looking at a pretty limited selection of stock and you have to be VERY CAREFUL. When I was financially strained, all I kept were hermit crabs and a few snails. Keeping hardy, invert-only tanks that most people would consider boring (obviously I don't think it's boring, but many do) is really the only way to do a small tank safely and easily for cheap.

If you are committed to starting up a tank right now, you can save money by being patient. Buy LR slowly as you have a bit of money spare here and there, and buy dry rock to make up part of the mass you'll need and wait for it to cure. Going that rout you will be looking at several months before you can put anything interesting in the tank, but that's how to do it on a budget. Going faster safely requires deeper pockets.

 

[Aquascaper]

Short reply is no.

Long reply is maybe, if you're prepared to take things very slowly. Unfortunately with marine tanks speed = money, if you can afford to setup the tank with plenty of premium cured LR, skimmer, powerheads, etc. then you can start putting things in within weeks....if you can't afford that then you will have to accept that you are going to have a marine tank with lumps of rock in for a month or two (at least) before you can add livestock.

The decision is yours really, if what you want is a marine setup running with livestock before christmas you're going to need more money, simple as that.

If I was in your position I would spend all my budget on the best live rock I could get my hands on, search for people breaking down reef tanks locally, etc. and concentrate on building the basis for a stable marine system. As and when funds are available buy additional equipment, LR, etc. until it was all ready for livestock. Waiting for additional funds is the ideal time to research so that you know that precious money is being spent wisely.

IMO some of the best marine tanks are built bit by bit as there's no wasted spending on useless equipment, etc. and the end result has come about from hard work, dedication and reseach rather than just going out and buying a 'reef-in-a-box'.

This is the way I setup my 160g reef tank and it felt good knowing the effort it took.

 

[gouramiKeeper]

First up, never set up a marine tank when the word "urgent" is involved unless it's a hospital tank or something and the time-sensitive part is to do with salvaging an existing marine system that is in trouble. If you are in a situation where you either have to act super fast to have a marine tank or lose the opportunity, then frankly you should pass and wait until you are in a position to do things slowly and calmly. Slow and steady is what it takes in marine.

Whats my VERY CHEAPEST option since im slowly running out of money.

Marine tanks generally have elevated maintenance costs. If you are not financially stable, it is not a good thing to start. You can do marine tanks super cheap on ramen-noodles type budgets (I have done it), but you will be looking at a pretty limited selection of stock and you have to be VERY CAREFUL. When I was financially strained, all I kept were hermit crabs and a few snails. Keeping hardy, invert-only tanks that most people would consider boring (obviously I don't think it's boring, but many do) is really the only way to do a small tank safely and easily for cheap.

If you are committed to starting up a tank right now, you can save money by being patient. Buy LR slowly as you have a bit of money spare here and there, and buy dry rock to make up part of the mass you'll need and wait for it to cure. Going that rout you will be looking at several months before you can put anything interesting in the tank, but that's how to do it on a budget. Going faster safely requires deeper pockets.

Right I really have no time span so time isn't an issue. What i'm worried about is live rock- not the cost but keeping it. since i have the tank could I get my mixed water and my live sand, put in live rock bit by bit and it will be all alright before i add livestock 6 months after i have all the equipment? If a long time means i dont screw things up im pretty much fully prepared to go ahead. One more thing i need to know is what essential equipment will i need to sustain live rock for the next few months with no livestock whatsoever, thanks

 

[Aquascaper]

To maintain LR you'll need powerheads to keep the water flowing around it and you will need to 'feed' it like with a fishless cycle, ie. an ammonia source.

You can add LR in stages but be aware there may be a mini cycle each time due to die off caused by transporting the LR, the further you have to transport it the more chance of a mini cycle. Obviously if you are adding new LR then refrain from adding ammonia for a day or two whilst keeping an eye on parameters.

Another alternative would be to buy a load of 'reef bones' (dead LR) to build the majority of your reef then add some good quality cured LR to finish it off. This way you won't have to worry about mini cycles and it will reduce costs dramatically. As long as you aim for a 50/50 mix of reef bones and cured LR the dead rock will cure in your tank after a few months.

 

[gouramiKeeper]

To maintain LR you'll need powerheads to keep the water flowing around it and you will need to 'feed' it like with a fishless cycle, ie. an ammonia source.

You can add LR in stages but be aware there may be a mini cycle each time due to die off caused by transporting the LR, the further you have to transport it the more chance of a mini cycle. Obviously if you are adding new LR then refrain from adding ammonia for a day or two whilst keeping an eye on parameters.

Another alternative would be to buy a load of 'reef bones' (dead LR) to build the majority of your reef then add some good quality cured LR to finish it off. This way you won't have to worry about mini cycles and it will reduce costs dramatically. As long as you aim for a 50/50 mix of reef bones and cured LR the dead rock will cure in your tank after a few months.

Thanks a lot, will try this