Reef Noob Please Let Me Barrow Your Expertise

[Fish Eat Fish]

I want to get into reef keeping and I have a few Questions. I have a 30 gallon tank that I can use that has a cheaper skimmer and HOB that i can easily convert into a refugium. With this setup how much would it cost me to set up a "non fancy" nano reef? How much live rock? live sand? How long does it take to seed or be ready for fish? Is it very difficult to keep it at the correct specs? How do I ensure it stays correct? As far as care how does it differ from FW? What kind of fish?

All help appreciated thanks

[tims]

welcome to TRT
take a look at the FAQ section and the articels. that will also helpyou out as you get answers from everyone.

as for the LIVE rock.
you can go with base rock to cut the cost if you want. the cycle time will be close to the same. you are looking at a good 6 weeks cycle time. to keep it to the specs you want , youwill have to test it atleast once a week once you have it up and finished the cycle. since it is a nano type tank you willhave to keep a closer eye onthe evap. this will cause the raise in SG ( salt level )
as far as the care Frsh vs. salt... i thinkit is really hard to say.. to me it is a lot easier once it is up and stable. things do cost a bit more but the i think the colors and live are a lot better over all

[ckusnierek]

Welcome to TRT

It really depends...
Cost depends of what you want to keep.
Corals species determins light needed. Light can be cheap or expansive.
I would suggest 1lb LR/gallon. No live sand, just regular sand. the tank will cycle in 3-8 weeks. If you do not know what the nitrogen cycle is research it!
Tank is maintained throu weekly water changes.
You test certin parameters on a regular basis.

SW if alot more WORK the fresh water.

Well if you want to know what fish you can keep just go to a site like liveaquaria.com

If you are considering a reef you really need to do some homework on your own and learn the nitro cycle, lighting filtration etc.

[chrischris]

well ive setup a 75 gallon (10"tall 24" deep and 72" long) and ive fully stocked with fish and a ton of corals for under 1200 so a 30 gallon depends on what you want if your going to get compact florecents or t5 itll be relitively cheap but if you go with halides the lights will cost you around 300-500
so you can do it without breaking the bank you just have to make some sacrifices when it comes to coral choice(because of lighting) but you shout get the tank drilled and go with a under tank sump/ refuge

[Fish Eat Fish]

Thanks guys. Im not a total noob in that i have two other tanks, one with big preditory fish and eels and one with a puffer in brackish water. Im just new to saltwater and reefs. Im used to tanks being alot of work (I have a 10' oscar). I also get the basics. Im just wondering how much it will all cost to get a good setup. I like diy so this is my new project. If the cost is too high for me as far as live rock etc then i would move to a slightly small tank.

[Fish Eat Fish]

Well can i still get cool looking stuff with cheaper lights?

[chrischris]

well i think if you could live will low/medium light corals im geussing that it could run around 500-600 which is ok for reefing but you get much more out of it than you put in it and you can show it off to people that piss you off

[chrischris]

ya you can get some lps (cats eye torch stuff like that) leathers (no sps though) zoos softied mushrooms star polyps and it can still look great

[dobejazz]

It depends what you consider cool looking
I tend to like the lower light corals like Leathers, mushrooms and zoas
If you want clams anenomes and higher light stony corals you need to spend more on lights for the most part

[Fish Eat Fish]

Would it be very difficult to keep a smaller tank running correct? Theres a guy whoes selling a 10 gallon and a 5 that i could use a refugium for almost nothing.

[Fish Eat Fish]

ok lets say i move to a 10 gallon with skimmer and 5 gal fuge. Thats like $180 of live rock right? Then some diy magic for the fuge using the old filter as a pump and then get some medium lighting and agrogate (spelling?) sand and that should be about all my cost besides fish and testing equipment right? I have salt from my brackish and a hydrometer.

[dobejazz]

smaller tanks are a little more difficult - regular water changes are important as well as topping off ( I need to top off my 5.5. much more often than the 24g and 95g)

YOu can use the 30 with the 10 as a sump you really only need a couple pounds of live rock if you use base rock - it takes a little longer but is much cheaper

[Fish Eat Fish]

so how much $$ of live rock am i looking at for a good looking reef tank

30gal=?

20gal=?

10gal=?

Thanks alot guys. this stuff it so cool

[dobejazz]

It actually takes very little live rock to seed base rock you can spend 8.00 or less or however much you want depending on the type and price of Live rock in your area

[dobejazz]

I'd start with the 30g though