My first ever fishtank.

[speedy1g]

Hi peeps,

I am planning to build my first ever fishtank, the reason why? I am taking Marine ecology class in college just for the heck of it, and there was a chapter on coral reefs, i was immensely fascinated. I am actually saving money for a build. I have approx. $150 so far, since i spent most of my money on tuition. I need you guys help to lead me towards a successful first tank. Of course I've done some research here and there, but maybe the community has more insight and experience than articles on the internet.

What I envision so far.

* 10-20 gallon tank (got to start off small and work my way up right?!)

* I really like the clean look that rimless tanks give off.

* Coral > Fish

* Shallow or regular tank ( Cannot decide, however the shallow look appeals my interest )

Would take any advice possible!

Thanks for taking the time to read this thread!

[jolt]

My advice would be start with the largest tank you can afford.

Then since you said "Coral > Fish", I would say think about what kind of coral you are interested in and that will dictate a lot about lighting, flow, and filtration.

Most of the expense will be associated with those three items.

[LarryD]

So I started my fist tank on a budget while in college and I just want to say it is completely doable. That being said I think of you want coral and fish to go with simple to keep corals like softies or maybe some of the simpler lps like a euphyllia as these will be hardier and will require a less impressive light. I would agree with the get the biggest tank you can afford comment made by jolt as this will be more stable than a small tank and will also open up more possibilities when it comes to stocking. There are some really nice all in one rimless tanks in the 10-40 gallon range made by jbj and innovative marine that would be a great place to start. However if you decide to go small because of you budget be prepared for 10% water changes every week. My first saltwater tank was a three gallon picotope that I did half gallon water changes once a week and only kept softies the problem with the small tanks is that you can only have really small fish and usually only one, in my current ten gallon I only have one clown fish but I could probably do a second if I was careful with my choice.

[speedy1g]

My advice would be start with the largest tank you can afford.

Then since you said "Coral > Fish", I would say think about what kind of coral you are interested in and that will dictate a lot about lighting, flow, and filtration.

Most of the expense will be associated with those three items.

How much money would i need to save?

[jestep]

My advice would be start with the largest tank you can afford.

Then since you said "Coral > Fish", I would say think about what kind of coral you are interested in and that will dictate a lot about lighting, flow, and filtration.

Most of the expense will be associated with those three items.

How much money would i need to save?

Welcome.

I'll just throw some very budget suggestions out there. There is almost literally no ceiling to cost in this hobby even on a pico / nano size tank.

Lighting:

If you aren't hell bent on using LED's, you can find MH fixtures for dirt cheap. I've seen them for free even. A 150W MH over a 20 - 30 gallon can grow pretty much anything. It's probably too much for sub 20 gallons though. Factor in about $15 a year for budget bulbs and you're good to go.

Flow:

You can grow a perfectly successful reef with hydor, jebao, or other budget powerheads. I personally would recommend the jebao ones simply because they come with a controller that has basic wave making functions. You could pretty easily get away with 1 jebao WP10 which run around $50 new or $15 - $40 used.

Filtration:

If you keep your stocking reasonable as far as fish go, you can easily get away without a skimmer and the rock in the tank is perfectly suitable to provide all of the filtration in the tank. Cost would be as much as you want to spend on rock, which there are several options of greatly varying cost.

[speedy1g]

My advice would be start with the largest tank you can afford.

Then since you said "Coral > Fish", I would say think about what kind of coral you are interested in and that will dictate a lot about lighting, flow, and filtration.

Most of the expense will be associated with those three items.

How much money would i need to save?

Welcome.

I'll just throw some very budget suggestions out there. There is almost literally no ceiling to cost in this hobby even on a pico / nano size tank.

Lighting:

If you aren't hell bent on using LED's, you can find MH fixtures for dirt cheap. I've seen them for free even. A 150W MH over a 20 - 30 gallon can grow pretty much anything. It's probably too much for sub 20 gallons though. Factor in about $15 a year for budget bulbs and you're good to go.

Flow:

You can grow a perfectly successful reef with hydor, jebao, or other budget powerheads. I personally would recommend the jebao ones simply because they come with a controller that has basic wave making functions. You could pretty easily get away with 1 jebao WP10 which run around $50 new or $15 - $40 used.

Filtration:

If you keep your stocking reasonable as far as fish go, you can easily get away without a skimmer and the rock in the tank is perfectly suitable to provide all of the filtration in the tank. Cost would be as much as you want to spend on rock, which there are several options of greatly varying cost.

any good tanks under $100?

[jolt]

A few times a year petco has $1 per gallon sales. The rimless tanks you like are more expensive.

[mFrame]

As for lights, I'd look for an all-in-one T5 fixture. You'll get the most bang for the buck and have something nice and clean that will be fairly cheap to run. Most people forget that the reason LED fixtures caught on is primarily bulb replacement. When you replace your bulbs every 6-9 months you very quickly spend any savings you had from not buying LEDs in the first place. T5 bulbs are relatively inexpensive compared to MH bulbs. If you're not planning to keep a lot of light-needy (ie SPS) corals then a MH fixture is probably overkill.

In used tanks the going rate is about $1/gallon. You should be able to get a used 20g tank for <$50 (probably with a rim). A used T5 fixture <$100. If you're not running a sump you'll want some kind of filtration or pumps for circulation. Hang on back filters will work on that size tank and can be found for <$50 used. Then add in live rock, sand, corals, and fish.

Other optional equipment you may want: heater, skimmer, auto top-off

I'd think if you had a budget of $500 for equipment and setup you can find things that you can live with until you're ready to invest in spending more. Just keep in mind that in a year when you're ready to upgrade you probably won't get much for used equipment, so be as happy as you can with what you buy now. I tend to look at it as entertainment dollars rather than investment dollars. You don't go to a concert looking at the ticket cost as an investment, you look at it as paying for entertainment for a fixed period of time.

You may also want to look at used JBJ or Biocube systems. You can find something really nice in the 20-30g range that is "all-in-one". Those systems are usually easier to sell later on as well.

[jestep]

As for lights, I'd look for an all-in-one T5 fixture. You'll get the most bang for the buck and have something nice and clean that will be fairly cheap to run. Most people forget that the reason LED fixtures caught on is primarily bulb replacement. When you replace your bulbs every 6-9 months you very quickly spend any savings you had from not buying LEDs in the first place. T5 bulbs are relatively inexpensive compared to MH bulbs. If you're not planning to keep a lot of light-needy (ie SPS) corals then a MH fixture is probably overkill.

I find fluorescents to be the most expensive lighting option for yearly costs. I spend about $100 per year for 216W of t5 on my FW tank (~$200 per year if this was a SW setup), and $12 per year for 250W of 20K MH.

[mFrame]

I find fluorescents to be the most expensive lighting option for yearly costs. I spend about $100 per year for 216W of t5 on my FW tank (~$200 per year if this was a SW setup), and $12 per year for 250W of 20K MH.

Interesting, I made the switch to LEDs years ago so I'm definitely not "current", but on a 10 or 20g tank it would seem that you could run a 2' T5 fixture with 2-4 bulbs on it. Bulbs can be found for $15/ea at that size, so $30-60 per year max?

Granted, on a larger tank cost goes up, but if you were reefing on a budget you don't think this is realistic?

[LarryD]

I am solidly in the LED camp when it comes to lighting the fact that I hate changing bulbs is one reason but the other is that with LEDs you have so much more control than with the other options. Depending on the fixture you get you can have complete colour and intensity control even with a fixture that just has blues and whites you can tweak it to the spectrum that suits you best instead of having to fit within some predefined arrangement.

[jestep]

Interesting, I made the switch to LEDs years ago so I'm definitely not "current", but on a 10 or 20g tank it would seem that you could run a 2' T5 fixture with 2-4 bulbs on it. Bulbs can be found for $15/ea at that size, so $30-60 per year max?

Granted, on a larger tank cost goes up, but if you were reefing on a budget you don't think this is realistic?

I'm pricing based off a 48" tank so there's probably a difference for shorter bulbs. The MH's I'm referring to would be for plusrite or other budget bulbs. If someone went with phoenix or xm or another mainstream brand it would still be $50 - $100 per bulb, so huge difference depending on what you get. T5's are the same way I suppose. Giesemann and other high end ones can run $25+ per bulb.