# Thinking about trying a marine/reef tank........



## jeanniebabie (Mar 1, 2015)

Hi all

I have a number of freshwater tanks on the go and am thinking of maybe starting a sw tank.

I'm in Milton and would really appreciate connecting with some saltys in the area and learning more.

So....... hit my name is Jean and I'm a fishaholic 



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## silent1mezzo (Jun 24, 2014)

I went from fresh to a fill reef tank as well. Had 15 years experience with community fish, cichlids, puffers and piranhas. 

My biggest suggestion is to go slow and spend the money to get the equipment you want (even if that means going slower). I purchased crappy equipment and it gave me more troubles and cost me more money in the end when I finally upgraded. 

Get an RODI water filter and a TDS meter. If your tank is small enough you can do fairly well without testing alk/ca/mag/etc... with regular water changes. 

I'm in Burlington, let me know if you have any questions.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*Marine tank*

What he said ..... go slow..........
Lots of reading and research lots of good sites....
Just saying one u cross u most likely will never go back....
So plan your next tank rather then doing 3 up grades 
As sig would sat go big or don't do it at all...
Pick a size u will be happy with .. not too small...as much as everyone wants to start small then work there way up...
Good luck ask lots of questions


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## jeanniebabie (Mar 1, 2015)

Well right now I have a 75g, 45g, 30g, 2 X 20g and a number of 10 gal. 

Would converting one of the 20g be too small?

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## amps (Feb 24, 2015)

The smaller the tank, the faster things go downhill. My first tank was a 10G nano and it went really well for the first 6 months and then things started running away from me. Corals use and deplete certain minerals/parameters from the water and those need to be replaced and maintained at certain levels for corals to be successful. You then get into regular testing and finding ways or replacing the rapidly depleting alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and trace elements fast enough to keep up with the coral growth. In a crowded tank smaller than 40g, that gets hard to do due to the lack of water volume and the associated small reservoir of minerals/chemicals/parameters.

There's also a more diverse crowd of pests and problems in a saltwater tank and having a larger tank that you can get your hands into easily helps with that.

Having said all that....it's awesome! Our 10g is still running but it's bigger brother is a 180g tank that I've spent 8 months planning and setting up. I've learned that it's 100% worth it to spend the extra money on the right gear upfront. A really good protein skimmer may cost you 50-80% more than a cheaper model but that sure beats fighting the cheap unit and replacing it in 8 months anyways. The same goes for lighting; get something that will handle your wants/needs 3 years from now, not what you think they'll be immediately.

Happy reefing!


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## Reef keeper (Nov 22, 2014)

I have a 220 with a 125 sump, and wish I got a 400. Mm mm. 500 g. 

Lol. Reefing is an expensive, rewarding hobby. 

And QUARANTINE. EVERYTHING. I'd use no less than that 75g


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## silent1mezzo (Jun 24, 2014)

I ran a 10g for 18 months before upgrading to a 30g. It's challenging but definitely possible.


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## CoralConnoisseur (Mar 5, 2014)

Hey jean, I am just around the corner from you. You are welcome to come by and check out our systems, my girlfriend and I always enjoy a salty chat.

Just shoot me a text, or PM if you lost my #.


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