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View Full Version : The one thing I would do differently is?


rocketlily
01-20-2008, 09:12 PM
I have only had my 20 gal tank for a couple of weeks, changed things many times and already looking at a 90 gal, I would like to know what things others have done with their tanks that they wish they would have done differently if they could do them over.

christyf5
01-20-2008, 09:17 PM
I started with a 20 gal as well and almost immediately went to a larger tank. I wish I had started with RODI water from the very beginning and had more patience :razz:

sharuq1
01-20-2008, 10:29 PM
Me too on that one Christy. I also would have gotten a bigger tank, and a sump. Much more flexibility than the biocube I started out with.

Snappy
01-20-2008, 10:46 PM
If I could have a "do-over" I would go at least 300 gal and get 400 w MH's right off. I would also build a fish room before I added the first drop of water.

BCOrchidGuy
01-20-2008, 11:24 PM
I would have built my overflow box big enough to get my hand in, thought about room under my cabinet better as it's difficult to work in. I did go for excellent quality light and it's paid off, I like the size of aquarium I got this time, I've had bigger and smaller but I like this one. I would have spent more time sizing the live rock, it's hard to clean around it where it touches the sides.
When I first started I didn't use a QT tank, and I overstocked seriously. Now I QT everything, corals fish etc... I don't over feed and I don't over stock. My 60 gallon cube has 3 clowns in it, a few shrimp and a number of snails. It's a year old and I will soon be adding a fox face for algae control.

Doug

fishoholic
01-21-2008, 02:35 AM
I started with a 20 gal as well and almost immediately went to a larger tank. I wish I had started with RODI water from the very beginning and had more patience :razz:

I second that, bigger is always better. I went from a 65g and a 15g to a 120g and a 30g cube to a 230g.

marie
01-21-2008, 02:43 AM
If I went straight to a 175g tank I doubt I would have even got into the hobby. It's one thing to spend $100 here and $500 there upgrading (I refuse to think of how many hundreds and five hundreds I've actually spent) but the cost of setting up a large tank straight off would of scared me silly :lol:

christyf5
01-21-2008, 02:45 AM
If I went straight to a 175g tank I doubt I would have even got into the hobby. It's one thing to spend $100 here and $500 there upgrading (I refuse to think of how many hundreds and five hundreds I've actually spent) but the cost of setting up a large tank straight off would of scared me silly :lol:

I totally agree, I only ended up upgrading because suddenly my 48gallon cichlid tank looked much better if I pictured it as a reef :razz: and then I got a 90 gallon tank for $75. At that point I thought $30 for a fish was expensive, now I know better :razz:

fishoholic
01-21-2008, 03:00 AM
If I went straight to a 175g tank I doubt I would have even got into the hobby. It's one thing to spend $100 here and $500 there upgrading (I refuse to think of how many hundreds and five hundreds I've actually spent) but the cost of setting up a large tank straight off would of scared me silly :lol:

Good point.

Zylumn
01-21-2008, 03:05 AM
I started with a 20 gal as well and almost immediately went to a larger tank. I wish I had started with RODI water from the very beginning and had more patience :razz:

ditto here as well

Scavenger
01-21-2008, 03:05 AM
I would have married a reef friendly spouse. lol!

Matt
01-21-2008, 03:10 AM
You know, the talk of "I would have gone bigger" is interesting. During the Barrett-Jackson car auctions this weekend, one of the commentators asked: "Why do these guys put so much money and time into these cars, and then sell them?" Noting that they often sell them for a loss... Answer: "Because those cars are finished. Time for a new one!".

I think a lot of people take satisfaction in the hobby end. Planning, building, refining, revising, modding, breaking, fixing, shopping, installing, buy-and-sellling... etc.

I regret nothing!

Reefer Rob
01-21-2008, 04:33 AM
I would have kept my tank in the dark for the first 2 months, then been very careful not to get any nuisance algae on my frags. Algae eradication is a skill I wish I never had to learn.

BCOrchidGuy
01-21-2008, 04:34 AM
Matt, is a reef tank ever finished though? We do tend to trade up or down a lot. I went from a 33 to a 45, to a 72 to a 77 to a 90 then to a 155 then a 20 then a 15 then a 90 then my current 60 cube. If I had stuck with what I had somewhere along the line, goodness only knows how great a tank I would have right now. When you say, I regret nothing, I think wow, that's awesome, sure I wish I hadn't made so many mistakes, or spent all the money that ended up being wasted. Do I regret it though, I'd have to agree with you, no regrets then, the hobby has kept me happy (and frustrated and broke). Who ever said marry a reef friendly spouse, hush we don't say that stuff out loud but that would have been the smart thing wouldn't it.

Doug

steve fedyk
01-21-2008, 04:36 AM
I would have built my own Ca reactor. The next tank I'm building every thing my self, to save money and I love building things. That way I get every thing the way I wont it.
A differant Ca media is a good start.

Brent F
01-21-2008, 04:54 AM
If I went straight to a 175g tank I doubt I would have even got into the hobby. It's one thing to spend $100 here and $500 there upgrading (I refuse to think of how many hundreds and five hundreds I've actually spent) but the cost of setting up a large tank straight off would of scared me silly :lol:

I started with a 175 as my first salt tank 15 - 20 years ago. Sold it 10 years ago when I moved cities. Just got back into salt and started with three nano tanks - no interest in getting a big tank again. Too expensive and too much work.

The one thing I would do differently - drill my tank instead of using a CPR overflow.

SeaHorse_Fanatic
01-21-2008, 06:01 AM
Marie,

I totally agree. I got my 210g reef setup for an excellent deal, but shelling out $1250 in one shot would have caused me to switch to a cheaper hobby. I think it takes a year or more of spending ridiculous amounts on your tank to make you immune to such spending decisions. Now I can easily drop $200 in a day visiting LFS, but balk at spending $80 on groceries. Hmmmm, don't need those groceries but the tank sure needs some new corals & fish. NUTS, eh.

Anthony

bv_reefer
01-21-2008, 07:12 AM
i would have put a good 2'' of sand, and did my aquascaping with pvc for better design

Snappy
01-21-2008, 03:21 PM
:lol: I find all this talk of starting bigger scaring people away from the hobby because it costs too much surprizing.:lol: When I said if I have a "do-over" I would have started bigger, it was on the basis of " if I knew then what I know now". For me the question "what would you do different?" suggested just that. Otherwise how would we know what we would do different?:wink: I did some research before I entered the hobby but never guessed I would have outgrown my 130 gal tank in a couple of years.:surprise:

Reefer Rob
01-21-2008, 04:07 PM
Hmmm... I find my 180G too big, a lot of time and money to fill it with corals, and 3 400W lights is a killer on my electrical bill! My next tank might be smaller, then I could fill it with only my favorite corals.

Brent F
01-21-2008, 04:45 PM
Rob,

Totally agree. That's why I switched for 170 display tank to a system totaling 80 gal.

I find the "glad I didn't start big because the cost would have scared me off" type comments funny. I came to the opposite conclusion after thinking about the cost and decided to stay small this time.

How much do you want to bet that in a year I’ll post pictures of a new 250 gal tank proving I didn’t learn from the past?

untamed
01-21-2008, 07:12 PM
I wish I had put a liftable subfloor into my fish room to make it easier to put things into spots they weren't planned for. I'm now realizing that my plan wasn't "perfect" (ha...there's a surprise!!), but it is really hard to modify things after the fact.

I didn't plan for a refugium and managed to squeeze that in. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to install a larger skimmer....ozone...UV...

I suppose there just wasn't enough flexibility in the plan... Now that it is running, every mod is much harder.

fishoholic
01-21-2008, 07:22 PM
Marie,

Now I can easily drop $200 in a day visiting LFS, but balk at spending $80 on groceries. Hmmmm, don't need those groceries but the tank sure needs some new corals & fish. NUTS, eh.

Anthony

Sad but true

digital-audiophile
01-21-2008, 09:01 PM
As goofy as it sounds, I would have bought a different house that had the proper space for a large tank. Buying a house with a finished basement really only allowed me the space for a display tank of 90 gallons. IMHO anthing bigger than that and you need a proper fish room for all the goodies that go along with a large tank.

In our next house I want a walk out basement that is unfinished so I could do a 300+ gallon in wall tank with a proper fish room (I think we are still 10 years away from a new house though :p lol)

bassman
01-21-2008, 09:06 PM
I would build the fish/sump room first allowing lots of room for expansion and make sure ALL the water that was put in the system was treated via RODI and chemically balanced first. i.e. Ca, PO4, Alk etc...

Northreef
01-22-2008, 12:54 AM
1) Taller stand so my sump/skimmer can be accessed easier
2) Spend the $$$ up front and get the light you want not just what you can afford as you will end up buying it anyway
3) Research everything!!!!!

Best of Luck!

krschulz
01-22-2008, 01:07 AM
Just started 3 months ago and built my 90 gallon tank into the furnace room. Looks great from the rumpus room but is difficult to clean/vaccuum/ scrape algae. Also, taller stand would have been ideal. I did put a sink with running water in the furnace room and also and left the floor concrete for spills, etc. The cost wasn't an issue for me because I researched things for over a year before I decided to go for it and knew it was going to be expensive.

adidas
01-22-2008, 01:07 AM
I woulld have bought the good light right off the bat, and a controller from the start. also would have built up the rock on a pvc frame as well.

I don't regret starting with a small tank, was good for learning and working through mistakes.

TRIX
01-22-2008, 03:02 PM
I would make my list out well ahead of time and slowly buy everything used off of Canreef members.

TRIX
01-22-2008, 03:02 PM
And do my aquascaping without water in the tank.

michika
01-22-2008, 05:05 PM
I would go big from the start, long and shallow. I would have also probably have put in orders on my favorite fish, the ones with the 2-4 year wait.

mseepman
01-22-2008, 05:12 PM
I would have gone bigger right from the start. With more room I wouldn't have had to allow LR to touch any of the tank walls and cleaning would have been a lot easier. Lastly I would have made sure my tank was reef-ready instead of having to build an overflow.

michika
01-22-2008, 05:14 PM
I would have also ordered most of my stuff online, or bought from other reefers. I would have saved myself a lot of money.

Skimmerking
01-22-2008, 05:44 PM
If I had to pick it would be to have a good size spare closet ,or a room to house the sump room. Im going to a in the recroom once i have that finished im putting tiles down to finish off the floor around the tank, then i will have the tank in the veiwing room with the sump in a back room 6x3 just enough to house aeverything and play in there. but since i wish for this to happen that iswhatim going to do. So if you wait and plan it out right it will happen.

Oh ya have a tank with a external overflow too. oh ya im doing that to.

Parker
01-22-2008, 05:50 PM
I think I would have bought better equipment the first time around. Now that I'm going bigger I'm very determined not to make the same mistake. Even if it means not setting up the tank for an extra couple of months.