Newbie Step #1)Plan!

[Sushiman]

Well let me give this a shot...
First off a little disclaimer; I've kept a reef aquarium for four years now, this being my first saltwater system after many years of f/w.
There is an aspect to this hobby which I love: you never stop learning, there are always areas to improve apon. So this is an article written for newbies by a newbie.
How do I start??? :
I sure didn't know where to begin, info overload! I had wanted to start a reef for many years, but what little I could find out kept bringing me back to the fact this was going to cost a fortune. Look at the all the $$$ skimmers, Ca reactors, LIGHTING...and what the @#$%!? is ORP?
Bare tank bottoms, Berlin style, "Ëcosystem", skimmerless...what the @#$? is watts per gallon?
Have faith. Keep it simple. Read. PLAN. read more then go to the BB's. Then, maybe buy.
Oh yes, this will cost a fortune, but maybe I can help you stretch that a little more.
Make a plan...
so what is it you want to keep? a certain fish? softies? stonies? CLAMS???
All of the above? Great! Put away your checkbook ( unless you are about to buy a reefing book! ) start reading.
What does this type of tank need to THRIVE? What are essentials and where can I cut corners? How much maintenance will this require?
There are many different ways to run a aquarium, not all of them are right or wrong.
Strive for balance between producers & consumers of waste in your system. Try not to overstock, you will pay for it (or rather the tank inhabitants will) later.
If light loving clams are your goal, trying to save a few $$$ on lighting may not be the best approach. This goes for all your equipment purchases. Don't skimp where it counts: buy the best live rock you can find, a great skimmer, a return pump, you want to save some $$$? put them in a rubbermaid sump.
Find some good resources: BB's such as Canreef & Reef Central, advanced reefer's can be found there. Beware of LFS. Remember they have a view to gain $$$. Cherish the ones that don't such as J&L Aquatics.
A lack of dollars and knowledge has made me take things slow in this hobby. This has been a blessing in disguise as I had time to absorb and experiment slowly & my tank has flourished because of it. I stuck to "bulletproof" beginner corals and slowly went upwards from there. There was no way I could afford the lighting systems required for clams & SPS, so I started withe softies, polyps & shrooms.
This first tank has been my "learning" tank. I am just now feeling confident enough in my reef husbandry to make the jump to a more challenging system. You might be alot smarter than me and be able to make the jump alot faster, but I can tell you for certain that nothing good happens fast when it comes to a reef aquarium.
So after all this time I still feel like I'm getting started. I've stayed in my knowledge & comfort zone and now I have a tank that has little room for the fish due to coral growth. I've learned what my system can & cannot do. All the best equipment in the world won't make a tank a success if you don't undertand the process that causes you tank to grow & flourish. Just keeping things alive is not enough.
I see vast areas for improvement for myself, and I hope to address them in the next system that I'm currently designing.
Good luck. I will post the details of my current set-up (one that is easily acheived by any newcomer) to anyone who is interested.
Todd.

[EmilyB]

Good post Todd.

(If I ever do a tank devoted to clams...it will be shallow and viewable from above. )

[woodcarver]

Hi Todd, Enjoyed your post. I would be interested in details of your present set-up as I will be embarking on the reef journey soon and your experience could save few mistakes .......................Dave

[nvrtubr8]

I enjoy this post as I am currently planning my reef setup.

I use to have a saltwater fish set up in the early 80's. However, back then state of the art filtration was called a trickle filter (could not afford one). I was using a reverse flow U/G filter and every few months I took down the tank to give it a thorough cleaning!!!!

Needless to say this was a frustrating hobby. Advice from the LFS was mostly bad, wild caught fish were sometimes poisoned and eventually I got sick of it all (and so did the fish).

However, I've always kept tanks, ponds and critters that live in them since I was a kid and I always wanted to go back to marine tanks. The conditions for me to go back had to be 1) There had to be actual science behind the processes, products, food etc... for any item I would purchase 2) Impact on wild reef and its inhabitants had to be minimal 3) I would not need to be wealthy to afford this hobby.

I feel we are coming closer to solve the first two issues. The third issue can be alleviated with some DIY. I have been reading and informing myself for the past year. Bought a few books & magazines, read posts in areas such as this and read advice from leaders in the field from such source as reefkeeping online magazines at reefcentral and reef.org.

There is now some real science behind feeding, filtering, lighting and many other issues that once were 'guestimates' or opinions from diverging parties.

I am still about 6 months to a year away from starting my set up (partly due to budgetary constraints) but I would add my voice that the best advice to start a marine set up (reef or fish only) is to educate and inform yourself. You'll find half the fun is actually in planning! More importantly, the impact you will have on natural reef ecosystem will be much diminished as you appreciate the importance of keeping your own miniature ecosystem.

I would like to thank all those on these board who spend the time to educate us newbies.

Good reefing!

[Sushiman]

Hello all. Well it's been a few years since I made the original post so I thought an update is in order...My old set up was a fairly sucessful softie / LPS community tank. Budget was always my handicap & I never did upgrade to the quality of lighting that I would have really wanted. My solution was to stick to organisms that good do well under my meager PC set-up & the result was a great little tank that looked much fancier than it really was. I used multiple filtration systems & I found this aggresive approach served me very well & the critters i had tended to do quite well.
Alot has changed since then but my approach is still going to be the same.
I've just set up a 90gal display that is starting out as a predator FOWLR & will progress into a softie /filter-feeder set up as time goes by. Currently I have approx 50 # of Fiji + Tonga rock over a deep sand bed. I have specific critters in mind and have installed PVC tunnels for a moray & zip-tied much of the rock to PVC frame-work so it won't get knocked over. I've custom cut a thick panel of Lucite to prevent escapees & curious fingers ( I have three little boys). Since I have already got a Leaf Scorpion & a baby Volitan in there I thought it would be prudent. The whole thing is running skimmerless & main export is going to be provided by the refugium in the sump. It's an experiment more than anything else & I'll keep you all updated as the months go by.
The goal of this set up is pure drama! I am a sucker for a lionfish in full glory and the endless fun of having a moray should be experienced by everyone in this hobby at least once. That being said, the average FOWLR set-up tend to bore me to death so I'll be filling the tank with lot's of different inverts & really concentrating on nice aquascaping.
I hope that my "take your time & think it out approach" has helped a few of you. No matter what type of system you decide upon, plan it out and ask lot's of questions before you crack out that Visa card!
Luck to you all & Merry Christmas!
Todd.

[jazzywashbuckler]

You never told us what original set was?.