Hello All! New to the site, and to saltwater...

matthew1048

matthew1048

Wurd to ya motha
Hello all. My name is Matthew, and I'm from rural south-western Tennessee. I'm looking into getting into the saltwater aquarium hobby, so I'll probably ask really annoying and dumb questions. I hope you all will forgive me. I've read numerous articles on various websites, but I'm overwhelmded and VERY confused by the whole process...any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
 
Welcome to the site. Ask anyhting you want, thats the only way your going to learn. You can start by reading the helpful articals at the top of this page, they will teach you alot of very useful things. When are you wanting to start a tank? If you do start before you buy things do research and post the items on here to see if there good, dont listen to the fish store alot will lie just for the sale, however, there some very good stores that will be honest. Alot of people just starting will buy stuff thats not any good, then they have to spend more money to get the right stuff. One of the biggest things I hear about is the seaclone skimmer, there so hyped up people think there good until they buy one. I myself bought one at first and it sucks, so just ask before you buy unless you already know about it. Just my 0.2 cents though. Well good luck and keep us posted.
 
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Welcome to the reef Matthew
Like Bobby said,go ahead and ask any questions you come up with.You'll get alot of different answers and advice but every tank is different and what works for one may not work for another.
Just remember to take it slow and research every thing.
 
hello Matt and welcome to the reefs no question when it comes to this hobby is dumb when your just starting out that shows your willling to research and that is a key in this hobby. No matter how dumb you may think the question is dont hesitate to ask.
 
Bobby, I won't actually have a tank until around April 17th. My live-in girlfriend is planning on getting me one because I've talked about buying one in the past. So she went ahead and told me the surprise so I could do the research. And I will definitely post pics and ask for opinions on any new things I plan on buying for opinions, thanks for the tip!

Reeffreek: WOW!! It really is a small world after all!!!

beancntr, I agree. There really IS a VERY nice crowd here...this post alone has proved it.

To everyone else, I thank you tremendously for the very warm welcome. It has really put my mind at ease about this whole process. I am greatly looking forward to conversing with all y'all. I can already tell that I have made a wise choice in joining this warm yet knowledgeable community!!!
 
Actually I'm not sure as to what size would be best to start out with. I have a spot picked out for it, and from everything I've read it's very welled suited for a saltwater tank. The spot is beside an entertainment center, and the only thing I'm concerned about is the noise of the television upsetting the fish. Should this be a concern?

The space measures 34 1/8" wide by 22 5/8" deep. The width can be altered slightly to accomodate a slightly longer tank. I've found an acrylic 50 gallon tank made by SeaClear for about $229.00 at PetSmart, a 40 gallon acrylic 40 gallon tank made by the same brand for about $180.00 at PetCo, and a 20 gallon acrylic tank made again, by the same brand for about $140.00.

The 50 and 40 gallon tanks are about 2 inches longer than I'd like, but I as I said the width can be altered by two inches (at the most) by moving an entertainment center down the wall slightly. Any insight into the quality of this brand and if the price is fair? The websites' customers have rated these tank very good, but I don't always trust those ratings.

I would LOVE to build and maintain a beautiful reef tank but, I was thinking that due to the lack of any experience I should start out with a fish only tank, and then slowly add to it as I gain experience.

Also, I'm a broke college student (graduating in May...finally...YEEEEEE HAWWWWWW!!!!). As I said earlier, my live-in girlfriend is planning on buying a tank for my birthday. She works full-time at McDonalds and part-time at Wal-Mart. I'd like to get good quality pieces, but I know she can't afford anything too over the top.

So if yall don't mind, what's yall's opinion???
 
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I would go ahed and do the FOWLR but thats just me.Also,the bigger the tank the easier it is to learn. The more water you got the forgiving it will be if you do make a mistake,and trust me,,,we all make those.
 
Hi Matthew,

Step #1: Figure out your budget
Step #2: Double check your budget

Nobody here will readily talk about how much money they spend on an enclosure.. but you don't want to get a tank bigger than what you can afford to fill. It will not be any fun to have a 150 gallon with only enough rock to fill a 30 gallon.

I'd stay around the 40 to 50 gallon mark. It's a decent sized tank (I have a 46) and will make a great display when completed. Also, if it turns out this is not the hobby you thought it was (which happens) you will not have a monster tank to try to sell off.

For a first tank, I'd recommend staying away from anything below 40. As Yote pointed out - more water = more forgiving, less water = well you get the picture.
 
Yes, thanks for the opinions. And I was planning on a 50 gallon max. And great tip on the budget, I haven't though about factoring in the cost of water, salt, substrate, etc. Thanks!!!!!

In all honesty, I'll probably have an empty tank sitting around the house for months after I actually get the tank due to low funds. I'll have to go at this thing one step at a time, because from what I've seen, some of these filters and lights etc., can be pretty pricy.
 
Uh oh, I don't think your girlfriend has any idea what she's gotten herself into... :). I recommend doing fish only for a while. That way you can save up money and slowly buy the (expensive) equipment you need to keep corals. With my tank I've added a new thing every couple months so that I didn't have to pay for everything up front. I've slowly been adding more and more corals. It's also good because if you can't keep fish alive, you will definitely have a rough time with corals, so fish only gives you good practice at keeping your water quality high, etc. Most fish are much more forgiving of mistakes than invertibrates are, so they are good "guinea pigs" to learn on.
 
Thanks Biff!!! Those were my plans...save up money and slowly buy the expensive equip. And that was also my thought process behind going with fish only!!

And I can't thank y'all enough for all the help!!!! It's defenitely relieving for me to find out that there are still people around willing to lend a helping held with good, sound advice!!!!
 
Actually.. If I were in your shoes.. I'd just save up.. and look for deals online. Craigslist, newspapers..etc.. usually always have good deals. I regularly see in my local craigslist people moving and needing to sell an entire system. Most want to see them go to good homes and are not asking a lot of $$$ for them (I've seen complete setups with tank, stand, lights, filters and fish for under 200 bucks).

You might want to just put the money into savings and keep an eye out for a full setup... that is much better than buying new and not enjoying it.
 
WHOA!!! I've never thought of that Adrastos...shame on me...and I was Business major for two years...LOL. That is a great idea and I will defenitely be looking into that!!!

Went and looked on Craigslist and found a whole board/forum based in Memphis with a buy/sell/trade section!!! Again thanks for the advice!!!

And out of curiosity, what's the AFT Club???
 
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