Anyone else into Marine Aquaria, Reef Keeping?

[cigdaze]

Marine Reef keeping is another hobby of mine. Thought I'd share and see if there are others out there with this interest. I've had fish tanks since I was a kid, and as with anything else, you start small and keep movin' up. About 6 months ago, I decided to retire the old 55-gallon freshwater set-up and graduate to saltwater. It's been a bunch of fun building and growing this thing. The wife and I home-built the stand and canopy. Just about everything is home-built including the rigging and plumbing (except the tank, of course).
It's only a 75-gallon, but I'm already itching to move up.

 

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[TIKI]

I've been thinking about putting one in, but hear they're a pain in the ass & a ton of maintenance??? Any truth to that?

Can you leave it alone for say a week at a time? Like vacation time?

 

[Sea-Dated]

Very cool!!!!

I always wanted to get an aquarium but always heard they were a lot of maintenance.

 

[Wardey]

Nick, You can have my 180 gal. w/ 3-175wt. MH, Chiller,protien skimmer, etc...etc... !!! I wish I had never done mine. I've had it for about 6 or 7 years. I had numerous corals and anemone's and fish. When Pinellas County did the water cahnge over from chlorine to what ever they are using now, I lost everything !! About 3 to 4 thousand worth !!! I make my own revers os water but it still killed everything. I had a yellow tang that was almost filet size !!! I might just make an aggressive tank out of it instead of a reef tank.Dave

 

[Wardey]

Very cool!!!!

I always wanted to get an aquarium but always heard they were a lot of maintenance.

After you get them balanced, they are no problems. Dave

 

[cigdaze]

Initial set-up and cycling is a bit time-consuming, but once it's fully cycled, and the parameters are stable, it's more-or-less self sustaining with a little bit of maintenance. I'd venture to guess that I spend a bit less than 3 hours a week doing stuff. Basically, I do a little bit of routine cleaning, I test the water parameters maybe twice a week, and dose any required additives to maintain stability, I feed the fish once a day, target the corals every 2nd or 3rd day, and do a partial water change every other week. On average I'd say it's about 20 minutes a day; No big deal really. Vacationing is really no problem. I'm comfortable with leaving it alone for about 3 days unattended, if it's longer than that I'll have a buddy come by and feed, and clean the protein skimmer. You can also buy automatic feeders, dosers, monitors, meters, etc. The sky's the limit.

 

[cigdaze]

Nick, You can have my 180 gal. w/ 3-175wt. MH, Chiller,protien skimmer, etc...etc... !!! I wish I had never done mine. I've had it for about 6 or 7 years. I had numerous corals and anemone's and fish. When Pinellas County did the water cahnge over from chlorine to what ever they are using now, I lost everything !! About 3 to 4 thousand worth !!! I make my own revers os water but it still killed everything. I had a yellow tang that was almost filet size !!! I might just make an aggressive tank out of it instead of a reef tank.Dave

Wow. Total bummer. What did they do to your water?? I make RO/DI too, and I'm not having any problems. Did you check your TDS. I'd bet that there was some work done in your area and often when the piping is disturbed, it releases latent minerals/deposits and especially Copper...I'd bet copper is what did it. Corals cannot tolerate even the tiniest traces of copper.

Appreciate the offer, but 180 might be a bit of a leap, that's awesome though. I think my next tank will be around 120. That's be about perfect, I think.

 

[Chris]

I used to be really into the hobby. At the old house we had a 300 reef tank, a 300 angel tank and a couple smaller tanks. They worked off of a central system- one enormous protein skimmer and a stripping tower filtration system. It all stayed when we moved. I got way to busy with travel and the Mrs. didn't like the upkeep.

The hobby is not for someone that doesn't like hands-on involvement. You have to have a basic grasp of biology and chemistry to be successful. It's also going to require some work and alot of patience. And the utility bills! Running circulation pumps 24/7, running a couple thousand watts of metal halide lighting then running a chiller to cool the water... the list goes on.

The newer systems are somewhat more advanced. That equates to being simpler and more efficient. As my life grows simpler I'd like to get back into it again. I wouldn't do angels again. Watching a $600 fish die is excruciating. I don't even know if you can get fish from some of those regions anymore- and I couldn't imagine what they'd cost. If I do it again, I'd do a big reef/small fish tank and I always wanted to do a pacific-coastal tank- chilled water and kelp beds. The reef tank I wanted to build would be something I'd never seen before- it would be a 4' high x 6' wide x 6 or even 8' deep. It would be a space between two reefs, one slope on each side, in a vee. Only lighted in the front- so you couldn't see all the way to the rear. I think it would be fun just seeing what comes & goes.

 

[Airpacker]

My daughter has a hermit crab in a 5 gallon tank. Does that count ?

 

[cigdaze]

Wow, too cool Chris. Sound like a nice combined system with 600+ gallons. You're right, patience is key, and a good grasp of chemistry and basic marine biology is a must. It's been fascinating learning, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

I've seen the likes of 3,4, even $5,000 dollar fish, but that's for folks in a whole 'nother league. I love the look of angels, but of course most aren't reef safe. Your future idea sounds fantastic. I'd love to see it materialize for you.

One of the coolest parts is discovering all the life in an aquarium that you didn't know you even had. Things that hitchhike in on your live rock...starfish, featherdusters, etc.
There are some creatures I'll only see every once in a while, so it's cool when they "come and go."

 

[cigdaze]

My daughter has a hermit crab in a 5 gallon tank. Does that count ?

You bet...that was my first set-up, too, as a young'un.

 

[Mark]

Really nice set up Cig. You could say it's on my future "list". Always wanted an Octopus - but I hear they will eat everything else in the tank.

 

[cigdaze]

Thanks Mark! Appreciate it. Ya, I'd stay away from octopus...they are cool as hell, but mean. One of the guys at my local reef place lost a finger to one. He got lucky, some are deadly.

 

[Boss252]

Nice set up Cig. I have been doing Salt for 15 years. Right now I have a 75RR with a 40gallon Fuge in the basement and a MRC3 with dual becketts. I went with a bare bottom and am planning on filling it with SPS coral. I run 2 250 watt mh and 4 t5 lamps.

What lighting are you running and what kind of sump?

 

[Boss252]

Great looking Frog spawn and Flower pot too

 

[waterboy222]

a ****ing octopus snatched his finger?? Are you ****tin me? I wont have a dog that bites and I damn sure wouldnt own a fish that could yank off an appendage.. Id be havin sushi that night, finger or no finger..

 

[Mark]

Holy sheet!!! Good thing he was not swimming in the tank naked! LOL. Yep, guess I'll have to pass on the Octopus. As Waterboy said, I'd be eating sushi that night. Actually, Octopus is one of my favorites at the sushi bar - baby Octo too. Yum!