Marine Tank For Me?

[simko]

I joined this forum about a year ago, did some reading (here and elsewhere) and decided to hold off on setting up a larger tank.

I recently found a pretty decent marine setup locally although i have not purchased it (yet).

I was wondering if a low maintenance reef tank could be set up in a tank , and if my wants are realistic.

Display tank: ~ 50 gallons
sump: 20 gallons
Main tank has small overflow and is drilled for a closed loop system (1 inlet, two outputs).

I would really like to have a low maintenance tank (not sure if this is possible) I was hoping i could do either 5% weekly or 10% every two week waterchanges. I would also like to stock hardy fish with a cleanup crew of inverts.

Would this be possible? Or is wanting something low maintenance like this really just neglectful?

 

[AdInfinitum]

Fish and regular inverts are easy as long as you follow the basics...

The question is what corals would satisfy you?
Some soft corals and common anemones require very little more care than fish other than requiring better lighting, although nowadays some cheap Chinese LED'S will take care of that.

Moving into LPS raises the water quality requirements significantly and therefore the maintenance level...SPS take the needs of the tank to an everyday thing for dedicated hobbyists only...

Keeping the population and bioload low and building a solid system initially also reduces ongoing maintenance requirements.

In a less than pristine system you have to accept that some things you add will adapt and grow and some things just won't live in your system and that is part of the trade off for the low maintenance.

BTW a well balanced basic marine system can actually be much lower maintenance than a freshwater system.

 

[simko]

Hi Adinfinitum,

In a marine tank, do corals help with maintaining water quality (reduce nitrates etc) like plants do in a freshwater tank? Or is that simply beneficial bacteria living on liverock/substrate?

Regarding corals, soft coral and common anenomies would likely be right up my alley, do you have any species i should research?

I am guessing all of my questions have been asked before... is there a resource i should be reading before i ask more questions?

 

[nathan]

I joined this forum about a year ago, did some reading (here and elsewhere) and decided to hold off on setting up a larger tank.

I recently found a pretty decent marine setup locally although i have not purchased it (yet).

I was wondering if a low maintenance reef tank could be set up in a tank , and if my wants are realistic.

Display tank: ~ 50 gallons
sump: 20 gallons
Main tank has small overflow and is drilled for a closed loop system (1 inlet, two outputs).

I would really like to have a low maintenance tank (not sure if this is possible) I was hoping i could do either 5% weekly or 10% every two week waterchanges. I would also like to stock hardy fish with a cleanup crew of inverts.

Would this be possible? Or is wanting something low maintenance like this really just neglectful?

Don't forget a good skimmer too

 

[AdInfinitum]

Where some very fast growing soft corals (Xenia) can be used for nutrient uptake generally the answer would be no...we use plants as well to consume nitrates (macro algae in the sump) and or cultivate bacteria with carbon food sources to do the same. There are a lot of good stickies on the site that will answer a lot of your questions but don't be afraid to ask.... Corallimorphs (mushrooms are the hot designer corals right now and they happen to fall into the easy to keep category...mostly)

 

[Alberych]

People can mean lots of things by low maintenance =D.

In general, especially for a tank dominated by softies, maintenance can come down to running a mag float across the glass and keeping up with your water changes. Dosing elements, kalk, 2 part, etc., not necessary. Even running a skimmer is not entirely necessary as long as you're willing to make some concessions somewhere (whether it be more frequent/larger water changes, lighting a macro-algae growing refugium in the sump, or accepting the presence of algae in the display tank).

In my opinion, and part of this comes down to aesthetic judgment, you can run a softie tank with daily feeding and algae scraping and weekly water changes, and have acceptable results. The condition you need to accept is a lower bioload, which comes down to fewer fish in the tank and ultimately, fewer feedings. What you personally want is going to fall along a spectrum of your desire to do upkeep on the tank, your desire for a variety of fish, and your willingness to employ equipment which has its own costs (in $$, research, and time to set up).

The softie tank with weekly water changes and no other real maintenance is on one end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum is the fully automated tank with no-effort auto-waterchanges, element dosing, feeding, and complex controller programming. That is also low maintenance, but you pay for it in time, research, and cash.

The best way to find your own happy place is to start slow. Buy the system you're describing, get established live rock and sand. Test your parameters. When it's safe, add a fish you like and a couple of inverts. Feed a pinch twice a day for a few weeks. If you want more fish, more activity, etc., add slowly, carefully. Maybe some GSP, some xenia, rhodactis, leathers, mushrooms, sinularia, etc. If you are willing to go slowly, and take time to appreciate the stunning variety that even a lone piece of live rock can provide to a tank, then you are unlikely to find yourself burdened with a tank that is too much time to keep up with.

 

[Poseidon]

some really solid advice here.

What you may find as well after starting slow and really getting into it, you may start to really enjoy the maintenance and love caring for your marine life.
Which would result in wiliness to take on more responsibility etc.

happy reefing

 

[Nonuser]

Start slow, I didn't and it cost me some cash. maybe start with fish and live rock and a few softies and then consider sps. I went right for the sps a few months after the tank was up and then lost pretty well everyone.

 

[videosilva]

Set up your tank. Add water , salt. A few days later add live rock. A few days later you can start adding a fish here and there. A few days after that you can start buying some lower end / priced coral. As things progress you can add what fish coral you prefer. Top up the tank when needed and do water changes when you feel like it ( I don't bother with water change). Strong lighting will be your friend as well as a skimmer. Everyone makes things so needlessly difficult and not everyone wants or has $5000.00 to spend on a tank.

ENJOY !!!!!

 

[heath]

BTW a well balanced basic marine system can actually be much lower maintenance than a freshwater system

could not have said it better, just remember that patience is the key in this hobby...

 

[heath]

Hi Adinfinitum,

In a marine tank, do corals help with maintaining water quality (reduce nitrates etc) like plants do in a freshwater tank? Or is that simply beneficial bacteria living on liverock/substrate?

Regarding corals, soft coral and common anenomies would likely be right up my alley, do you have any species i should research?

I am guessing all of my questions have been asked before... is there a resource i should be reading before i ask more questions?

don't ever be afraid to ask questions on this site, there is literally a ton of knowledge here and everyone will help...