First Tank -- Best Advice

[Blitz7737]

We started our first reef tank and are going through whirlwinds of happiness with it. Ours is a tiny pico jar ocean. Constantly learning and constantly evolving. Though there are challenges and tons of worries... the tiny bubbling ocean brings so much happiness to my life.

What is some of the best advice you can give someone for their first tank?

 

[NMdesertReefer]

Hello from Roswell, One advice I can give you never skip maintenance you do it once and it will just keep going.

 

[Blitz7737]

Hello from Roswell, One advice I can give you never skip maintenance you do it once and it will just keep going.

WHOOOOO, #NMTrue! Hello from ABQ! That is a good one too. Laxed on a water change by a few days once and it was an anxious week! Since then, always keeping up with the duties. Definitely good advice, the smallest amount of love and care goes a long way.

 

[JAIME_MTY]

you probably going to hear this a lot but its true, patience is key, always do small changes and adjustments for anything you do with your tank. Do your research , there is so much good info out there , the beauty of this hobby is how diverse it is in the sense of where you are at a this point and where you want to be in the future! Happy Reefing!

 

[Blitz7737]

you probably going to hear this a lot but its true, patience is key, always do small changes and adjustments for anything you do with your tank. Do your research , there is so much good info out there , the beauty of this hobby is how diverse it is in the sense of where you are at a this point and where you want to be in the future! Happy Reefing!

This is a great one too... The challenge is it is really hard to not want to grow the ocean. Lol. ;Cat

We have been trying to put at least a week if not a few between any additions. And have learned quite quickly, that with a tank as tiny as ours, additions have to be small.

 

[tnewell]

Learn from my mistakes, dip every coral you get in iodine solutions, and most importantly, don’t skip regular maintenance on your tank! What type of coral do you want to grow in your reef?

 

[Kclizzy]

We started our first reef tank and are going through whirlwinds of happiness with it. Ours is a tiny pico jar ocean. Constantly learning and constantly evolving. Though there are challenges and tons of worries... the tiny bubbling ocean brings so much happiness to my life.

What is some of the best advice you can give someone for their first tank?

PATIENCE! Nothing good happens overnight in an aquarium. Happy reefing

 

[tnewell]

PATIENCE! Nothing good happens overnight in an aquarium. Happy reefing

Second that, Overstocking your tank can only cause mayhem and can make your wallet hurt

 

[Blitz7737]

@Kclizzy @tnewell

Most def, and that is the hardest one to live to. It's a virtue and real tough. But we are learning the limits for our little tank!

Why do you dip in iodine @tnewell? As for corals, I really adore zoas (yes, I know, I'm basic). I also think the brains are cool, but we are just taking it as it goes. Mainly trying to diversify colors with each addition and get good beginner corals.

 

[nereefpat]

My advice would be to not try to do that in a jar. At least a 10 gallon tank, but bigger is actually easier in many ways.

Good luck.

 

[Blitz7737]

@nereefpat Bigger may be easier if you have the $$$ to cover it. Trying to keep it low key and simple. So far the jar lives too. ;Cat

 

[ReeferWarrant]

@Blitz7737, @nereefpat is right though. My 32 gallon Biocube is considered a nano tank and has its hurdles too, advice for you and your size of tank is getting stability and truly understanding it with nutrient export. It took me a while to understand nutrient export and chemical stability in my tank.

Get an ATO for salinity, and have all of the test kits you need for your corals. If you are doing just Zoas you should be fine with water changes.

 

[El_reverde]

Take thing nice and slow and do a lot of reading...as everyone has mentioned. And most importantly welcomed to the reefing world.

 

[nereefpat]

@nereefpat Bigger may be easier if you have the $$$ to cover it.

10 dollars at PETCO gets you a 10 gallon.

 

[Blitz7737]

@nereefpat true, but that only gets you a tank. Still have to fund the water, the lights, the pumps, the rock, the sand, the livestock, and all the other goodies that come up. I like my tiny ocean, even if it does present some tougher challenges.

You guys should also check out @brandon429 rant on why picos are awesome. He makes a lot of good points that might counter that statement (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/w...a-fishbowl-than-in-a-normal-reef-tank.270506/).

 

[brandon429]

pico=
break every rule ever made for reefing within reason, and it works better than following the rule(s)

such as:
dont do large water changes they're destabilizing.
pico=large water changes are all we've ever done, partial wc massive waste of time.

dont clean the sandbed, that's destabilizing.
pico=of course we clean the sandbed.


dont feed it too much that's destabilizing.
pico= we feed ten times the amount the reef should have. and then change out all the water and the corals eat like they're pigs.


and then ten more rule breaks but you get the drift. I like New Mexico reefing and reefers I routinely go through roswell on 2nd street to get to ruidoso so i can do mountain things and watch my pico by remote cam from jeep trails outside capitan. that's three times a month from lubbock lol, miles are adding up bigtime. 3k a month doing just overlanding outside ruidoso its too fun. NM shares all their land. try and do that in texas and someone has fenced the property and w shoot trespassers. NM shares their land I would like to live there one day/