First Time Reef Tank

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Brad Vaile

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Hi All,

Looking into setting up my first ever reef tank in the next few months and was looking for a few tips/advice. I am looking at buying a Red Sea Reefer 250 as my first tank. My current plan is to set it up as a FOWLR and then slowly move into corals, starting with soft corals mainly.

I know the hobby isn't a cheap one, I was just hoping to get a bit of guidance on how much I should be looking to spend for a first tank. From what I've read I will need to buy the following to go with the tank (before putting rock/livestock in):
Lighting
Heater
Powerheads
Skimmer
Return Pump

I am not really sure where to start with all the extra equipment, and was just wondering what equipment everyone recommends and what sort of price range would be involved.

Also looking forward to what tips and advice everyone has for a complete beginner in the reefing world! Any advice would be appreciated, going to be taking it slow and steady and learning as I go!

Thanks :)
 
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Tidal Gardens
Brad Vaile said:
Hi All,

Looking into setting up my first ever reef tank in the next few months and was looking for a few tips/advice. I am looking at buying a Red Sea Reefer 250 as my first tank. My current plan is to set it up as a FOWLR and then slowly move into corals, starting with soft corals mainly.

I know the hobby isn't a cheap one, I was just hoping to get a bit of guidance on how much I should be looking to spend for a first tank. From what I've read I will need to buy the following to go with the tank (before putting rock/livestock in):
Lighting
Heater
Powerheads
Skimmer

I am not really sure where to start with all the extra equipment, and was just wondering what equipment everyone recommends and what sort of price range would be involved.

Also looking forward to what tips and advice everyone has for a complete beginner in the reefing world! Any advice would be appreciated, going to be taking it slow and steady and learning as I go!

Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Literally the sky is the limit with how much you can spend. First know your budget and then work with that.

Assuming your on a 'tight' budget I would spend the bulk of my money on a tank from a quality manufacture, Sump, Return Pump and RO/DI unit. You want FOWLR at the beginning so lights aren't as important now as you can use almost anything to light up a FOWLR tank and you can buy units later when you wanna move into corals.

Do you have a budget in mind because there are just as many tanks that grow corals build on a budget as there are tanks with unlimited budgets.
 
Deltec
I meant to add to my previous post.. RIP.

Anyway, Welcome to R2R, make yourself feel at home!

You are buying a red sea product, so you already have a sump and plumbing.
-Youll need a return pump with decent amount of power, get that water moving around the tank plenty times a day.
-Lighting DOES matter. I use chinese black box LED's and they treat me well. I grow whatever i want if i want it. I do however have a nano tank with a radion which grows my coral in there like crazy!
-For heating, i use eheim jagers. they are pretty cheap but make sure you have a backup to your backup. Most heaters tend to malfunction.
- Powerheads, are powerheads. They all do the same exact thing. Buy whatever you like. I use Jebao's
-Skimmer depends on your bioload. Make sure you research what you want as livestock. Make sure you understand what the bioload will be and what bioload as a word by itself is.

Overall, when i started my first tank, i went cheap. Really cheap.
Two chinese LED's - $200
Jebao Powerheads $40-$100
I spent a decent dollar on my return pump, because well i need the flow. - $300
Right there is $600.

Remember that this is cheap. and keep in mind that EXPENSIVE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. You just need to know what you are doing.
 
Musovski said:
Remember that this is cheap. and keep in mind that EXPENSIVE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER. You just need to know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

I will +1 to this for sure.... expensive is not always better. Its also true that the more money you spend DOES NOT equal success in this hobby. Ultimately success is up to you.

Saying this I will also like to emphasis highly that you pay for what you get.
 
Deltec
Hello and welcome to R2R!

We’re glad you joined and this is the place to come and learn!

I researched here, BRS TV on YouTube and others for almost 6 months prior to starting my first tank.

You can spend as much or as little as you like. And there is nothing wrong with buying used, just research it carefully.
 
Welcome! There is soooo much to cover. Do your research. Do lots of research. Then do some more. There are a million different methods and types of equipment and combinations of equipment to implement it will become almost overwhelming. So, after you have done as much research that you think you can handle, make some personal decisions based on that research. Then, have an equipment list of all items that you think will work with what you are trying to accomplish. Post that list AND what your goals are and people will be better equipped to guide you from there.
The most important advice that I can give, once you have started the process is to have an overabundance of patience and then a little more patience finished with a healthy topping of patience.
 
Chewy.com
If you are new to fish keeping and want to keep the $$ down to start with, search Craigslist or local fish forums for a tank and equipment. It may not be as nice as the Red Sea but spending $150 versus $1300 is better until you decide you like it.
 
Echoing the research, research, research. I've been slowly planning my up coming build for almost a year now. I've stalked this forum daily before finally registering to ask questions more specific to my build. I've gone through three versions of an equipment list and even now, with a "finalized" list, I still find myself checking out new stuff I come across just in case it might work better for me. (Case in point, there's a tank bigger than the one I settled on for about the same price, and now I'm seriously considering tweaking my entire equipment list for this new tank.) I have a spreadsheet set up with links to the products and their price in an easy to read format so I can keep track of just how much I will be spending. If I wasn't sure on one over another, I'd link both and mark them as undecided until I finally picked one and got rid of the other. You can look at it here if you want!

You can also do what I did if you're not sure about good equipment. Go to the member tank build forum and find people with the same size tank you'll be looking to set up. See what they choose and pop in and ask how they like the equipment and if its been a good investment. 100% of my equipment list was chosen because members here highly recommended the items!

Just to give an idea of my adventure: I started with a 2500$ budget and I'm now looking at a 5000$ setup. I don't say this to discourage you, mind! I was originally going to go with a much smaller tank but I know myself. I'd want to upgrade out of a smaller tank months down the line and then I'd be spending even more! So I up-scaled and put off the build for another half year to ensure I'd have the money saved up. Planning for the future is always good too. You can start with the bare minimums and then buy other stuff later. I'll be doing that with several items on my list.

Patience and good planning is key, that's what R2R has taught me!
 
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Thanks all for your advice! Very much appreciated. Going to start researching individual equipment and make a list suited to my tank as some have suggested! [emoji16]
 
Tidal Gardens

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%

  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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