New starter!

nicko19 · Nov 17, 2015

Hey all,
I'm looking at getting back into an aquarium, it's been a long while, In my younger days I had built a thriving fresh water tank holding discus and plecos of all sorts including peppermint bristle noses... I must of been around 15 yrs old... I'm now 27 have a young family and very interested in creating a new aquarium for our family home, I'm wanting a marine reef aquarium holding few coral fish an cleaners, I'm thinking I have the setup method correct in my head although could be wrong... I'm looking at the Red Sea aquariums has anyone got any advise or opinions? I noticed there quiet expensive... I'm only looking for a smaller size, I have a spot located to suit an aquarium no bigger than 130cm in length... Also any advise to what electricity consumption is like running a marine tank and what sort of impact I could receive on my electricity bill? Above all that I do understand the circumstances on setting up and that patients is well encouraged for best results witch is perfect for me because money is not something that grows on trees for me haha so I have plenty of time... Although I want to do it properly and have fantastic results, please any info will help me move forward! Thanks people!

mike007 · Nov 17, 2015

WELCOME TO R2R

steve&mari · Nov 17, 2015

Welcome and hopefully your family enjoys it. Hard to say on cost as size and equipment variables have huge implications on electric used. More information on what you're thinking of will help us help you.

nervousmonkey · Nov 17, 2015

Welcome to R2R! Glad to have you here. You'll get great advice here, just ask away.

You shouldn't have a negative impact on your electricity unless you are planning on a pretty big system. I wouldn't worry about that, esp with LED lighting now being easy and no impact on electricity.

As far as Red Sea setups, they are expensive but they have everything you need. It's cheaper to figure out what size tank you want, then get that, the sump, cabinet (do it yourself to save money, cabinets are way overpriced IMO) then go from there. Once you have the ideas for what you want, start pricing it out and then buy a piece of the concept you want every month. It's cheaper and easier that way, plus you can really plan out what you want and it gives you time to research and ask questions about equipment.

Good luck!!