Newbie 250 or G2?

[sappster]

I can purchase a used Reefer 250 that is well established and includes fish, live rock, light, etc. For someone new to aquariums would this be okay or should I save up and get a G2 or G2+ and start fresh with a new environment?

I’ve never owned any kind of tank (FW or Salt). it’s a good deal but I’m not sure if it’s ideal for a newbie. I work from home so I have time to devote to the tank and I’ve watched lots of BRS videos. Any thoughts and wisdom is greatly appreciated.

 

[Reef Devils]

I can purchase a used Reefer 250 that is well established and includes fish, live rock, light, etc. For someone new to aquariums would this be okay or should I save up and get a G2 or G2+ and start fresh with a new environment?

I’ve never owned any kind of tank (FW or Salt). it’s a good deal but I’m not sure if it’s ideal for a newbie. I work from home so I have time to devote to the tank and I’ve watched lots of BRS videos. Any thoughts and wisdom is greatly appreciated.

I think it would be best if you started off with something new.
Starting out it as a newbie with lots of corals could be difficult.
Also the Red Sea G2 tanks are a lot better than the older versions

 

[ekandler]

As a new hobbyist, don’t go with a used system.

There’s a lot to learn in the hobby about keeping corals healthy, what to do when things don’t go well, learning about pests, coral diseases, and how to recover from issues or mistakes. If you have a used system, there’s a whole world of unknowns (good and bad) and if something starts to die, you’ll have no clue what it is.

If you start with a new system, the only thing that will ever happen to it will be of your own doing and you’ll be able to learn from mistakes and identify causal factors to the mistakes.

Buying a used tank is fine, but the coral, livestock, and live rock is another thing. If you buy a used tank, let it dry out and clean it so it’ll be “new to you” when you set it up again and it won’t have any residual concerns from the previous owner.

 

[ekandler]

with that said, buying coral from a tank teardown is a great way to fill a system quickly and cheaply. You just need to know what you’re doing before you do something like that.

As someone brand new to the hobby I wouldn’t do it. It’s just a recipe for more trouble and you’ll end up struggling and getting out of the hobby from the frustration.

 

[Idech]

Before you buy a Red Sea tank, especially an older model, go read the « Red Sea seam failure » threads. People often wish they saw it before buying their tank.

Not sure of the exact name of the thread, but you’ll find it. It has many pages too.