Newbie considering tank purchase

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

I’ve never had a saltwater tank but have always wanted one. Have just been presented with a chance to buy a really nice 120 gallon established reef aquarium. Any recommendations on whether this would be a good idea for someone with no experience?

spiraling · Oct 1, 2017

It might be a great way to go. Do you know the person and can you get some help later? Does it look good? Does it have the fish you want to keep or is there somewhere to rehome them if not?

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

It only has one fish left, a wrasse because he can’t catch it. He’s already sold the rest, which I like because then I wouldn’t have to worry about fish while I’m trying to get used to a new reef tank.

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Saltwaterdreamer
Oct 1, 2017

jsker · Oct 1, 2017

Welcome to R2R, sounds like a really good way to start. One thing I read and say is to toss the substrate and start new

Reefing can be challenging but also rewarding if you have patients

We are here to help along the way

FYI the link did not load the video

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

It was a picture of the aquarium I’m considering. Can you see it now?

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Saltwaterdreamer
Oct 1, 2017

spiraling · Oct 1, 2017

If its a 6 line wrasse you might want to catch it as you move the tank, it most likely won't tolerate new fish and kill them. Lots of nice softie coral. nice looking tank.
It takes quite a bit of time and money to maintain a reef tank, are you ready for that?

deedubz · Oct 1, 2017

Welcome to r2r! I think that'd be a great tank to start with. If you do decide to purchase it, keep us updated with your progress.

Out of curiosity, what wrasse would you be inheriting?

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

He said a 6 line wrasse

deedubz · Oct 1, 2017

I would highly recommend rehoming it. They can be VERY feisty. It'd give any new fish a hard time.

If down the road you wanted a wrasse, there's plenty of peaceful fairy wrasses. You could even add a six line if it was the last fish added, just not with other wrasses

deedubz · Oct 1, 2017

I'd also recommend you getting a 10-20g tank, heater, and powerhead to start up a quarantine protocol on incoming fish. This will save you a lot of heartache and a lot of money.

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

dwwataz said:
I'd also recommend you getting a 10-20g tank, heater, and powerhead to start up a quarantine protocol on incoming fish. This will save you a lot of heartache and a lot of money.

Thank you for the advice. If you think of anything else that would help, I’d love to hear it. I’m planning to go actually see the tank soon and if it looks as good as the pictures, I know I’ll want it.

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

spiraling said:
If its a 6 line wrasse you might want to catch it as you move the tank, it most likely won't tolerate new fish and kill them. Lots of nice softie coral. nice looking tank.
It takes quite a bit of time and money to maintain a reef tank, are you ready for that?

I think I am. I’m middle aged and my kids are mostly grown now. I also have a work from home job, so that’s a plus.

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

jsker said:
Welcome to R2R, sounds like a really good way to start. One thing I read and say is to toss the substrate and start new Reefing can be challenging but also rewarding if you have patients

We are here to help along the way

FYI the link did not load the video

Thank you

deedubz · Oct 1, 2017

Saltwaterdreamer said:
Thank you for the advice. If you think of anything else that would help, I’d love to hear it. I’m planning to go actually see the tank soon and if it looks as good as the pictures, I know I’ll want it.

Absolutely. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me or post a thread. There are countless awesome and helpful people on this forum. I've only been in the hobby since last summer and have learned a tremendous amount of info from reading stickies, contributing to threads, and asking questions. We all want you to succeed.

The quarantine process is for a couple reasons. First and foremost, keeping parasites/disease out of your display. It also helps to settle a newcomer down and to get them acclimated to captivity in a quiet, peaceful environment away from other fish. It gives them individual attention, and you the chance to resolve any problems before being tossed into a full blown reef. You are actually starting in an awesome position.. You're inheriting an already established system. What I would HIGHLY recommend is to keep that system fishless for 72 days. That is the life cycle of a lot of common parasites... With no hosts available, any disease present would die off. Couple that with a quarantine tank, and you should reap the benefits of a thriving and disease free display tank for as long as you're in the hobby. That is a lesson that that a lot of people, myself included, learn the hard way

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

dwwataz said:
Absolutely. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me or post a thread. There are countless awesome and helpful people on this forum. I've only been in the hobby since last summer and have learned a tremendous amount of info from reading stickies, contributing to threads, and asking questions. We all want you to succeed.

The quarantine process is for a couple reasons. First and foremost, keeping parasites/disease out of your display. It also helps to settle a newcomer down and to get them acclimated to captivity in a quiet, peaceful environment away from other fish. It gives them individual attention, and you the chance to resolve any problems before being tossed into a full blown reef. You are actually starting in an awesome position.. You're inheriting an already established system. What I would HIGHLY recommend is to keep that system fishless for 72 days. That is the life cycle of a lot of common parasites... With no hosts available, any disease present would die off. Couple that with a quarantine tank, and you should reap the benefits of a thriving and disease free display tank for as long as you're in the hobby. That is a lesson that that a lot of people, myself included, learn the hard way

I was planning to keep it empty for at least that long if I get it, first to give me a chance to do some research (I’m kinda just about to throw myself in head first with this) and second to give the tank a chance to settle after moving and hopefully decrease the chance of problems.

alex.mccann99 · Oct 1, 2017

Saltwaterdreamer said:
I’ve never had a saltwater tank but have always wanted one. Have just been presented with a chance to buy a really nice 120 gallon established reef aquarium. Any recommendations on whether this would be a good idea for someone with no experience?

Some things you'll want to know. How old is the tank, check the seems to look for any air pockets, chips or cracks. How much is the tank? While buying new can cost more, you certainly learn easier that way, rather than just be diving in head first not really knowing what you're doing. Has he had diseases in the tank, ich, marine velvet, etc. These are things that with your own brand new tank you can protect yourself from ever having to deal with. If your buying used, I'd clean the tank out thoroughly with white vinegar, including all the miscellaneous parts.

Big G · Oct 1, 2017

Life is far too short. Live your dreams. You may want to watch a video series put together by the folks at Bulk Reef Supply. It's called 52 weeks of reefing. It would give you a nice short course on setting up a reef tank. Here's the link: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/video-category/52-weeks-of-reefing
Enjoy!

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

alex.mccann99 said:
Some things you'll want to know. How old is the tank, check the seems to look for any air pockets, chips or cracks. How much is the tank? While buying new can cost more, you certainly learn easier that way, rather than just be diving in head first not really knowing what you're doing. Has he had diseases in the tank, ich, marine velvet, etc. These are things that with your own brand new tank you can protect yourself from ever having to deal with. If your buying used, I'd clean the tank out thoroughly with white vinegar, including all the miscellaneous parts.

I just asked him, he didn’t buy the tank new, he doesn’t know how old it it. He’s had it set up for 5 years.

alex.mccann99 · Oct 1, 2017

Unless you were getting a very outstanding deal, I wouldn't buy a tank that old, since he bought it used, it might be closer to 10 years old possibly. I would just be very cautious.

Saltwaterdreamer · Oct 1, 2017

alex.mccann99 said:
Unless you were getting a very outstanding deal, I wouldn't buy a tank that old, since he bought it used, it might be closer to 10 years old possibly. I would just be very cautious.

I’m not sure what an outstanding deal would be. I know what I’ve seen in local aquarium/fish stores and it’s less than a third of what I’ve seen similar just tanks for. He wants 1100 for the whole setup.