Trying to get into the hobby.

[emmit8]

I'm a 25 year old man, looking to get into the hobby. I'm hoping to start my electrical pre-apprenticeship some time this month. I came here to seek advice, ideas, mentors, good deals and information. I don't have any reef aquariums or any fish at the time. I never owned any saltwater fish of any kind. I Just have two dogs named rhino and canelo. The one question I have is why are nano aquariums not recommended for beginners when that's all I can afford.

 

[mike werner]

Welcome to r2r.

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!!

I have never heard of nano tanks not being recommended for new reefers, but it could be because of the lack of room for mistakes. The bigger the tank, the more forgiving mistakes are.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Welcome to r2r

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!
Nano tanks are most certainly doable by newcomers. They are harder to manage as parameter swings happen much easier than in larger volumes of water. Also nutrients can climb faster in a nano again due to the small water volume. But nanos are definitely doable by anyone willing to put the time and effort into it

#WelcometoR2R

 

[Biokabe]

I'm a 25 year old man, looking to get into the hobby. I'm hoping to start my electrical pre-apprenticeship some time this month. I came here to seek advice, ideas, mentors, good deals and information. I don't have any reef aquariums or any fish at the time. I never owned any saltwater fish of any kind. I Just have two dogs named rhino and canelo. The one question I have is why are nano aquariums not recommended for beginners when that's all I can afford.

Welcome onboard!

You can absolutely start with a nano - I did - but there is a reason that larger tanks are often recommended. In a larger tank, you can achieve stability more easily, and you can kind of let things go on autopilot a little bit more. Think of it this way - imagine you're swimming in water that someone has peed in. Would you rather be swimming in a kiddie pool or an ocean? In a larger tank, it takes more to swing your tank into dangerous territory.

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting off with a smaller tank. They are considerably more affordable on a limited budget. It just requires more diligence and more research, but it's no less doable.

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R! Thank you for the introduction. This is a great place for information and learning!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R!!! Nothing wrong with Nano's. Some of the most impressive tanks I have seen are Nano's.

 

[Jamo7]

Welcome!
I say get whatever size tank you would like. Just make sure to do your research, and take your time. Your going to mess up we all have but you can bounce back from it. It’s a super fun hobby and has rewarding effects.

 

[Retro Reefer]

 

[crusso1993]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and thanks for signing up.

 

[BeejReef]

Big dogs answered your question
Welcome

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Welcome! If that is what you can afford, I say go for it!! The reason it isn't the best option for a newbie is because water perimeters such as temp, salinity, etc can change quickly. Aquariums need consistent conditions. The larger the body of water the smaller fluctuations take place.

 

[Hermie]

Welcome
I'll tell you why...

Because new reefers tend to want to stick a bunch of cool creatures in their tanks way too early, causing tank losses and disaster, but a bigger tank is less prone to over stocking than a nano.

If you are really patient and go very slow, I would say a nano is just fine! But it's really hard to know how slow to go early on, it's partly experience and monitoring the tank.

that said, I'd recommend Lasse's guide and following it to a tee:

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

The Lasse Method for starting a saltwater aquarium.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Hitman]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

You came to the right place
Welcome aboard !!

 

[Paul B]

Good luck on your apprenticeship. I am a retired Union electrician (in New York) so we have that in common. I also have a fish tank so we have that also.

Just remember that much of what you read on forums is questionable or just plain wrong. It comes from the opinions of hundreds or thousands of hobbyists many of whom failed, quit, and went on to run the French Fry machine at Burger King.

Find someone on a forum, preferably this one, that has had a tank much longer than last Tuesday, look at their tank and if you see what you like go on to the disease forum. If they don't post on there about their fish dying, maybe you should follow them.

Not me because my methods are thought by some to be way to over the top and can't possibly work, ;Smuggrin but find someone in the hobby for many years who seems normal and has a healthy looking tank and doesn't sound like a snowflake.

It's great to meet you by the way and you picked the best forum.
Good Luck.

Oh, and I started my tank when I was an apprentice bringing home about $56.00 a week.

 

[Braves Fan]

My advise read read read ,, look on the BRS web site ,, they have tons of videos ,, you can't go wrong watching all of them ,, don't even think about buying anything till you have watched them ,, these videos will give you a ton of info ,, and get your mind thinking of a direction to go ,, after you have got this info ,, start you a post on R2R ,, save the page ,, post on it for things you want to buy ,, tank, equipment ,, everything ,, reefers in the Forums can give you their thoughts on what to buy and what not to buy ,, do this ,, dont do that ,,, You kinda have to haqve a working knoledge of what is involved in the hobby before you can ask the right questions and understand the answers ,, the one thing that people really don't think about in the hobby ,, our systems are mini eco systems ,, you have to understand everything you do effects something else ,, when you buy equipment ,, buy quality equipment ,, it will save you money down the road ,,,

 

[AiKkz]

Welcome to REEF2REEF, look into bio cube 32 I’ve heard a lot of good thing about that setup.