What was your first aquarium?

[death-by-reef]

hi everyone,
I'm still looking for ideas for my first reef, and I was wondering, what was your first Reef Aquarium?

 

[Sefboy]

65 gallon non-drilled. Everything was HOB…not long into hobby I realized that type of tank was not for me. Keep in mind More volume (water) is more forgiving. Also bigger is more expensive . But def worth it long term.

 

[G Santana]

I went from a 10 gal to a 30 to a 55 to a 130 within 1 year.
Bigger is better but as stated bigger is a lot more expensive.

 

[EagleEye121]

75g back in ‘06 or ‘07. HOB skimmer and bulky equipment! Started as a FOWLR and added a few easy softies with mixed results. Favorite thing was a long tentacle anemone and clarkii clown… I could watch that relationship all day!
As others have said, get the biggest tank your budget will allow. More water volume = more stability and more room for error. Plus it will scratch the inevitable itch to upgrade for a little longer

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Red Sea Max Nano. Great little tank, and I would recommend it for anyone new to the hobby. My only issues were the small ATO (ended up replacing it with a Tunze), the lack of a refugium (I could have probably installed a HOB if I wanted to, though), and the top third of the back glass being a slightly different color and material. Overall, great system and if I were to set up an AIO nano again, I'd go back to it.

 

[ekandler]

Red Sea max E 260. I kinda went all in on a bigger tank for my first one. Went the AIO route like most do. from that experience I’d say not to do the AIO route on a tank much bigger than 30-40 gallons. Nutrient export on bigger tanks with the small back sump is pretty hard. I found the skimmers that fit back there weren’t as effective and a fuge is a lot harder.

if I did it again I’d either go for something smaller AIO like a 20 Innovative marine or go a little larger with a sump like a Red Sea Reefer 170.

 

[death-by-reef]

cool.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

I had a 110 gallon 4 foot long tank in 2005. It had an Ebay special, makeshift highbay metal halide light. Too tall to reach the bottom, though. I suggest a 40-75 gallon to start.

 

[death-by-reef]

nice
do i need a sump for a 40 breeder?

 

[Kfactor]

29g tall with hang on the back stuff

 

[death-by-reef]

cool

 

[Rp8]

55with a canister filter

 

[death-by-reef]

nice

 

[jabberwock]

My first tank was a 40 gallon freshwater in 1981. I was 10 years old. I kept freshwater tanks for the next 20 years. I left the hobby for almost 20 more years and returned to start my first reef tank in 2018 which was a 32 gallon cube. I love the "cube concept", but the actual available real estate (IMHO) is overrated. I feel that stacking fish on top of each other leads to competition and aggression.

After about a year that cube suffered a catastrophic failure, however, props to the manufacturer who stood by their product and provided a free replacement.

Five years later, twenty days ago I got a 25 gallon lagoon tank wet. Cycle is complete but in the early stages and so far, I like it.

I guess my advice would be, "it is a journey".

 

[Tamberav]

12g Aquapod with stock lighting - which is basically same as a biocube today. It worked great tbh... for softies and LPS.

 

[dcsorrell]

20 gallon tall (standard rimmed tank) with an hob filter, a heater and a compact flourescent light fixture. Mixed softies, a clownfish and a blue damselfish. Probably 2 inches of sand (forget which) and 20 lbs of live rock carefully stacked into a wall with prayers it would never fall down. It was pretty, though. Had it up 3 years and then upgraded to a 55 gallon long tank with two hob filters, a bigger heater, and a T5 light fixture. Had that one 8 years.

 

[nhendrix]

My first salt water was a 240g with diy stand and diy sump from 75g

 

[lelolai15]

15 gal tank that I got at Walmart when I was in middle school (fresh water). I later got a Biocube 24 great tank to start off with and learn. Doesn’t break the tank all in one (AIO). I returned to the hobby one year ago and got myself a Red Sea max nano. I am enjoying it. It’s a bit challenging due to swings in levels. Still trying to dial everything in. But great quality tank and low cost in the sense of water changes, dosing, feeding due to low bioload etc.

 

[firechild]

300L 72" tank with a wet/dry filter, Red Sea Berlin skimmer and 3x 400W Iwasaki MH. The tank went through many gear upgrades and it taught me a lot about reefing. I upgraded to a 700L (~190G) tank in about 2005 and have gone through several tanks between then and now.

 

[FishPham]

Biocube. AIOs are a good way to get your feet wet