My Reef and Saltwater tanks

[Jimi Thing]

Hello all, Just started this forum lastnight and found a lot of helpful people on here. This is a few pictures of my small (soon to be larger) reef tank and 70g long saltwater tank (soon to be 125 gallon)

Anyone else here into this hobby? I'd love to see pics

 

[rollinkansas]

I kept a nano and a larger tank for a couple of years, but broke the tank down about 2003-2004. Kept about 50+ colors of zoanthids, and some different encrusting montis. It was a great hobby, but a very expensive one. I really enjoyed it while it lasted, but I dont think I would ever get into it again.

and lots more, but you get the idea.

 

[Ewok]

Nice pics! Makes me miss my saltwater and reef tanks heh.

 

[JMoran1097]

Hello all, Just started this forum lastnight and found a lot of helpful people on here. This is a few pictures of my small (soon to be larger) reef tank and 70g long saltwater tank (soon to be 125 gallon)

Anyone else here into this hobby? I'd love to see pics

wow, i'm super jealous. if I had the money and time to invest in such an endeavor, I would have been all over salt water aquariums a LOOONG time ago, but I've had terrible experience with freshwater fish in the past too, so yeah... haha

 

[Jimi Thing]

rollinkansas, you had some very nice looking zoas why did you quit the hobby?
JMoran1097, it's not as exspensive and hard as you'd think.

 

[JMoran1097]

JMoran1097, it's not as exspensive and hard as you'd think.

explain further please

 

[aracnochicken]

As for it being easy ? I agree . As for it being inexpensive , not even close . I've got a 150 gallon reef and I've got thousands into it and its not even close to being full .

metal halide lights and compacts - $1200
tank (got that cheep) - $500
live rock 150 lbs @ $4.50 a pound - $675
live sand - $20 a bag , 6 bags - $120
protien skimmer - $350
skimmer pump - $65
4 Koralia pumps - $80 each (and that was a good buy)
sump (55 gallon tank) - $120
return pump - $225
if you live where its hot (like Fl) a chiller at about $600
and then theres all the little things plumbing ,bulb replacement every 6 to 8 months at $80 to $120 each and salt for water changes . And thats not even adding fish ,inverts or corals . so thats just under $4200 . Still think having a reeftank is cheep ?

 

[Jimi Thing]

OK, maybe not too inexspensive but I have seen 55g saltwater set ups with livestock on CL in the $300 range. That's not too expensive concidering that some people spend that on just one T.

 

[aracnochicken]

I agree , If you DO deside to ever set one up , go on craislist , Ebay or something like that and get one already established , you'll get it SOOOOO much cheeper then if you start from scratch . If I knew then what I know now ........

 

[Jimi Thing]

Yup, I was also a little dissapointed to see a stocked reef on CL for $700 when I paid twice that on just most of my equipment :?

 

[rollinkansas]

My 10 gallon was $1500+ and my 55 was more than I want to think about. New orders of coral every week didnt help that cost. I got out of the hobby when zoanthid eating pycnogonids killed off over half my coral. And the resale value on used reef equipment is a joke...there is none.

 

[Jimi Thing]

yeah, the livestock prices are crazy.

 

[aracnochicken]

The best thing I ever did was to join a Reef Club . They have frag auctions every 4 months (used to be every month) and you can get a lot of corals for a fraction of the price of a petstore . Plus you can get used equipment a lot cheeper too .Also you get to meet a lot of different people and swap corals .

 

[rollinkansas]

The best thing I ever did was to join a Reef Club . They have frag auctions every 4 months (used to be every month) and you can get a lot of corals for a fraction of the price of a petstore . Plus you can get used equipment a lot cheeper too .Also you get to meet a lot of different people and swap corals .

I never really liked Reef Clubs. They expected everything to be almost free just because they were local. The only reason I sold to them was out of convenience, but Im sure it also varies from location to location. Not to mention I never got coral from the LFS but from other hobbyists and online.

 

[aracnochicken]

The only thing I hate about ordering on line .... the shipping costs are killer !!!! And yeah I know what you mean about everyone wanting something for nothing ....I'm one of those guys lol The only way i order on line (usually off Ebay) is if they are in Fl. This way the shipping isn't to bad .

 

[Nich]

Hello all, Just started this forum lastnight and found a lot of helpful people on here. This is a few pictures of my small (soon to be larger) reef tank and 70g long saltwater tank (soon to be 125 gallon)

Anyone else here into this hobby? I'd love to see pics

Nice tanks!! Ild watch the gorgonians thoug, theres alot of tissue rescession on them.

I have a jbj 12g cube (an original) with a 150hqi, ect., been up for around 4 years now, along with all the ones I ave acct's with. Here's my nano at the begining of last year;

Really simple system with no media, just caluerpa, san , LR, and some HG's from frags.

Here's some of the corals I have now along with the previous
Acro (bonsai) from a 1/4 of an inch to this;

Some faded orange crush, now mostly oragne;

My only Zoa's;

Once I get a house Ill setup the "big one"

 

[Jimi Thing]

WOW! Awesome tank man!:worship: