Tips for new ''underaged'' reefer?

[MrObscura]

[Tamberav]

If you haven't been told yet or know.... I feel like the biggest change from people coming from fresh water is.... 

 

 

You can't use tap water. 

 

 

Need to hook up a rodi unit which might need permission from the parents or have a way to haul distilled water from the grocery store. 

 

I also would not buy pre made lfs water... They don't care as much about your tank as you do and it comes back to bite you in the ass... Someone here just had issues from lfs water that worked great... Until it didn't. 

 

 

Water is #1 importance

 

 

[Ocellaris PDX]

19 hours ago, Tamberav said:

If you haven't been told yet or know.... I feel like the biggest change from people coming from fresh water is.... 

 

 

You can't use tap water. 

 

 

Need to hook up a rodi unit which might need permission from the parents or have a way to haul distilled water from the grocery store. 

 

I also would not buy pre made lfs water... They don't care as much about your tank as you do and it comes back to bite you in the ass... Someone here just had issues from lfs water that worked great... Until it didn't. 

 

 

Water is #1 importance

 

 

I did know this from reading some other beginner's threads. Actually, I've seen a lot of mistakes that were pointed out that I can now avoid. This forum is really helpful.

 

Our tap isn't drinkable, much less tank friendly. We have a RO system that produces 3g a day for drinking. For the freshwater fish, we already stock 5g jugs of distilled water. I call it my "army". 

[Fish_Wiz]

Been in the game for awhile now, with aquariums since I could walk and then starting to put salt in my tanks around 6th grade. I remember trading my xbox (OG black and green one) for a junk seaclone protein skimmer LOL (still regret that to today). I'm in the real world now but I never gave it up, just different setups/breakdowns throughout the years, I'm back with a 20 gallon Elos seahorse tank (in the works) and my trusty 2500 gallon koi pond in the yard.

 

Glad to have you aboard and happy to see you're already asking the right questions. 

 

I'd say with the internet as it is today, you are in good shape. I got in right when forums were barely taking off (2006-2007'ish) and craigslist was nothing, and being so young, no one believed me when I showed up to buy things. 

 

Big tips from me:

 

1. BUDGET. This hobby is expensive, and even with my parents support (I do miss that), it still put a hole in my own piggy bank. I'm glad they supported me through it though so I would stay out of trouble, but I could see at times when they hated it. I was browsing the forums and craigslist every day looking for deals but some of my deal's involved three digit price tags.
2. RESEARCH. Look's like you got this down. Remember, the search tool is your friend and is MUCH MUCH more powerful then what I came up with. Use it. Feel free to ask questions, but after you cannot find answers, there's no such thing as dumb questions but there's a hatred for repetitive questions that probably have been answered many times.
3. TIME. This hobby isn't a walk in the park. You need to be dedicated and you need to be patient. Deals and coral growth come slow. You also have a life, probably going to college and seeing what's out there in life. I had to give up my tanks going to college, but the fire still burned inside me (had some ~ok~ tanks in school), got right back in once life stabilized a bit.
4. RODI. You've heard/read it over and over again. Don't use tap. I'm 50/50 on this. I agree that for someone trying to get into the hobby, it's one less thing to worry about in a book of worries. But once you're in my shoes, if it comes down to it, I'll use tap, I'll have to do a few tricks and wizardry to it but it'll be tap. And I have used tap successfully in different marine setups, particularly my macro tank. 
5. Refractometer. Don't even think about a hydrometer until you get a good grasp on this. Again, another headache to not worry about. 
6. ATO (auto top off, not the frat). It's a luxury but I'd say well worth it. Keep your water level in check with evaporation, more consistent and gradual than topping off yourself.
7. BELIEF. Believe in yourself. You're going to do your research and you're going to get advice/info from many different people/sources. You'll also get words from people who "think" they're wiser than you due to age. You need to pick what you believe in and stick to it, change only if you fail. At 14 I had a full 125 gallon SPS dominate reef and was blowing away the old timers that thought they could give me advice until they came and saw my tank in person. It wasn't without heartbreak but I was doing things even I thought I couldn't do myself.

Probably missing some other things, but feel free to drop me PM or comment if you wanna shoot ideas/advice around.

[Ocellaris PDX]

55 minutes ago, Fish_Wiz said:

1. Refractometer. Don't even think about a hydrometer until you get a good grasp on this. Again, another headache to not worry about. 
2. ATO (auto top off, not the frat). It's a luxury but I'd say well worth it. Keep your water level in check with evaporation, more consistent and gradual than topping off yourself.

I have a question about refractometers vs. hydrometers. Why don't you recommend a hydrometer? And what ''budget'' refractometer do you suggest? I know ''getting your money's worth'' is a rule of thumb, but I've seen refractometers from $17-$100, do I need one of the really expensive ones?

 

And what is the significance of an ATO?

19 hours ago, MrObscura said:

LMAO.

[Muraki]

ATO Tops of the evaporated water keeping the salinity of the tank stable. Really helpful in smaller systems and when on vacation.

 

Refractometers are more accurate. Still suggested to calibrate them periodically. Read reviews and remember, more money does not always mean better product. 

[MrObscura]

The best advice is... Research. Do your own, any and everything you wonder about, research it. You'll come across things you didn't know about, then guess what? Time for more research. 

 

But never take anything at face value, because quite simply even people who have been doing this for years will talk out their ass clearly not knowing wtf they are talking about(especially LFSs), but you'll smell the bs because you did your research, right? 

 

Now get off my lawn! 

[Ocellaris PDX]

1 minute ago, Muraki said:

ATO Tops of the evaporated water keeping the salinity of the tank stable. Really helpful in smaller systems and when on vacation.

 

Refractometers are more accurate. Still suggested to calibrate them periodically. Read reviews and remember, more money does not always mean better product. 

Ah, that makes sense. 🤔 I had always assumed people just did that manually.

20 hours ago, RoboNarples2929 said:

One major piece of advice I have is watch the entire bulk reef supply 52 weeks of reefing series on youtube.

Woah! I just started watching it and its great! It goes through just about all the basics, it seems - thanks man!

[Fish_Wiz]

9 minutes ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

I have a question about refractometers vs. hydrometers. Why don't you recommend a hydrometer? And what ''budget'' refractometer do you suggest? I know ''getting your money's worth'' is a rule of thumb, but I've seen refractometers from $17-$100, do I need one of the really expensive ones?

 

And what is the significance of an ATO?

 

No swing arm hydrometer has been accurate for me. You'll hear those that swear by it, not once in my life could I trust one, I almost lost a whole tank in my early days due to a $10 hydrometer. It's once you have a refrecto and know where your swing arm stays at can you use it as a "quick and dirty" test. I'll use a floating hydrometer (the ones that have the built in thermostat) in conjunction with a refracto. At the same time, refractos need to be calibrated every so often, buy the fluid that has salinity to it, distilled water is harder to gauge as the zero mark is hard to get to.

 

I'd say stay in the $30 range. I have a used a $15 generic one to a $200 Milwaukee Digital Refracto. They're basically the same, just some are easier to use than others when it comes to the cover door style, focus adjuster, and size. A new gadget that hit the market is the Icecap salinity pen, not that cheap but man is it cool.

 

Significance of an ATO is it tops off your tank when evaporation takes water out at a gradual pace instead of you dumping water in at one time. This keep salinity stable which is a huge key in a successful reef. It also takes one thing off the list of daily tasks as it works 24/7, my ATO will run say 7-8 times a day which is a slow fill compared to me dumping a few cups at night. I find it absolutely mandatory in nano and pico tanks where losing a cup of water can change the salinity faster than a cup of water in a 125 gallon.

[Ocellaris PDX]

1 minute ago, MrObscura said:

The best advice is... Research. Do your own, any and everything you wonder about, research it. You'll come across things you didn't know about, then guess what? Time for more research. 

 

But never take anything at face value, because quite simply even people who have been doing this for years will talk out their ass clearly not knowing wtf they are talking about(especially LFSs), but you'll smell the bs because you did your research, right? 

 

Now get off my lawn! 

I've learned to always go home after asking questions at the LFS and 1) research the accuracy of what they said and 2) check with another experienced fish-person who doesn't have my money on their mind. 😉

[Tamberav]

12 hours ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

I did know this from reading some other beginner's threads. Actually, I've seen a lot of mistakes that were pointed out that I can now avoid. This forum is really helpful.

 

Our tap isn't drinkable, much less tank friendly. We have a RODI system that produces 3g a day for drinking. For the freshwater fish, we already stock 5g jugs of distilled water. I call it my "army". 

isn't drinking usually RO water not RODI? 

[Muraki]

6 minutes ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

Ah, that makes sense. 🤔 I had always assumed people just did that manually.

I still do it manually. My entire system is 53 gallons, so adding a half gallon of water when needed does drastically change the salinity. But smaller systems that becomes more drastic.

Think my change is from 1.025 to 1.0252 with .5 gallons evaporated. 

Do I want an ATO, I do.... Just have not gotten to it yet. 

 

 

[Ocellaris PDX]

1 minute ago, Tamberav said:

isn't drinking usually RO water not RODI? 

Oh, yes. My mistake. I meant RO not RODI. I wouldn't use it for the fish tank anyways, I was mostly commenting on the quality of my tap. I'll go back and edit!

[Frag Factory]

I've got a red sea refractometer and an amazon £15 refractometer... Honestly they are both as accurate as each other and the cheaper one was only a little bit more expensive than a hydrometer. 

[Clown79]

There are many ways to have a successful reef.

 

You can buy all the expensive stuff or go really simple and stick with a budget tank and still have success and a beautiful tank.

 

 

 

15-20g standard, hob filter, powerhead, heater, and light.

 

Aio: 14g - 20g IM 

Heater, powerhead.

Diy media baskets to cut costs.

 

 

You could do 2 Abi tuna blues. They aren't controllable but they work well and corals look great under them.

Or the hipargero on amazon

 

Go barebottom to save on sand

 

Buy floss in bulk

Buy carbon in bulk and bag it yourself

 

Refractometer, ro buddy/distilled water, IO salt, buckets.

 

 

Easy corals that are still really beautiful; ricordea mushrooms, rhodactis mushrooms, blastos, gsp, xenia, toadstool leathers.

 

These are forgiving corals, less need for constant testing(that gets costly)

 

Add some beautiful macros and 2 clowns, shrimp, crabs and you are on your way

 

[Ocellaris PDX]

Petco has a 20lb bag of CaribSea live sand on sale for $16 instead $29... To buy, or not to buy? 

[Clown79]

8 hours ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

Petco has a 20lb bag of CaribSea live sand on sale for $16 instead $29... To buy, or not to buy? 

Do you want sand or bare bottom?

[Ocellaris PDX]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Do you want sand or bare bottom?

I was going to go for sandy bottom. Is there a reason that's a bad idea? Is it harder in saltwater then fresh? I am used to siphoning sand. 

[Fish_Wiz]

16 minutes ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

I was going to go for sandy bottom. Is there a reason that's a bad idea? Is it harder in saltwater then fresh? I am used to siphoning sand. 

Not a bad idea just another thing to keep up with. With bare bottom, you can go crazy with flow and detrius will never settle, it also is an eye-sore (I ran one). Now I'm back to sand and am never doing a tank without sand. Only my koi pond is BB and when I decide to get back into discus.

[Ocellaris PDX]

8 minutes ago, Fish_Wiz said:

Not a bad idea just another thing to keep up with. With bare bottom, you can go crazy with flow and detrius will never settle, it also is an eye-sore (I ran one). Now I'm back to sand and am never doing a tank without sand. Only my koi pond is BB and when I decide to get back into discus.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of BB. It's uglier then sand, in my opinion. Not to sound snobbish or rude to those who have BB tanks. 😶

[Fish_Wiz]

25 minutes ago, Ocellaris PDX said:

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of BB. It's uglier then sand, in my opinion. Not to sound snobbish or rude to those who have BB tanks. 😶

It has its purpose, back on my old bare bottom SPS BC29 with an MP10, I could crank the flow up like crazy and not have to worry about a sand storm, now I have to be careful turning up my gyre.