Photography friendly container?

[fulltang]

Hello everyone!

 

Allow me to preface this by saying that I've never owned a fish tank in my life. I live near the ocean (Monterey bay area), and as a younger person I was surfing every day, my life essentially revolved around the ocean. The ocean was my therapy. Sadly, I had to give it up due to health issues, and it took me a long time to cope with that loss. The other day I was browsing Youtube and stumbled on coral reef tanks! They totally blew me away.

 

The thought of cultivating a small piece of that beauty in my own home is extremely enticing. Combine that with my propensity for hobbies, especially photography, I have to try it out in one way or another.

 

Over the past few days I've come to terms with the fact that I don't have the time and energy that is required to maintain a nano tank. In addition to that, I have a 4-6 week international trip planned for next year and I don't want to detract from that by worrying about my tank.

 

I came across @natalia_la_loca and @teenyreef's jars and they are incredibly inspiring, especially from a photography standpoint. It's pretty clear to me that a setup like theirs is something I can handle (I can only hope to achieve what they have). It also seems more realistic to ask for help from the housemates when I go on my trip with a jar, rather than a tank.

 

I do have a few concerns though, primarily with the pico/jar style tank is getting annoyed with the weekly water change, which from my research seems to be easier to work around with a smaller filterless nano tank. Additionally, it seems like the air pumps that are commonly used with the pico jars are fairly loud. I'd like whatever I get to be as silent as possible, as this will be near my bed. I don't necessarily have my heart set on the jar form factor, especially if it means I can have an ultra low maintenance and silent tank.

 

With that being said, I found a comment Teenyreef noting that their jar was notably difficult to photograph, is there a particular jar/container that lends itself to macro photography?

 

I plan on following both of their threads very closely as I'm brand new, likely trying to set up my jar exactly like them (both equipment and coral). Any and all advice is welcome 🙂

[Coinee]

It's a shame you have to give up the ocean, but a tank is a nice thing to recover that a bit. I live by the ocean since I am in eastern Canada and having the salt water tank in my apartment is kind of nice. 

With your trip coming, it's important that you have someone available to REALLY look after your setup and know how to use the mix water, measure parameters, use the tools of the trade etc. 

 

While the jars are nice, I'd recommend against them if you want to do photography. I do photography as a hobby myself and it's hard to take a good picture without the distortion of the glass of the jar being a pain. My recommendation for you is to find a high quality boxed aquarium that's the size you're looking for (about 4-5 gallons). The jars are about 2 gallons but to be honest, going a bit bigger is better since you have more room and it stabilizes a little better. It'll be easier for you to have a better system instead of fighting parameters and the dimensions/form of the jar. 

 

Basically, you need to do a lot of research in addition to copying what people do because eventually you'll have a problem they never had. Since this is your first tank, I won't dissuade you from doing it because it is definitely possible but keep in mind it IS expensive. I probably spent more than $200 just on my jar alone now (without coral!) 
I don't know what your expectations for ultra-low are but if you have like 10-15 mins every day for the beginning to get into the habit of checking parameters, you'll be fine. Once you get the tank stabilized and you know what you're doing, you won't have to check as much. 

 

That being said: become familiar with the required equipment, the nitrogen cycle, common problems while you wait for your parts to arrive. My suggestion for a tank for you is something like an ADA Tank, sure it is a little expensive but it has higher quality glass that is clearer, so it is a little better for pictures. Or you can get one of the cheaper small aquariums from Petco that some people have here. The Fluval Spec V Evo is popular too and it includes a filter section in the tank itself. There are a lot of options that are better than jars. I regret going with the jar but I'm sticking with it until I have success then I am migrating to a 5-8 gallon setup. 

 

Good luck.

[fulltang]

53 minutes ago, Coinee said:

It's a shame you have to give up the ocean, but a tank is a nice thing to recover that a bit. I live by the ocean since I am in eastern Canada and having the salt water tank in my apartment is kind of nice. 

With your trip coming, it's important that you have someone available to REALLY look after your setup and know how to use the mix water, measure parameters, use the tools of the trade etc.  

 

While the jars are nice, I'd recommend against them if you want to do photography. I do photography as a hobby myself and it's hard to take a good picture without the distortion of the glass of the jar being a pain. My recommendation for you is to find a high quality boxed aquarium that's the size you're looking for (about 4-5 gallons). The jars are about 2 gallons but to be honest, going a bit bigger is better since you have more room and it stabilizes a little better. It'll be easier for you to have a better system instead of fighting parameters and the dimensions/form of the jar. 

 

Basically, you need to do a lot of research in addition to copying what people do because eventually you'll have a problem they never had. Since this is your first tank, I won't dissuade you from doing it because it is definitely possible but keep in mind it IS expensive. I probably spent more than $200 just on my jar alone now (without coral!) 
I don't know what your expectations for ultra-low are but if you have like 10-15 mins every day for the beginning to get into the habit of checking parameters, you'll be fine. Once you get the tank stabilized and you know what you're doing, you won't have to check as much. 

 

That being said: become familiar with the required equipment, the nitrogen cycle, common problems while you wait for your parts to arrive. My suggestion for a tank for you is something like an ADA Tank, sure it is a little expensive but it has higher quality glass that is clearer, so it is a little better for pictures. Or you can get one of the cheaper small aquariums from Petco that some people have here. The Fluval Spec V Evo is popular too and it includes a filter section in the tank itself. There are a lot of options that are better than jars. I regret going with the jar but I'm sticking with it until I have success then I am migrating to a 5-8 gallon setup. 

 

Good luck.

 

Thank you for the reply 🙂

 

I posted another thread in the Beginners forum, did a bunch more research and settled on the Fluval Evo 13.5. I did decide to increase my budget a bit to do it right off the bat. In addition to the essentials I will be setting up the Autoaqua AWC system, hopefully reducing maintenance requirements. In theory, if it works I can increase my reservoir size to accommodate the length of trip, show my housemates how to feed and then just be willing to let the chips fall where they may. If I come back to a crashed tank, so be it. I do NOT plan on getting any fish or coral that requires dosing until I get back from the trip. If I feel confident enough in the stability of the tank that I can leave it with minimal supervision.

 

I'll have my hands full anyway as I've decided to splurge a bit and go with TBS live rock and sand. A poster in my other thread brought up a good point, the TBS live rock is a good way to get my routine down and understand what's going on, before I commit to a bunch of coral and livestock.

 

I have a feeling it'll be a little frantic/stressful right off the bat, but I'm prepared with a RO/DI system for emergency water changes and I won't be ordering until I've done multiple dry runs and equipment tests. It is quite daunting going from what feels like 0 to 100. The payoff of the TBS rock seems worth it though, at least for me.

 

One thing that has stuck with me from my research thus far is that nothing good comes from rushing. I'm absorbing as much as I can while I accumulate parts and build my custom tank stand.

[Coinee]

I didn't see your other post! But yes, definitely the Fluval Evo 13.5 will be a LOT more fulfilling for you and easier to handle once you get used to things. This will allow you more room for error when you're away and running a dedicated filter will allow you to get away with prolonging a water change, if you have to. If you have no faith in your housemates at all, you can premix a bunch of water for them and leave an itemized list and have everything else as automated as you seem to have planned. 

 

Don't worry or stress too much, that's not what this is about, it's about the enjoyment of having reefs 😉 Just educate yourself and you'll be prepared. It sounds like you have things well-sorted and you're here already so you shouldn't encounter any big mistakes provided you research and ask when you have doubts. I look forward to seeing your tank when you have it all up and going!