Just getting started and need advice

[reefwant2b]

Hello All!!
I am thinking about getting back into the wonderful world of fish tanks again. About 12 years ago I had all kinds of tanks and loved it so much I even bought a pet store and had a huge selection of saltwater fish. I have been reading up on all of your wonderful advice for a few days now. The differences from now and 12 years ago are amazing!! Nothing is the same.
I am wanting a FOWLR tank to start out until I get back in the swing of things. As you can see from my screen name I am a Reef want to be. :nervous: Right now I am looking at a 100 gal tank. It is 72.5" x 18.5" x 19.5". My thought is....it is nice and long but not too tall that I would have to worry too much about my lighting to start out. I think 100 is a good size to start out??? Any imput on that?? Or the dimensions of this tank. I am wanting to put it in the wall in my living room so my family and I can get full benefits. My only concern about this is the back of the tank is going to be in my garage. I was thinking about building a shed like wall around the tank so the temp would be easier to maintained. Not to mention all of the fish stuff contained in one area. Any input would be greatly appreciated!! I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more from me in the days to come. I need to decide about this tank tomorrow morning so if someone sees this I hope you can help me out.
Oh, one more question is what would a tank this size go for. Just the tank. No lights or anything. Glass tank.
Thanks

 

[leopard_babe]

Glass 100 gallon tank... I am going to take the wild guess of like $. I think in the wall is great, if I could do that I would. 100 is a good size. But if you are doing an in the wall, then you probably only want to do it once. I would suggest trying to decide what kind of fish you want first, and then pick the size tank. I feel (now anyways) the bigger the better. it saves money in the long run. first I had a 46, then a 180, now when i am in my final house, I am going to do a huge tank 300-400 gallons would be ideal. So I would say choose a selection of fish, and then pick a tank. Remember 1inch of fish = 5 gallons of salt water.
ex: a fully grown 4 inch fish needs 20 gallons of water.
Perhaps when your tank is more established you could have 1 inch of fish for every 3 gallons. however I like the 5 inch rule.
I think a 100 is great for a fowlr. that is what my 46 bowfront it. I do however worry about the tank being in the garage. I am currently having temperature problems in my tank. I think that building a shed, thing around it would be very good. i think I read a post on this site about someone outting a saltwater tank outside. i believe it worked, but not sure. I am rather new at this myself. Almost 1 year into the hobby, but I think that you are off to a good start. I believe that you should always hear more then what one person has to say. Listen to a few other oponions, and don't be afraid to ask questions. that is what we are here for. WELCOME BACK TO SALTWATER. Hope to see you around.
Leopard

 

[flynemo]

Thats good that you are getting back into fishkeeping. I myself am just getting into it also still doing the research. Well I do have a few suggestions. Have you looked into chillers? I don't know where you live but where I live it gets over 120 in my garage during the summer so thats defenitly something to consider if you live in a hot climate. Ithink a chiller for the size of tank you want is probaly gonna cost upwards of 500 dollas but thats just an estimate. Anyways I am new to this to so what I say is proably wrong anyways

 

[reefwant2b]

Thanks all for your input!! It is very much appreciated! As for putting it in the garage....that was my main concern. That is why I was thinking about building a wall around it. Since I am putting it in the wall I want to be sure and get a size that I am going to be happy with for a while. I want big enough but not too big because as you can imagine with 4 kids the budget for this is not huge.
I think that this would be very interesting for the kids though. Something that they can watch and learn from.
I am still wondering how much this 100 gal tank is worth though?? I certainly don't want to start this out paying too much for the tank:notsure: :notsure:

 

[pacopetty]

Welcome to the boards!
e-mail me and I'll give you some tank info.
andypetty@adelphia.net

 

[leopard_babe]

I am a dummie I didn't put the price in. HAHA. I am gonna take an off the wall stab and say just the tank is gonna be a couple hundred bucks. It depends on the tank. If you are worried about cost. Look for a used one on the net. You can find a bunch of great deals on the net.

 

[cholland]

Welcome to the boards!!
You will find a wealth of info here. I learned more here in 1 week than 6 months worth of trips to the local fish store.
I agree with Leopard, chose your fish first. And another thing to consider is the cost of the components of the tank. A 100 gal tank will have more LR, LS, and bigger pumps, etc. than a 55 gal tank. So do some research on the skimmer, pumps, etc. to see what is in your budget.
And good luck!!

 

[leopard_babe]

hey cholland your icon is sweet!!! We are hear to help yo not discurage you. however 100 gallon tank is gonna cost a bit of money to set up. Out of curiosity do you have a price range you are interested in? I believe that the sw fish tank has taught me a great deal of things. I think that you kids could really enjoy a tank. Look at used tanks on this site, or in your classifieds. You can find some great deals, and some great tanks.

 

[wwfstyle]

To answer the question about how much a 100 gal tank should cost. Well I have seen just the tank it self for close to $175. That should give you a ball park range to work from. But to set it up will cost a much prettier penny.

 

[cholland]

Thanks LeopardBabe
I can send you a copy or where I got it if you want. email me
csholland2002@yahoo.com
Definitely check prices of your equipment. Check that really popular site where you can sell anything....(hint) There is always some good buys there.
And another thing, if you involve the kids and let them pick out their own fish, maybe they would forget about that new Playstation game!?!

 

[leopard_babe]

sent.
I thought that you could put addresses up for websites, as long as they are not competitors.
Ex: You could say ----, because SWF does not sell tanks. Right??? Just light the hellolight website someone gave me, because SWF does not sell lights, so this place isn't a competator. Right????

 

[reefwant2b]

Thanks everyone for all the great info. I passed on the 100 gal tank because I feel like I am not quite prepared. I think it is family meeting time. What is everyone prepared to get rid of.....Xbox??? .....Gamecube???.....Playstation2??? If I got rid of all the stupid games I could have a wopper of a tank
I am going to do a little more research and go from there. Especially since I am going to be putting this bad boy in my wall. Whatever I decide I want to make sure everyone is happy with it.
Thanks again!!!

 

[leopard_babe]

I have a gamecube, because I am a HUGE zelda/starfox fan. the only reason I bought the dumb thing. They have not been making very many good games for it. I think if I had to pick, it would be tank over video games . However my bf, would not be happy getting rid of ANY of the game systems.

 

[reefwant2b]

Well, my plans have changed since I posted last. I decided to get a 20L. I guess it would considered a nano tank. I don't want to cut a huge hole in my wall just starting out so I decided to start slow. I am in the process of building my stand and canopy now. I am making a really cool and unique setup. I will post when I get done with it. I'm excited!!
The games is a whole different subject around here. I hate the stupid things!! The kids get so ingrossed in them that they don't do anything else. The really sad part is ....if I find a game that I like. I will sit in front of the stupid thing until I beat it. My whole life and everyone elses around here goes on hold until I have defeated it. LOL :hilarious