Please Reply!!

[zilly]

Hi!

I would like to ask EVERYONE a question and i hope most will repy! Here it is:
If you were setting up your very first tank all over again, knowing what you know now, what is the ONE BIGGEST THING you would do differently??
Thanks in advance for any answers. I've been pouring over the internet for about 3 weeks now soaking up as much as i can, reading books, you name it! I want to do it right! Thanx again!

(if this gets a lot of replys it would be cool to pin it somehow??)

 

[bruner54]

i would have set up a big tank from the beginning and i would have takin more time to set it up.

 

[9supratt4]

I wouldn't skimp on the skimmer!!

 

[toosalty]

I would have to say start with a bigger tank.

 

[zilly]

So do you guys think 70g. is kind of small?

 

[bruner54]

70 is certainly not small but if you think your gonna want to go bigger than i think you should go bigger cause once you set it up your gonna want bigger i setup a 20 and wanted bigger so i setup a 150 and now i want bigger but have nowhere to put a bigger tank but its all your choice and what you want to do with the tank.

 

[michael1972]

there is somany ways i could re do it.
what is the with and hight and length of the 70g
what do you want to do with the tank ie what kind of corals do you want to keep?
i went from sps lps to soft zoas
i think i would get t5 HO for lights and not MH = heat = chiller this is one reason i asked the hight of your tank.
i think i would of bought the best skimmer becuse after buying 6 different ones i could of put that money in to the best one.
right now i am looking at power consumtion my eletric bill is big do to what i am using so now i am going threw a phase of lower watts ie pumps run 24/7
so in the long run that expensive pump may cost less "in the long run"
drilling my tank there has been diffrent times that i wish that i did more than less i did a close loop and now i want to put a drain in to my tank "not a u tube and over flow" i wish i would got a Ecotech Marine VorTech Propeller Pump with Wireless Wave Driver this pump would run your hole tank and it is low watts less power. the vortech also has a batt back up that would of saved me 500.00 in the long run just in fish when my power went out when i was not home. have a qt tank and put my fish in there.
i would be more of a but head like when i buy a car and make the lfs feed the fish so i can see that they eat and are not going to die in my tank. "you are paying them to work there when you buy your fish so make them work 4 u.
if they say that they just fed them tell them to do it again with one flake of food or less this time or to put it on hold 4 u untill they feed again and you are there.
i would buy used equiptment from people you konw or trust.
i would make my own stuff also i wouldnt pay 400 for a sump with bio balls and over flow i would make my own it would be a lot cheeper in the long run
i would look on line and at the lfs for the price b4 u buy it
well that is my 2 cent hope it helps
or in the long run you can buy a high deff tv and dvd player and get them dvd with the reef in it that why you will not look like a crack head buying all this fish stuff b/c once you start you get hooked lol

 

[invertcrazy]

First-- welcome
imo-start out with the size tank you feel comfortable with
have a plan of what you want to do-fish only --reef --mixed reef etc. certain things you will need better lighting for such as corals and anemones. also your filtration is very important.watr flow and water conditions.
PATIENCE- don't rush-take your time and do it right the first time.
read -read and read and when you think you are done reading read some more
there is alot of great information on this site and if you can't find an answer to your question just ask- I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction

 

[wfd1008]

research things more and not just take the word of the people at the fish stores. all the money i flushed down the drain, thinking about it makes me want to kick my own butt.

 

[sepulatian]

Welcome to the boards!! Your tank size is fine. The number one mistake that people make is adding fish too early. You will cycle the tank, then get a bloom of diatoms. They get gross looking before they go away. Then you will get other kinds of algae. It is perfectly normal. Go SLOW with stocking the tank. Wait for the diatoms to be over then add a cleanup crew. Some add them before the diatoms are over. Very few inverts eat diatoms. They wipe right off of the glass and will subside by themselves. Fish, and many inverts, have a hard time with fluctuations that occur when a tank is new. Under four months is considered new. Take your sweet time stocking the tank! Set up a quarantine tank. This keeps bad things out of your display and allows new fish, once you have fish, to become accustomed to eating your food without competition. The QT is important for success.
Here is a link to what you want https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/200520/whats-the-1st-thing-you-wish-you-had-known

 

[aquaguy24]

things i will never do agian are..cycle with damsel and never buy ready made saltwater from lfs...oh and kill any aiptasia i see asap..

 

[morval]

get a reef ready tank
dont use crushed coral
get a sump at the beginning
get a QT in the beginning
buy a good quality skimmer

 

[teresaq]

I wish I had bought good lights.
T

 

[morval]

i knew i forgot somthing...get good lights im now on my 3rd set should have just saved up once

 

[salt210]

research, don't buy damsels, research and spent money on a better skimmer

 

[oceansidefish]

I would have set up a tank completely from scratch. That way you wont have anything you are unhappy with. Also would have gone bigger. Now I have bought a house and a new tank is at the bottom of the list.

 

[lovethesea]

go fish only right out of the gate.(versus reef) Get the comfortable with the care and character of the fish and tank in general. Then move up to reef a little at a time.
Also as stated above, NO crushed coral. Y U C K !! What a mess that was.

 

[jerryatrick]

Wish I hadn't filled the tank with tap water as I still am showing a little phosphates when I test my water parameters.
I also wish I had filled the tank with RO water, then added all the LR at once and lastly added the sand.
I added the sand then tap water and lastly added the LR. I fear a collapse of my LR in the future.

 

[subielover]

In the stickies at the top, there is a thread just like this. Just to let you know.

 

[maryg]

I wished I could of started with a 55gal. But $$$$ was a issue. I started with a 12 gallon then a 29 gallon. I want at least a 50 gallon. Maybe Santa will get me one. I have been a good girl. I will probably sell the 12 gallon. I have to do weekly water changes.