Any Aquarium hobbiest here

[Ironweb]

Just wondering if there is any other aquarium buffs around here. It is a passion of mine that brings me a lot of peace.

I have a 125 gallon reef tank. With 150 lbs of live rock and some nice pieces of coral and several fish. Anyone else share this hobby?

[Needtobeswoledup]

Idont have one right now but it interested me a lot... you have any pics ironweb? How much did that setup cost you? I'd like to get something for my house but have an extremly tight budget.

[BUYLONGTERM]

Just wondering if there is any other aquarium buffs around here. It is a passion of mine that brings me a lot of peace.

I have a 125 gallon reef tank. With 150 lbs of live rock and some nice pieces of coral and several fish. Anyone else share this hobby?

I use to have a 125 gallon salt water tank that I sold a long time ago. A really good buddy of mine just built a custom 550gallon tank. It's pretty agressive with Triggers (Niger, Clown, Huma, Queen, etc) He's got 3 nice size eels, a couple of Ras's, Groupers, some cool rare fish, and just yesterday we bought the coolest fish of them all. A Baracuda! I miss the hobby, but I guess I'm living it through my buddy.

[Ironweb]

Sounds like a cool tank. A very aggresive tank. I take it he will not be placing corals in his tank.

Give it time you will be getting another one. Once the bug bites you it is hard to get rid of it.

[monster.]

I'd like to get one in the near future, very relaxing if you ask me.. Growing up we had 3 saltwater tanks with the live coral, loads of aggressive fish.. When i buy my first house it will defintley be an idea..

[IronCy]

I started a post on this a while back, im looking into starting a sw tank...i have been reading up as much as possible....I think sw fish are the coolest...I got some usefull info from buff, and mj says he has a sw tank as well....im still waiting on some pics....
-Cy

[daman1]

Just wondering if there is any other aquarium buffs around here. It is a passion of mine that brings me a lot of peace.

I have a 125 gallon reef tank. With 150 lbs of live rock and some nice pieces of coral and several fish. Anyone else share this hobby?

My mother has a 225 gallon aquarium with some pretty cool exotic fish. My favorite is the lionfish.

[Ironweb]

SW tanks are the best. If you want to learn more about them go to reefcentral http://www.reefcentral.com/. This board is the AR of saltwater aquariums. Tons of information.

[Ironweb]

My mother has a 225 gallon aquarium with some pretty cool exotic fish. My favorite is the lionfish.

Lionfish are cool. Just hard to get them to eat frozen food. They like their food live.

[QbHunter]

Post pics Iron!!!

[IronCy]

im waiting for others to post pics...I dont have a tank yet...but hopefully soon...and dont worry, as soon as i have something to take pics of, I will be breaking out the dig cam.......reefcentral is a great site...you should also check out www.saltwaterfish.com
-Cy

[Ironweb]

glad you brougnht up this topic. i'm about to buy a house and want a salt water, i've had freshwater mhy whoel life, just scared about the startup cost and maintenance. Other than the tank how much am i looking at to start a saltwater aquarium?

It all depends upon what type of set-up you want. Reef tanks are more expensive because of the lighting and rock that you have to purchase. However it is the best type imo. You are limited in the type of fish you can purchase but they become secondary to the corals anyway.

What size and type are you wanting?

[Ironweb]

Post pics Iron!!!

I don't have a digital camera but I will take some pics and get them put on a disk and post them.

[Ironweb]

Thanks for the site IC have not check that site out.

[IronCy]

no prob, I think that site is where i will purchase my live rock....which is one of the biggest expenses of this hobby....50lbs for $200 shipped via FE 2nd Day.
-Cy

[Dude-Man]

i play insaniquarium. does that count?

http://www.freshpulp.com/fishtank/fishtank.html

[QbHunter]

thats the best game ever!!

[zx7racing]

i cant believe i am feeding fish on a computer for entertainment

[IronCy]

talk about an addictive game@!
-Cy

[BUYLONGTERM]

i play insaniquarium. does that count?

http://www.freshpulp.com/fishtank/fishtank.html

Thanks to this **** game, I haven't done crap all day!!! You've ruined my life!!!!

[Vice]

I'll definetaly start this hobby in the near future.

Out of curiousity, how much would a tank like this go for?

[IronCy]

The tank itself is probably $2000-3000 depending on glass/acrylic, reef ready or not....and Im guessing low....the stand is probably another $1000-2000...then you got all that rock, if it was "live rock" which it looks to be, live rock costs about $5 per lb on the internet, about $7-$10 at a local fish store....looks like hes got at least 300lbs, i cant tell if he has live sand or crushed coral for the bed, live sand is approx $2 per pound on the internet, $5 per pound at a local store....prob has 200lbs in there...then you got filtration, he prob has 2 under tank sumps, each $300-$500 depending on the quality of the return pumps...prob has a protein skimmer as well, theres another $300-$500...then finally you get to your fish....so, my guestimate would be that tank costs about...$7000--then you get to buy the fish......woohoo....I still wonder why I want to get into this hobby.
-Cy

[Vice]

Yeah it's pricey, But I think it's worth it, one day, one day

I've been looking at a few pics online, and that's probably the best 'visibility' I've seen in a tank, the others have blue lighting and stuff and the tank doesnt look as apealing as that one does, is there certain ways to get it clearer?

[IronCy]

filtration is key...good lighting is key, and very expensive!!!!!!!
-Cy

[Vice]

I'd be content starting off with something smaller like this 54 gallon tank.
How much roughly for this?

[STUCKUP]

i play insaniquarium. does that count?

http://www.freshpulp.com/fishtank/fishtank.html

That is totally the best game ever. That helped me forget about at least a month of work.

[IronCy]

smaller tanks dont cost as much to setup, less rock, less sand...but you still have to buy filtration and a protein skimmer, they will be smaller models so they will cost less as well, so yes, you can cut initial costs by going small...the problem with corner tanks is that their isnt much swimming room, most sw fish need room to move...most suggest a tank with at least a 4ft length...so you are really limiting the # and species of fish in a corner tank...your looking at maybe 4-5 smaller fish....sw keepers recommend 5gl per inch of adult fish...
I have been looking to get the biggest tank that comes in a 4ft length, b/c i dont have room for more...you can get a 120gl thats 48"x24"x24"...i want to be able to keep a couple medium/lager fish, as well as a few others...if you want a variety of fish, buy the biggest tank you can afford....
the way that i look at it is this....you gonna have to pay out the ass for the setup of any size tank, and only going to get to keep a limited # of small fish in a smaller one...i say spend the extra money and get something you will be happy with. most say its easier to maintain a larger tank...its more forgiving when trying to regulate changes in water/temp/chemical levelss...think of it this way, it would be harder to regulate a shot glass, as compared to a biggie size cup from wendys

btw that tank looks like a freshwater tank.
-Cy

[Ironweb]

IC has some very good points on size of tanks. Sounds like you have some good knowledge of sw tanks. The bigger the better. Mine is 6 feet long. The 120 gallon show tank he is talking about is a nice tank.

Now my tank did not cost nearly as much as IC was stating. I watch the paper and got my tank, stand and canopy for $350.00. I painted the entire set up black including the back of the tank. It was not even a year old and did not have one scratch on it. If I had bought it in the store it would have cost me much more. I also got 2 404 fluval canister filters with the tank. I got a hell of a deal no doubt.

I do not have an overflow box on my tank because the tempered glass would most likely break while trying to drill holes. So I had to be creative on how I set it up. I did not want any of my equipment showing so I built, out of blk plexy, a 3 side 24"x2" box with an open bottom. I silicon it to the upper corner of the tank and placed my heater, pump for my protein skimmer and a pump for water movement behind it inside the tank. I plumbed the pump into a 3 way splitter and have two heads pointing towards each other at each end of the tank. I cut the intake short on both fluval filters and built a small 5"x2" overflow box that both are placed in and out of view. I have one return pointed straight towards the front of the tank on top. The other return I have running straight down to the bottom of the back of the tank with a Tee creating curent behind the rock in two directions.

I bought my rock in bulk and paid $3.00 a Lb. It was prime fuji rock with a ton of coraline alge on it (live rock is the best way to cycle your tank). It depends upon where you live (I live in CA) but if you buy more than one box (a box is considered 50 lbs of rock) then you can get a discount from you local supplier or internet supplier. Do not buy live sand it is way too expensive IMO. I bought 200 Lbs of crushed coral sand and it cost me $120.00. By the way the sand will become live in about 6 months or so. My lighting is 4 compact florescent lights. I have 2 blue and 2 50/50 white lights. Each light is 96 watts and has about 10 k Kelvin rating. I wanted this type of lighting because it does not run as hot and I did not want to buy a chiller. It cost me $500 dollars. I waited until I found it on a promotional sale. I have 6 moon lights included in the system. This is totally cool because when my lighting goes off the lights immolate the moon, thus creating a natural 24 hr type of environment. My protein skimmer cost me $100.00 that I found on sale. In total I put my tank together for about 2 grand. I had an empty tank sitting around for about 8 months until I got everything together.

The most important thing you need for filtration is your rock. There is nothing on the market that is better than rock. Some people will argue that is all you need. The reason we call it live rock is because of the nitrifying bacteria that lives on the rock. That is the key to a healthy balanced tank. Many people have sumps that only have a protein skimmer and heater in them. No bio balls are needed or fancy filtration just plenty of live rock. The rock is your filter. The second most important aspect is good water movement for your corals. My tank is doing very well and thriving.

I have a friend coming over this weekend with his digital camera. I will take some pics of my tank and post them for you. I do have some pics of the plumbing that I will also add. The key is patients and it will happen. You do not have to spend more money than you have too. Peace

[mass junkie]

I'd be content starting off with something smaller like this 54 gallon tank.
How much roughly for this?

that tank and stand will run you about 450 bucks

[dellrugby]

I had 2 75's and a 55 wehn I lived on Isle of Palms in South Carolina. I caught the jevenle fish at the docks there in fall, so I had some cool looking Salt water fish, whtout the color. I usally caugt thinks like striped burr fish and file fish. I also got lucky a few ties and got things like a star gazer, sea robin, and a box fish. It really depended on the currents, I was always looking for Caribean species that were caught too far norht. I caugt a few spade fish too, they were really cool, liek angele fish with dark balck stripes. But they would get too big and become dingy. I coaugh schools of pamelleta jubeniles too, they were realyl pretty, but not very hardy. The cooles thing I had was a small stingray.

[mass junkie]

I'll definetaly start this hobby in the near future.

Out of curiousity, how much would a tank like this go for?

probaly around 2000

[IronCy]

^^mass, you gotta be kidding me, are you saying $2000 for the entire setup, or $2000 just for the tank?....there is no way that setup only cost 2 grand
-Cy

[mass junkie]

^^mass, you gotta be kidding me, are you saying $2000 for the entire setup, or $2000 just for the tank?....there is no way that setup only cost 2 grand
-Cy

tank and stand

[IronCy]

mmmk, you must have connections, cause that is a big ass tank...240gal tanks go for about $1800 here, plus the stand.
-Cy

[mass junkie]

mmmk, you must have connections, cause that is a big ass tank...240gal tanks go for about $1800 here, plus the stand.
-Cy

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/index.php?

If you take your aquariums as serious as you do your lifting

[IronCy]

i prefer www.saltwaterfish.com or
www.reeflounge.com or
www.zoosrus.com

but I hang out there too! Now post some **** pics!!!!!!
-Cy

[mass junkie]

i prefer www.saltwaterfish.com or
www.reeflounge.com or
www.zoosrus.com

but I hang out there too! Now post some **** pics!!!!!!
-Cy

I'll show you mine if you show me yous...lol

[IronCy]

lol...i knew it would somehow get to this!

[Vice]

The one I posted is only 54 gallons ppl!

[mass junkie]

def not the 1st one........probaly the 2nd one