BIG TANK SETUP

Marine Aquatics can build you a tank. Click on the blue button on the left of the screen "Local Pet Stores" to get their number.

I agree with Shane, particularly if you are setting up a big tank, going with freshwater and converting to salt water will require more time and expense than just jumping in to salt whole hog.

with all the advice here you can start "slowly" with salt until you're comfortable and then start adding lots of livestock.


Edited by dnellans - November 30 2006 at 9:46am

starting a tank is fairly expensive, but its certainly cheaper than buying a bunch of freshwater equipment and throwing most of it away to convert to salt water.

i would suggest doing some more homework and realistically budgeting what you can afford before you decide you want a 350 gallon tank of either type.  big tanks aren't cheap period, and there is nothing worse than spending money on a big tank that you are unhappy with and spending more money to fix it (or convert it to salt water).

What were you planning fish-wise/live stock wise in the 350? 

It's your live stock that will determine what your spending habit will be.  I think David's on the money - research what you want then go from there, salt or fresh.

Plus you're going to folks who are biased on this forum - salt is the way to go here.  But if you're looking for freshwater forum, I suggest going to:
http://utahaquatics.com

Hope that helps!

Can you give me a ballpark figure on the cost of a salt water tank?

Shane H wrote: Can you give me a ballpark figure on the cost of a salt water tank?   I'd guess somewhere around $25 to $35 per gallon. But probably higher.

That can vary a lot depending on  a ton of factors (like live rock vs Utah rock).  Time is also a big factor, if you want it really pretty really fast (like tileman)  expect to pay more.  If you can piece it together over time, and like to watch the grass (corals) grow, you can save a lot of money. 

I figure if you are going to spend  some big $ on a custom tank, why not spend some $ filling it with good stuff and making it low maint with good equipment.

I think Shane's $25 to $35 is too low for a less to low maintenance saltwater reef system.

You may want to consider setting up a smaller tank <125 gallons (as small as 30 gallons would help you get started).  This way you can "get you feet wet".  After this tank has been setup you can start the planning for your larger system.  After you have a tank for a while (and have seen others) you will have a much better idea of how to setup your large tank.  In the end you will have a better setup for your large tank (probably saving you money in the end), and a 125 gallon to use as a sump, quarantine tank, or just another tank.

I concur with Jake as well, and it would be a good stepping stone for that 350 gallon beast.  Wait until you have to do water changes on 350 gallons plus or scrape coralline algae off the glass- pretty large task.

 

Also agreeing with Jake.

My first was a 15 gallon.  I made a lot of mistakes-- the good ones.  I climbed the learning curve, feel like I know enough to move on.  So I'm setting up a 29 gallon (keeping the 15 gallon for a different kind of tank ) and I don't think as much money will be wasted this time around.  Let's face it, I'll still make mistakes, but I think the biggest ones I've already made on the previous tank.

I know that small tanks have their downsides in salt water-- mainly stability (more water means more room for error) but the way I look at it is if you start small, and you decide you don't like it, you're not out very much.  I'd hate to see you get $6000 into a large tank setup and then decide you don't want to see it through to the end.  You'd waste soooo much money.

HTH