Hello Everyone! I've wanted a saltwater tank all my life, but as a "Navy brat" and then with my own career in the U.S. Navy, it wasn't practical. Now that I'm retired from the Navy and now have a steady civilian job, my wife has given me the OK to move forward with our first reef tank. I'm really attracted to the Red Sea Max C-250 and have enjoyed reviewing several recent posts, such as Roy Page's chronicle of his experience. So I'm ready to get started myself, but perhaps with a smaller tank at first. Anyhow, I look forward to being part of this community. Thank you!
Ready to get my feet wet
- Thread starter Gooey
- Start date
to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics
I started with a RSM 130D to see if I could have success... having had great success, I upgraded to a RSM 250D, if I knew what I know now, I would have started with the RSM 250 - hope this help - you will have success
Hi and welcome to RS!!! Friendly bunch of helpful folks here, feel free to ask any questions you may have! :swmfish:
As Glenn stated, be careful starting small. If you can afford the 250 and have room for it, I would go that way. It will keep you from upgrading in the near future.
As Glenn stated, be careful starting small. If you can afford the 250 and have room for it, I would go that way. It will keep you from upgrading in the near future.
and welcome.
Hi Gooey :hallo:
:welcomera WELCOME to Reef Sanctuary
I have to agree with the above posts and say that it's best to go with the 65gal if you can afford it.
Going with a 35gal. is very limiting as far as what you can put in it coral & fish wise. And if you have room, in the room you want a tank in, the RSM 250 looks FABULOUS! :snshne:
You can sink as much $$$ in a 35gal & only get 1/2 the fun & beauty, IMO.
Whichever one you decide to go with: JUST DO IT! it's a fantastic hobby.
Very BEST WISHES....:biker
:welcomera WELCOME to Reef Sanctuary
I have to agree with the above posts and say that it's best to go with the 65gal if you can afford it.
Going with a 35gal. is very limiting as far as what you can put in it coral & fish wise. And if you have room, in the room you want a tank in, the RSM 250 looks FABULOUS! :snshne:
You can sink as much $$$ in a 35gal & only get 1/2 the fun & beauty, IMO.
Whichever one you decide to go with: JUST DO IT!
it's a fantastic hobby. Very BEST WISHES....:biker
CubsFan4Life
Member
The bigger the better.
One very nice thing about the RSM 250 is the six (6) 39 watt T5s
reggaedrummin
Member
Hello and welcome! The bigger your tank, the less impact that an event will have on it. Things happen in this hobby, equipment failure, user error, and so-on and success come from stability.
The thought here is simple. If you, for example, have a fish die in your 30g, and its impact was to raise ammonia and the net result through the nitrogen cycle was an increase in nitrates to 60ppm, you'd have a real problem. That level could be toxic and could cause additional die off resulting in increased nitrates and leading to a tank crash. The same scenario in a 60g, assuming things were linear, would result in only increasing nitrates to 30ppm which is much more manageable. Your event, a fish death, would likely end there and not become a chain reaction.
I'm just using this as an example to illustrate the point. It's worth noting too that things are not always linear in this hobby so the differences in my example would likely even be greater.
Common mistakes include over feeding, over stocking, poor husbandry, equipment failure, impatience, haste/over reacting, and this hobby is riddled with bad advice.
You can eliminate a lot of those variables by researching carefully, seeking advice from reliable sources before taking action, and developing routines that you adhere to religiously, but a larger tank will be more forgiving as you learn.
Joeys Tank
Well-Known Member
^+1
Thank you all for the terrific advice. I think I am going to wait a bit longer to start so that I can make my first tank at least a Red Sea Max C250. It's the tank I have been wanting, but if I do go straight to that, I need to make it a 2015 purchase. Besides, it seems reasonable that perhaps there will be an LED option in the future. For now, I'll keep reading and learning. Thank you!