First Reef

[365seasons]

If you've already got a 300G FW, I'd definitely aim bigger.


Go big or go home...
Wait...go as big as you can FIT in your home.

[bignose]

Obviously you know to research. Make and plan with your budget and stick with it. If this is going to be your first SW tank learn from it to see if it is something you like, if not get rid of it. Don't go balls to the walls.

[naesco]

I am with everyone else. Get the biggest one you can

[triggereef]

Agreed,, I went the with a 50 gallon at first and it was so
much harder so i scraped the idea and looked for a bigger
tank.. luckly a good friend was selling a 230.. its awesome
to have because since its quite big there is less chance of
it getting any sorts of deseases,, WAY better and more fun
then the 50 hah

so in the end bigger is better!

[BlueAbyss]

I'll be one of the few that disagree with the 'bigger is better' statement. I went with a 10 gallon because I am on a budget and wanted to 'test the water' so to speak (I know that's a terrible pun for those of us that do a lot of parameter testing )... I have plans for a 29 gallon but felt a need to go smaller with the first reef.

I'm interested in animals that would be lost in a large reef... Pom Pom Crabs, Sexy Shrimp, Pederson's Cleaner Shrimp etc... But the draw for a larger tank is more (and larger / fancier) fish, and I love the colorful fish. My 10 gallon will support 1 - 2 small fish... not great for a fish fancier. Since I'm more interested in invertebrates and corals and that sort of stuff, that's great... I can see the small stuff up close.

Every facet of this hobby is pretty great... I've seen impressive tanks as small as a few gallons! Smaller tanks take less things to fill them, but have less room to grow, plain and simple. Smaller tanks are more challenging to keep stable also... something I learned very well in the past 2 months since I started my tank.

Whatever you decide to do, Canreef is an excellent resource. Keep us posted, we all love pics!

[scherzo]

I've only had a SW tank for a short time. (relatively speaking). I've been doing the FW thing for a long while and have gotten quite "advanced".. I guess.(still learning though) as I've done the High Tech Planted thing.

Reefing seems to be similar to the high tech planted thing in terms of keeping things in close check and very well balanced.

I have a 29 gallon tank to start. I added a 20 gallon sump to try and keep things stable. Everything is running great! Parameters are pretty much level.. nitrates are 0.... phosphates are 0...etc..etc.

I'm going slow though. Stocking carefully and slowly. Feeding carefully... I'm having no problems at this point (knock on wood).

Nano seems to be working for me..

having said that.. I'm thinking of converting my 90 gallon into a reef tank.. I'm already cooking some LR just in case I decide to change that over.. the 29 has taught me a lot!

[oolichan]

Thanks for all the advice. It sounds like if I have the tank built I should go with a corner overflow.

To be honest the 45G was double what I was going to start with. I have a new 20G with a 15G for a sump that I was going to set up but felt that would be too small.

I'm actually suprised to hear that 45G is considered a nano!

The space I have available is in my kitchen and the footprint of the tank can't be any longer that 36". The space is deep though, 24" and ideally would have a height of 18" or less. That means max gallons would be a little less than 70 and to get to 70 I would need a custom build. Or I could get a 3' 50G and have it drilled.

Maybe I'll keep my eyes open for someone selling a custom tank close to those specs and if nothing comes up have the 45G or 65G tank built.