I want to start a reef aquarium but...

Hi, well, as the title say, I want to start a reef aquarium but something in my mind is saying maybe it's not like I think it is.
I like a lot my freshwater tanks coz I can interact with it, and everything it happens I fix it with no expending money coz I like to understand what happens and whats is wrong, like a big fish nerd, So I say myself I can have a reef aquarium I know how to make the lights, I have a way to buy RO water, thinking more about what means have a reef aquarium means, I ask, How much of ur reefs you can say I'm proud of it, without say at the beginning I bought it or I buy it, u got it, how much is think and how much is spend money?

Its a serious question, I have been watching videos on YT and asking in my facebook what their aquariums have, and starts like , I have a radeon 1000 bucks ligth , I have 3000 bucks in coral , I have 200 bucks in pukanI reef live rock , and is more like they are proud of the brand of their instruments more than his own work.

 

I had a few marine tanks, and all became algae infested...in retrospect, probably because they were overfed. I eventually gave them away. I have periodically considered trying again, but the possibility of another expensive failure (I have never had thousands of dollars to blow) has held me back.

 

Maybe just build a fresh water Limestone reef & keep African Cichlids.
Local Rockyards usually sell it cheap.

 

I had a 75 gallon reef tank fully stocked with all the fixing I had about $8,000 into it.
Depends on tank size a lot and what you pick out. You can buy a $20.00 or a $1,000 coral.

 

in my experience, you get what you pay for with most equipment. You can always pickup budget friendly options but they may not be as long lived and as good quality as some of the name brands might be. For example, I picked up an inexpensive reef light on amazon for my first tank. It was not easy to customize, felt chinzy, and quite frankly was ugly. I decided to cough up a few hundred for a mid range light, and I not only got a fantastic quality light that grows corals like mad, I also got the incredible customer service that company provided if I had any issues with my light. Besides, corals are not cheap for the most part so would you want to have the success of your reef lie in the hands of something that may or may not be reliable?

While I know its not a option for all people, sometimes its less about being as cheap as possible and more about supporting a company that you like working with and going with equipment that is tried and true to produce results.

I will say that keeping a reef tank can be somewhat budget friendly but you may have to spend money to fix issues that occur. I for one have spent a pretty penny on testing kits alone because the key to success with corals is rock solid stability. I have spent money on automated dosers and top offs because that helps keep your macronutrients and salinity stable.

I guess my point in this novel is that there are things worth shelling out for for various reasons and other things that can help you save money.

One thing that has saved me money is making my own RODI water, not buying it like you have mentioned above.

As for coral worth, its all relative to demand and what you want to spend. I have cheap frags that I simply love because of their colors, and triple digit frags that I can easily pass over because I don't find them to be that nice looking.

All things said, even with fancy equipment, designer corals and whatever else you can throw money into in this hobby, a thriving reef tank is NOT easy and requires diligence and dedication I have included my own tank below for your reference. Yes I spent money on this, but that does not negate the work it took to get it to this point and YES I am quite proud, given that I have only been doing this for 2 or so years.

 

in my experience, you get what you pay for with most equipment. You can always pickup budget friendly options but they may not be as long lived and as good quality as some of the name brands might be. For example, I picked up an inexpensive reef light on amazon for my first tank. It was not easy to customize, felt chinzy, and quite frankly was ugly. I decided to cough up a few hundred for a mid range light, and I not only got a fantastic quality light that grows corals like mad, I also got the incredible customer service that company provided if I had any issues with my light. Besides, corals are not cheap for the most part so would you want to have the success of your reef lie in the hands of something that may or may not be reliable?

While I know its not a option for all people, sometimes its less about being as cheap as possible and more about supporting a company that you like working with and going with equipment that is tried and true to produce results.

I will say that keeping a reef tank can be somewhat budget friendly but you may have to spend money to fix issues that occur. I for one have spent a pretty penny on testing kits alone because the key to success with corals is rock solid stability. I have spent money on automated dosers and top offs because that helps keep your macronutrients and salinity stable.

I guess my point in this novel is that there are things worth shelling out for for various reasons and other things that can help you save money.

One thing that has saved me money is making my own RODI water, not buying it like you have mentioned above.

As for coral worth, its all relative to demand and what you want to spend. I have cheap frags that I simply love because of their colors, and triple digit frags that I can easily pass over because I don't find them to be that nice looking.

All things said, even with fancy equipment, designer corals and whatever else you can throw money into in this hobby, a thriving reef tank is NOT easy and requires diligence and dedication I have included my own tank below for your reference. Yes I spent money on this, but that does not negate the work it took to get it to this point and YES I am quite proud, given that I have only been doing this for 2 or so years.



View attachment 681188

That’s how I like tanks to look. I love that tank.
I completely agree you can spend $50,000 tomorrow but if you don’t have the knowledge, time, and dedication to keeping it up you won’t succeed.

 

I probably have about 4K into my 90 gallon but it is sparsely populated with coral for the time being (although I am slowly working on that). A person can save a ton of money by simply getting single head frags and letting them grow out. Yeah, you won't get the instant gratification factor but you get to watch them grow and develop over time and grow into colonies.

I am currently doing a reef roids experiment on my tank and here is the before dosing shot: