Looking for a good beginner saltwater tank. Any ideas?

[TrevorL]

I’ve always wanted a saltwater tank and I’m finally getting around to it. Looking for an easy tank to grow coral and keep fish in. My price range is anywhere from $200-$300 for the tank. I’m willing to spend more on filters and lights.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello and welcome to R2R. Not much to spend on a quality system but it can be done. by the way, you said "I'm finally getting around to it." that made me reminisce...Hope you find the tank.

 

[SoggyNW]

The first place to start is reading around the forum and getting a feel for what you like.

The trick with salt water and especially coral is that the smaller a tank is the harder it can be to keep because the water parameters change faster. On the flip side the bigger you go the more it costs.

To give an example my tank is 40 gallons which is as small as most people recommend for a beginner. Between tank, pumps, lights, filtration, and heating I have close to a thousand dollars into this and I'm sticking to " budget" items.

I think the sweet spot for a beginner on a budget such as yourself is to keep an eye out on Craigslist or Facebook market place for a larger biocube tank or other all in one option. They will be the most plug and play option requiring the least amount of extra expenditures

 

[New&no clue]

Innovative Marine, JBJ or Biocube make small all-in-one tanks.

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Coralife LED Biocube Aquarium LED Amazon product

however, is you budget $200-300 all in or just the tank. You will also need lights(for the innovative marine), power heads, heater, filtration, rock, & sand so probably between $500-1,000 depending on what you want.

 

[Dabcrusher]

I’ve always wanted a saltwater tank and I’m finally getting around to it. Looking for an easy tank to grow coral and keep fish in. My price range is anywhere from $200-$300.

my first taank in that prive range was a innovative marine nuvo 20 nice tanks 200$ plus salt and rock or buy used on a facebook group in your area

 

[Easy Reefing]

What kind of fish and coral are you planning to keep ?

 

[schneidergarrettt60]

I think after reading the post that the op is saying the tank alone could be 200-300 since then they talk about spending more on lights but I could be wrong.
I started out with a nano cube aio and it was pretty simple and a smaller tank only 24 gallons good luck

 

[Mark Bradley]

When I was looking to set my reef up, for various reasons, it had to be delayed for several months. I used this time, due to some constraints, to purchase a piece of equipment every month - whilst it wouldn't have been my first choice to delay it has resulted in my having a much better system. I'm sure tanks can be set up on a tight budget but when you get 'hooked' I wonder whether a bit of extra patience gives a better outcome in the long run. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[schneidergarrettt60]

I will agree with this post. I have been buying gear over several years in increment to set up a reef tank to try to be more budget friendly trying to get good deals and that way it is not all at once as I think my wife would kill me as well haha so it has been a long slow road but I am almost there. Good luck buy quality the first time around so you don't waste money upgrading a month later.

When I was looking to set my reef up, for various reasons, it had to be delayed for several months. I used this time, due to some constraints, to purchase a piece of equipment every month - whilst it wouldn't have been my first choice to delay it has resulted in my having a much better system. I'm sure tanks can be set up on a tight budget but when you get 'hooked' I wonder whether a bit of extra patience gives a better outcome in the long run. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[Mmun]

I’ve always wanted a saltwater tank and I’m finally getting around to it. Looking for an easy tank to grow coral and keep fish in. My price range is anywhere from $200-$300 for the tank. I’m willing to spend more on filters and lights.

Look to buy the largest tank you can afford. The bigger the tank the more forgiving it is with water chemistry and fish harmony. Look at certain fish that you like, research and see what they need. Most of us on here start out small and get a larger tank very soon afterwards.

 

[Wen]

I started with a biocube and it was great for me as a beginner. It had all the equipment needed to get started, lid kept fish in and evaporation down, and as a beginner it’s best to start with softies and lps anyhow...pair of clowns. Easy peasy!
Highly recommend it.

 

[Mark Bradley]

Look to buy the largest tank you can afford. The bigger the tank the more forgiving it is with water chemistry and fish harmony. Look at certain fish that you like, research and see what they need. Most of us on here start out small and get a larger tank very soon afterwards.

People are entitled to their own opinion but I, personally, have always struggled with this concept - the bigger the tank the longer things take to do i.e. my 170 takes very little time to water change and housekeep the other equipment (i.e. skimmer, reactors etc). When I had a much bigger tropical tank it was so much more time consuming. I also have never looked for the tank to be 'forgiving' - good husbandry will make this a requirement that isn't needed imho.

 

[New&no clue]

People are entitled to their own opinion but I, personally, have always struggled with this concept - the bigger the tank the longer things take to do i.e. my 170 takes very little time to water change and housekeep the other equipment (i.e. skimmer, reactors etc). When I had a much bigger tropical tank it was so much more time consuming. I also have never looked for the tank to be 'forgiving' - good husbandry will make this a requirement that isn't needed imho.

I'm newer, less than a year, and this was the advice always given to me... bigger is better. However, after being in it for a while I have to agree that sometimes it's not. Small can be nice maintenance wise, setup wise, and cost wise. While parameter swings take more time, so does everything else. If your maintenance is not on point your tank will struggle just as mush as if you had inconsistency with water.

Now, don't get me wrong I'm happy I went with something bigger, but I think people should take on what they feel comfortable maintaining. If you want to do a big tank do it, there are definite benefits to going that route. If you want to start with a small tank do it, there are definite benefits to that as well.

 

[Indytraveler83]

+1 on the bigger isn't always better scenerio.

You want to start big enough that water parameters can't turn in an instant (my 5 gallon planted pico tank is harder to maintain than my 90 gallon reef), but not so big that costs and the time to maintain it are a huge step.

I would reccomend a tank in the 40-75 gallon range. Big enough to keep water parameters stable, small enough to afford. Stick with a standard shape, as bowfronts, corner and column tanks can have unusual flow, lighting and maintanence needs that a beginner doesn't need to worry about.

If you can, the 40 gallon breeder and standard 75 gallon tanks are a wide, shallow shape that makes reef lighting and aquascaping much easier.

Also, try to go with a reef ready tank, if at all possible. My first tank wasn't reef ready, and I spent more buying, replacing and again replacing filters and HOB overflows to get my filtration right than if I'd just went reef ready with the sump from the start.

Used systems can be your friend. A lot of private LFS sell used systems for cheap, and you can find them all over online.

 

[TrevorL]

What kind of fish and coral are you planning to keep ?

I’m looking to probably keep some clown fish and start out with soft corals to get the hang of things.

 

[BigRedReefer MT]

I would wait for the buck a gallon sale from Petco that they have about 3 times a year in my area (Montana). That would get you a 40 breeder tank for inexpensive. They also do 50% off on the larger tanks at that time. That would get you a display and sump for about half of your current budget. Then the other half could be used on an overflow kit and some diamond hole saw bits to install the overflow.

 

[BigRedReefer MT]

Tons of videos on YouTube about drilling your own tank, so lots of help and guidance there.

 

[schneidergarrettt60]

I like the 40 gallon breeder. Never have had one but the foot print seems nice. Not too deep where you need a crazy expensive light. Able to get good flow. And i don't know if they still are included in the 1$ a gallon sale that petco does but that is when to get it if they do. And if you are handy you can build your own stand. This would come out to bring less than the 300 you are looking to spend I think

 

[Easy Reefing]

I’m looking to probably keep some clown fish and start out with soft corals to get the hang of things.

My first tank was a fluval evo 13.5 . I love it because it’s an all in one and u can hide your heater and filtration . The stock light isn’t too bad either for softies. I’ve upgraded a lot on mine tho because I wanted to some SPS. My only downside now is that I’m running out of room and now want to upgrade lol

 

[klimfish]

The more you can do yourself the cheaper and nicer things will be. I mean things like drilling your own tank, building your own stand, doing your own hard plumbing, building your own custom sump out of a 20L. I really think a 40 Breeder using the above things I mentioned with a ghost overflow is an amazing way to start. Find your local reefing facebook group and post to see if anyone can help you drill the tank. Great way to meet people and local reefers have been some of the most generous people I have ever met.