Very new, Help

Hi all,

I am considering starting up the hobby. Done a little reading and figured, ok lets dive a little deeper and see what its like.

First, I am a consultant, so I am not home Monday nights, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, and finally get home Thursday nights. So I would like to try to put something together that requires very little maintenance, prefferably by getting extremely synergystic species that do alot of their own clean up (tons of cleaner shrimp and things that eat algaes), I can make a little device that feeds the fish flake food as often as needed relatively easily, though nothing more intricate than that.

I was thinking about starting with the Oceanic 58 gallon tank to start with and do a reef build from the start.

Ideally I'd like an angel fish, a few clown fish, a few corals and anenomies, a few seahorses, and just a few other really bright colorful fish, and a bunch of janitor species.

My goal is to make the system as self sustaining as possible. Much appreciated for any links, readings, etc that you can provide.
~David

 

I was kinda in the same boat, wanting to be able to leave for a weekend and have everything be fine. And, I am still pretty new.

One comment I would add is to def look into a good ATO. I really underestimated the amount of evaporation I get. Also, since you'll be leaving it for a couple days, you might want to consider on with extra safety features (such as ability to shut off after a certian amount of time so you dont flood ect). That's my plan atleast

Also, I've been living by the book the conscientious marine aquarist

I'm sure they'll be a lot of input from people on 3reef. It's a GREAT resource!

 

Welcome to 3reef! First you need to know that reef aqauriums require almost constant care. For you one might be very hard to care for because of your availability, but it
can be done. First off there is a definate NO to the seahorses as they are hard to care for and they need special feedings at least 3 times a day. Next, you will probably not be able to care for an anemone because they are not easy creatures to care for at all even if you were home most of the week. Anemones also need occasional feedings of meaty foods. Next, angelfish you will have to be careful with because sometimes angelfish will decide to nip at coral. They are considered reef safe (with caution). I do not mean to be such a downer, but I think you need to do more research. Caring for a reef tank will NOT be easy to do if you are not home much of the week. I wish you luck, and I hope I could help!
JJL

 

That was actually very helpful. I guess what would help out ALOT, is what should I start researching and looking at? what kinds of corals, rocks, fish should I start researching? There is so much information out here its hard to sift through it and figure out what is useful to me.
Thanks,
~David

 

I'd start first with hardy and simple species.

Be sure you can get the results you want first before going on to more difficult things. I might also suggest taking the path I currently am. Start as Fish with live rock only (or in my case base rock). Then transition over to a reef once you feel like your system is mature and stable.

 

Ask yourself if I don't have alot of time do I have enough money? A system that can run for 3 days unattended is going to require alot of equipment. Skimmer $200+, Backup power supply $200+, Automatic Top-off system $100+, RO/DI system $200+, Auto Feeder $50+, Lighting timers $50+. Those are the basics not counting the necessities Tank, Stand, Lighting, Heater, Powerheads, Media reactors, Rock, Sand, Ground probe, Thermometer, Refractometer/Hydrometer, Salt mix, Misc scrubbers, Food, 2-3 powerbars and livestock. Do you have $1500 lying around burning a hole in your pocket? I hope this doesn't deter you but this can be an expensive hobby to start and even more when you get into automonous systems that fail while your away, however with that said it can be very rewarding and relaxing. My advice is to decide on a tank size, do alittle more reading/researching and pricing, and if you still want to get into it comeback with all your questions on equipment etc and we'll be glad to help you build the best you can afford. HTH