Helpful Reef Tank Hints and Tips For Beginners

When I started keeping a reef tank, there were no rules or tips to help us in what we were doing. Yes, I know that was a long time ago, and neither Fred nor Barney was any help whatsoever. If you have no idea who Fred and Barney are, I am old. Most of what we did was trial and error with a lot of mistakes. Fortunately, over the years, I have formulated some tips for beginners who are starting in this wonderful hobby to keep them from having the many failures I have had. The goal is to keep these beginners from things that may cause them to leave the hobby before seeing any success. Some of my tips may sound like clichés, but they are clichés because they are tried and true aspects of this hobby that work.

The first tip for anyone in the hobby, not just the newbies, but everyone, is to have patience, and if you don’t have it, you need to try and develop it. In 1986 at my first talk, I told the audience, “Nothing good happens fast in the hobby, and only bad things happen fast in your tank.” You never go to bed and have a tiny frag that you added turn into a big full colony overnight. But you can go to bed with a big colony looking great only to find you only have a frag of it left in the morning. While this hopefully is an exception and not the rule, patience is something that will serve you well in this hobby, especially as you start. Virtually everything in this hobby takes time and usually more than you expect it will. It takes time to plan the tank properly, time to cycle the tank, which you really can’t rush, time to acquire everything, and time to quarantine and acclimate it, and finally, time to let things grow. Nothing good I can think of during any of these processes occurs fast or even as fast as you think it should. So, the first rule for all beginners and everyone in this hobby is to develop patience and don’t think you can take a shortcut. Trust me, over the years, I have tried to rush many things, and I can’t think of a single time when I have done so when it has worked out well for the corals or me.

After patience, good planning is another essential for success, in my opinion. When setting up my 500-gallon tank 18 months ago, I took almost a year to plan everything out, which to my friends and family seemed insane. During the planning, I even built a replica of the tank out of 2X2s to see how it would fit and to make sure we could get it in the door and around the corner. While this may sound extreme, my planning on just about every detail has made setting up and running this tank easier than any other tank I have set up, despite being more extensive than most of my past tanks. Truth be told, though, despite all my careful planning, I did not do enough planning in terms of removing the old tank that was in the same room as the new tank, and as a result, I had to cut the tank apart and remove it piece by piece once this new tank was in place.

In terms of planning, some of what I consider fun things that need to be considered include: what size of the tank, where to place it, who will manufacture it, all of the equipment to be used, its cost, the time it will take to set up and maintain it, and what will go in it to name just some aspects that need to be planned for. In terms of mundane things that need to be prepared are: how traffic will go by it in the location I've chosen, are there adequate electrical outlets and is the electrical service enough, can the site hold the weight of the fully stocked tank, and how will the water get to and from the tank. After having planned dozens of tanks for myself and others, I am confident that no matter how much you plan, everything will cost more, take more time, and require more patience than you thought it would, so plan accordingly.

Before your planning is complete, you should read as much as you can about the hobby and, in particular, about the types of fish and corals you would like to keep. While there are some general rules of reef keeping that you need to understand and make part of your vocabulary, you also need to understand the specific needs of the fish and corals you plan on keeping. While the internet is an excellent source for information, I still suggest you get at least a couple of good introductory books to help you. These books will provide the basics on what you need to do and what you need to understand and will be an easy resource to pull out when trouble arises. The internet can then help answer specific questions that arise, and there are groups that you can join that can help when you start and as you progress in the hobby.

One last thing that should be considered during the planning process is making maintenance and any other task that needs to be done in the tank as easy as possible. My general rule is the more comfortable something is to do, the more likely it is to be done. If getting to a skimmer or filter or anything else requires the flexibility of a 14-year-old gymnast, the odds are that it will not get done as frequently as it should be compared to having it right in front of you. I realize we are stretched for space in many cases, so we need to jam everything we can into the cabinet under the tank or somewhere similar. However, if this cramming leads to some task being difficult to do or get at, this tank will not be done over time, which will become the weak spot for the tank. So, when planning, use the KISS method (keep it simple stupid).

As you gather information, another tip is to find a mentor, either online or via a club, local fish shop, or another way, who has a successful tank and follow their lead and listen to their input. Most people are more than willing to help beginners and share what they have learned. I know of few people who want others to fail, so having someone you trust to help you can help make things more comfortable as you start. Don't be intimidated that they know more than you. There is always someone that knows more, so use this knowledge as an asset rather than as a reason to be scared of asking a question or letting someone know you failed. I do not know of anyone in this hobby which has not had failures or has not lost corals. It is only a failure if we do not learn from it and try not to let it happen again. Every mentor knows this and usually will be happy to share these failures along with their successes.

As you are learning about the hobby, it will help a great deal if you have at least some understanding of biology and chemistry. Learning about how chemical processes are necessary will help immeasurably become successful and understand at least saltwater biology. You do not need degrees in these fields, but you should have a rudimentary understanding of how things work and why they are essential. Things you should know are the nitrogen cycle, pH, and the relative levels of alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity in the ocean and what they should be in your tank. A simple rule to remember is that biology takes time, but lousy chemistry can kill your tank's inhabitants fast. This is why a good tip regarding reef biology and reef chemistry is not to chase numbers. If any numbers are off, it usually took time for this to occur, and your fish and corals gradually got acclimated to these levels. So do not try to adjust them quickly as this will not give them time to readjust, and this rapid change is often enough to stress them and lead to an alarming occurrence. This again goes back to why patience is so necessary for this hobby.

Once you understand the basics and have someone in mind to help you, the first and most important thing to think about is what size of tank you want to have. Most people will tell you to get as big a tank as possible to start with. This is what everyone I have asked this question to had told me, even when I was just starting in saltwater in the early 1980s. The reason for this is that a larger tank is usually more stable than a smaller tank, and also, if you are successful, at some point, you will want a bigger tank. So, by starting with a bigger tank, you have already solved one problem. However, when starting today, I no longer think everyone needs to start with the biggest tank possible owing to how transient we all are and also how we now have a much better understanding of what is necessary to keep a tank successfully regardless of its size. I have tanks ranging in size from 40 to 500-gallons, and I enjoy them all equally. The smaller tank does require more "pruning" and management of aggression, but it is just as enjoyable to view as are my larger tanks. My one suggestion is that when choosing any tank, regardless of its size, try to select one wider than it is tall. This allows for greater surface area for gas exchange and more space for aquascaping, but in my experience, greater width also makes it easier to work in the tank and do maintenance. And as I mentioned above, the more comfortable something is to do, the more likely it will be done.

Once you have read and understood what you are getting into and have someone to help, the next tip to make things easier is to understand the equipment as much as you can. You don't need to have a degree in engineering to understand a protein skimmer, pumps and powerheads, and lights. Still, you should understand what each one does and the differences between different designs and manufacturers. Most lights, protein skimmers, or pumps are relatively similar. Yet, there are differences in cost, efficiency, and ease of maintenance so take these things into account as you learn about them. And while you don't need the most expensive equipment out there, you should understand that you do get what you pay for in this hobby, maybe even more than most. Another tip is to take the time to learn about some of the small pieces of ancillary equipment that are now out there that can save you a lot of time and headaches, such as automatic shutoffs that shut down water levels before they get too high in sumps, protein skimmers, or reservoirs. Nothing leads to stress more than flooding the main area or a house or a nice carpet. Again, learn about as much equipment as possible to make things easier and allow you less stress with your tank.

After you have done all of the above, the next tip is to do the least fun aspect of this whole "being a beginner" thing, budgeting. I would love to say it will cost you X for a tank of size Y and 2X for a size Z tank, but many variables determine the cost. On the positive side, once you have decided what specific equipment you want, you can go online and get a pretty good idea of what I consider the hardware, tank, pumps, lights, etc., will cost you. Once you have this number, I would add a 25% cushion to it because as you go, you will find other pieces of equipment that you just have to have that will make life easier and the tank better. Once you have this number, you may start to cut corners and get lesser equipment than the quality you originally wanted, but my tip is don't. If you set your tank up and do things right with the proper equipment, it will be up for a long time. I have many pieces of equipment for five or ten years that are still working great. Let's see what the cost is over time. Let's say you are looking at two protein skimmers. One that is easy to maintain and has excellent reviews is $800, while another that you think is comparable, but maybe more challenging to clean and maintain and does not have quite as strong of a review is $500. For my money, I'm expecting each to last 5-7 years. Over the average of that time, six years, the $800 skimmer costs $133 per year of use, while the $500 skimmer costs $83 per year. So, to me, there is a $50 per year difference in these skimmers, which, while not insignificant, is not that much. It would be more important to me if the $800 skimmer took 15 minutes to clean versus 30 or more for the cheaper skimmer, it would not be worth the savings. Or if the $500 skimmer lasted only five years instead of six, any savings are lost. All of these things need to be looked at when budgeting for a tank. In my opinion, I would instead save up and take my time and get the best equipment I could rather than getting lesser equipment with the idea I was saving money. The most expensive equipment you can buy regardless of price is equipment that breaks down easily or quickly or is time-consuming to maintain.

While budgeting for equipment is relatively straightforward, budgeting for livestock is a total crapshoot. The tip here for all beginners is you don't need to have the most expensive coral to have a beautiful, successful tank you enjoy. Also, you can get just as much enjoyment from a tank stocked with soft corals or LPS corals as you can from a tank stocked with named corals. I have different tanks stocked with all of these other corals, and they are all enjoyable. The best tip I can give regarding budgeting for the tank's livestock portion is to budget what you can afford and get the corals that you enjoy looking at. There are corals of every type now available, and the information to keep all of them successfully can be easily attained, so get what you can afford and enjoy. Also, know that unlike in the past, most of the corals you get now will be either small, frags or maricultured, so be sure to give them space to grow. Again, this relates to my first tip, the need for patience.

In terms of budgeting, one other thing needs to be considered – the budgeting of time. Having a reef tank is not like having a television where you just turn it on and watch. A successful reef tank takes time, and a fair amount of it if you will be successful. It takes time to research and set it up. It takes time to maintain it. And it takes time to sit back and truly enjoy it. If you shortchange yourself and your tank and do not budget time for all of these, you’ll likely not enjoy this hobby, and your tank, over time, will fail. I currently have six tanks, and I budget about 8-10 hours per week to work on them and spend time watching them. I can do some of the tasks like feeding, cleaning skimmers, or doing water changes all at once, which saves me time. If I only had one tank, I would budget 3-4 hours per week to maintain and feed it and just sit back and enjoy it. If you don't have this much extra time to budget for your tank, my tip is to enlist your significant other to help or automate more tasks that could increase the costs. I would advise you also to budget only enough of your time and money so that this hobby does not negatively affect your family. While having problems in your tank can take away time or hurt your family's budget every so often, it should not be a point of contention within your family.

The last tip that I wish I had known when I began this hobby and that is seldom given to beginners is to dip and quarantine everything. Many of my friends have spent countless hours and dollars trying to cure or solve problems that could have been rectified if we had prevented bad things from entering our tanks due to a lack of dipping and quarantining everything. From ick to Montipora eating nudibranchs or Acropora eating flatworms, a pest or parasite can wreak havoc on an unsuspecting closed system. Fortunately, experience has taught me that prevention is way easier than treatment for any reef malady. How new corals and fish are treated is an article all unto itself, but it should be a tip that every hobbyist newbie or oldster should follow.

While I tried to cover as many tips that I wish I had known when I started this article, there are undoubtedly many others that new people to the hobby would find useful. Hopefully, these provided at least a hint of some things that everyone can do to help be successful in this wonderful hobby.