NB!! We actually recommend that all beginners have a sandbed. While you don't need a sandbed, it is more difficult not only to cycle the tank, but to keep your water parameters stable. So yes, while you could save a little bit of money, we recommend saving in other places and still purchasing the sand!
I’m glad you added this comment. In a smaller tank, especially for a beginner that sand bed is probably the difference between success and failure in a first tank!
@@DadHD My 55 salt tank in the ‘80’s had under gravel filters. Maybe not the best but sand was essential for good bacteria growth. Who knows maybe they’ll go back to UG filtration as an added benefit along with sumps
Its a shame this channel doesnt upload anymore. Hes so nice to listen to and the way he explane things is amazing and easy to understand. Wish you and youre family all the best. Greats from the Netherlands.
That’s the good thing about this hobby, you can build on a budget or spend the money for good quality equipment which Will last longer. Nice breakdown on the costs involved Matthew
You can buy a 5 gallon with a clown, coral pro salt, some good sand, maybe a light if needed and you're good. Luckily here in thailand you can buy a $50 tank stocked with two clowns, great sand, zoas, mushrooms, etc.
I noticed that reefers who have been in the hobby for years now consider $300 lights “affordable” lol I remember starting out and being like wth $300 that’s crazy ! Now I’m over here buying $500 lights without thinking twice about it lol
I truly never would have imagined how much some lights go for. I tried to go cheap on my first tank and bought a $100 Amazon reef light, I unboxed it and straight returned it... wasn’t even waterproof... since than I’ve just stuck to ai primes
Ha, I totally hear you. I remember starting in the hobby and thinking, "OMG, there is no way I can spend $1,000 on a tank!" And then last year I probably spend almost $10,000! So yeah, I guess our idea of expensive certainly changes!
Aww man I don’t know I have addiction I can’t control . I couldn’t wait for that beautiful nuvo to get in stock so I purchased the fluval evo 13.5 peninsula . Going to upgrade the light to a ai prime 16 like you suggested better return pump and mesh screen lid on top. My total cost at my build I’m at $470 that is including. Fluval evo 13.5 $146 petco online $230 AI prime $30 furniture stand $30 heater $60 sicce return pump (optional upgraded flow) Starting this build for my black storm clownfish I will ATTEMPT to breed see how this goes if I post a video I would love some feedback from you man I love you tubers I share builds and problems
@@Max-kd2gh yeah man I can consider this my own budget build same concept as the nuvo series tanks . AIO system with a few upgrades for my preference not needed though. Like the light I know can grow coral but I’m spoiled so I upgrade the light to a ai prime . Add excessive amount of bio balls for filtration and a bag of chemi pure elite. Upgrading the return pump is a preference I like more flow and water circulation . And honestly you have a honestly respectable reef tank
About your Clown Fish tank it's gonna take a lot longer to cycle because of the bare bottom and the dry rock you used. It's gonna take about 18 months to cycle.Bare tanks need to be cycled with real Live Rock.I've built bare bottom reef tanks before and it seems to cycle longer. I've been reefing since the early 90's. I know your involved with Marine Depot but you should really checkout BRS because Randy and Ryan have done bare bottom tanks and had all the same problems.
Get yourself a Goby (I believe). They hide in the sand with their heads sticking up watching people walking around. They'll pop down in the sand with their eyes looking out. CUTE!!! I don't care what anyone says love LOVE sand, some sift thru it eating as they are cleaning the top layer. It's their natural habitat!
Sorry for another question, but if you or community can help, my missus would appreciate it lol If a scratch doesn't catch your nail badly, can I get it out or reduce its visual impact with rubbing compound and a lot of elbow grease? £200 for reefer 250 vs £1100 new. this is my first tank but center piece in my new house. thanks again for all the help from your channel, the ai primes are really bright!
Great job as always! Much better than Beavis and Butthead on that "other" channel. Collectively you guys are hustling money, and it's cool, but summer is coming. What will you guys do then?
How do you use the Wi-Fi programmable power strip to your advantage? I can’t see the use besides doing lighting via Wi-Fi if the lights don’t offer app control-am I missing something?
Oh, I use mine sooooo much, like everyday. Let me count the ways. The first and foremost is for waterchanges. I press a button and everything turns off. Now lets go tank by tank. Fluval I use it to reset my ato when it starts beeping. Lux 90 I use it daily to turn off the protein skimmer while feeding REd Sea AB+. Not only that, but I set it on a timer to automatically turn the skimmer back on in one hour... that way I don't forget. Do the same for my breeder tank. Makes controlling your gear so easy, and makes it so you don't forget to turn things back on!
Hello sr with alll your advice I been successful with fish but corals I don’t know why the don open I bought different light I been adding few kinds of. Supplements what can I do petco say the water perimeter is find no amonia not nitren what can I do?
Good morning Alex. Corals can be a tricky thing. There are some corals that are really easy to keep and maintain and there are other corals that are almost impossible in a saltwater aquarium. You obviously need to choose an easy to maintain coral starting out. Corals crave consistency above anything else. So as long as your ammonia and nitrate levels are low, you want to try to keep the following in a healthy frame. Nitrate levels 3 to 5 ppm, but if it's a little bit lower or even up to 30 or 40 ppm some corals will be just fine. Phosphate somewhere between five and 15 ppm. Corals need some phosphate but if the levels get too high you'll just get a lot of nuisance algae growth. And then keep your calcium somewhere between 404 150 and your alkalinity somewhere between seven and 12. Consistency is the key. And you also need to make sure your light was designed to grow corals. Corals like a poor range from 25 to 350, with lower light corals preferring 25 to 150 and higher like corals preferring 200 to 350 Par
Wont recommended spending too much on rock if you are going the coral route because the coral will cover the rock sooner or later till you dont even see the rocks.... so yeaaa
Your videos are amazing, buying my bits in payday chunks. Do you think 2 AI primes will be OK to start a reefer 250, thought I can add a 3rd later If needed? (mixed reef goal) just bought 2 used for half retail price 👍
Yes, absolutely. The Reefer 250 Isn't a huge tank, but if I recall it's quite deep. I think it's around 50 gallons, so a bit bigger than my Clownfish harem tank, which has two AI Primes. Now you probably won't get a ton of par at the edges or bottom, but as long as you think about your scape it will be alright. And thanks for the kind words!
so yeah 12 KH.... if you buy coral from anywhere no one else will have that level and all of your new stuff is not going to like that change. Id go with the Blue bucket.
You know that's so interesting. I actually talked about it with Marine Depot, and they said their best selling salt was the coral pro. I used it for years and my corals did fine, but your point is well taken.
Recommending bare bottom for beginners? Nope Nope Nope. They're already in a rush and their cycling to going to take a lonnnng time. Also, if you're going to skip corners why not recommend using dechlorinated tap water?
Agreed with you. We're not recommending bare bottom for beginners, but it is a way to save money. But, you have a valid point, so I'm going to pin a comment at the top letting beginners know that we recommend a sandbed, so it is better to save money elsewhere.
For the last year in Australia 80% of the shops have been out of stock of SO much stuff. Im beyond over it. I have mostly been ok with it and found alternatives, but now I'm really annoyed and think its actually pretty audacious for Companies to sell a hobby that costs you 10k, that you find out a few months down the line is redundant or is impossible to resupply. Its by far one of the worst hobbies for that. The distributors dont care. Fighting chemistry is an art and there are tested results. Retail on the other hand, is the bane of existence. They create embargoes and then dont even supply. I want to get a Python Vac, you cant get them here. USA guys arent allowed to sell to Aus bc Distro rules. Aus guys dont get them in at all. Using the odd places I dont shop from, will cost about $160USD. Its a plastic tube and a hose. Id rater eat a bullet than swallow that rubbish.
@@MyFirstFishTank It wasnt a joke, it was a figure of speech. It may have been brash, so I apologise. Personally I think a lot of comedians suffer from suicidal mind frames and use humour to combat it. I might just be better suited to other audiences.
Ha, I hear you. I started with Red Sea, and looked down upon API for a long time. But honestly, it has grown on me, and you can't beat it for the price! And the solid plastic packaging is a huge bonus!
I never test. useless. You people are too much about testing, testing, testing, but when fish die -- "my parameters are good." You always seem to miss out on the basic fundamentals rather than specifics
You guys do NOT need this ok I have a 10 gal tank saltwater and it runs fine under 200$ tank was around 30 with a filter and lights sand was around 8$ rocks were around 20$ water was 30$ heater was about 19$ two clowns worth 15$ each a coral banded shrimp 19$ and a green crab 9$ and ofc you can always add on later
He's right... You don't need this. These two tanks are not budget builds. Please check out other budget build options on UA-cam or visit our website for our budget build. myfirstfishtank.com/how-to-cheap-saltwater-aquarium/
Well, you can do it for a lot less. I could build you a small saltwater aquarium, 20 gallons, for under $300 easy! I know that's still a lot, but way more affordable!
NB!! We actually recommend that all beginners have a sandbed. While you don't need a sandbed, it is more difficult not only to cycle the tank, but to keep your water parameters stable. So yes, while you could save a little bit of money, we recommend saving in other places and still purchasing the sand!
Someone show me the ocean floor that is flat with no sand.
I’m glad you added this comment. In a smaller tank, especially for a beginner that sand bed is probably the difference between success and failure in a first tank!
@@DadHD My 55 salt tank in the ‘80’s had under gravel filters. Maybe not the best but sand was essential for good bacteria growth. Who knows maybe they’ll go back to UG filtration as an added benefit along with sumps
Having a sand bed IMO is more aesthetically pleasing and it also adds another layer of beneficial bacteria
@@RogueAquariums In my opinion sand gives more physical stability to rock instead pressure points on a few areas on the glass
Its a shame this channel doesnt upload anymore.
Hes so nice to listen to and the way he explane things is amazing and easy to understand.
Wish you and youre family all the best.
Greats from the Netherlands.
If only this was out when first started great idea Mathew 😀👍🏴
Thanks Andrew!
Right in time for my stimulus check, tempting!
dang right!
Seems I did my research right! I just went with Waterbox Pen 25 to start
Nice, that is such a gorgeous tank!
That’s the good thing about this hobby, you can build on a budget or spend the money for good quality equipment which Will last longer. Nice breakdown on the costs involved Matthew
:-)
You can buy a 5 gallon with a clown, coral pro salt, some good sand, maybe a light if needed and you're good. Luckily here in thailand you can buy a $50 tank stocked with two clowns, great sand, zoas, mushrooms, etc.
I noticed that reefers who have been in the hobby for years now consider $300 lights “affordable” lol I remember starting out and being like wth $300 that’s crazy ! Now I’m over here buying $500 lights without thinking twice about it lol
Haha. You get what ya pay for
I truly never would have imagined how much some lights go for. I tried to go cheap on my first tank and bought a $100 Amazon reef light, I unboxed it and straight returned it... wasn’t even waterproof... since than I’ve just stuck to ai primes
Ha, I totally hear you. I remember starting in the hobby and thinking, "OMG, there is no way I can spend $1,000 on a tank!" And then last year I probably spend almost $10,000! So yeah, I guess our idea of expensive certainly changes!
Yeah, I love primes. A great light, and a decent price for what you get!
Still get $30 lights no problem.
Great vid 👍🏻
Thanks!
Aww man I don’t know I have addiction I can’t control . I couldn’t wait for that beautiful nuvo to get in stock so I purchased the fluval evo 13.5 peninsula . Going to upgrade the light to a ai prime 16 like you suggested better return pump and mesh screen lid on top. My total cost at my build I’m at $470 that is including. Fluval evo 13.5
$146 petco online
$230 AI prime
$30 furniture stand
$30 heater
$60 sicce return pump (optional upgraded flow)
Starting this build for my black storm clownfish I will ATTEMPT to breed see how this goes if I post a video I would love some feedback from you man I love you tubers I share builds and problems
Solid build at a low cost too!
@@Max-kd2gh yeah man I can consider this my own budget build same concept as the nuvo series tanks . AIO system with a few upgrades for my preference not needed though. Like the light I know can grow coral but I’m spoiled so I upgrade the light to a ai prime . Add excessive amount of bio balls for filtration and a bag of chemi pure elite. Upgrading the return pump is a preference I like more flow and water circulation . And honestly you have a honestly respectable reef tank
@@usafq- yes sir!
This is a great build you have going! Can't wait to hear about the clownfish breeding program!!
That all makes good sense to me!
first ahah! Excited to see this new build develop!
Sweet!!
Will quickly say that length can be an advantage for fish rather than a cube. It gives the fish more space to swim in a line.
yes, that is so true! You can actually keep more fish if you have a longer aquarium!
If I ever get my 180 I'm guessing it's gonna run me close to $10,000 by the time it's fish ready
Piss farther and make it 15k LoL 🤣
About your Clown Fish tank it's gonna take a lot longer to cycle because of the bare bottom and the dry rock you used. It's gonna take about 18 months to cycle.Bare tanks need to be cycled with real Live Rock.I've built bare bottom reef tanks before and it seems to cycle longer. I've been reefing since the early 90's. I know your involved with Marine Depot but you should really checkout BRS because Randy and Ryan have done bare bottom tanks and had all the same problems.
Actually, already cycled! Used some ceramic media and fritz turbo start!
Get yourself a Goby (I believe). They hide in the sand with their heads sticking up watching people walking around. They'll pop down in the sand with their eyes looking out. CUTE!!! I don't care what anyone says love LOVE sand, some sift thru it eating as they are cleaning the top layer. It's their natural habitat!
Sorry for another question, but if you or community can help, my missus would appreciate it lol
If a scratch doesn't catch your nail badly, can I get it out or reduce its visual impact with rubbing compound and a lot of elbow grease?
£200 for reefer 250 vs £1100 new.
this is my first tank but center piece in my new house.
thanks again for all the help from your channel, the ai primes are really bright!
Let's see. If you scratch glass, it's there for good. You can buff out acrylic. And that's a great price!!!
Great job as always! Much better than Beavis and Butthead on that "other" channel. Collectively you guys are hustling money, and it's cool, but summer is coming. What will you guys do then?
What do you mean Joseph? Thanks for watching!
How do you use the Wi-Fi programmable power strip to your advantage? I can’t see the use besides doing lighting via Wi-Fi if the lights don’t offer app control-am I missing something?
Oh, I use mine sooooo much, like everyday. Let me count the ways. The first and foremost is for waterchanges. I press a button and everything turns off. Now lets go tank by tank. Fluval I use it to reset my ato when it starts beeping. Lux 90 I use it daily to turn off the protein skimmer while feeding REd Sea AB+. Not only that, but I set it on a timer to automatically turn the skimmer back on in one hour... that way I don't forget. Do the same for my breeder tank. Makes controlling your gear so easy, and makes it so you don't forget to turn things back on!
Hello sr with alll your advice I been successful with fish but corals I don’t know why the don open I bought different light I been adding few kinds of. Supplements what can I do petco say the water perimeter is find no amonia not nitren what can I do?
Good morning Alex. Corals can be a tricky thing. There are some corals that are really easy to keep and maintain and there are other corals that are almost impossible in a saltwater aquarium. You obviously need to choose an easy to maintain coral starting out. Corals crave consistency above anything else. So as long as your ammonia and nitrate levels are low, you want to try to keep the following in a healthy frame. Nitrate levels 3 to 5 ppm, but if it's a little bit lower or even up to 30 or 40 ppm some corals will be just fine. Phosphate somewhere between five and 15 ppm. Corals need some phosphate but if the levels get too high you'll just get a lot of nuisance algae growth. And then keep your calcium somewhere between 404 150 and your alkalinity somewhere between seven and 12. Consistency is the key. And you also need to make sure your light was designed to grow corals. Corals like a poor range from 25 to 350, with lower light corals preferring 25 to 150 and higher like corals preferring 200 to 350 Par
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️
I’ve been eyeballing coral vault for some time. Hard to pull the trigger on online for me lol. I like to eyeball my stuff.
totally get that. At least their stuff is wysiwyg!
Very true! May have to give them a go!
Love the videos keep up the good work. but need to buy a quality microphone.
That's really funny, because I have two very high quality microphones. What is it about my sound that is not good?
This video seams to be mono and not stereo.
Wont recommended spending too much on rock if you are going the coral route because the coral will cover the rock sooner or later till you dont even see the rocks....
so yeaaa
That's a legitimate point, and a good one!
@@MyFirstFishTank I'm hearing lots on live rock. Look into it guys
Anyone with experience/ reviews of the Fluval Flex 32.5Gal?
Your videos are amazing, buying my bits in payday chunks.
Do you think 2 AI primes will be OK to start a reefer 250, thought I can add a 3rd later If needed? (mixed reef goal)
just bought 2 used for half retail price 👍
Yes, absolutely. The Reefer 250 Isn't a huge tank, but if I recall it's quite deep. I think it's around 50 gallons, so a bit bigger than my Clownfish harem tank, which has two AI Primes. Now you probably won't get a ton of par at the edges or bottom, but as long as you think about your scape it will be alright. And thanks for the kind words!
@@MyFirstFishTank Really appreciate the reply thank you.
Gonna watch series again 👍
so yeah 12 KH.... if you buy coral from anywhere no one else will have that level and all of your new stuff is not going to like that change. Id go with the Blue bucket.
Love me some blue bucket!
You know that's so interesting. I actually talked about it with Marine Depot, and they said their best selling salt was the coral pro. I used it for years and my corals did fine, but your point is well taken.
Will this tank be your seahorse one?
No, a bit too small.
SALES. SALES. SALES. Wait then order everything
Ha, I don't think I could wait!
Recommending bare bottom for beginners? Nope Nope Nope. They're already in a rush and their cycling to going to take a lonnnng time. Also, if you're going to skip corners why not recommend using dechlorinated tap water?
Agreed with you. We're not recommending bare bottom for beginners, but it is a way to save money. But, you have a valid point, so I'm going to pin a comment at the top letting beginners know that we recommend a sandbed, so it is better to save money elsewhere.
$1400 That's a stimulus package 📦 lol jk. That really good deal
Dang right, the perfect amount to spend your stimulus money on! I know I already spent min!
I bought 3000 copepods, a rose tip anemone, 6 frags of zoa, two moch storm clownfish and a mandarin dragonet 🤑
Really the api master test kit? I disagree for the pros and experts for a beginner yes better than not testing
For the last year in Australia 80% of the shops have been out of stock of SO much stuff. Im beyond over it. I have mostly been ok with it and found alternatives, but now I'm really annoyed and think its actually pretty audacious for Companies to sell a hobby that costs you 10k, that you find out a few months down the line is redundant or is impossible to resupply. Its by far one of the worst hobbies for that. The distributors dont care. Fighting chemistry is an art and there are tested results. Retail on the other hand, is the bane of existence.
They create embargoes and then dont even supply. I want to get a Python Vac, you cant get them here. USA guys arent allowed to sell to Aus bc Distro rules. Aus guys dont get them in at all. Using the odd places I dont shop from, will cost about $160USD. Its a plastic tube and a hose. Id rater eat a bullet than swallow that rubbish.
Thanks for sharing. While I understand your sentiment, I disagree with your conclusion. I don't think suicide is something to joke about.
@@MyFirstFishTank It wasnt a joke, it was a figure of speech. It may have been brash, so I apologise. Personally I think a lot of comedians suffer from suicidal mind frames and use humour to combat it. I might just be better suited to other audiences.
No worries, thanks for the response!
The only thing I disagree...API Test kit.. the worse of the test kit out there for reefing
Ha, I hear you. I started with Red Sea, and looked down upon API for a long time. But honestly, it has grown on me, and you can't beat it for the price! And the solid plastic packaging is a huge bonus!
@@MyFirstFishTank I agree that the API is good enough for cycling. But the ammonia test would still give me false positive even in my 9mths tank.
yeah, that's certainly true. Mine always says I have 0.25 when I know it's at zero!
I never test. useless. You people are too much about testing, testing, testing, but when fish die -- "my parameters are good." You always seem to miss out on the basic fundamentals rather than specifics
U forgot a refractometer !
Yes, yes indeed I did! Totally slipped my mind!
You guys do NOT need this ok I have a 10 gal tank saltwater and it runs fine under 200$ tank was around 30 with a filter and lights sand was around 8$ rocks were around 20$ water was 30$ heater was about 19$ two clowns worth 15$ each a coral banded shrimp 19$ and a green crab 9$ and ofc you can always add on later
He's right... You don't need this. These two tanks are not budget builds. Please check out other budget build options on UA-cam or visit our website for our budget build. myfirstfishtank.com/how-to-cheap-saltwater-aquarium/
@@MyFirstFishTank me and you have something in common we like saving ppl money that’s why I’m subbed
In todays money it’s still $1300 for anybody wondering
Ahh and today I learned I am too poor for this hobby. Sad.
Well, you can do it for a lot less. I could build you a small saltwater aquarium, 20 gallons, for under $300 easy! I know that's still a lot, but way more affordable!