Go Big, But Not Quickly
One of the few absolute rules of keeping a saltwater tank is that the bigger your tank, the easier it is to keep.
There should be a footnote added to this rule, though: bigger is always better – but not at first.
Here’s why: The bigger the tank, the bigger the issues.
For example, if you bought a 180-gallon tank out of the gate, and you get a green hair algae problem, it’s going to be a problem played out on a much bigger scale. It is going to take a lot more effort to correct. Imagine staring at 180 pounds of green hair algae- covered rocks. Yikes.
The same rule holds true if one of your tank parameters is off; it is going to take a lot more supplement and effort to correct the issue. Instead of buying quart-sized supplements to fix the problem, you’ll likely need to get gallon or even 5 gallon-sized containers of them. That means a lot more money out of your pocket.
Now for you reef junkies, this isn’t a problem, it’s a golden opportunity! You’d thrive on measuring out pounds all the way down to micrograms of additive to fix the issue. You’d do a multi-page write-up on what went wrong, and how you fixed it. It would be a great reef club meeting topic!
For you reef enthusiasts, the issue wouldn’t be the end of the world. You’d be put out about having to fix the problem, but you’d understand things will get better.
And tank dabblers, you would be the most put out; either your tank maintenance company would fix it, or you’d become a reef enthusiast for the day and deal with the problem at hand.
For the newcomer in any tank personality, though, these problems can be overwhelming, potentially drain your budget, and lead to frustration with your tank. If someone asked you about your tank you’d say, “If it wasn’t one thing, it was another,” followed by, “Yeah, I sold the tank and got out.”
Keeping your first tank sizable but manageable lets you get your feet wet, make all the beginner mistakes on a smaller scale, and live to tell about it.
If you are looking to get your first saltwater tank, it should be at least 40 gallons. However, I wouldn’t go any larger than a 75-gallon tank out of the gate.
And if you already own a big tank out of the gate, keep in mind what you will run into: issues played out on a bigger scale. So hold onto your hat! When an issue arises, it is not the end of the world, but it is going to take effort and money to fix the problem.
What problems did you run into when you first started your tank? How do you think your tank’s size helped you manage the problem?
Browse the Store! Questions?
Ashamed as I am to admit it, the biggest problem with my first tank (20G) was definitely topping the system up with salt water… Trying to find out why it crashed about two weeks later led me to the great online resources for saltwater and I began my education from there. My tank size helped me manage the problem by being so small it crashed really fast and forced me to start reading…
This is very good advice. I think that even if I had more space I would not go for larger than my existing 75 gallon tank. I think that is the ideal size to get started with as it is big enough to provide slow changes to the water chemistry and is not going to be excessively expensive to heat/light/filter. It is also a decent size to allow room for fish and coral to coexist. I think that anything smaller e.g. nano tanks, should be for experts only.
Bush…everyone makes mistakes! I used to use straight tap water in my 75G tank! Hey..I used de-chlorinator tho!
Glad to hear that the crash let you to wonder why. Lots of people just throw their hands up and quit.
Now if I could figure out how to reach the new comers before they make the mistakes, I’d be a happier man.
Steve…my first tank was a 75g and it was just as you said, just big enough to let me have a variety of fish and stable enough chemistry wise I wasn’t chasing a rabbit down a hole all the time.
you see, this is happening to me with that hair algea; i have a 400g…
to this day I’m still battling with it. I’m running a nitrate reactor, removing a full large fishnet of hair algea every week. Hopefully, this will come to a end soon 🙂
2 other things i’d liek to do: I have a 100g sump full of live rock, i mean it, its full! haha But under that, there is some small rumble i’d liek to remove; probably i get detrius under there….
other thing I feel that my 75g Fuge is not doing is job properly, due to hair algea grwoing there aswel, my cheatos cant beat that hair…So I will remove that tank for a smaller one that will be called an equipment tank, and smaller tank size!
in conclusion, what Mark said in this blog…is TRUE! 😀
yes its true!me i have 150 gallons reef tank and 100 gallons for fish only(for 2 years.).and now im planning to have shark aquarium!
how big is that shark tank going to be?
Phil…didn’t you go to pellets?
i think that a 75 gallon is defo the number to aim for its not so big that you need a second job to keep it going. but big enough to keep most fish and coral. ive started with a 55 and ive found out later that its not big anougth to keep some off my dream fish that i wanted.so now ive got to find the money for a bigger tank if i want that purple tang .
Hey! This is good advise. I am currently doing research and learning as much as I can before setting up my first saltwater tank. Hopefully this will be my comeback to fishkeeping after several years. Thanks!
Welcome back
My Tank is brand new and I am new to this experience. I have been watching all your videos and I am feeling more confident now. I have started with a 120 Litre square tank with around 10kg of “live” rock… whoops !
I have green Algae growing over the live rock and all over the glass. Its really bad to be honest or atleast from my perception. I have the protein skimmer working and its only just started to settle. I have the JBL full test kit and I have all my levels to be at the “reccomended” so I am going to introduce my Cleanup crew this weekend.
The shop im using is not very good thou as they dont seem very helpful or forthcoming. I get the impression my questions are dumb and they dont have time for it.
Days and days of hunting and I finally stumbled across this site. Thankyou for making it and expect some emails coming your way from me as I facinated by my new hobby funded by my recent (30 weeks) quitting of smoking 🙂
Thanks !
Congrats on 30 days of no smoking! The ministry of health (and your body) thanks you!
I been reading a few articles before taking the first step which was to get the tank … 60 gallon tank should do well right?? i am no looking into getting a bigger one this size tank is big enough for me. any other suggestions for us the new comers … im still confused about the sump please post some info thanks Mark !!!!!
60 gallon is a great size for a new tank Paco.
Hey Mark:
I am brand new to Saltwater hobby. I have not bought anything yet and was wondering what you thought about the Red Sea Max 250 plug and play unit? It’s 66g.
Robert…I’ve heard of them and see them in person and they look nice for an all-in one. Personally I’m not a fan of all-in ones as I’ve found that some equipment like protein skimmers don’t work well in that type of setup. If you could get a “Regular” tank with an internal overflow and sump, you’ll be happier in the long run.
Mark:
It seems like there is a lot of equipment that needs to go into the tank… could you please review or the equipment that needs to go into a 75g tank and about how much it would cost for me to put a nice setup together?
I know that I need the tank obviously:
Tank stand, canopy, T-5 lights, protein skimmer (plus one), sump tank (how big not sure), pump (not sure what process that serves), heater, power heads, apex controll unit, chiller, RI/DOI unit, Dr. Tim all-N-One, sea salt, wave maker (?), dry rock I have been looking for punkani I am not sure how much I would need for 75g ( currently none available @bulkreefsupply.com), dead sand (not sure what kind),
Sorry for the amount of question and I do appreciate your time! Thanks
Robert M.
Hi my name is gene well my continuing mission is green water I have a 180 gallon saltwater tank With a few soft corals have a phosphate reactor the 150 and a UV sterilizer my skimmer is no biggie I know I need a good skimmer, any ways how can I get rid of that greenish water pooh and I don’t have an RO unit so I guess that’s part of my problems what can I do so far I’m able to keep a Xenia alive which means maybe the water is a little better can u help me please
Gene…what is “greenish water pooh”?
I started off with a slightly larger tank that you recommended. It was a 100 gallon tank that was gifted to me by a friend. Of course the tank wasn’t drilled or anywhere near reef ready. I took it upon myself to drill the tank and make an overflow box to hide my enormous dursos. All went well leak tested and built a stand and canopy and got it into my living room. Made my rockscape and started the cycle, well after 2 weeks and an ammonia spike the silicone on my overflow box decided to let go.
I borrowed my daughters pool and put all the rock, water and a pump to keep it going for the time being so I could re-silicone the heck out of the thing again. That’s been my biggest hurdle so far. The normal pest algae associated with cycling only lasted two weeks and ever since everything has been stable as all get out.
Ironically I think the simplicity of my sump has helped keep the tank fairly stable. I built the sump out of a 40G breeder with a DSB and refugium. I have a section for a skimmer (sans skimmer) however it’s turned more into a benthic zone covered in scypha sponges. The numerous sponges chaeto and other critters seem to help keep my nitrates low (albeit not horribly low since I keep LPS and softies at the moment) and water clean.
My biggest grievance at the moment is keeping my nori from disintegrating and blowing all over the tank when my tang gets rough with it. I figured if that’s the worst thing to happen I really can’t complain lol.
Your blog is awesome, keep up the good work.
i have an arrow crab and a coral banded shrimp in a 60 gal tank could these be a bad pair
When I first started in the hobby I didnt know anything about keeping marine fish or coral, the only information I got at first was the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep these animals, so i went out and brought the biggest tank I could find which was a 150 English gallon (as i live in England) tank with no sump or room under the tank to put one, which is another story. As the weeks and months went on I found out more and more about the hobby, and soon found out that because my tank was so big I had to fork out for more expensive equipment, for example the first skimmer I brought for my 150 gallon tank was an old wooden air stone skimmer which could only cope with a 100 gallon tank, I didnt know any better I thought a skimmer was a skimmer, but what I am trying to get at is when you have a big tank everything is expensive the lighting the skimmer the supplements even down to simple water changes because when you first start out you wont have a RO/DI unit so you will ether have to buy one and all the gear to go with it, or drag all of that water home from the shop to find out when u put ur TDS meter in it, its not zero TDS. Nowadays and 3 tanks later I love nothing more than buying new equipment for my tank, but when i first started out, spending all of my money on equipment month after month rather than on the fish or coral i really wanted really sucked be time, if I had to do it again I wouldnt go any bigger than 60 gallon. One more thing Mr Saltwatertank I think your videos are awesome, English people dont say that word very often but they are awesome lol and some of ur ideas r working on my tank as we speak, so keep up the good work 🙂
hey is 28 gallons to small for my first tank i have done my research and seem to no everything i need to know for the fish i want its as big as i can go because it has to go in my room and my room iss very small its supposed to be a office and maybe if its successful i can upgrade and have one in my basement because my parents dont want me to have a big one incase something goes wrong because there paying for it all it will be my christmas gift
bigger is better spencer. And I’m curious, what fish do you want to put in that 28g?
I started with a 55 gal. reef. It’s a little on the small side,
but it wasn’t really a big deal when I experienced those
crazy algae blooms. Just kinda difficult to keep parameters
stable. I’d start there, or preferrably a little larger. Maybe
a 72 gallon, and maybe make it a bow front so your girl
gets hooked too. Making future livestock/equipment purchases
a little smoother ;).
G’day Mark! What a great website mate, this is truly awesome! I’m wondering if you could tell me what you think the best value protein skimmer, for around the $400(usd) would be please? Cheers!
Im a new, 13 year old aquarist. You may think that that is young and you might beleive I will give up easily but I love aquariums and would really like to move up from freshwater to salt. Ive wached almost all of you episodes and have looked all around the internet for help increating my tank. I was just wondering if you have any ideas or tips on how to help me acheive my goal! 🙂
P.S i love your show
I forgot to mention i have a 60 gallon
This is a good little article of information. I started with a 55 gallon tank. I have never owned a fish tank before and I jumped right into saltwater tanks. After my first 3 months, I was so frustrated with the nuisance algae problems that I did some serious homework and thinking. After reading blogs and webpages and watching hours of videos I decided to downsize my tank to a 30 gallon tank to fight the nuisance algae. And it has worked out great! The rock has cleaned up nicely and so has my sandbed. My corals are looking much better and my water parameters are much more stable. Your videos and articles have been a big help and thanks to you, I know my tank personality. So I am currently studying and researching products to pimp out my 30 gallon reef tank. Thanks Mark for the inspiration!
Hey Mark, I’m planning to have my first fish tank this March or maybe April. My question is what should I begin with? Fresh or Salt? I’ve had a small bowl with play sand and plastic plant with a goldfish years ago. And also how big is the tank in gallons. What’s your opinion? 🙂 Thanks in advance.