MM Reef

[ScottyB]

Very sweet Scott! That is a great setup!

We've had a freshwater tank for a while, but I've always wanted to make the jump to saltwater. I just haven't been able to justify to myself the exponential cost of it over the freshwater. The invertebrate reef sounds like a really cool compromise. The thing that gets me about saltwater setups is the price of fish! I would hate to buy a $100 fish and the thing freaking kicks it when you get home =p

thanks man! funny thing is, in the long run saltwater tanks are really not much more expensive if you are dilligent about keeping your water quality stable (not perfect, just stable). a reef environment is the opposite of a freshwater one (in captivity) in that over time it becomes more self sufficient and more stable. many well established reef tanks require nothing more than a daily feeding, and a small % water change and a dosing of trace elements every couple weeks. it is literally a tiny ecosystem.

i won't lie about the price of livestock though...its more pricey. on the flipside though, if you are patient, and look through forums and classified ads, many people sell their fish/corals/invertebrates cheaply for all kinds of reasons. take the corals i have now --- i picked em up for 20 bucks, whereas one of those corals alone is worth twice that.

honestly though, if you are really interested just let me know. i'm still a noob, but over the past 5 years i've literally made every mistake in the book, and i could probably write a book on a few good ones myself. that being the case, i can give you alot of good tips and pointers if you need them.