The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

[ColdCuts]

Well, after visiting Manhattan Aquariums I now feel more determined to make an aquarium work. I'll just take my time, read a ton, be sure to invest in some battery operated pumps (thanks for the advice, Blueface), and hopefully do it right the first time. If I discover along the way that it's just too advanced and/or expensive for me, perhaps I'll scale it back and go freshwater, as Ray has suggested.

Ray - I entered into this thing thinking freshwater. Everybody says start with fresh. But when I walk into a place that stocks both, it's really tough for me to keep my eyes on the freshwater tanks. Know what I mean? I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, of course. It's just that now I keep hearing that if I really like salt, it doesn't have to be as complicated as it sometimes seems. Which brings me to today.

There was a nice gal at MA who recommended a forum to me called Manhattan Reefs. It's all New York state folks so that's nice for me. They seem like a friendly bunch. We'll see. They get together, exchange coral frags and whatnot. Maybe I could introduce a 'fiver for a frag' type trade. Get those guys into cigars.

Here's a couple questions for you CA reefers:
From what I gather online, seams on glass tanks eventually fail. I know acrylic scratches easier than glass, and I'd really hate to have any scratches, but I'd prefer that to having to replace a glass tank every handful of years. Anybody have an opinion on this?

Also, for your enjoyment, regarding total cost on a saltwater set up, I found this article. <== You may or may not want to click on that, or at least wait until your spouse is outta the room. If you look at those numbers (for 2010), does that more or less sync with your experience? Being budget-minded -- I can't believe I think I can afford a saltwater aquarium hobby on top of my cigar hobby -- I'm going to try to cut these costs by buying used equipment wherever I can. Perhaps I can find a bunch of quality used gear on the Manhattan Reefs forum. Any thoughts?

Aaand here we go.