6 Things You DON'T Need in Your Saltwater Aquarium
- Dec 20, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 251 0 0
Expensive Lights
Here, we are talking about expensive lights in general. This light will surely grow your corals and make your tank look great. But, pretty much all the mainstream lights and probably some non-mainstream ones.
There is an argument that you will be future-proofing yourself when you inevitably upgrade your system. But, the reality is that there is likely to be a very long away, and if you grow in the hobby, what you want from lights will likely change.
In years, you might find that you prefer larger light with more spread or the color or shimmer of Kessels. And, even if you do decide you must have Randion, there are plenty of bargains to be had on hardly used gen-4 units.
It would help if you did not underestimate how good LED lights are, and spending $300 more lights won't make $300 worth of difference. Particularly if the corals you are likely to keep do not demand high light. So, think long and hard about getting cheaper lights that suit your needs best.
Aquarium Controllers
Aquarium controllers allow you to constantly monitor things like salinity, temperature, and pH and centralize control of all your other equipment like your pumps and lights. It can also alert you when something is wrong, avoiding a potential disaster.
But, in all honesty, they are not essential, and when you are new to the hobby, they are only added to serve a layer of complication to your first tank. So, for your first tank, heating controllers are a better option. Heating is supposedly the most common point of failure in tanks, but heating controllers are much more reliable.
It is a simple device that you plug your heater into and set it to maintain and display your tank temperature accurately. A heating controller will allow you to keep your tank at a more stable temperature than a heater of its own, and you can plug a bank of fans into it that will call your tank in the summer if it starts to overheat.
Brand New Skimmer
Skimmers are probably the safest bet from the items you can buy second-hand because there is very little that can go wrong. As long as there is no physical damage, the only electric pie is the pump, and given that the skimmer pumps don't usually fail, and when they do, you can often get their replacement parts. As long as choosing the right skimmer for the first time is not as easy as you think.
And, even if you do get it right, your stocking plans change; you might need to upsize or downsize your skimmer. However, since designs have not changed massively over the year with skimmers, so you are probably not missing our huge performance gain that comes with the new skimmer.
An RO/DI filter is a fantastic way to spend the money you will save on a new skimmer is an RO/DI filter. It will filter your water topping off your fresh water and mix up your saltwater. So not only will it save you money over buying water from your local fish shop, but crucially it also allows you to control the quality of water you use, which you would not get if you buy your water from your local fish shop.
Ecotech Powerhead
At this point, you will be forgiven for thinking that it is an anti-eco tech, but they are not. However, they don't necessarily add the value they will cost you for your first tank and maybe for the most tank. Having the battery backup option like you get with Ecotech pumps is great, but the chances of you needing it are pretty few minutes.
Also, loads of other pumps will move just as much water for a lot less money. You can get far better powerheads that are controllable and directional for a lot less.
Automtic Filter rollers
Filter rolls will polish your water and remove food particles before they have a chance to break down and soil your water. Also, because they rotate their rollers automatically as they clog, they save you the hassle of changing the filter sock all the time.
But, a massive variety of tanks don't run them, and an automatic filter is well and truly into the bonus territory when setting up a reef tank.
The obvious alternative to a filter roller is filter sock, but they are also too much of a factor in regular change and wash. So, the better alternatives are filter cups with real filter floss. They are cheap, so all you need to do is remove the stuff and replace it once a week which is much less bother than filter sock. Getting activated carbon with further ease down the process for you.
Brand New Tank
When setting up your first tank, it can be very tempting to get a shiny new tank like a red sea reefer, but it is very unnecessary, and the single biggest saving you can make is getting a second-hand aquarium.
You should easily be able to save at least 50% of the cost of your tank, even if the tank you get is only a year or so old. Most people take good care of their aquarium, but even if the glass is scratched, the crash probably won't be visible once you put the water in. Moreover, many tanks have laminated wood stands resistant to water damage.
There are plenty of second-hand options on eBay, which tells you why it is a good idea to go second-hand. There is every chance that you won't take to the hobby in the first place and will regret spending the big bucks in your first and last tank.
When you set up your first tank, you should probably get everything second-hand, but you should get the tank second-hand. If you get the marine bug, it is almost certain you will upgrade, and once you experience it, you will want something better when you have a year of knowledge under your belt.
So, save yourself a fortune and target your upgrade as your first brand new tank!
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