The Best Guide for Starting a Reef Tank

Setting Up Your First Aquarium

If you want to start your very own reef tank, you’ve come to the right spot. Reef Builders will take you step by step on how to setup a reef tank from scratch. And, once you’re all set up, we have the information you need to keep your tank thriving.

Who We Are

Reef Builders was established in 2006, and is the oldest running website providing news and helpful information regarding the saltwater aquatics industry. We have thousands of articles waiting to be explored and you can search for just about every aquarium topic by using our search bar in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

We’ve also organized our past articles by category making it easy for you to discover aquarium products, saltwater fish, corals, videos, and tips for keeping a successful reef aquarium.

BASICS

If you’re just getting started all of the information you find online can be overwhelming, so we want to make sure you have a place to refer back for all the basic. This Page features a step-by-step guide for setting up a saltwater aquarium, as well as useful links to past Reef Builders articles for when you are ready to move beyond set up.

We hate to break it to you, but there is no one size fits all answer for how to set up a reef tank. While there are components of the process such as equipment, husbandry, and maintenance which carry over, no two tanks, and no two aquarists are the same.

Some people may op to modify the order, frequency or speed of these steps, and aside from a few critical checks, this is absolutely fine. In fact, part of what we love so much about reef keeping is the diversity of aquarium displays and personal reef keeping methods.

We’ve separated our guide into 6 steps. Within each step, we’ve broken down key topics and questions you may have. There are also links in each step if you would like more information on a certain topic. We hope you find this resource helpful for setting up your first aquarium.

Steps to setting up an aquarium

Step 1. Planning

Step 2. Equipment and Set-up

Step 3. Saltwater and Water Testing

Step 4. Light, Flow, and Filtration

Step 5. Adding Fish and Corals

Step 6. Aquarium Maintenance

Step 1. Planning

What to Keep

Before you get started it is best to have an idea in mind about what you want to keep in your aquarium. What first caught your eye and inspired you to start your own? Knowing what you want to keep will help you decided which equipment you need before you make any purchases.

Most people just want to set up a nice looking aquarium with a good mix of fish and corals. This is called a community reef tank. Others may have a certain fish or coral in mind that they wish to keep. You may even want to keep an aquarium just for fish and skip the corals.

Whatever it may be you will want to do a bit of research before purchasing any equipment as different tanks have different care requirements.

Click here to learn more about choosing what to keep in your aquarium.

If you’re not picky, and just want to set up a nice looking tank, this guide will cover all the basic information you need to succeed.

Tank Size

Selecting your tank size is the second most important decision, after choosing what to keep. Tank size is determined by your budget, your livestock choices, and how much space you have to keep your new aquarium.

One of the secrets of reef keeping, bigger is always better.

Saltwater aquariums aren’t cheap, but there is always an affordable way to start keeping your own. Buying the biggest aquarium you can afford will pay off in the end by giving you a higher rate of success and more real estate to store your growing coral collection.

Bigger aquariums are also easier to keep because of what chemistry. There are several challenges with keeping an aquarium that pertains to water chemistry. We will cover that in more detail later but it is important to understand that changes in water chemistry happen slower in larger tanks because of there is more water. Bigger tanks are more forgiving.

Where To Keep Your Aquarium

It is important to select a place to keep your aquarium. You want to make sure to have enough room to work around the tank. You should keep your aquarium away from door or windows which have a cold draft and avoid placing your tank somewhere that receives direct sunlight.

When you know which size aquarium you will buy, search for the tank dimension online and measure out that space in your room. Make sure the tank, including a tank stand fits!

Read: Modern Aquarium Fish Room

Step 2. Equipment and Set-up

All-In-One or Build Your Own

All-in-one aquariums are a quick and easy way to get started in reef keeping. Build your own requires you purchase each piece of equipment separately and then learn to put it all together. Both get you where you’re going, and it just depends on how much you want to be involved in the process.

For beginners, the all-in-one is a straightforward way to go. All-in-one aquariums come in desktop sizes up to larger 140 G (525L) full-blown reef ready systems.

Building your aquarium piece by piece is more time consuming, however, this option may save you a few bucks. If you have patience you can start building your aquarium with minimal equipment to get the saltwater flowing. Start by buying a tank and powerhead to create flow and build up your equipment from there.

Equipment

If you’ve opted to build your own setup, here is the equipment you need to get started.

Aquarium tank
Aquarium stand (unless you have a desktop aquarium)
Pumps
Filtration
Light
Heater
Saltwater
Live Rock
Sump
Bucket or Plastic Container
Rubber Hose or Tubing

Step 3. Saltwater and Water Testing

Saltwater

There are two ways you can get salt water. Either you buy it from a local fish store, or make your own at home. You will have to decide which method is best for you. For new aquarist or people with small tanks, purchasing water is a quick and easy way.

Local fish stores will sell refillable jugs around 5 gallons of water. Water is heavy so calculate how much water you need. Bringing home 50 gallons of water if you have to walk up stairs or make trips in an elevator may not be feasible.

Mixing Your Own Saltwater

Mixing saltwater at home is pretty straight forward. You make saltwater by mixing reverse osmosis de-ionized water (RODI), and aquarium salt, which you can purchase at a local fish store or online. Most aquarists keep large plastic drums in their homes for mixing saltwater.

There is no one size fits all solution here and any large Rubbermaid or similar storage container will do. Make sure you have a dedicated spot for your saltwater, and if you can make double or quadruple the amount of saltwater you need for a water change. It also good to have extra saltwater on hand in case of emergencies.