Mikee

Maybe you should consider Fish only with live rock and no coral. Wouldn't need mega lighting Just a good skimmer. If you already have a spare tank you would just need the skimmer and lights to view them. Main problem with small marine tanks is people still seem to stick fish that will grow too big in their small tanks. for example the Blue Tang. Small 3cm one in a Red Sea Max is OK (well to some people but not me) this grows (fast). Not really fair on the fish. Kinda like all 100+ kgs of me living in a room the size of the toilet, could be done but not pretty. Marines are different in that you cannot have as many fish as freshwater in the same sized tank

Seems reasonable for a starting tank. For a guide a reef tank generally works out at approx $1000 per foot not including livestock, corals etc Nope, well may be a solitary yellow tang but I wouldn't We started with an AR980 converted to marine, conversion cost heaps and didn't really do what we wanted. Got a 3cm Blue Tang when we started, to cut a long story short we now have a 5ft tank and same blue tang is 17cms long and 3cms wide :lol: we called him Porky. If you're serious about having a good marine tank I would seriously suggest collecting all the bit and bobs and get a tank built, 3ft is good but 4ft I think would make a better starting tank. There is another dedicated marine keeping site where you could ask, (not sure I can mention it here). Biggest issue with keeping marines is most beginners don't believe some of the answers as regards to costs involved and think "they can do it on the cheap". from my own experience this is not really the case, you can save money sure but you should not skimp on a quality skimmer and strong lighting particularly if you are keeping a reef. Buy good equipment you owe it to your fish and corals, and good quality equipment generally lasts years. Hope I haven't put you off You can see our tank and upgrade here Mikees Tank I don't consider it to be that flash compared to other local (NZ) tanks I have visited and it not big enough!! Bigger one in works for next year

Total lighting is about 83 w from what I understand. Not really enough might be OK for fish only or some softies up high but I'm not convinced. Size would limit the type of fish you could keep, no Blue Tang (or any other tangs). Looks like an OK All n One setup but not my cup of tea. Whats the cost?? How does it compare to tank/stand/skimmer and lights separately? I would also be suspicious of the skimmers ability to cope. So if you're after a smaller tank, All in one style, don't want to keep SPS, LPS, and only a few smaller fish then this one should do the job fine BUT if you intend to progress to the above corals and bigger fish then I would suggest getting something larger purpose built. just my .02

Our first tank was an Aquaone AR980. Changed it from freshwater. Good starter tank but definitely has its limitations. Persevered with it for 12 months then upgraded it to a 5ft'er and turned the AR980 into a sump. Difference was like night and day. Don't regret it at all. BUT we have gone from 3 freshwater tanks to one marine one and it's not big enough. Next one will be a cube 1.5m x 1.5m x 700 high!!!!!

Not in Auckland but if your over the Hill, you're welcome to come and have a look at my big salty glass box filled with money

Same here, Local distributor backed them up without question, yay for them

Yep also known to empty your wallet at astonishing speed Great tank though

I guess it all comes down to because they can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's called "volume discount" pub will need them more often so the business is regular and company probably discounts accordingly. I know we do much better prices for volume sales (especially where the sales are ongoing) where I work.

If I had the cash and space I'd go 5ft square by 600-700 high.