# Ex reefers



## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

I have maintained reef tanks for the last 8 years or so and I have to admit that after building my first viv I am hooked. I enjoy it just as much as the reefs but at a small fraction of the cost and maintenance time. I am actually thinking of taking down my 300 gallon 10' x 2' x 2' acrylic reef tank and building more vivs. I thought about using the tank for a huge viv but I'm thinking I might be better off using the space for 3-4 individual vivs. Are there any other ex-reefers out there who have made the switch? I will miss the fish though, some of which I have had since the beginning but I am tired of spending some much time and money on the reef tank. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Yes, we do get our share of ex-reefers. I'm one. I owned and operated a small scale coral farm for years. It started as a hobby and just grew from there. I ran a farm that started out as Colorado ColorFarms, but the name seemed to confuse more than a few, so it was eventually changed to Colorado Coral Farms. I distributed thousands of captive propagated corals across most of the US. I was also partners in a somewhat larger endeavor, Fragshop.com.
I did maintenance for a while. Clients...wow, am I right? I do NOT miss the clients! 
Anyway, I made the switch, and I've never looked back. I do NOT miss the labor. I don't miss the outrageous power bills. I don't miss the fish, I do better with the frogs anyway, and I never stop marveling at all the different colors, morphs, and patterns that frogs come in. I recently heard that despite popular belief, they even come in green!
I thought I would eventually miss the corals, but I really haven't. Instead, I've started collecting rare plants. It blows my mind how many odd miniature plants are out there. 

You can spend a lot of money in either hobby, if you have expensive tastes. I do believe though, that you can get started in frogs for a whole lot cheaper than it takes to dip a toe in the reef tank hobby.

Just for kicks and grins, here are a few of my favorite corals I used to work with.
First is Black Hole Sun zooanthids. This was extremely limited, and ebay auctions went up so high I won't say how much per polyp I use to get.
Second is The Eye of Insanity, unidentified brain. Extremely slow grower with a long waiting list.
Third is Burn The Garden Green, and is the only screaming green Kenya Tree I've ever seen or heard about. They are usually boring tan.
Fourth was Skittles zooanthids. Depending on the angle the light hit them, they would color differently. One rock would have yellows, reds, purples, greens, oranges, and blends.
Fifth was my Christmas Staghorn acropora.
Sixth was my Raspberry Beret Cyphastrea. I was sitting pretty with this coral when the Cyhastrea craze first hit. Over and over again, auctions would break 90 bucks for a 3/4" to 1" fragment. I had plenty, so I'd send out a couple second chance offers. Raspberry Beret was my biggest money maker.


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## BCMosaic (Oct 28, 2016)

Ex-reefer here too. Miss the beauty but not the expense!


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## rjs5134 (Feb 1, 2017)

I too had a reef tank, 65 gallon plus sump. If I remember correctly, it raised my electric bill by almost $200/month(although that may have included my pond too). The real issue was the 2x250W halogens and 2x65W compact fluorescents made a glare on the TV that gave my wife a headache and raised the living room temperature and humidity to almost unbearable levels. LED's were just getting started. 

PDF's are sparking my addictive personality just the same...


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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

Thanks for sharing everyone. I think I'm gonna make the switch. 


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## GOSKN5 (Dec 31, 2011)

Current reefer and frogger!









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## Nemesis713 (Feb 1, 2016)

The tank and the viv look awesome.


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## mikeh77 (Feb 2, 2017)

Yep, ex reefer here, too. Had a 55 gallon reef tank. Never again will I have a large reef tank.

Here are my issues with large reef tanks:

1) Extremely high daily maintenance (salinity, temp, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, etc. all need to be tested)
2) High degree of confusion and uncertainty about species interactions in many cases
3) Extremely expensive
4) Dangerous algae or pests can destroy or permanently damage the system pretty quickly
5) Lugging around buckets of RO/DI water or having to drop a major dime on a RO/DI system

I've spent a few months now building my viv and I love it, way more DIY stuff to get it started, but I foresee way less maintenance than in a reef tank for my future. I'm introducing R. ventrimaculata next month. Plus vivs are more fun. I've got an automated MistKing and Raspberry Pi system with some orchids, etc., and it's fun to monitor conditions on my phone and see the tank's progress as plants grow.

All that said, I probably will build myself another reef tank in the next few years, but it will be a single nano tank, around 10 gallons or so.


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## Reefluvr (Nov 9, 2014)

Me, too.

When I reached the peak of my addiction, I had a 150 gallon reef system. I had a sw tank of some sort for 20+ years. Loved all of them. Still miss watching the fish and the corals grow. Don't miss the expense or the up-keep. 

I started my first viv a couple years ago and filled it with all the houseplants I ever failed at growing. It houses a prolific pair of Veradero that I adore. Have my second built (still uninhabited as of yet) and filled it more selectively with small pileas and marcgravias. I will most likely start work on a third once the weather turns foul again next winter. Probably to focus more on the miniature orchids I've become addicted to. 

Traded one addiction for another. I tell myself it could be worse. I could have both.


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## chin_monster (Mar 12, 2006)

been there, done that . . . setting up a (relatively) low maintenance small reef tank again after many years without


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## DennyDave (Jul 19, 2016)

Ex reefer here... Been keeping reefs for over 10 years until my daughter (when she was 2) decided to dump all the food into the tank while I was at work while they sitter wasn't watching her. Nuked the clams, corals and eventually the entire ecosystem died within a week despite water changes. Therefore, I just shut it down and sold off my equipment. After a few years I decided to start over but remembered the expense and laborious effort so I began to look for other options. I admit that I had my doubts when researching vivs that they would be a suitable replacement for the reefer in me. I was wrong! Vivs are easier, more self sufficient and just more fun! Frogs can breed a lot easier than coral spawning in an aquarium IMO. 

Make the switch, you will love it!


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## neuroticat (Jun 26, 2017)

I am an ex reefer here as well. I first got big into reefing about 10 years ago after creating a small stomatopod tank and adding some easy to grow soft corals in them.

I broke my tanks down and gave away my reef friends because of an unexpected move north about three years ago. Now my partner and I are just waiting a few more years to set up our permanent home before I get back into reefkeeping.

Reefkeeping can definitely be an expensive hobby, but it does not have to be. With patience, research, coral selection, tank selection, proper execution and of course good husbandry, the typically high maintenance cost and costly mistakes associated with reefkeeping can be avoided; a beautiful and pristine looking reef tank can be maintained with little upkeep and small continued expense. However, I definitely do not miss certain things about the reefkeeping hobby though. Salt creep was always annoying for me, as is when I flood the floors when I go to sleep at night and forget to switch off the RO/DI unit. I've done that one too many times to care to remember.

Overall, I am loving my vivariums and maintaining the needed insect cultures for darts. And I do not even own any frogs yet, my vivariums are just in the process of growing out


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## reefer (Apr 9, 2017)

I'm a current reefer and vivarium owner!

I've had schooling that was emphasized on aquarium sciences, so for the past few years I've exclusively focused on saltwater fish and especially coral reef animals. 

When I was finished with school I got into keeping aquatic plants and freshwater fish, because the chemistry was different from reefs yet meticulous, and that interest gradually grew into maintaining a large palladium and other freshwater biotopes. 

Setting up my huge 150g paludarium cost maybe $100 for everything, at a maximum $150. All the coral ALONE in my 75 mixed reef has cost at least $600 over the past two years, and that's even heavily discounted from working at a fish shop. 

I think they are both beautiful displays to have in your home - the bright, warm tropics vibe from a viv, and the bright, blue/cool color temperature reef tank swarming with fish and coral. I don't see how you could love one and not the other, aside from costs that is!


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## craigrbns (Feb 1, 2016)

Ill comment on tank/vivarium size. I always kept aquariums, and still have a 180 gallon aquarium. I created my first viv out of a second 180 gallon aquarium. I am now 2 years into frog ownership and my other 180 gallon aquarium is about to come down to make room for more frogs. 

Regarding your thoughts on smaller vivs, versus one big one, I think you will prefer more smaller vivs. I love my 180, and the room it gave for plants (which is 1/2 the fun), but I wish I could replace it with 2-3 smaller vivs to allow for housing more species.

I dont ever see myself cramming frogs into 10-20 gallon tanks. I have no problem with it, but I like creating and providing a larger space. I also have a 75 gallon and 90 gallon viv (both converted aquariums) and like them just as much as my 180. They still offer plenty of room for landscaping and plant variety, but take up a whole lot less space.

My current 180 aquarium will be sold to make room for 2/3 more smaller 50-90 gallon tanks. Just my 2 cents. I think you would enjoy the space of some mid size tanks and really enjoy the ability to house some different frog species. 

Also, you can adjust conditions in multiple tanks slightly to allow different plant species to thrive. For example, I never could make orchids happy in my 180, but have managed to get the climate right for them in my 90 gallon.

Just my 2 cents!


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## R_jay (Jul 17, 2017)

Current reefer here! Just moved a few years ago from Houston, TX to Staten Island, NY and sold all my aquariums for the move. Recently started a 29g Biocube again but ever since my son brought home some eastern Newts I've had the itch to start keeping PDFs. I've always wanted to but never realized how easily within my grasp I could get started till I built an enclosure for the Newts and found the community of frog keepers. 
Now I have much more to learn but excited to start another hobby!


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## R_jay (Jul 17, 2017)

this is just a nano I had on my desk at work in Houston.







the second photo is my current Biocube. It's just frags of coral for now as I let it grow and I've not decided on fish yet. It's been running since January this year. 

I actually am considering using a similar LED light for the PDF enclosure. It's made by nanobox and is fully programmable... and expensive so I'm not 100% sure I'll order one. 


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## godjockey (Nov 14, 2009)

I've always been curious about keeping a reef tank, but they seem like so much work and so expensive.


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## R_jay (Jul 17, 2017)

It is kinda pricey. It helps if you start with buying someone's already established tank because most the work is done and you can usually buy at a much discounted price. It's only a matter of time though before you get ideas and desires to start a new tank or "improve" the current one. Luckily most areas I've lived have good reef communities that are pretty active and you can buy/sell/trade with. 


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## rulzunivrs (Nov 15, 2014)

I am really interested in keeping a small reef tank. Any good places to get started?


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## chin_monster (Mar 12, 2006)

reef2reef.com and reefcentral.com are good forums.

I hesitate to include nanoreef.com because a beginner really shouldn't start with anything smaller than a standard 29-gal (and preferably 40-gal) but it's a good forum as well.


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## R_jay (Jul 17, 2017)

rulzunivrs said:


> I am really interested in keeping a small reef tank. Any good places to get started?




Local forums are great too as you'll be able to save time and money buying local if possible. Houston, TX has an awesome group MARSH. Not everywhere is as good of course. If you can get your hands on an established setup (at least 6 months old) it'll help you understand more and let you enjoy it more before starting a "fresh" tank. 


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## blackmudpuppy (Mar 9, 2017)

Current reefer, although mostly just "low maintenance" softies nowadays. Was really into keeping cuttlefish for awhile though, and that was a lot of fun/hard work/expense.


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

current reefer and viv and freshwater planted tank person here. I enjoy switching focus between the different hobbies. been very busy with my reef for the last year but am now about ready to sit back and let it grow. don't need any more fish and I think I now have all the frags I need to finish filling in some gaps. I think next year I will start a large planted tank with discus. in order of expense and time commitment it is easily reef then freshwater planted followed by the viv. and my biggest viv is more than 5 times larger than the reef you have been running.


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## blackmudpuppy (Mar 9, 2017)

Beautiful tanks.


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## R_jay (Jul 17, 2017)

That's awesome, looks like it came from a zoo


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## cameronfarris627 (Dec 4, 2017)

skanderson said:


> current reefer and viv and freshwater planted tank person here. I enjoy switching focus between the different hobbies. been very busy with my reef for the last year but am now about ready to sit back and let it grow. don't need any more fish and I think I now have all the frags I need to finish filling in some gaps. I think next year I will start a large planted tank with discus. in order of expense and time commitment it is easily reef then freshwater planted followed by the viv. and my biggest viv is more than 5 times larger than the reef you have been running.



Might I say some of the most beautiful tanks I have ever seen


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## jc1of2 (May 22, 2010)

My last reef tank was 180 gallon mixed tank. I had 6 ho t5 bulbs that were overdriven. It was very hot and my electricity bill was high. I really loved my gigas clam and got lots of offers to sell it but I never did. Eventually it died when my tank crashed. Seems like almost everyone has at least 1 tank crash that wipes out most everything. The hobby became more of a job because of all the maintenance you have to do. It get the same type of thrill setting up a vivarium that I did with a reef tank. If I ever get the chance to do a large tank again I would do a fish only tank. Run LED's only a few hours a day and keep it simple. I wish exoterra made tanks longer than 3 feet.


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## DaveMorris (Sep 23, 2017)

I wouldn't say that I am an ex-reefer, just a vacationing one. I have a 130g tank that was my last reef up until we moved about 8 months ago. I have always had my 130g and a 300g before that highly automated due to my extensive travel schedule. The home we are in now is a rental and does not have a good spot to set up the tank as I would to be a reef tank. Therefore I am converting it into a vivarium. I have no idea when I will set up another reef, but I am sure taking a break from it for a while will be a good thing. I almost got burned out on it in 2016 because I was a primary organizer of MACNA here in San Diego. That took a lot out of me.

I am just getting ready to start building the viv and hope to start posting in a build thread here. I can't wait to move forward with it.


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## n5td (Jan 16, 2018)

Reefer here. Just got a 8g with a handful of sps frags. I can see a lot of parallels between reefing and frogging. 

The learning curve for me is all the scientific names of frogs and plants...


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## djd3mon (Jan 24, 2018)

Current reefer and soon to be frogger.


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## kinomatika (Oct 9, 2017)

Not really an ex-reefer myself, I've currently only got a 13 gallon nano tank. I guess I'm more of an ex-freshwater keeper? I had huge fresh tanks but I lost interest in them when it came time to try salt water. I think I've got about equal interest in frog keeping versus fish keeping at this point.


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## Easternon (Oct 13, 2017)

I still have my reef though it's changed a lot - due to my soft corals growing too fast. 
I've included the link below to my most recent documented tank and some photos!

It's taught me a lot about automation and keeping the smallest of environments stable, which helps a lot in this hobby, though I do miss keeping SPS, I'm probably going to wait for a larger system before I go that route again. 



















https://www.nano-reef.com/featured/2016/east1-r106/


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## Mr.Rocc (Apr 22, 2018)

I am also a reefer a dalways will be. The maintenance is regulated by the equipment you buy. I spend 20 minutes bi weekly to do a water change, at Max an hour when I need to change media. This hobby has it's ticks and attachments as well. I think that's why a lot of people are drawn to these hobbies.


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## Speg (Nov 9, 2010)

I used to do reef tanks. I had some really nice coral.. had some MyMiami when it was $2000 per eye.

The hobby was just so time consuming and expensive. I do still have a nano tank with just a couple low-maintenance coral like Xenia, but I'm not planning on going back any time soon.


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## Mr.Rocc (Apr 22, 2018)

Speg said:


> I used to do reef tanks. I had some really nice coral.. had some MyMiami when it was $2000 per eye.
> 
> The hobby was just so time consuming and expensive. I do still have a nano tank with just a couple low-maintenance coral like Xenia, but I'm not planning on going back any time soon.


Thats sweet! I have a few corals in my tank that go for 200-300$ a frag (1 inch piece)


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