Saltwater aquarium enthusiasts help me with my new tank

Just cycle it with one of the quick cycle formulas. Put clowns in a few days later and add coral a month or so down the line . Clowns are pretty hardy in my experience and hard to kill.

The live sand should allow the nitrogen cycle to happen. Give it 30 days and do a 10% water change. Add your fish then. If you want anemones, make sure you have excellent lights and make sure they're the right anemones for your species of clown. Don't put ammonia in your tank.

In my experience with aquariums, these are some good steps to follow.


Read aquarium forums for advice, especially questions like you're asking. The forums can be very specific.
Research. Research. Research before buying. This will help you save money and not put yourself in an unwanted situation.
Don't overstock.
Find suitable tankmates.
The larger the better, meaning aquarium size. Go as big as you legitimately can. Larger tanks are easier to take care of.

Good luck with it! I've wanted to do a reef tank for years. Almost got into it a few yrars ago when I quit racing motorcycles and was looking for a hobby. Did all the research, bought a couple things, them bailed on the whole idea.
Last year when I got back into keeping snakes, I didn't expect to have more than one or two. Now a year later I've got between $4-5K tied up in my snake collection. If I knew I was going to sink that much money into them, I would have started a 200 gallon reef tank project. I think when we're done traveling for my kid's karate tournaments in a couple years, I'll make a serious run at a nice setup. I want to do mostly soft corals with a few fish and critters. Please post some pics and updates throughout the process.

I know nothing about aquariums.

I take that back. I know they are expensive, demand upkeep, and there is a lot of information to learn.

I love the way they look and want one in my home.

I started scanning r/aquariums a long time ago. Then i was reading forums about aquariums for hours on end. I still feel like I've been thrown into the deep end of the pool; so much information and too many conflicting opinions.

My question is this: What's the base cost & yearly costs of going the bitch route, if it can even be done? If I wanted to buy a large saltwater tank and have someone local (NOLA) service it monthly, or bimonthly, what's the ballpark range for getting the initial set-up and what's the range for a monthly tank guy that does house calls?