Aquarium Adventure Installation

If Matt O. from AA is doing your install you are in great hands. Matt is incredibly knowledgable and will treat you great. From the timing it sounds like you got in on the $ per gallon sale. If you did, you got a great deal on a 75 gallon. Good luck.
 
Hi US, I actually went with a RR tank, so I did not get the $1/gallon deal, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. It's good to hear that I would be in good hands, but if I get people on here to help and teach me, I think it would be helpful in the long run. Don't you?
 
Absolutely. you'll gain a ton of knowledge by doing it yourself, (with someone overseeing you) and getting to understand how things work. Learning "what not to do" from the mistakes that we have all made is worth the price of pizza and beer it'll cost you. IMO set up is the best part. New equipment= new toys. Good luck.
 
Unless you completely kill the rock and re-sead it you stand the chance of unwanted hitch hikers where ever you get it.
thats part of the game.
buying rock from local hobbyist is more so the safest bet as most the time you can see the rock in there tanks and generally notice if there nuisance passengers, chances are the hobbyists rock has been in there tanks for over a year and if theres anything in it thats bad it will have shown up by now. Mostly regarding to nuisance anomie's,
the biggest part is you probably paid 2 to 3 times the amount for the rock they are trying to sell you where the average hobbyist sells there live rock for 3 to 4 bucks a pound and sometimes less.
you will find that over time you will know the best places to by all your livestock and consumables, A friend and myself would usually take a weekend day and hit all the stores in one day to get the best deals.
You will also find this is an expensive hobby and can be very costly buy stupid mistakes or cutting corners where you shouldn't have.
spend your money wisely and be very knowledgeable about everything you buy. some things may cost a bit more at first but PAY Off in the long run.
THE WORST thing you can do is BUY ON IMPULSE.. that ALWAYS proves to be a mistake. research what you are going to buy and ask questions. Be Smart.
Secondly dont get discouraged, DO NOT RUSH the process. take your time enjoy the hobby, it will not happen over night.
Unless you got a lot of money to pass around..
 
I second Dave's comment about the 120g. I moved down from a 180 to a 150 and was surprised (and disappointed) at what a difference 6" makes.

Also, like the others mentioned, you ought to check out SC before making any more large purchases. Dan and crew will not lead you astray. In fact, on more than one occasion, they have talked me out of making an unnecessary purchase. That is why I make the 160mi round trip hike across town.
 
Thanks serp. I'm not sure if you saw my reply, i have already purchased the tank and the stand, so I do not have the option to change it at this time. We'll see how it goes... there's always an upgrade option.
 
I have not set it up or picked it up for that matter (bc they were going to deliver/install it for me). Again, if users here are willing and able to set up a tank with pvc piping to the refugium, ro/di unit, etc, I would rather watch and help them do it, and learn. So I will go and pick the stuff up myself. Also, it's on the second floor, and I'm not sure I want a bigger tank in that room. In the next house, we'll go big :)
 
I understand. Its a pretty big undertaking that can be downright overwhelming. I imagine the last thing you're thinking is bigger. I would underate your equipment so if you change course down the road, you will not need to replace much other than the tank. Judging by your equipment list, you are on the right track.

Also, since I already gave 2cents, I'll give some more. I would definitely take up some of the offers to DIY. Being intimate with your system from the beginning will allow you to troubleshoot issues down the road. And as mentioned, they never happen at convenient times. Plus the money you save, you can use to by more stuff. Are you an east or west sider?

Finally, on the RK2, I love mine. However DA is coming out with the ReefKeeper Elite which I believe has more remote functionality. If you are into the newest and greatest that is as the price is higher than the Rk2.
 
serp, I'm an east sider, Cleveland Heights. I like the idea of knowing everything that went into my system, as well as how to take it apart and re-build it. And yes, I tried to under-rate my equipment for the exact reason you gave.

When looking at the RK2 and RKE. Here are a couple of thoughts:

1. I don't really know what the Elite can do that the RK2 can't. I read the specs, but the problem is that I've never implemented either, so telling me that is has more channels (for example) does not translate into anything "real" for me. I don't know how I would/could utilize that to my advantage.

2. I don't know when the RKE is coming out, and someone mentioned that if I wait to get either controller, I will pretty much pay for the items needed to set my system up now (timers, powerstrips, etc) then have to pay again for the controller. When I might be better off just paying once upfront. Not knowing the release of the RKE makes it more likely that I would just buy a RK2. As you said, I can always upgrade. (especially if once I start I can understand and appreciate the added functionality).

So what would the RKE give you over the RK2. What would make you upgrade?
 
The RKE will be much more give you a lot more options to control various functions, better navigation, etc. It will likely interface better with webserver functionality, etc. However, with all that said, my RK2 works very well. So its unlikely I will justify the $500 for now as there are too many other things to spend $ on.

At this stage, I can't see anything on there that you couldn't live without so my recommendation would be to go with the RK2. However, because of the RKE, you could probably find a great deal on a used one. I remember RK1's went far below list when DA released the RK2.

I too am an east sider and could probably lend a hand if I am in town.
 
I WORKED THERE FOR A FEW MONTHS AS A SECOND JOB......DO NOT LET THEM TOUCH YOUR STUFF!!! I wouldnt trust those knuckleheads with anything of mine. Their back room is nasty and they dont take care of anything at all. The main saltwater guy they have is a complete &%^$ and has no clue about anything. Please keep in mind this is the same store that tries to sell people bubble algae...do you think you should trust them with your stuff? The prices they charge are beyond astronomical as well.

Trust the pros on this forum. If I ever have questions or issues, I never have a problem w/ this forum. These people know more and are much more helpful than any store around.'

Nate
 
srtn8 how long ago did u work there..btw the only person who i let even think about touching my stuff from AA is the main service guy i used to work there...and if u ever meet chuck...he is an absolute idiot i saw him try to sell acro frags to someone who didn't even have 100w off pc lightning in a 90g tank and said it would THRIVE!!!! such bs....also the only time i ever bought anything from AA is during their half off salt sale and thats only cuz the shipment comes in usually and doesn't have time for it to settle to long also cuz that makes the prices reasonable since itsa 10minutes from my house
 
All Hail to Salty Critter. I am 1.250 hours away and went three weekends in a row. Trust me there are no stores near me that are of any comparison. Go there and learn.......
 
Brad. So this is what happened. I didn't think I'd have enough time to get a bunch of people together and set it up. It didn't seem to work with the different schedules. So I had Matt come in and do it. However, we discovered a leak in the fuge (my fault for not testing..dumb, dumb, dumb); and may I also say @#$ @# $@# %!$#!#@ .

You can check out the aquascaping Here

So now, I had a new fuge sent to me, and he is coming back on Thursday to finish setting up the fuge and skimmer.

You did say you had pluming experience. I have come up with an idea for ro/di setup. Let me know what you think:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12104422#post12104422
 
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