Brand New and Overwhelmed

[edandpeg]

My wife and I recently received a 55 gal tank from our son in law with the hopes that we would start a reef tank. Imagine my surprise in surfing the web to find a reef community here in Albuquerque...right in the middle of the desert!! I had a small (25 gal) salt water tank about 30 years ago with a yellow tang, french angle, blue damsel, a lion fish, one large rock, and a small piece of dead coral. Really not much of a set up but interesting at the time. But I will have to say after reading your forum and newsletter that I am brand new to this hobby. I really would like to do a reef tank but have to admit to being overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge and "stuff" required to successfully pull this off. I would appreciate any recommendations as to the best source for a beginner and the best way to start. Thanks in advance.

 

[GreenUku]

A great first step would be to attend the next New Mexico Ocean Keepers meeting on Friday, Feb. 16th.

You can PM Mrs_Witchdoctor for the directions.

 

[moonpower]

You will need to think about what you would want in the tank. Then we can suggest the lighting or filtration ect. do you have some lighting now?
I agree with GreenUku. Please come to our meeting and we all can talk. I'm sure we can help you get on your way to suceeding with your dreams.

 

[jenmonice]

Basics

Basics

I'd say start at our two reef stores (local fish store - LFS) here in town. Both are very nice and very knowledgable. Both are located in the 1-25 Candelaria/Menaul area.

Coral Island 830-9188
Southwest Reef Co. 884-0901

I'd say decide if you want live corals (reef) or just fish. (Different setups. Corals need light. Talk to the store.)

If you do want corals, bear in mind that some are easy to grow, and some are difficult. It is tempting to just pick the prettiest, but if it will die in 2 months, there isn't much point. Corals can also sting each other and have certain place in the tank they like to be. Have the folks at the store help you to pick a few hardy ones to start with.

Some folks enjoy growing out frags. (Are you familiar with frags?) It's like starting with a seedling as opposed to a full-grown plant.


Nice, basic reef info can be found at the GARF website:
http://www.garf.org
(The GARF site is hopelessly disorganized, but the info is worth it.)

More advanced at Reefcentral, of course:
http://reefkeeping.com

And the NM Oceankeepers site is at:
http://www.nmoceankeepers.com/

 

[edandpeg]

Great information...thanks. Sadly I won't be in town on the 16th however I would like to attend a future meeting. My wife and I did visit both stores this weekend to gather some basic info and to see what was available. I will keep an eye on the websites and this forum.

 

[jenmonice]

I thought reefing was costly until I looked into G-scale railroading! (I'm keeping with reefing for now.) Our bio park here has a nice little railroad, but you have to go on the days when the volunteers are running it.

 

[asfullax]

edandpeg,

If you would like, go ahead and give me a call anytime and I can offer you some suggestions and ideas. Also, if you would like to visit, My system is always open for viewing and I am pretty sure a few of the other members are as well. Seeing a functional system in a home can give you a much better idea on whats needed, noise levels, etc... compared to the local fish stores setups.

Alex Fullam
505-550-9631

BTW: Welcome

 

[gregrunningbird]

edandpeg,

Watching this post closely, and wondering if you have decided upon a reef tank, fish only tank, or fish and live rock tank combo....Let us help you, if we can!

 

[rabid frog]

My system is also open for veiwing. This goes for everyone. just gimme a heads up.

Jenmonice. I was puttering around town with my wife and we found this huge second hand/ antique store (on central by salvation army) so we went in. Its 3 stories and on the top floor they have a rail system you can play with. Its pretty neat. Im not really into that sort of thing but I thought it was cool.

 

[edandpeg]

Still Undecided

Still Undecided

A couple of things:
1. The trains at the bio park were originally installed by the Garden Railroad club that I belong to. A member of our club actually works for the City and runs the setup. I was out there Sunday with my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter (2yo) looking at the trains. They are always running from 10am to about 4pm on Sundays. I am not sure about the rest of the week.
2. Yes, Garden Railroading can be expensive if you like to invest in really neat engines (approx. $5,000). Personnally I haven't taken the hobby to that extreme. I am more of a modest hobbiest in both cost of layout and size of layout.
3. It looks like we will probably just go the fish route to start. That is the least problematic in terms of beginning again with very little knowledge and has more reasonable startup costs. It also seems like a good way to get back into the saltwater hobby by starting simple.

All of that being said...the tank is still sitting here without even condensed moisture on the inside. *Sigh*

 

[moonpower]

I have rock and sand if you need it. not live but can become live. my tanks are also open for viewing. 298-0715