Hello

SPN

SPN

New member
Hello, I am new to RC, and do I have a lot to learn!
Let me start by saying that according to the new tank threads and various forums that I have visited here on RC, I have already learned that I have made numerous mistakes in every aspect of keeping my tanks, from tank set-up, filtration (UGF), poor lighting, low salinity, livestock selection, etc. I have only myself to blame, as I did not do any research prior to setting up my tanks. What I have learned on RC so far explains my failure to keep a few soft corals and several anemones over the years.
That being said, I am looking to learn all that I can here at RC, slowly correct what I can on my existing set-ups, and eventually start a 125+ gallon Reef tank correctly.
 
As long as you learn from your mistakes and not listen to Rick up on rt 26...lol... you'll go far...welcome to our humble club...:) if you have any questions dont be shy there is alot of knowlege in this forum as well as the URS (upstate reef society).
 
Welcome! You came to the right place. Between here and the Upstate Reef Society forum you should get all the info you need. There is also a frag swap next weekend that you are more than welcome to attend, if only to learn more info and meet reefers in the area.
 
Welcome!!! The nice thing about finding this site - is how many things you DON'T kill, and the money you DON'T spend!!!!

Unfortuantly, any fish store seems to be willing to sell you all the wrong things....
 
Welcome to STRS and URS you have found a great place to hang your reef/marine hat.

As a matter fact next Sat the 23rd we are having a frag meet at my place, you are very welcome to come and hang out and talk reef and eat great food and enjoy the afternoon.
 
Thank you to all for the warm welcome

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11847570#post11847570 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatrip
As long as you learn from your mistakes and not listen to Rick up on rt 26...lol... you'll go far...welcome to our humble club...:) if you have any questions dont be shy there is alot of knowlege in this forum as well as the URS (upstate reef society).
Click to expand...

fatrip, I have purchased all my equipment and livestock from Rick on 26.

Frank, Thepircs, I am behind B.U., with my current set-up, any Xenia would surely die rather quickly.

I visited the Southern tier reef home page, Ross Park Zoo page, and many of the threads here on this forum. Really beautiful tanks and Corals!

I must confess, I am suffering from informational overload from RC. So much information and so many methods to choose from.

I may as well confess, and get this out of the way.
All 3 of my tanks are set-up the same way.

glass Non RR tank,
UGF with powerheads for flow. 2 on the 30's, 4 on the 75
crushed coral substrate
Bio Wheel/bag hang on filter (75bag, 30's wheel)
I do not utilize a sump,
No protein skimmer
Original off the shelve light fixture (have not even changed the bulbs)
I have never performed regular water changes.
I use water stright from the tap.
Salinity 1.022- 1.023
I have never even tested my own water for anthing other than the salt content, (rely on the LFS to test.)
I do not know any scientific names for any of my fish, and I need to learn everything about properly keeping a reef tank.

I know that I really need to re-think this set-up from top to bottom. Where and how do I even begin?:o
 
There are many ways to setup and run a tank, and the setups you have could potentially flourish, at least with fish and softies. You've just got to decide what your goals are, and go from there.
 
How much live rock do you have in the tanks, and list each tank size and what is in them. from what i can gather it seems like you have two 30 gallons and a 75g correct? I agree with adam what are your final goals for each tank? we can get you going on the right track in no time. im sorry for the Rick comment. he means well but he has alot of old ways that can be achived easier and with newer technology. And if you are going to make a reef with corals, dont listen to his no water changes theory. im sorry for babaling now your turn bable to us what you want in the end...lol...:)
 
also first step...dont go and try to read everything in these forums to hard and time consumming and some of it will bore you or mis lead you. i would go to this thread and do some reading of these articals. they are broken down into groups and are very useful. articals
 
Welcome, glad to see another local join the group. Everyone said pretty much all there is to say above. Only thing I could say that may help is to read as much as you can and get a few questions to ask rather than one big question like what am I doing wrong or how can I do better. Break your research into topics. Lights, filtration, chemistry and so on. Keep your questions as pointed as possible and your answers will be more direct.

Again Welcome.

P.S. Fatrips right, Ricks a nice enough guy but Id probly forget just about everything he's ever told you. He doesnt keep coral and is way behind the times.
 
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Fatrip, thanks for the link, I have already read some of these articles, and definitely need to read more. I will take all of the help/advice/guidance that I can get.

Babble? Boy are you going to be sorry. Well here goes. I found Reef Central about 4-6 weeks ago, and I have read many of the new tank threads and began to panic as I realized how little that I actually know about this hobby. Many of the individual threads that I viewed were very down on the use of the filtration, salinity level, substrate, temperature, etc., that I have been using.

I had been questioning my methods after losing several fish in my 75 gal over a 3 week period. Over that three week period, I lost a Yellow Tang, Hippo Tang, Flame Angel, and a Yellow Tail Blue Damsel. The only fish that survived unharmed was a Tomato clown, and a Passer Angel that I took to Rick and he treated with Copper medication for me.
I did not keep records of my tank set-up, so I am unsure of how much live rock that I have

Tanks
75 gal.
I would estimate that the 75 gallon has about 100+lbs of live rock
Current known inhabitants, Passer angel, Eibli angel, Maroon Clown, Cleaner Shrimp, Coral Banded Shrimp, A couple of turbo snails, Bubble brittle Star, 2 or 3 brittle stars, serpent star, cucumber

30 gal (my son’s tank)
10-20lbs live rock, 2 tiny false Percula Clown Fish, 1 very small molly miller blenny, Large Brittle Star, Chocolate chip star

29-30 gal
20-30lbs live rock, 1 Niger Trigger, Blue dot puffer, Dascyllus damsel, Arc eye Hawkfish.

As for what I would like to accomplish,
First, I want to make sure that I am providing my current tank inhabitants with a healthy environment. If not, take the appropriate corrective action.
Once this has been achieved, learn lots more about corals. I believe that I want a mixed coral reef tank. What I really need to determine is if I am better off attempting to upgrade my current 75 into a reef tank, or finding a new reef ready tank and start fresh?

RyanM, I will try to follow your advise on future posts.
 
ok we have a start. lol...i would say if you are planing on upgrading to a 125 in the future to start it up gradually. first lets make these tanks more stable. i would suggest doing a 25-35% water change in each tank for starters. this will replace some trace elements in the water, drop the nitrates &ammonia if any as well as start to bring your salinity up gradually to around 1.026, that is where i keep mine. some people will argue that lower is better or that higher is better. this is just what i run and pretty much most of the reefers in the area.

so here is the second question before we move on.lol...dont you love the steps...lol...but any who do you want to and do you have the funds to upgrade to the 125? if so how many of the other tanks will you be keeping up?

some advise, the niger will out grow that 30g in no time. but if you are up grading i would say you are off to a good start with a clean up grew from the 75g.
 
salinity of 1.026 is high for a FishOnly. (of course this is only opinion) That is what is recommended for a reef, but is more stressful on the fish than a lower salinity.
Hyposalinity (low) gradually reducing to a low value (like1.015) is actually used to treat sick fish
FWIW I keep my reef ~1024-1.025
 
If you plan on upgrading I would do it now. A clean slate so to speak. People on this forum are very knowledgeable and can walk you thru the steps. While you are setting this up which will take awhile cycling it and stuff you can be learning how to keep parameters inline and stable with your other tanks. I started out fowlr and switched to reef about 6 months ago. These guys were very instrumental in that task. A little story for ya. I went to a frag meet and stood there just listening to these guys and man did I learn a lot and even bought a couple of softies. I would suggest you do the same. There is a frag meet coming up next weekend thread is here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287255
 
You should make a reef crawl. Travel to a few local tanks. Get a look at how and what people are doing. Then youll have an idea of what your looking for. You will be inindated with Ideas on every subject and be quickly overcome with information trying to get everyones opinion on here. We all do things for the most part the same way. There are basics in this hoby that most of us follow to some degree. Take a look at a few tanks. get an idea of whats going on first hand then youll be a little farther ahead. You may stop by any time and Id be glad to show you how I do things and Im sure everyone else here would gladly show you thiers. Picture is worth a million words. Once you see hows its done and are able to talk one on one it will be easier ask questions.
 
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