If You Are New to Reef Central, Introduce Yourself Here!

[dsobo]

Hello I am new to the saltwater hobby, I have had freshwater tanks n he past, but have been away fom the hobby for about 8 years. I am in the market of creating a reef tank particularly looking at a 60 gal cube or a 54 gal corner till deciding. Hoping for a great experience or a long time o come.

 

[Suprbug]

Hello

Hello

Here's an update and an introduction. My name is bill and a lfs sold me a story on how easy and quick this would be. I have learned from theses pages how untrue that is.
I live in the Wilmington DE area, have had freshwater over the years but have always wanted a marine tank.
I have one now, and although it may be a cautionary tale I plan to make the best of it. Optimisim rules!
Before i found this site my reading led me to put in as much live rock as I could afford thinking that would create an instantly cycled tank! I now have 4 less fish because of my exuberance.
Yesterday a lfs tested my water and all parameters were fine (the cheapo tests that i had were reading fine btw) he suggested that i may have just recieved sick fish. He gave me two more blue damsels.
I did take the lid off the tank after reading sk8tr' awesome primer on starting a new tank and now everything seems fine.
I will be looking in to get an ro unit when finances allow, and I will be gettin proper testing equipment asap.
I do have a ? I just top off with freshwater? How low should i allow it to go before topping off or is it a matter of salinity concentration?
I also learned that camel shrimp eat coral so I guess i gotta eventually get them out but should i do it now to maybe save any hitchhikers?
This forum is informative as heck.

Here's the deal. I had a 55g sitting gathering dust, deep blue high out put lights with actinics and led moonlights. I always wanted a reef tank but decided to go fresh to save on cost, time, etc. I went to a local fish dealer told him the situation and he said that i could have a saltwater tank up in a day or two! Within my budget!
I bought an emperor 400 w/bio-wheels, inert sand, marine salt, 150w heater, thermometer, a bottle of bacteria, and a hydrometer. I was told to set it up that night with salinity at 1.022 and the next day bring back some water to test. If I got the water right I would get a few starter fish.
I was sold 4 blue damsels and told they like structure, so off to petco went me and my wife. We went to get temporary artificial structures but saw they sold fiji live rock and bought 8 nice sized pieces along with two camel shrimp.
Put those in the tank and everything looked nice, but hey what did I know? I gleaned more from this website just last night than I was told in five or six trips to various petstores.
So, the damsels started looking out of breath and one died. Went and got apiece of live rock with nice corraline algea on it, a bag of live packaged aragonite and put those in, then did a 5g water change.
My daughter and her boyfriend upon seeing that the tank was now filled brought home two small common clownfishes.
Now, I understand that this is not necessarily a good thing considering I know next to nothing about keeping live rock or marine fish!
So here is where I am now. One clown, one blue damsel left, two shrimp, and a fair amount of rock. I also got an ammonia test kit and a six panel test kit the other day and put a power head into the tank.
Am I spitting into the wind? I realize that i started this with not enough knowledge or patience, but is the situation salvageable?
Any and all advice would be appreciated. I dont like seeing these fish stress and die.

 

[aquaspace]

Hi there.... this is Babu living in Bangalore, India. I'm very new to this hobby, just started with a 75gallon FO sumpless tank. I have some experience with planted tanks for a while, and now decided to go the salty way... I'm really fascinated by the marine life, and the efforts that many people around the world take in bringing a portion of the reef into their homes. Itz my dream that one day I'll have a small setup at my place too. RC is an amazing place to learn, share and keep learning... My learning just started and a big thank you to so many experienced folks who share their experiences which is so helpful for newbies like me.

 

[nicholasdances]

Hello all, name is Nicholas. I am 21 and have been doing FW tanks for about 4 years. Decided to get rid of my FW tanks and want to start with a 180g reef tank. I have always done big tanks. I have a go big or go home mentality and am excited to get started.

 

[Rploaded]

Hello Everyone,

I have been in the hobby for about 12 years. I have had all sorts of tanks and types of fish/corals over the years. I am currently building a large reef tank for which I have started its own thread you can see it here. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2132771

This will give you lots more info..... Hope I can help other newbies as they get started.

 

[TripsterAK]

Hey Everyone,

Names Dustin and Im from Anchorage, Alaska. I am just getting started in this Hobby. I currently have a 75G tank. I built a Custom Stand for it. I have a CPR 102 OVerflow and a Custom Piped Return that is on eachside of the tank. I just did my first leak test yesterday and things went well. Hopefully I can get some Sand and Live Rock in this weekend and Start cycling.

 

[SSTR]

Newbie

Newbie

Hello all I just joined today after about two weeks of lurking this was one of the most common forums I read so i'd like to say thanks for all the great info! I have a 55 gallon cichlid tank and the reason I am here is a 29 gallon reef startup I am currently trying to get leveled out to start adding some livestock. I am in Bowling Green KY and as of now the tank is going on two weeks with live rock. I have a Coralife 30" T5 with 124 watts and a PSK-75H skimmer, everything is going well so far! Looking into some DI systems now.

 

[sEaLiFe4LiFe]

Hey everybody!!

Hey everybody!!

My name is George from Lake Worth FL and started to build a 75g reef tank. I had the tank sitting in the garage for years and my friend gave me that extra push to get it started! I'm a newbie to this beautiful hobby and excited to watch my tank grow over time! It's been 3 months so far and am amazed how well I've been doing! I'll add some pics when I can cause it doesn't allow me to from my phone! Good luck to all the newbies!!

 

[Tempelton Pec]

Hi everyone,

My name is Carlos, I am from Spain. I have been like three years with reef tanks and I have just joined reefcentral.

I opened a thread withmy tank and the current probs I am having but wasn't very popular.

Right now i have a 120g with some fish (3 clown fish), 1 tang, 1 Chelmon and corals (SPS,LPS, zoanthid and some softies)

Here is my thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2129937

Hope it goes better soon and I can update with some pics!

 

[YamahaF934]

Hello,

I am new here but love all the advice I have been able to get so far. I am starting a 140 gallon build with 40 breeder sump. I will start a build thread as I have many questions. I am from Pullman, WA as a recent graduate from WSU.

 

[jim jr]

new guy

new guy

Hi I'm Jim from S.C I've had reef tanks for about 5 years now , my current tank is a 125 mixed reef 20 gal sump and 8 t-5 bulbs over top

 

[Michael99]

Hey

Hey

Hey everyone. My name is Michael and I have had freshwater tanks for ten years now. I have always wanted to do salt but just never got around to it. I am finally planning to set up a saltwater tank next month. I am in the "get as much info as i can mode now". I actually bought some equipment years ago to start salt tank, but then chickened out. I just dont want to mess up I guess. And the crazy price for live rock pushed me away. I hope to have a sucessful sw tank in the near future. Thanks everyone in advance for your knowledge!

 

[buterflybaby22]

New to saltwater....

New to saltwater....

Hey:fish1:
My name is Becky and I am from Lockport, NY and i have been in freshwater for years and now it is time to get a reef tank that I have always wanted. I am getting a 300 gallon cube and will be looking.for a.complete filtration and lightening set up. I have found enough corals, and rock but.still on the search for.sand.
Let me know if anybody out there has any tips and advise for me. Let me know if anyone is selling a good sump set up and/ or lights....sand to.

 

[Bryckitall]

Mad chemist plumber

Mad chemist plumber

Thats what this forum is turning me into....the ideas just don't stop!
I had a fifty five gal for about a year, bought a house so now I can get a real one, or two.....or three displays going. Starting out with a 75g display and using old 55g for sump in basement.... Eventually, but for now just gonna do water changes n top offs by hand.

Love this forum keep up the good work, salties!

 

[The Alchemist]

greetings from aussieland

love this forum and have been learning from it since i started reefing a while back now

look forward to being a little more active on the forum

 

[chuysvt]

new to the site

new to the site

hey guys im new to the site ,i have 2 tanks one bow front 46g reef,10g flower base tank still working on...i have had saltwater tanks for 2 years now.

 

[mhowe9]

Not necessarily new but decided to get off my but and final post things here. I have lurked around for years for various pieces of info but really got into posted.

My name is Mike and I live in the Detroit area. I am currently involved with the Marinelife Aquarium Society of Michigan (MASM) as Treasurer and serve a Council member for the Marine Breeding Initiative. (MBI)

I currently have a 245G tank that I am going try a butterfly tank to see if it works. I also have about 500G devoted to breeding as well.

I moved this summer and lost most of my fish so I am working towards getting things set back up again.

 

[metusoccultus]

hi all my name is metus. I'm new to saltwater and have a lot of questions lol.

 

[chevyman1856]

hello

new to saltwater, hava a freshwater now, with live plants pressurized c02.
I always thought that salwater tanks were alot of work, just from reading they aren't that hard.

My first question what size tank should i start with?

 

[reefer727]

Just started my 150 dd build. I have 50 pounds of pukani cooking away in a rubbermaid. Looking forward to getting to know you and learning along the way.