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

[Slocum]

I'm new

I'm new

Hey RC, I'm Patrick. I consider myself a novice/intermediate reefer. I have a 55 gal tank with a lionfish, clowns, anemone, mushrooms, kenya tree, etc. I just purchased some AquaRay Ultima NP 1500's and I'm still waiting on them to arrive. I'm running 50/50 flourescent/actinic lights, I know they're nothing special, but my tank's doing ok. I'm really expecting a "boom" in the tank once I get these new lights installed. I'll keep you posted!

 

[Patti7dc]

Hello RC - I have made a post or two already but I am still relatively new to the site and the hobby. I am a moderately experienced freshwater fish keeper and wanted to try my hand at saltwater. After extensive reading I decided to set up a 29 gallon tank so I could save money on the equipment side by setting up a nano reef. I have an excellent reef-specific shop locally that is filled with wonderful people that give me the same advice I've read about on here and after being set up for a couple months, I have two clowns, a bicolor blenny, and a purple firefish all doing fantastic in my 29 gallon tank! I also very quickly realized that while I check the tank several times daily, it is a fragile little system. I am VERY excited to say that as of this weekend I will be the proud owner of a "previously enjoyed" 90 gallon system complete with 30G sump and skimmer. Once that tank cycles I'll be moving my fish over and working on that tank for the future . I am in my very early 30's but last year decided to return to school so I find myself once again a student. I am excited to be able to enjoy this hobby while trying not to spend money I don't have. My hobbies include kayaking, traveling, and STUDYING, haha. I live in the Rochester, NY area and have two cats.

 

[JD_n_Nikki]

We are new to the site and wet behind the ears when it come to Saltwater tanks. We were given a 75 gallon tank and look forward to transforming it into a FOWLR and then adding coral shortly after. We look forward to all the help that we can get as we are just starting to research what will be needed to get out tank started.

 

[mcrbar910]

New again

New again

Hey guys I am Melody and I am new to the site again....I was on in 2006 and just last week decided to start again due to my 15 year old daughter getting inspired by advanced biology. Its been a long time so I am a newbie again. Our tank is new so we have a 50 gallon cube with live rock and just added 2 allardi clowns. We are oing it right and taking it slow this time. La ime. Had a little aquapod.

 

[Omen72]

New to the hobby

New to the hobby

I am new to the hobby,I haven't gotten started yet as I am in the process of building a house,I just got to thinking a reef tank would look good in my mancave after the house is done and my brother sk75 told me about this site so I joined and look forward to expanding my knowledge so that I can hit the ground running when the time comes and get my reef tank set up properly and have a better chance at success,Thanks for letting me join.

 

[Overgrown]

Hello RC my name is Matt i live in NJ i am very new to this, this is my first forum as well as my first time starting a marine tank. Im starting with a 29 Gallon tank. i want it to be mostly reef with mayb 4 - 5 fish. My tank will not have a sump due to space restrictions. The only items i have at this time is the 29 Gallon tank im debating between getting a Fluval 305 Canister filter or a Penguin 200 Power filter. I have an Oceanic Protein skimmer, and a heater. Im looking to start off with about 20 - 30 pounds of live rock and about 30 pounds of live sand. Like i said this is all very new to me and i have a lot of questions and will take any and all advice that i can get. Look foward to hearing from u guys. Thanks

I would steer clear of the Fluval 305 as well as the Penguin 200. You don't need them. A decent skimmer( I'm not familiar with the quality of the Oceanic), decent flow, weekly water changes and frequent water param testing is all you really need. Some carbon and/ or gfo in a mesh bag( chemi pure) in one of the
chambers couldn't hurt.
Further: be advised that heaters can and will malfunction and fail to switch off once the desired temp is reached, and will keep heating the tank. For this reason a controller and/or a chiller is critical so as to not fry the tank if (when)this were to happen. Good luck

 

[Yoga]

Most Compact and Efficient Tank Setup with minimum footprint

Most Compact and Efficient Tank Setup with minimum footprint

Hi, there,
This is my first day here. I love the layout and the page loads fast.

I have owned a freshwater tank for 2 years and a marine tank for 6 months.

My current setup :

1) tank - 50 gallon
2) live rock, corals, fish
3) deltec MCE 600 skimmer
4) titanium chiller
5) Three VEGA colour LED

I plan to upgrade to a 3 feet tank. I love to have a simple setup with minimum maintenance.

Preferbly the tank above and a sump and stuff below with minimum footprint.

Any suggestions ?

Yoga

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

Just realized I introduced myself in the wrong area :/
I'm still only a few months into the freshwater hobby but I have 100 gallons of freshwater and my wife and daughter are involved too. Even the Malamute loves to watch the big tank (though for different reasons I'm sure)

 

[Fjbrunson]

Fjbrunson

Fjbrunson

85 gallon saltwater tank in place perfectly for 4 months with professional 2 week service. Lost 10 fish in last 10 days including my 2 original clowns. Got the "ick" they say. All water properties perfect.. I mean perfect. Blame last batch of newbies. What have I gotten myself into?
FJB

 

[narultimate]

Hello RC,

Im Sebastian, I consider myself a beginner in this hobby as I've only had freshwater tanks. I've had a 6 gallon Fluval Edge Freshwater setup with 3 hatchet fish, 1 neon tetra, 1 albino catfish, 1 upside down catfish for about a year now with no problems. I am very glad I found this forum cause I am thinking of either converting my fluval edge to a saltwater tank, or just buying a bigger tank maybe 16-20gallon which ever is more economic. Since I am a college student so price is important, but I was hoping to learn from what others have done and read as much as possible b4 making any decisions.

 

[indianocean]

I'm new to reef central

I'm new to reef central

Hello Everybody!

I am new to reef central but not new to marine aquariums.
I just set up my 225 gallon. Its been up and running for 4 months.

I have read a ton on this site over the years but never registered.

See you around!

 

[TideReefer]

Hello Reef Central
I am new to saltwater aquairms. My tank is a 75 gallon glass non drilled with overflow to a eshopp 100 reef sump. The sump has a 200 micron mesh filter and reef octopus nwb 150. The return pump is an reefblo hole 850 and two Koralia 1400 for flow. I also am running an BRS Gfo reactor. The tank is 5 weeks old. My lights are two 120 watt Chinese dimmiable LEDs. Bought from a guy who said he has tested them on his Reef tank with sps in the tank (test was at 8 months when I bought them)? I hand dose Dkh and Kent's 2 part daily. What do I need to add/change? I have a bad hair algae problem is there anything I can do? I have no nitrite and 20 ppm nitrate.
Thanks

 

[letsmod]

My name is Ed, purchased a Biocube 29, been running for 3 weeks and love reading these forums, so much info here my head has been spinning and drooling over these large tanks, been searching CL for a good established tank for a fair price

 

[goldfin]

Hi all

Hi all

I'm a reborn reefer. Worked up to a 180 gallon back in the day when deep sand beds were in, wound up with an algae problem I couldn't lick, and gave up. I got the bug again recently and started a 90 gallon. I'm amazed at how much the hobby has learned since I left it 8 years ago. Going bare bottom this time and things are starting off very well. Some things I've learned from mistakes: 1) you need to be willing to spend on the areas that count, a good skimmer, good water flow, dosing pumps, an ATO, the lights, and reliable tests, 2) read, read, read -- a hundred small things will come up -- use the search function on RC (oh! I need to wait 20 seconds to see if blue turns back to purple on my calcium test, but shouldn't wait after the initial blue appears on the magnesium test), 3) expect the bad things that happen to everyone else to happen to you, and anticipate what you will do (yes, you really do need to dip your corals rather than just hoping you won't be one of those that wind up with pests), and 4) be precise (parameter fluctuations really do make for bad outcomes, and you need to work hard at consistency in temp, sg, mg, ca, alk). As someone aptly put it here on RC, it helps to have an unhealthy obsessive compulsion for growing colored sticks in water.:thumbsup:

 

[ReefSolutions]

Hello everyone my name is Kevin, I have owned and operated an aquarium maintenance and design company for the last 20 years. I figured its about time I join the community.

 

[Tron68]

Oldie and Newbie Here

Oldie and Newbie Here

Howdy folks,

Had my first reef tank in 2001...a 110g tall show tank( what a pain that tall tank was...but boy did it ever look sweet). Ran that until having to make a long distance move in 2005. Sold everything at that time. I've finally settled down and don't anticipate moving for a while now...so thought I'd jump back in. I'm just in the early stages of setting up a 28g JBJ Nano Cube...the Pro Model with LED lights. Have my system up and running with water and sand in there...now looking at live rock options online (LFS where I live sucks). I am taking this as slow and deliberate as possible, so I make well thought out decisions as I stock the tank. I will be running everything through a Neptune Apex controller, as I travel a fair amount, and want to minimize potential problems when my house sitter is here.

Looking forward to "re-learning" everything, and glad I found this board....I think I will need all the help I can get.

 

[BlindZide]

Hello RC

My name is Trent, I'm 29 and a Communications Technician. I have been married 5 years and was blessed enough to have a 4yr old little girl 9 months after we got married (WTG honey moon am I right?) and I am on my 2nd go round in this hobby.

My tank has been going for a while now and is going strong. Corals and fish are doing well. My first time around in the hobby, tank was wiped by Ich. Nasty little disease. My buddies GF works for the aquarium in Virginia Beach and is a marine biologist so she has been answering some questions I have as well as skimming through this forum and other sites as well. This site has been the most friendly and educational one yet so here I am. I also have 3 local saltwater specialty stores. (lucky me right?)

Build is in my signature. Thanks!

 

[SirSalty]

Hello all

Hello all

Hello all-

I'm returning to the hobby after a few decades off. I had my first saltwater tank about 20 years ago and did everything wrong (under gravel filter, lots of damsels, no QT, a tang in a 55g, a HOB 'skilter', etc). Now, with years of freshwater tanks under my belt, the opening of several reef specialty shops in my area, and a great bit more study, I'm back into saltwater with renewed interest (and equipment!).

I've valued input from this and other forums in addition to advice from my LFS's over the past few years and look forward to participating. I've recently upgraded my 37g FOWLR to a 125g Reef and thus far couldn't be happier.

Cheers!

 

[SEEMAC]

I started my first reef tank about 25 years ago...I have always enjoyed taking care of all the different aspects of a reef tank from the proper care and feeding of the fish and corals to the chemistry that is required to properly keep a reef tank. I have been reading posts on reefcentral for about 10 years however I had a different screen name.

 

[parisiot]

Freshie here. Started with a 20. Already bought a 30 and am setting up a sump and getting ready for reefing. 2 clown, fire angel, fire shrimp so far.
Been looking to getting into the hobby for a while.