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

[CeeDub]

Hello Folks, I'm CeeDub from Portland, Oregon. I'm new to reefkeeping, but not to fishkeeping. I keep several tanks of freshwater Mbuna (African Cichlids) and South American Puffers. I use to keep saltwater fish many years ago, but got out of it when my son was born. The kid is 35 years old and on his own. So dad is getting into reefing! I have always been fascinated by reef tanks and I'm excited to get started.

I've got an 28 gallon Nano Cube sitting empty. Besides a heater and two extra wavemakers, I haven't purchased any substate or live rock. I'm just taking my time, to learn some of the in's and out's before I acquire any additional equipment. Hope to have the tank up and running over the winter.


I'm a blank slate to reef aquaria, so i'm here to learn as much as I can from my fellow forum members. So please let me apologize, in advance, for all the questions that I will be asking over the next months.

Thanks - CeeDub

 

[reefrookie2013]

New Reef Tank

New Reef Tank

Hello! I recently acquired a reef set-up from a friend, who basically tried to put it on cruise control, but as a newbie I've managed to misunderstand a lot of the instructions. Unfortunately I do not know a lot of details besides that it's a 100 gallon tank with a few fish, and various soft corals, LPS, SPS and an anemone/clownfish.

Good luck to me, right? ;-)

 

[italianexotix13]

Hey

Hey

Hey Im Joe from Long Island , New York. Ive had a ton of fresh water fish tanks over the past 6 years and finally decided im going to set up my first salt water reef tank. I just got rid of my 75 gallon lake malawi african cichlid tank figured that would be a good size to start at. Any Information would be great lighting wise, sump set up , brands to stay away from, anything to start of on the right foot.

 

[Damnitjosh]

Hey, my names Josh from Eugene Oregon. I am new to reef aquariums I have had a few small tanks, a 6 and a 10g nano and currently have a 55g truvu hex, with a 30g sump, an in sump protein skimmer and a Rena filstar xp3 for added filtration and a coralife cfl light with a 50/50 12,000k / actinic bulb, It is currently cycling with 60lbs of Live rock and 65lbs of live sand. Not sure what I will stock it with. Suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks for reading. Have a good day

 

[Reef860]

Hello, my name is Andy. I'm very new to the hobby. I set up a 50 gallons tank 6 week ago, and finally added 4 damsels in the tank to complete the cycle. I want to turn it to a reef tank and few fishes. Anyone from Connecticut or western mass could help me out with the tank would be great..

 

[SWirene]

Hello to RC

Hello to RC

Hello, I am new to RC, and trying to establish a stable SW 90 Gal. tank since Nov. 2011. This new hobby is expensive but captivating to me. For the past two years I say my couple fish should be set free and not suffer from my growing knowledge pains! I go to the store and try to fix -stabilize my next problem. Irene

 

[EDARVI1113]

Im new to the hobby

Im new to the hobby

Im new to this hobby i been having my tank for about 1 month now i have like 5 nemos and live rock and a couple of anemones i think my tank is doing great

 

[Redman88]

hello, new to Saltwater, and i am starting to prep for a 55gallon FOWLR setup. plan is to start running water in March, i figure 6 months is long enough to get all the supplies and build system.

 

[Alvin88m]

Hi guys my names alvin I have a 75g tank. Recently I went an had my water tested I was told my mag was very low. Idk how much mag to add to my tank to get back to normal. Btw the mag is at 900

 

[geraldineriley]

Hello! I am a newbie here and have become a fan of the community. Nice look and feel. Hope to enjoy more in future here

 

[hollyk]

Hi all! My name is Holly, and I'm new to both the forum and to marine fish. When my extremely old brackish water puffer died early in the summer (SIP, Buddy! :'( ) I decided I really wanted to try a saltwater tank- I love clownfish! The way they swim is so cute, and they're just bright and fun and cheery. So I did some research, read a few books, visited a lot of websites, and got my first clown, a regular ocellaris, a couple months later. After he was doing well for a few weeks, I added a mate for him, a black ocellaris. I'm a little surprised at how quickly they bonded- they're almost too sweet. I'm waiting for the bomb to drop on the whole male/female battle. LOL!

I'm loving my sweet little clowns, though, and I look forward to learning more and sharing experiences on this forum.

Oh yes, and I'm also mom to a cat, a guinea pig, a parakeet, and 7 bettas! Yikes!

 

[RandoReefer]

Im new to this hobby i been having my tank for about 1 month now i have like 5 nemos and live rock and a couple of anemones i think my tank is doing great

Welcome EDARVI113! BTW calling them "Nemos" may stir up some emotions in people on here... :facepalm: LOL. Knowledge comes with time though... PICS?? Good luck with your inhabitants!

hello, new to Saltwater, and i am starting to prep for a 55gallon FOWLR setup. plan is to start running water in March, i figure 6 months is long enough to get all the supplies and build system.

WELCOME Redman88!! Great idea by taking your time and planning your tank out! It will really help you avoid common beginner mistakes and pitfalls. While you wait, read, read, and read some more. AND don't forget to start a build thread to bring us along for your journey!!

Hi guys my names alvin I have a 75g tank. Recently I went an had my water tested I was told my mag was very low. Idk how much mag to add to my tank to get back to normal. Btw the mag is at 900

WELCOME Alvin88m!! 75gal is a great size to start with! Mag is relatively easy to raise. Normally, people shoot for 1300ppm. There are a couple of options to raise it. Check out the marine vendors like (Bulk Reef Supply, Dr. Fosters & Smith, Marine Depot). They all stock some sort of Mag dosing products. These can easily be mixed with RO/DI water and dosed to your tank by hand. (There is a lot more discussion in this topic. Search RC and read thousands of threads about Mag.) Secondly, you could change salt mixes to one with higher Mag levels. If you are using a basic salt mix (I.e. Instant Ocean) the Ca, Mg, and Alk levels will be lower than their Reef Crystals line. If you don't want to get into dosing Ca, Mg, and Alk just yet, you may want to shoot for a more "Reef-centric" salt mix. GOOD LUCK and happy reefing!!

Hello! I am a newbie here and have become a fan of the community. Nice look and feel. Hope to enjoy more in future here

WELCOME geraldineriley!! This is one of the best, if not the best, marine community! Everyone looks forward to following your future posts and trying to help out with your questions. Good Luck!

 

[RandoReefer]

Sort of new. I used to visit RC 6 or 7 years ago. Got out of the hobby because my job required me to travel a lot. Looking to get back in. It's nice to see that not much has changed in the recent past.

WELCOME BACK!!

Hello everyone. My name is Eric. I am a new reefer. I have a six gallon Fluval Edge which I love the look. It has been up and running for about a year. As a beginner, I am being tested with the size of this tank and the design of it. I look forward to learning more and more about this new and exciting hobby!

Welcome! Thanks for your service. Fellow brother-in-arms here (Army-11yrs). Nano/Pico tanks can be difficult, but I've seen some really GREAT looking Fluval Edges as reef tanks! Good luck, brother. Ask tons of questions and POST PICS! Good Luck!

Hello Folks, I'm CeeDub from Portland, Oregon. I'm new to reefkeeping, but not to fishkeeping. I keep several tanks of freshwater Mbuna (African Cichlids) and South American Puffers. I use to keep saltwater fish many years ago, but got out of it when my son was born. The kid is 35 years old and on his own. So dad is getting into reefing! I have always been fascinated by reef tanks and I'm excited to get started.

I've got an 28 gallon Nano Cube sitting empty. Besides a heater and two extra wavemakers, I haven't purchased any substate or live rock. I'm just taking my time, to learn some of the in's and out's before I acquire any additional equipment. Hope to have the tank up and running over the winter.


I'm a blank slate to reef aquaria, so i'm here to learn as much as I can from my fellow forum members. So please let me apologize, in advance, for all the questions that I will be asking over the next months.

Thanks - CeeDub

WELCOME TO RC CeeDub!! Great way to keep the paternal instinct going...raise and nurture a beautiful reef! Don't apologize at all for questions...that's what this whole community is about! This forum is FULL of the most knowledgeable hobbyists out there, and they are very helpful. So, flood the forum with questions and some pictures! Good Luck, Happy Reefing!!

Hello! I recently acquired a reef set-up from a friend, who basically tried to put it on cruise control, but as a newbie I've managed to misunderstand a lot of the instructions. Unfortunately I do not know a lot of details besides that it's a 100 gallon tank with a few fish, and various soft corals, LPS, SPS and an anemone/clownfish.

Good luck to me, right? ;-)

WELCOME reefrookie2013!! With some research, questions and some more research, you can easily get the hang of this hobby. Don't get discouraged! Seems like you've got the first step out of the way (purchasing equipment and livestock). Spend copious amounts of time reading the basics of water chemistry, filtration methods/cycles, livestock care.... There's TONS of knowledge out there. Don't hesitate to ask even the most basic question. That's what this community is for! Good luck! Happy Reefing! Stick with it!!

Hey, my names Josh from Eugene Oregon. I am new to reef aquariums I have had a few small tanks, a 6 and a 10g nano and currently have a 55g truvu hex, with a 30g sump, an in sump protein skimmer and a Rena filstar xp3 for added filtration and a coralife cfl light with a 50/50 12,000k / actinic bulb, It is currently cycling with 60lbs of Live rock and 65lbs of live sand. Not sure what I will stock it with. Suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks for reading. Have a good day

WELCOME Damnitjosh!! Sounds like you are on the right path thus far! Kudos to you! Be sure to research your potential livestock's habits, level of care, compatibility, and basic needs before purchasing. You want to provide the best environment for happy fish and corals. With so many options out there, just start looking. Figure out what characteristics and colors that you want, search through available options (LiveAquaria is a good site to browse!) and build a plan. Don't forget to post your intended fish purchases in this thread ( http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2068112&page=309 ). The mods on there will provide you with some no-BS, and objective advice that will help! GOOD LUCK!! HAPPY REEFING!! POST A BUILD THREAD OR PICS!

 

[konagirl3]

The New Girl

The New Girl

Hey everyone--my name is Jenn and I live in Springfield, Tennessee. I moved to the south last summer after living my whole life in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. Leaving the ocean that had been an everyday part of my existence was difficult, but since I found the man of my dreams here and am now married, I know I made the right choice! Needless to say, a reef tank was an absolute must for our new home together.

Back home in Kona, I had my Dept. of Land and Natural Resources collector's permit and was able to collect my own specimens for a free 29-gallon I ran into--I filled it with 30 lbs. of sand from my favorite beach (Makalawena, if any of you have made it out there), used ocean water for all water changes, and kept a couple Hawaiian toby puffers, a blue-stripe pipe fish, mated pairs of both coral banded shrimp and the turquoise marbled sarona species, as well as countless hermits, cowries, urchins, gobies, blennies, and snails--not to mention one hermit the size of my fist with hot pink fuzzy legs! Anyway, I really had no idea what I was doing at the time and I had much more success than I should have had with such little knowledge and only a tiny hang-on-the-back filter/skimmer combo.

These days, as manager of an LFS just across the border in Kentucky that specializes in saltwater stock, I have done my research (all hail Julian Sprung and J. Charles Delbeek) and am vowing to be better!

Current tank setup:
72 Bowfront, 29 gallon sump
48" Aquatic Life HO t5s, 2 actinic, 1 purple, 1 day, w/LED moonlights
Eshopps s-120 Cone Skimmer
Bio filtration: about 50 lbs. live rock, 80 lbs. pink fijian sand
Mechanical filtration: one pre-filter sock (7") where overflow first enters sump, one filter floss pad against egg crate before water hits return pump

Tank has been up and running since 9/14/13, went through diatoms and everything, appears to have been cycled since 10/6/13, currently housing:

Fish:
One pair ocellaris clowns (one orange/black misbar along with one black/white)
A couple of blue/green chromis

Corals:
Green Bubble coral (about 3" across)
Two heads Australian Blastomussa (purple/green)
Metallic green starry polyps (tiny section)
Blue Anthelia (tiny section)
Orange Yuma Ricordea (single tiny head)
Metallic green mushroom (single tiny head)
Purple fungia (about 4" across)
Purple-tipped green branching frogspawn (about 2" across)

Inverts:
2 blue-knuckle hermits
4 nassarius snails (.75")

Sorry if I broke any rules about writing too much!! Glad to join the (mostly boys') club :celeb3:

 

[curt e c]

Hello All

Hello All

Hi everyone,
I've had fresh water aquariums for over 6 years and started a marine aquarium 6 months ago.
Its been quite a journey so far and forever finding new amazing things.
Most things i've been able to identify, however i just bought a pulsing zenia frag and noticed a black circle on the frag, its been in the tank for two days and now has opened up, it has tentacles that fluoresce green on the tips.
Can anyone help me identify this species so i know whether or not to remove.

 

[Zekerbox]

I'm excited to get back into aquariums! I hope to get some good advice and guidance from Reef Central. I have a lot of years of experience with freshwater, but im really looking forward to getting into saltwater.

 

[Fish Ed]

Hi, I'm Ed.
I've been in freshwater hobby, keeping plants, fish and aquascaping for about 8 years. I felt like I wasn't ready for marine aquarium which I had been thinking about doing a year or 2 ago because I was always afraid of it as it seems really hard and are demanding. I finally started a couple months ago and so far so good and it's not as hard as I thought it was.

What really made me get started was just a simple video of a FOWLR aquarium which showed how simple it is to start one. After researching and more researching I get to understand about how marine system works then I came across a beautiful picture and the setup of a nano ricordea garden and that really inspired me into starting a reef tank.

I joined a few days ago but has been reading before I started the marine hobby as I find that there are a lot of interesting threads out here, especially the rate that it is being answered and that is really helpful especially when the questions are urgent. This forum website is a keeper!

 

[Stevebutters]

Hi all! I am new to the hobby, like most other posters here. I take care of all the freshwater fish for a local Petsmart but have always wanted a reef tank! So I finally went out a purchased a new IM Nuvo 30 and filled it with 25 lbs of live sand, and 35 lbs of cured live rock. I am running a dual t5 HO light, one actinic and one 10,000 K, an IM Skimmate, and a media basket converted to a small refugium with Chaeto and live rock. I also have two hydor 425 gph circulators in the main tank and an eheim 150W heater keeping the water nicely at 77 degrees. The tank has been running for about 3 weeks now on RO/DI water with Instant ocean salt mix, though I just did a 10% water change with Instant ocean reef crystals as I hope to start adding live stock this weekend, starting with some xenia. I also have a 10gal QT set up running a Fluval U2 submersible filter unit with biomax. It has been running for about two weeks and I am thinking I will purchase a fire fish this weekend to start my marine fish journey! Ive been spending lots of time reading and learning here on RC as well as some books Ive purchased and am very exited to get my tank slowely going in the right direction!

 

[Brentleewest]

Hey all still new to the reef at about a year, but I've gone through a few tanks 20,50,90 and now I'm at a 5 pico haha. Looking forward to all the great advice given from this site. I started my pico from a thread I found on here so I figured I'd sign up and give this a try.

 

[Willmarr]

Hey RC I'm fairly new to this . I've got a 120 with a cs overflow I believe a 40 gal wet dry sump with a 1200 gph pump and a coral life in sump protein skimmer . I have a 2 clowns and what I believe to be a carpet anemone frog spawn and trumpet coral and dome mushrooms