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

[Dankrencisz]

New again, I was on here back a few years ago, lost the tank to a cayanobacteria infection. LFS said to put these drops in. Killed everything. Anyways, fast forward a few years, the 75g tank is back up and running. Currently building a custom 20g sump. Put it back together with some new live rock and a couple bags of seeded sand. Looking forward to being an active member on this forum and becoming an active in the local clubs too.

 

[Voight]

Hey everyone, New to the site and saltwater side of things. I've l been breeding cichlids and plecos for a few years now, but with four tanks it was just costing to much in power. I'm in the process of selling of all my FW fish and equipment, and have purchased a 75 gallon aqueon tank which I plan on turning into a reef tank. I also have an old 37 gallon which will most likely be the sump/refugium. I've been researching a lot, but still have a lot of questions so I will probably be posting slot on here in the weeks to come.

 

[lisamweston]

new aquarium owner

new aquarium owner

hi all, I have a 220 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and sand, sump, protein skimmer and refugium. I admit that I cheated and hired someone to get it all set up and help me learn. I also like learning from these forums, it is a fascinating (and addicting) hobby! After the tank got really ugly, I added 4 sandsifting sea stars, 4 spiny urchins, a bunch of snails and hermit crabs. Once they cleaned it all up I added my first fish: 2 orange clownfish, 2 black clownfish, 1 royal gramma, 1 foxface rabbitfish and 2 yellow-tail blue damsels, oh and 3 cleaner shrimp. They are all doing well, though the shrimp are sad because no one will let them clean them. It was suggested that I wait 4 weeks before adding any new fish so I am planning those out. I would like to get some larger fish that will let the shrimp clean them. I am also wanting to add a second tank that will be able to house seahorses. And I am quite fascinated by all the odd things that are growing from the live rock.

 

[Nikita6711]

She is right, but it's worth every penny.

She is right, but it's worth every penny.

Hello all, I am very new to this hobby, my fiancée had a fresh water 39 G tank with a very large gold fish for years. We moved to a new house and the fish didn't make the move. The tank was sitting there for months so I decided to go get a new stand for it and start it up again. Ended up getting a 36 bow front with stand, and I am leaning towards going salt water. The fiancée is saying no to this due to potential costs. I will continue to do research to inform her, and educate her and myself.

I have to say she is right... haha I started a 47 gallon bow front a little over a year ago... since then I have spent over 10,000 while a lot of that is fish and coral, it is also the chemicals, the pumps, lights and one thing I never thought of.. my electric bill!! The problem is it is so addicting that I ended up starting a second tank, and between the two my electric bill went up an additional 100$ a month! However I have to say it is well worth it... I absolutely love the hobby, and love learning as much as I can about it. There have been days that I have considered throwing in the towel (like the day I came home and every fish in my tank was dead...) but I just couldn't. I just started back at square one. I am not trying to turn you off to the hobby by any means, I just figured I would give my honest opinion. However even if I knew then what I knew now, I still would have done it. It is so much more fun than freshwater. My fiancé and I sometimes sit in front of the tank for hours and every time we do, we discover something new. hope this was helpful.

 

[ReeferNC]

Hey everyone, New to the site and saltwater side of things. I've l been breeding cichlids and plecos for a few years now, but with four tanks it was just costing to much in power. I'm in the process of selling of all my FW fish and equipment, and have purchased a 75 gallon aqueon tank which I plan on turning into a reef tank. I also have an old 37 gallon which will most likely be the sump/refugium. I've been researching a lot, but still have a lot of questions so I will probably be posting slot on here in the weeks to come.

Just a quick note if you didn't know already. Aqueon tanks have tempered bottoms but plate glass sides (anything 55g and up) so you'll be safe to drill the back if you want. It took some research for me initially but I finally got a hold of Aqueons tech support and spoke to someone that really knows their products inside and out.

 

[ReeferNC]

I have to say she is right... haha I started a 47 gallon bow front a little over a year ago... since then I have spent over 10,000 while a lot of that is fish and coral, it is also the chemicals, the pumps, lights and one thing I never thought of.. my electric bill!! The problem is it is so addicting that I ended up starting a second tank, and between the two my electric bill went up an additional 100$ a month! However I have to say it is well worth it... I absolutely love the hobby, and love learning as much as I can about it. There have been days that I have considered throwing in the towel (like the day I came home and every fish in my tank was dead...) but I just couldn't. I just started back at square one. I am not trying to turn you off to the hobby by any means, I just figured I would give my honest opinion. However even if I knew then what I knew now, I still would have done it. It is so much more fun than freshwater. My fiancé and I sometimes sit in front of the tank for hours and every time we do, we discover something new. hope this was helpful.

I gotta say I agree completely. I finally have everything I need to start cycling and just amongst my tank, sump/refugium, and my peripherials, I'm at a total of $2500. And quite frankly that cost is me buying the bare minimum without officially cutting corners and buying crap equipment. It's a lot of fun, but saltwater is a totally different animal than fresh.

 

[yeyarean]

WHuddup everybody!! Been leaching for awhile. Total newb here, just bought a 37g column tank, stand, skimmer and overflow, and a undone sump. Let's do this!!

 

[vipermaverickk]

Hello everyone,

New to the forum, new to the hobby. Glad to finally (officially) be a part of the community. I've been doing some heavy reading over the last 30 days, and I'm about ready to set up a ten gallon nano. Don't worry, I'm taking it slow and steady. My passion for animals and nature is a huge driving factor is ensuring I keep everything happy and thriving. I'm very excited to have my own balanced ecosystem right here in my office! Look forward to getting to know you guys,

Andrew.:wave:

 

[gengle1984]

Hello all,

New to the forum, somewhat new to the hobby. I had a 50 Gal years ago for about 3 years.

Starting fresh with an IM 16 Gal nano. All stock at this point. Just put my sand and live rock in...

 

[sherief.elsayed]

Hello, i am new the saltwater aquarium hobby, and looking forward having a place to come to seek advice from your experienced aquarists

 

[Voight]

Just a quick note if you didn't know already. Aqueon tanks have tempered bottoms but plate glass sides (anything 55g and up) so you'll be safe to drill the back if you want. It took some research for me initially but I finally got a hold of Aqueons tech support and spoke to someone that really knows their products inside and out.

I actually did call aqueon and spoke to someone who gave the the info almost immediately. I was impressed, the phone call lasted less than 2 minutes. I definitely recommend making the call to anyone who is unsure.

 

[AbsoluteAquaria]

Hobbiest from Saint Louis

Hobbiest from Saint Louis

I am new to this forum for a second time (I was active here lots of years ago under a different name)

I currently maintain a 24 gallon nano system with seahorses, a 90 gallon mixed reef, and a 55 gallon freshwater planted aquarium.

 

[JerSaint]

Hello from Mystic!

Hello from Mystic!

Hi All,
My name is Jeremy. I am from Mystic, CT. I just jumped back into the reef keeping portion of the hobby. I currently have started a 29G(about 3 months old) mixed reef that I am planning on stocking at the CT Frag Farmers market. I also have a 37G, 29G & 5.5G planted tanks and a 20G Long planted shrimp tank that have been running for over a year. I have been lurking about reading a ton over the past few weeks and look forward to learning more!

 

[JordanP]

I'm Back - this time with a 120g

I'm Back - this time with a 120g

It has been a while since I have posted. Probably 2 years or so. I had a 29g that did not do so well in our move. We tore it down and converted it to a freshwater. Well, not long after we got the itch for a reef again and decided to go with a 120g drilled beauty. We are really excited. It is currently 90% filled with water (about an inch below the overflow) and the LFS owner is on his way over to help me plumb it. My Reefbreeder 48" Photons should be here in ~2 weeks as should my Neptune Apex controller. Have 52lbs of live rock in there right now and the LFS owner is bring another 50lbs out on his way. I will probably end up putting 20lbs or so of rubble in the sump and then a few more pounds once I am done building my rock and determine where I need more.

 

[lorrainedunn]

I am new to the hobby. My husband and I have always had freshwater tanks but have not had one for a few years. We recently decided that we would like to start a saltwater tank. This has proven to be a daunting task. We purchased a 65 gallon tank and started to buy all the items that we would need to start off with and then I found this forum. As we researched each piece that we were going to purchase this site often had bad reviews for every item that we thought was a great option. We have now owned our tank for one month and are not any closer to having it up and running. We now have the 65 gallon tank with the stand. The only thing in it is live sand and some crushed coral (I think that is what my husband called it). We just received our Lifereef hang on the back overflow box with the silencer. This is after the Aqueon ProFlex Model 110 broke while my husband tried to install it. We have a ProFlex model 3 Sump that we are going to be setting up as a Refugium. We have a Reef Octupus protein skimmer, a Koralia Evolution water pump I think these are wave makers, a Fluval E206 heater, an Aqueon Quietflow submersible pump. Now it is all just sitting in the living room waiting for us and I am lost at where to start. I called someone yesterday that sets up aquariums because I really do not want the expense of rookie mistakes that I am sure we are going to make like breaking the first overflow box. Any advise that you can give me on what to do next would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jshowyin]

Hi,

New member from Sydney, Australia. New to marine tanks too as of the start of the year, though have kept freshwater tanks for 10+ years.

Thanks to all for contributing to a fantastic forum and information source.

Recently purchased a second hand 105g corner tank with a 40g sump. Plan is to set it up as a FOWLR for a while. Once I get more marine experience and feel comfortable that I have created a stable and healthy environment for my tank friends I may consider some low-medium light corals.

Tank is currently an IOWLR (inverts), with a couple of small hermits, a snail and a few denizens that popped out of the live rock I got from the previous owner. Setup the tank a few weeks ago with the intention of running a fishless/invertless cycle. Then the small 10g temp tank I had my CUC in tanked for an unknown reason (PH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates all good, maybe low O2?) and the lesser of two evils was to transfer the CUC early to the new tank. Not ideal, I know, but the family has become very attached to our hermies!

Looking forward to learning more from the forum and enjoying my saltwater journey.

 

[supadupac]

Hello! I am pretty new to this hobby. I've always wanted to get in to it but I never really had the time or place but right now is a good opportunity for me to get in to it.

I am from Saint Paul, Minnesota in the United States. I really want to start small and get some corals going so im looking at getting a 10gallon tank and some good lighting and really start out just doing a live rock and one coral, I have yet to decide what kind of coral im looking at.

I hope I can put some input in on this forum and I hope I can learn a lot too! Wahoo

 

[davericc]

Hi I had fowlr 75 gallon tank about 15 years ago. I'm getting back in hopefully by this summer.I have been reading this forum and I'm very appreciative of all the information.The hobby has changed so much .


Thanks

Dave

 

[greenlep7]

Hi all, Well I am returning to this lifestyle after 10 years being away and i am amazed at the advances since i left. I had a 30 gallon long fish only salt water predator tank and after that went to a 55 long. I would like to do a nano or mini in the 30 gallon range reef friendly tank. I have been doing a lot of research on nuvo systems and leaning toward that to get me back in the lifestyle. So any insight or comments hit me up.

Ted

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

Hello everyone. I grew up with a freshwater tank and now I'm looking to start a reef tank for my kids to enjoy (at least that's what I'm telling my wife). Been researching this for a couple of months. I can see this is going to be a long, slow process.

Ivan