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

[SunReef_Victor]

Brand Spankin new

Brand Spankin new

I just today converted my 30gal aquarium to a beginning reef tank. In preparation to starting this journey I have been lurking these forums for about a month and learning, relearning, and learning some more. I decided I wanted to go with just a regular reef tank over a FOWLR due to how amazing they can look and the possibilities!

I have "Samoan pink gravel" as the substrate, it's a lot like large coarse sand and the guy over at the LFS recommended. I also bought about 15 pounds of "dead rock" over live rock due to today's budget. in about a week I will be adding more Live rock and another piece of dead rock just to keep the price a little lower as it cycles. He told me add a capfull of "MiroBacter" to the tank every day and it will start feeding the rock. I trust him and I hope you guys will tell me if anything I'm doing is wrong or maybe there is a simpler way.

After reading some of the forums here I decided to keep my tank at ~80 degrees. Seems like the best for a beginning reef. One of the employees at the LFS told me to cycle using two of the Damsels and come get them in about a week but I checked up on here and I agree that's a really bad way of doing things so i just want to use the frozen shrimp to feed the bacteria!

Anyways, my name is Victor, I'm from the Portland area and I hope to be in this hobby for many years and apart of this community! I'm not sure how to upload images but I'll keep the progress of my tank updated as I can!

 

[vDUTCHv]

New to the hobby and new to RC!

New to the hobby and new to RC!

I saw on many different yahoo Q&A's that this is the place to learn and wrap my brain around this stuff. I Just purchased a 29G tank and was going to setup a new freshwater system, but after my trip to Hawaii I kind of want a piece of that under water beauty back home in the Midwest. So here I am, trying to figure out what I need to get started! Any tips, guidance, other websites, anything would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance :fish1:

 

[Clownfish Chris]

Hello all. I started into this hobby (salt anyway) about six month ago. I have had fresh water for years and also have a much higher than average understanding of aquatic biology.I bought a 10 gallon tank and on a whim picked up a bag of salt to go with it. I stocked it with established live rock and sand from a 6 year old tank a friend was breaking down.I watched the ammonia and nitrate levels for two weeks with a very short cycle. After the first month, added a couple of clowns. I have since turned the 10gal into a sump for a 29gal, added a few fish, better lights, an anemone, and a few corals. I know this seems like a lot but I have been very careful about having the rite equipment and water parameters. I have lost no fish and only one coral frag that a snail knocked off a rock and got stung to death by an other coral over night.

 

[MrFantasy]

Hello All

Hello All

I'm Warren, aka MrFantasy just looking to get started in salt water aquarium hobby, I have a couple of fresh water tanks at the moment and I'm doing pretty well keeping them going. I'm not real wealthy so it's going to take me awhile to set up what I have, 6 to 8 months probably but I'm interested so I'm going to do it. I have an auto upholstery shop and that's where I plan to put my tank. While looking for a bigger shop I ran across a 220 gal. ½" acrylic tank, 96"x24"x24 with a 125gal. glass sump that the guy that was moving out of the place had stored there and I bought them from him. But the first thing I need to do is clean it up and go over it and make sure this is the tank I'm going to use. It has a 1" acrylic top on it and has a bit of crazing around the top. The front and end panels look free of the crazing in the field of view so I think it's maybe because it may not have been bake after assembly. It still has some salt dried about two thirds of the way up the tank along with some scratches that I already started to sand and buff out. I was surprised at how fast it took to do the one end. Well A little about me now. I'm a Perfectionist at the work that I do. I think people should get their moneys worth when I do something for them. Most people work hard for their money and they deserve to get what they pay for. My girl friend says I have ADHD but I just like working with my hands and I enjoy a challenge when it comes to work and some times play. Maybe that's why I picked her? Lol
Well that's my intro; I look forward to talking with a few of you on here. I enjoy helping people when I can so if I run across a post I can offer some creditable input to I'll put my two cents in for ya.

Thanks

 

[Macuser1]

HI All
I'm new to the hobby having set up a 65 gallon saltwater system in March. I've just started adding corals. Loving it so far and really appreciate the info in the forums. Trolling through reef central these last few months has been really helpful

 

[Kvothe]

Hi everyone

Hi everyone

Hey everyone, I'm extremely new to the concept of sw tanks and havent had a tank in a very long while but since i cant have a dog at my current apartment i figured hey why not start a sw tank but my room albeit small needs some life. Well that's my lil gist and glad to be on this forum! ^_^

 

[ryanremle]

Hello, hellllo, helllllllllllllllllllo

 

[joffems]

Hi RC,

I'm a new reefer from Toronto. I'm still in the planning stages, but hope to be setting up my tank at the end of the year.

Growing up I had a fresh water tank and helped with the family pond. I'm really looking forward to the reef tank world.

 

[nicodober]

Hello RC, i'm Nick, 22 yo, live in Brazil and new to reef keeping. I've had freshwater tanks for about 2 years now, and im setting up my first reef at the moment! Its a 180L tank (47,5 gal), I already have the tank and im setting up a 70L sump this week so I can start cycling the water already. Im not an expert at reefs just yet, so I hope to learn a lot in this forum! Happy fishkeeping to all!

 

[hickoryboy]

Hello

Hello

Hi, my name is Richard and I am very new to the hobby. I have just acquired my tank and I am gathering the things I will need to get set up. Any advise or help would be greatly appreciated. I have a 35 gallon tank. Thanks in advance!

 

[p.milo]

additives

additives

Hi All
Don't know if I am doing this right or if it's going to the right section but here goes. My name is Pete from Manchester England. I've had my reef tank ( with sump ) up and running now for approx 20 months and have been trawling this site picking all your brains for the same amount of time. Only got a small tank due to limited space, size is 36in by 15in by 18in. I reckon about 50 us gallons including the sump. Got a mix of softies and a couple lps corals and am about to get my first sps ( montipora digitata ). My params are all good and stable. I am in the process of making up Randy's improved recipes for Alk / Cal and Mag as I was very impressed with his articles. What I would like to know is, is there anyone at Reef Central using these recipes and if so what are your opinions on them. If this thread goes through ok I will post all the details of my tank build and stock plus will also attempt to post some pics.
The best advice I ever received concerning reef keeping was:-

.....SOFTLY SOFTLY CATCHY MONKEY.....

Cheers people....p.milo....

 

[p.milo]

Great start, got the join date wrong,:lolspin: should be November 5th 2014. Hopefully someone can amend this for me as I have'nt got a clue how to do it.

 

[David ferrera]

new member long time reefer here

 

[Fishrich]

New to the hobby

New to the hobby

Hey RC'ers,

looks like everyone out there is an expert on fish and corals and all the rest. i'm just getting into the hobby, moving on up from goldfish to guppies

would love to get something pretty for nephew's new aquarium...he just bumped up to a 50 gallon(?) or so... he's interested in colorful corals and colorful angelfish...

any and all suggestions welcomed.

see you out there diving in dade or monroe counties, for any floridians out there...

cheers,
glenn

richards.glenn@mail.com

 

[kangjeff2002]

Hi RC, my name is Jeff I'm from (taiwan) and I'm new in this hobby (1.5 year)...

 

[dschmader]

Another new person

Another new person

Hello,

I am new here, I have had a saltwater tank for about 6 months 55 gallon. It used to be a freshwater tank.. I have had a tank for over 20 years. I love every second of it.

Since I have moved to saltwater. I have learn a lot and love it!! Once you go salt you never go back hahaha

I will attach some pics of my tank

 

[MachoJuan]

Howdy

Howdy

Hey Everyone!

I found and joined your community as the request of a buddy and I am excited to be starting a new marine tank in the near future. I've never had a marine set up before so I hope to benefit from your wisdom.

In the past I've have successful freshwater tanks and looks forward to this new endeavor; although, it's taken me a long time to get around to marine tanks because they seem so foreign to me.

Thanks in advance for any help you may provide!

 

[reeftank2014]

Re: Survived 1st month

Re: Survived 1st month

I did initial research, and bought a running 100G tank with a sump. Transported 70% of water. Niterate levels shot up, and had to do two water changes within 1 week. Purchased premixed water from LFS. Purchased live rock off from craigslist (running tanks) and added to my tank. Over 200 lbs in my opinion. Then slowly started adding corals that I bought from LFS, hobbyists, and craigslist. I still consider myself super amateur, and basically doing water changes in every 10 days. I noticed that in my tank bio-filter is really good, and in the end its only nitrate levels that are going up. Now learning to watch more things - calcium levels, alkalinity, and magnesium. Any advice would help.

 

[Mrtgman]

New member saying hello

New member saying hello

Just want to introduce myself. I am setting up my 36 gal bowfront for the third time. First two times it was wiped out by three hurricanes and two week power outages in the aftermath when I lived in S. Florida. Got discouraged after losing $$$ in fish and corals. I am going to give it another try here in the Carolinas. I love all the advancements in the hobby over the past few years. Especially Biospira and skipping the whole two week cycle process!

 

[shookfarm]

Hello all i am new to the hobby of wanting to keep corals