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

[tcermd]

Newbie

Newbie

Hey, my name is Tim hailing from North Myrtle Beach and am making the jump from freshwater to reef. I learned alot from my freshwater tank(cycling, what the heck!). I know I want "everything" in my new tank, but cannot decide on how big is big enough. I do not want to regret the size 6 months after the fact. The only limitation is convincing my spouse. Should invest in the turnkey products or DIY? I have decided upon starfire glass, and heard longer and wider is healthier for the fish. Would love to hear opinions.
TC

 

[vhuang168]

Introduction!

Introduction!

Hey all,
Just joined and I wanted to introduce myself.

I started reefing in 2002. Had a 100g reef then. Boy was it hard back then! Gave up around 2006 but I've been feeling the itch recently. Moving to a much bigger place has also helped my decision to get back into to hobby.

I've lurking and trying to absorb as much info as I can but it seems like it's not as much black magic as there used to be. I was very surprised to find small tanks being so successful these days.

Encouraged by that, I bought a used 40g all in one with a stand n lights. I won't be starting the tank till May but I'm very excited.

I hope you all will give me pointers and suggestions.

Vincent

 

[low85str]

Hello everyone I'm new to the hobby a (6 months). I have a biocube 29 with leds media basket and fuge basket from intank. I currently have a pair of clownfish, bubble anenome, torch, green cap, pink cap, xenias and about 3 different zoas

 

[koko maung]

Hello everyone,

I just joined the forum. I don't have any experience on keeping reef tank but I am planning on start one. I am trying to learn as much as I can and start a tank in about a month. I have been keeping refresh water for about 3 years. I am looking forward to learn a lot from you guys!

 

[Ray68]

Hi my name is ray. I have had freshwater tanks for about 15 years I have 1-180 gal 1-125 gal 2-55 gal and 1-92 gal corner saltwater reef/fish tank for about 3 months with a 150 gal sump with a reeflo hammerhead pump,Red Sea 380 uv light canister filter,ecoxotic 24" led light, lots of corals some I know what they are some I don't. I have a pair of mated clown's 1 damsel and 4 little blue fish 1 flame scallop 1 peppermint shrimp

 

[Ray68]

In search of a skimmer for 300gal system any suggestions

 

[Creamballman]

Hi all. I recently established a twenty gallon saltwater aquarium, after a little convincing from my more experienced brother who has a 55 gallon one. At first we were looking just to establish a back up tank for him but now I have a tank of my own. I currently have a chalck basslet and a tiger jawfish, along with nassarius snails, turbo snails, some hermits and two porcelain crabs.

 

[jpmwjm]

Hello all.... my name is Jonathan and I am 38 years old. I have kept many freshwater and freshwater planted tanks since I was a teenager. I got into saltwater FOWLR about 3-1.2 years ago and finally built a 75 gallon in-wall tank two years ago. I have had it running with LR and a few fish since then. I am slowly wanting to convert it into a reef tank. I joined Reef Central a couple weeks ago and enjoy all the great information and look forward to being a member.:wave:

 

[egon808]

How's it going everybody. New to the forum and semi-new to the hobby. Will probably be post some questions coming up as I am planning on upgrading in a huge way. Planning on doing a 40 gal "show" tank. Only got a mini 20gal reef going right now.

 

[Gus_11B]

New to the hobby as of today, my neighbor moved and I got his old and abused Nuvo 16 by Innovative Marine.

Along with the tank I got the basic filter system and lighting system. He also left me a Kryptonite candy cane and a few Zoas. I went ahead and bought a clown fish.

After getting out the military I found tranquility sitting down and enjoying the beautiful view of reef tanks, now I find myself trying to build my own so if you have any pointers or know where I can get equipment for cheap I highly appreciate it.

I enjoy Zoas the most so I need major help in lighting to be able to keep those colors popping out.

 

[wanderlustcub]

Hello! I am also new to the Hobby, and I am still in the researching phase of the hobby.

I am looking to buy a 275l Tank, and go for a Reef Tank. There is a lot of information out there, which is sometimes conflicting, so I am trying to get the best advice possible before diving in. My big thing is trying to find the right fish, and the right number of fish for the tank. (That last one was a bit hard to figure out. I have been thinking of 7-10 fish and then some things for clean up like snails, crabs and such, but I worry that is too much.)

Anyhow. I know I am looking to invest a bit into this, but being a beginner, I don't want to spend a heap of money only to have dying fish, so here I am!

Looking forward to meeting you all.

 

[Kaydubya]

Hey everyone. I felt after lurking in these pages for a while it was time to say hello. My name is Ken and I live in upstate NY. I have been into freshwater on and off since I was about 18 but it has only been the past few years that I took the plunge into salt. My wife and I enjoy it so much (Yes, she enables me). I currently have a 75g and 55g reef DT and a 40 gallon frag tank along with a 20L QT. I would have to say that I base alot of my success in keeping corals and fish mostly on the advice and tips I have found buried in the pages of these forums. Researching everything has been key and you all have helped in so many ways....Thank you. Look forward to the interesting conversations.

 

[bgamble1]

Reef tank for Christmas - Time to play

Reef tank for Christmas - Time to play

Hey all, I'm Brian the noob from Ohio. Me and the wife have a 5 year plan to move to her home town of Fort Myers Florida so in the mean time, this tank will be as close as I get to enjoying the ocean. My goal with this tank is when there's 4 feet of snow out my door, I just put on some goggles & dip my head in the tank dreaming of better days.

No seriously though, I just hope for a happy healthy tank full of beautiful fish. Not sure I'm going to be big into corals just yet but we shall see.

So first I will detail my gear* then I will go over my setup with some pics

*Sorry for excessive details as I know this hobby reminds me of my military days where there were more acronyms than fish species in the ocean. I also wanted to help fellow noobs gauge their pricing of such components.

Gear:

- Clear-for-life 55g acrylic show tank - $277 @ 1800petsupplies.com
- 48" 4x54w AquaticLife T-5 HO light fixture w/ 4 lunar LEDs - $220 used eBay
- 6 stage RO/DI - $153 new eBay
- 5g bucket of NeoMarine Reef Salt
- Fluval 300w E-series water heater - $65 local reef store
- Model 1 Proflex 11.7g sump - $180 @ fishtanksdirect.com
- CPR CS50 overflow w/ Tom's Aqua Lifter suction pump - $106 new eBay
- (2) Aquaticlife 568gph pumps - $30ea new eBay
- Jebao WP25 wavemaker with controller - $50 new eBay
- Generic 800gph circulation pump - $10 - new eBay
- JBJ auto topoff w/ Tom's Aqua Lifter suction pump/hose - $100 new eBay
- Reef Octopus BH5 protein skimmer - $125 new eBay
- Reef Octopus BR-70 bio pellet reactor - $100 new eBay
- Vertex Pro-Bio pellets - $30 new eBay
- 60lb reef saver dry rock - $143 @ bulkreefsupply.com
- 20lb Fiji/Caribbean mix sand - $20 from local reef store
- 10lb Live sand - $12 from local reef store
- 8.45oz. Bio-Spira - $21 new eBay
- Hannah Ultralow Nitrite tester - $46 new eBay
- Hanna 764-25 25 tests - $9 new eBay
- Buckets/containers/hoses/valves/PVC etc - roughly $100 from various places

 

[bgamble1]

Week 1

Week 1

Wiped out the tank and mixed 4oz of salt to every 1g of RO/DI water. The tank was filled over the course of 1 day as it took a while for the DI to spit out 55g of water. To mix the salt, I just poured back and forth between buckets numerous times.

Once the sand settled, I added the live dry rock I got from BRS. Beautiful stuff if you ask me.

http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/bgamble1/t1.jpg

http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/bgamble1/t2.jpg

 

[matt.baxter3]

Hi Everyone. My name is Matt from Austin TX and Im new to the saltwater world. Ive been planning to put a tank in my home for the last couple years and finally ordered a New Deep Sea Aquatics 225RR. It should be here in a few weeks and I plan to start building soon. Ill definitely be looking to the experts here for some guidance!

 

[nickfawley]

Hi my names nick been in the hobby probably 6months now decided to upgrade my tank from a 30 to 90 gallons
°90 gallon tank
°Lighting -Sun system tek light 8 t5s
°Hang on the back overflow box
° Grech chj4500 sump pump (600-4500gph)
° Two power heads cant remeber brand one is rated at 800gph the second one is 530gph
°Eshopps micron bag holder for sump
°Aqualife protein skimmer
°Aqueon 100w heater
°Sump lighting is solarmax h.o
Ill also be running my own r.o system
Its an aqualife r.o buddie does 50gpd
My old 30 gallon i had a pair of green mandarins,yellow tang, diamond goby, royal gramma, pencil urchent, and also a black ice clown everything has been swapped over to the 90 now but theres still alot i would like to add to it

 

[Trybltrtle]

Hello everyone!
I've been lurking and consulting this site since I started up in August, but just now getting around to posting. I'm located in Jacksonville, FL.

I have a 16gal National Geographic curved front tank that I've been converting to a reef tank. Ditched the standard lights and now have a Current USA Orbit. I use the NG filter for carbon, but may soon forgo that. I added a rotating nozzle to the filter to alternate flow, and also added a Marineland powerhead. I may ditch the original filter for a more powerful one which I can remove the excess compartments from. I'm just afraid more flow will cause a sandstorm so I'm not committing yet, lol.

As for livestock, I have a mated couple of perculas (the Roman helmet variety) and a bicolored blenny. I don't intend to add any more fish, just replenish CUC over time. For coral I have GSP, two mushrooms, yellow polyps, a hammer, a purple whip, and four types of zoas. I'm having a little trouble with them lately, but I think it might be due to the new lights. Hopefully things ease out.

Current trouble spots: Hair and bubble algae, high nitrates, lack of coral growth.

It ain't pretty yet, but I'm working on it!

 

[Rolyc77]

Wats up guys. My name is Roly. I'm getting into this hobby now. Im real excited about it... I'm starting a 65 gallon salt water tank...

 

[Waalker]

Fresh for a long time, new to reef

Fresh for a long time, new to reef

Hello all,

I have had Freshwater tanks for a few years now and I have no issues keeping a nice clear healthy tank there. Recently however when I upgraded to a larger fresh tank I decided to take the plunge into the saltwater world. It has been a few months, the tank is still up and running, minimal issues keeping life in the tank so I am enjoying it. It is definitely a different experience! Looking forward to speaking with you all =)

 

[jterc]

Hi everyone, just new here.