Itching to get back in…. 15 years later

[beaupierce]

It’s been almost 15 years since I had my last tank…. However, oddly it only feels like a fee years has passed.

Back in the day I used to have a 180, then a 225, and finally a 40gal.

Then, a 8lb 7oz boy and 7lb girl to priority….. and slowly my reef hobby took a backseat as the tanks and corals got sold off.

But…..

A few weeks ago I wandered back into a LFS with my kids and their eyes ‘popped’ with the corals and fish, just like mine did those years back.

After selling our last home and finally into the forever home, my wife gave me the thumbs up to get another tank.

So, my questions are plenty, but thought I’d post here first.

‘Back in the day’ we used Deep Sand Beds (DSB), Metal Halides for bulbs, tried to keep our nitrates and phos to zero, protein skimmers, and chaeto.
Led lights were just coming onto the scene, I bought the gen 1 MP 40 wave maker, and that was that…

So…. What’s new in the hobby? What do I need to learn? Advancements? New train of thoughts? Research?

Thanks to this community and for you all in the past and into the future!

 

[reefing102]

Welcome back! You’ll find much has changed.

DSBs for the most part have gone to the way side. Most people use 2inch or so sand bed or go bare bottom.

Metal Halide is still around though extremely limited compared to then. Many guys here still run Halide however LED is mainstream. Just like back in the day with Halides, you have cheap LEDs (like Viparspectra, SmatFarm, and Noopsyche) to expensive brand names such as AquaIllumination, Kessil, GHL, RedSea and Neptune. Any of those brands will grow coral, the main difference is controllability (from as little as basic 2 channel control for Viparspectra to app control with 10 channel control with the ability to not just control the color but also the specific intensity). That said, lighting is buyers choice with LED, you mainly just have to be careful not to burn corals. Many people will rent a par meter or even just ask others what their light settings are.

Nowadays as well, the main belief is nutrients are good. Most will run tanks with 5-20 nitrates and .03-.1 phosphates. Many tanks seem to struggle nowadays trying to hit the ultra low nutrient numbers.

Protein skimmers and Cheato are still pretty mainstream however some say to only run your protein skimmer as needed and not 24/7, but I believe most run it 24/7 if they run one. Many people are also running Algae Scrubbers and Fleece Filter Rollers though I have no experience with these. Vortechs are still a top of the line pump so no change there though there are plenty of cheaper options.

Many tanks also run an aquarium controller, the main systems are Apex, Hydros, and ReefPi. I run apex and love it however I also feel my tank could run fine without it. I have no experience with Hydros or ReefPi.

Other common equipment is an auto top off system (Tunze is very reliable brand though there are plenty of others).

Also dosing pumps to maintain stable Alk, Ca, and MG and other nutrients. There’s a variety of opinions on these from Neptune, Kamoer, RedSea, Jebao, I would encourage you to do research on the specifics of each. I don’t run any (yet) but have been eyeing Kamoer or a Neptune system (links to the apex)

My only other thing right now, is I think you’ll find some sticker shock.

 

[wvned]

The fee years.
Compared to 15 years ago
hold onto your underwear.

 

[Breadman03]

The fee years.
Compared to 15 years ago
hold onto your underwear.

You kid not! Even just 3-4 years ago.

What size reef are you looking for? A 4' 120 gallon is a pretty sweet ideal big but not too costly size since 2-3 lights will cover it and you don't need to worry about a huge amount of powerheads.

 

[JohnL]

IIt’s been almost 15 years since I had my last tank

Welcome back. I was in the same situation last year. I started a 20 gallon nano. (link in my signature).

What size and type of tank are you thinking about? As always @reefing102 gives great advice and commentary.

 

[pat24601]

Welcome back! I’m getting back into it after only a few years hiatus basically because of kids. Kids are 9 now. We will see how it goes! I’ll be on the journey with you!

 

[pat24601]

Welcome back! You’ll find much has changed.

DSBs for the most part have gone to the way side. Most people use 2inch or so sand bed or go bare bottom.

Metal Halide is still around though extremely limited compared to then. Many guys here still run Halide however LED is mainstream. Just like back in the day with Halides, you have cheap LEDs (like Viparspectra, SmatFarm, and Noopsyche) to expensive brand names such as AquaIllumination, Kessil, GHL, RedSea and Neptune. Any of those brands will grow coral, the main difference is controllability (from as little as basic 2 channel control for Viparspectra to app control with 10 channel control with the ability to not just control the color but also the specific intensity). That said, lighting is buyers choice with LED, you mainly just have to be careful not to burn corals. Many people will rent a par meter or even just ask others what their light settings are.

Nowadays as well, the main belief is nutrients are good. Most will run tanks with 5-20 nitrates and .03-.1 phosphates. Many tanks seem to struggle nowadays trying to hit the ultra low nutrient numbers.

Protein skimmers and Cheato are still pretty mainstream however some say to only run your protein skimmer as needed and not 24/7, but I believe most run it 24/7 if they run one. Many people are also running Algae Scrubbers and Fleece Filter Rollers though I have no experience with these. Vortechs are still a top of the line pump so no change there though there are plenty of cheaper options.

Many tanks also run an aquarium controller, the main systems are Apex, Hydros, and ReefPi. I run apex and love it however I also feel my tank could run fine without it. I have no experience with Hydros or ReefPi.

Other common equipment is an auto top off system (Tunze is very reliable brand though there are plenty of others).

Also dosing pumps to maintain stable Alk, Ca, and MG and other nutrients. There’s a variety of opinions on these from Neptune, Kamoer, RedSea, Jebao, I would encourage you to do research on the specifics of each. I don’t run any (yet) but have been eyeing Kamoer or a Neptune system (links to the apex)

My only other thing right now, is I think you’ll find some sticker shock.

Definitely some sticker shock for me @reefing102 after only a few years out of the hobby.

Then again, I have sticker shock every time I go to a grocery store. So, I’m kind of used to it.

I’m glad to see the move away from live rock into things like carribsea reef rock. That was just starting to be a thing when I left the hobby.

There was seems to be some difference in livestock. For example, no yellow tangs anywhere. That could just be the Hawaii thing, though. Not sure yet.

 

[reefing102]

Definitely some sticker shock for me @reefing102 after only a few years out of the hobby.

Then again, I have sticker shock every time I go to a grocery store. So, I’m kind of used to it.

I’m glad to see the move away from live rock into things like carribsea reef rock. That was just starting to be a thing when I left the hobby.

There was seems to be some difference in livestock. For example, no yellow tangs anywhere. That could just be the Hawaii thing, though. Not sure yet.

Live rock is still around if you look for it. Usually it’s Australian, very rarely Walt smith, or aquacultured rock from the gulf/Florida Keys.

As for yellow tangs, yes that’s mostly the Hawaiian ban but last I knew they’re just waiting on permits to be issued at this point which is up to the discretion of the state. They are available captive bred from Biota. Mine that I ordered had fantastic color (a little light at first but colored up after a couple weeks) only had a little of HLLE which seems common in the captive bred tangs.

 

[pat24601]

Live rock is still around if you look for it. Usually it’s Australian, very rarely Walt smith, or aquacultured rock from the gulf/Florida Keys.

As for yellow tangs, yes that’s mostly the Hawaiian ban but last I knew they’re just waiting on permits to be issued at this point which is up to the discretion of the state. They are available captive bred from Biota. Mine that I ordered had fantastic color (a little light at first but colored up after a couple weeks) only had a little of HLLE which seems common in the captive bred tangs.

Good to know about tangs. Thanks!

 

[beaupierce]

Welcome back! You’ll find much has changed.

DSBs for the most part have gone to the way side. Most people use 2inch or so sand bed or go bare bottom.

Metal Halide is still around though extremely limited compared to then. Many guys here still run Halide however LED is mainstream. Just like back in the day with Halides, you have cheap LEDs (like Viparspectra, SmatFarm, and Noopsyche) to expensive brand names such as AquaIllumination, Kessil, GHL, RedSea and Neptune. Any of those brands will grow coral, the main difference is controllability (from as little as basic 2 channel control for Viparspectra to app control with 10 channel control with the ability to not just control the color but also the specific intensity). That said, lighting is buyers choice with LED, you mainly just have to be careful not to burn corals. Many people will rent a par meter or even just ask others what their light settings are.

Nowadays as well, the main belief is nutrients are good. Most will run tanks with 5-20 nitrates and .03-.1 phosphates. Many tanks seem to struggle nowadays trying to hit the ultra low nutrient numbers.

Protein skimmers and Cheato are still pretty mainstream however some say to only run your protein skimmer as needed and not 24/7, but I believe most run it 24/7 if they run one. Many people are also running Algae Scrubbers and Fleece Filter Rollers though I have no experience with these. Vortechs are still a top of the line pump so no change there though there are plenty of cheaper options.

Many tanks also run an aquarium controller, the main systems are Apex, Hydros, and ReefPi. I run apex and love it however I also feel my tank could run fine without it. I have no experience with Hydros or ReefPi.

Other common equipment is an auto top off system (Tunze is very reliable brand though there are plenty of others).

Also dosing pumps to maintain stable Alk, Ca, and MG and other nutrients. There’s a variety of opinions on these from Neptune, Kamoer, RedSea, Jebao, I would encourage you to do research on the specifics of each. I don’t run any (yet) but have been eyeing Kamoer or a Neptune system (links to the apex)

My only other thing right now, is I think you’ll find some sticker shock.

Thank You!!! Wow!! So much HAS changed, yet the basics still remain the same. Again… thank you! Time to do some homework

Cheers

 

[beaupierce]

You kid not! Even just 3-4 years ago.

What size reef are you looking for? A 4' 120 gallon is a pretty sweet ideal big but not too costly size since 2-3 lights will cover it and you don't need to worry about a huge amount of powerheads.

I’m learning!! I was thinking a Red Sea max 250….. but with an ‘all in price’ of 3-4K, I might think else… yikes!

My 180 ‘show’ tank 15years ago with all in components was just $1,500 bucks