New to the hobby, just set up my first tank today!

[kinomatika]

Hey y'all, I'm kino, and I'm new to the reefing hobby.

I've got a good chunk of freshwater experience, and I keep nanos almost exclusively, with the exception of my 55 gallon community.

I had been thinking about getting into the reefing hobby for some time, and I actually bought my first tank, a Fluval EVO 13, in may of this year and it had been sitting in the trunk of my car gathering dust while i hemmed and hawed about whether or not to just take the leap and do it. Well today I did and I set it up!

I went to one of my LFSs, and I bought a bunch of cured live rock and live sand and got the water with salt premixed in. (I intend to invest in an RODI unit down the road, as well as a refractometer.)

I was wondering, do any of you think that the protein skimmer you can buy for this specific tank is worth the money? I've heard raves and rants for it and it seems to be that nobody can agree for sure.

Also, I'm pretty sure my live rock came equipped with some delightful aiptasia, so I'm probably going to have to get rid of it somehow.

after it cycles I'd like to get some zoas and a hammer coral, but I'm not sure what else!

As far as fish and inverts go I'd like to stay very basic, and I'm thinking about a rainford goby and a pistol shrimp. In a fantasy world I'd love to keep a mandarin dragonet, but... I'm well aware of the challenges those pose and I'm not ready for it yet.

Anyway, here are some photos of the rock:

If you have any advice, warnings or info you think I might benefit from, I'm all ears!

Thanks guys!

 

[mikem101]

hey man welcome to the hobby! you start with a 14 gallon and end with a 300+ gallon lol! I can't see you pictures for some odd reason but if you think you have aiptasia and you set up your tank today go exchange the rock! better to not have to mess with those guys then trying to fight them down the road! anyway good luck and enjoy!

 

[kinomatika]

hey man welcome to the hobby! you start with a 14 gallon and end with a 300+ gallon lol! I can't see you pictures for some odd reason but if you think you have aiptasia and you set up your tank today go exchange the rock! better to not have to mess with those guys then trying to fight them down the road! anyway good luck and enjoy!

this is what makes me think i have it LOL...

anyway i kind of want to fight it myself just so in case i end up facing it again in the future i know how to deal with it! i've seen remedies that range from lemon juice to lasers lol

 

[mikem101]

this is what makes me think i have it LOL...

anyway i kind of want to fight it myself just so in case i end up facing it again in the future i know how to deal with it! i've seen remedies that range from lemon juice to lasers lol

Most don't work, some might have some little success with killing it but those are few and far between! The best way to keep it out of your tank is kill it before it goes in. That being said exchanging it was me being dramatic, I would remove the rock and clean it very well brushing off any little bit of that nasty stuff you can find! Also I would0 rinse it very well with clean water until the rock is clean!

 

[kinomatika]

Most don't work, some might have some little success with killing it but those are few and far between! The best way to keep it out of your tank is kill it before it goes in. That being said exchanging it was me being dramatic, I would remove the rock and clean it very well brushing off any little bit of that nasty stuff you can find! Also I would0 rinse it very well with clean water until the rock is clean!

gotcha! i washed it under very high pressure+abt 140F heated water and also got in there with some planting tweezers so i hope i got it haha

 

[kinomatika]

any idea what these things are?

 

[billdogg]

The last picture is of palythoas. They can spread just as quickly as aiptasia, so be warned.

In the future, when you see an aiptasia, you can easily kill it with a syringe and boiling water - just blast it with the hottest water you can and cook it where it sits. The problem with scraping/pulling them off is that any small fragment can and will grow into a new one.

 

[kinomatika]

The last picture is of palythoas. They can spread just as quickly as aiptasia, so be warned.

In the future, when you see an aiptasia, you can easily kill it with a syringe and boiling water - just blast it with the hottest water you can and cook it where it sits. The problem with scraping/pulling them off is that any small fragment can and will grow into a new one.

yeahhhhhhh i figured out that they were palys the hard way. guess who stuck the rock into hot water to kill them off and got a face full of palytoxin fumes?? yep. i've been coughing and wheezing all morning. i really should have done more reading before just going headfirst into "kill em all" mode

 

[heathlindner25]

Might wanna go to the ER now.

 

[kinomatika]

update: went to the ER bc i was feeling feverish and they gave me an iv and ekg and x ray. i don't feel that bad, mostly just very hungry. they're giving me albuterol to help my breathing.

 

[manfrog]

That's one hell of an introduction to the hobby.
Hope you're alright.

 

[kinomatika]

That's one hell of an introduction to the hobby.
Hope you're alright.

haha thanks. i guess it's better to make the really dumb mistakes when all you hVe in the tank is a bunch of worthless pest corals right? i'll know better in the future. long gloves, splash guard, respirator, dedicated instruments, NO FREAKING HOT WATER!!!