possibly starting over

[NE Patriots]

So I just started this hobby and might have rushed a bit and now see some mistakes or things I wish I had done. One was my choice of live rock "Real reef rock". It does not look good in my opinion and it's really heavy and very costly. After looking at it now for a few weeks I wish I had just ordered some from BRS. Two, using a powerfilter. While the aquaclear 110 is great I can't stand the flowing sound it reminds me of freshwater. I really want a sump. Three, no ro/di I used tap with prime. So my tank was cycling and empty so I will restart my build and also read, read and read lol. Thanks for all the help so far and I will be asking for more!

 

[Micabia]

I am not experienced at all, but one thing I have gathered from all this is be patient and research. I am still in the process of planning my first tank. I thought I was going to get it off the ground last month but thankfully it looks like my house offer came thru so I will be moving and did not want the hassle of moving a full tank. So that has given me plenty of time to research. Good luck!

 

[NE Patriots]

Thanks! And yes I will be taking my time.

 

[toku58]

Reading and research is key! I first got into this thinking it would be as easy as buying a tank, filter and adding fish. LOL!!!
Now almost $2K later I realize how lucky I was that I read all this information.
Doing the tank the right way will cost a lot of $$$!
Kind of wish I never started! But there's no turning back now! LOL!!

And I still don't have any fish/coral in my tank!

 

[salajander]

Doing the tank the right way will cost a lot of $$$!!

... and doing it wrong will cost even more.

 

[Joel_155]

So I just started this hobby and might have rushed a bit and now see some mistakes or things I wish I had done. One was my choice of live rock "Real reef rock". It does not look good in my opinion and it's really heavy and very costly. After looking at it now for a few weeks I wish I had just ordered some from BRS. Two, using a powerfilter. While the aquaclear 110 is great I can't stand the flowing sound it reminds me of freshwater. I really want a sump. Three, no ro/di I used tap with prime. So my tank was cycling and empty so I will restart my build and also read, read and read lol. Thanks for all the help so far and I will be asking for more!

The rock you have is fine. Probably better than brs in terms of bacterial content and the filtration aspects it provides for your tank.


Get an RODI unit. The are like $150 for a basic one which is all you need at the moment. upgrades can come later.

Mechanical filtration. I don't know what the type of equipment you mentioned above is but you need a protein skimmer. There are other types of filters ( cannister etc ) but they don't do anything compared with a protein skimmer.


Test your water parameters. Get good quality test kits ( red sea, salient , elos ) and get used to testing parameters. Not just for the initial cycle but the water quality in the tank. Bad water quality to begin with ( no rodi ) will lead to never ending algae outbreaks and be very frustrating. Most of all...be patient. Reefing is not a quick hobby....water quality has to be maintained and then slowly everything will fall into place. Happy reefing.

Joel