Slowly coming back to the hobby

[bobafet1]

last few years I thought about taking the whole thing down and just enjoy some long vacations. specially when corals are not growing well or you lose a couple nice fish..

just gotta double down and buy some more frags to keep going

another good thing about getting a large sized tank. the labor of taking it down and selling it is much harder than just keep it running

LOL....yep, so true.

 

[bobafet1]

It’s cool to see people coming back to the hobby lately. Last couple years, lots of getting out of hobby posts.

Yeah, for many years RC was my go-to site....made many friends...only got checked by the mods a few times. haha.....and worked hard at having a badass tank only to never make tank of the month. Ah well...I see some of ya'll are still in the game though. I recognize some of the old-school avatars. I think I must have come into the hobby in 2001.

 

[thanatos05]

After swearing that I would never return I'm getting that darn itch again...been ignoring it for a while but every so often I'll have a dream where I'm setting up a tank again and I can't help but feel very happy. I guess that's my happy moment in life. In any case, I use to build stands for people back in the mid-late 2000's. I have one stand left that I saved for myself that was made from walnut. The footprint fits a 48" x 24" base. So, I'm considering a 120 gal or 100 gal starfire tank. If anyone has a clean one for sale please let me know. I'm sure much has changed from when I left so any advice would be appreciated on equipment. More specifically:

1. Lighting-what's the latest/greatest these days
2. Sump-does anyone still use a refugium or is it all setup with dosers now.
3. Automation-any decent products out there that are mac friendly?
4. Overflow- I use to rock the durso but when I was leaving the hobby there was a whole other setup that came out with 3 pipes...forgot what it was called..something with someone's name it in...herbie or something..LOL
5. Basically, what's the latest gear that won't break the bank. I just want something that works and not so much concerned about how blingie my gear looks, especially when it's behind a cabinet door.

My new tank will be mostly fish and probably softies. SPS were always challenging for me and heart breaking when they would crash. Going to take it real slow this time around and be very careful with fish/coral selection. One of the things I regretted the most was being extremely IRRESPONSIBLE by buying whatever looked nice, just like the fish in my avatar. This time around I really want to do the right thing and make sure what I place in my tank belongs in a tank my size.

Also, if anyone is still out there that I hooked up back in the day then it would be nice if ya'll can help me out with any frags when my tank has fully cycled.

Mike

Me too, I'm buying everything 2nd hand just in case it is a midlife crisis for me. I was on the fence about LED vs MH but purchased some used Radions

I’m not saying to not go LED either but IMO Halide is still king of the hill with growth and natural look.

I actually run 160” of reefbrights because even radium’s won’t get the “PoP” you can get from the better LEDs and LEDs do bring out many colors that the halide wont.

In my tank, I have an Oregon tort about 10” from a Walt Disney. With the just the halides on, the WD looks like a nice but pedestrian tenuis and the O tort is stunning. With just the reefbrights on the WD is stunning and you don’t even notice the O tort.

Also, Radiums have surpassed the price of silver per ounce and are closing in on gold if you can find them. They have been out of production for years.

Me too, I'm buying everything 2nd hand just in case it is a midlife crisis for me. I was on the fence about LED vs MH but purchased some used Radions

 

[frogiii]

Yeah, for many years RC was my go-to site....made many friends...only got checked by the mods a few times. haha.....and worked hard at having a badass tank only to never make tank of the month. Ah well...I see some of ya'll are still in the game though. I recognize some of the old-school avatars. I think I must have come into the hobby in 2001.

I'm still here and I've been here since 2005 haha but, it's pretty dead here. Is there another forum?

 

[thanatos05]

I'm still here and I've been here since 2005 haha but, it's pretty dead here. Is there another forum?

Agreed,, I just returned to reef central after taking off a few years

 

[griss]

I'm still here and I've been here since 2005 haha but, it's pretty dead here. Is there another forum?

Venture out of the SoCal forum, there’s more activity in the general forums

 

[OG Reefs]

Mike! Welcome back! 120g? You’ll upgrade that real soon haha. I’m really happy with my a500x’s and reefbrites. Closest MH look from an LED

 

[bobafet1]

Mike! Welcome back! 120g? You’ll upgrade that real soon haha. I’m really happy with my a500x’s and reefbrites. Closest MH look from an LED

Nope, I won't...I had gone up as high as a 300 gallon, then down to a 240 on my last build. Yeah MH always looks nice in my opinion.

 

[bobafet1]

Venture out of the SoCal forum, there’s more activity in the general forums

Last time I was here the mods, with all due respect, seemed to be on a power trip and would ban people, or issue violations, for all sorts of crazy reasons. Then again, people seem to migrate to different sites as tech gets better and folks prefer different lines of communication as well....like FB to instagram and tiktok....I can't even keep up anymore and not sure I want to.

 

[reefing102]

Last time I was here the mods, with all due respect, seemed to be on a power trip and would ban people, or issue violations, for all sorts of crazy reasons. Then again, people seem to migrate to different sites as tech gets better and folks prefer different lines of communication as well....like FB to instagram and tiktok....I can't even keep up anymore and not sure I want to.

I can vouch the mods have definitely cut back. The only people I’ve seen them ban recently is spammers

 

[griss]

Last time I was here the mods, with all due respect, seemed to be on a power trip and would ban people, or issue violations, for all sorts of crazy reasons. Then again, people seem to migrate to different sites as tech gets better and folks prefer different lines of communication as well....like FB to instagram and tiktok....I can't even keep up anymore and not sure I want to.

I can vouch the mods have definitely cut back. The only people I’ve seen them ban recently is spammers

Yep, things are more laid back. Honestly, I’ve been a Mod on here since the early 2000’s and, besides spammers, I can count the number of people I’ve banned on my fingers give or take a few.

Like you mentioned, the advent to FB groups decimated all hobby (not just aquarium) forums. It seems people would rather have an immediate incorrect answer than waiting a couple hours and getting correct answers.

 

[bobafet1]

Ok, so I'm not really finding a decent used 120 gallon or 100 gallon (20"H) glass tank. Where's a decent place to order a new one? Also, I'm seeing a lot of roller mats in sumps now....are those things stinky? are they as good as miracle mud..LOL....seems like there's always a new gadget or process promising to do it all.

 

[griss]

Planet Aquariums is a group of former Oceanic employees that have a good reputation.

Glass Cages has greatly improved over the years and has a good reputation as well.

Disclosure: I have no personal experience with either.

 

[bobafet1]

Planet Aquariums is a group of former Oceanic employees that have a good reputation.

Glass Cages has greatly improved over the years and has a good reputation as well.

Disclosure: I have no personal experience with either.

Thank you

 

[griss]

Thank you

You’re very welcome.

 

[m0nkie]

Ok, so I'm not really finding a decent used 120 gallon or 100 gallon (20"H) glass tank. Where's a decent place to order a new one? Also, I'm seeing a lot of roller mats in sumps now....are those things stinky? are they as good as miracle mud..LOL....seems like there's always a new gadget or process promising to do it all.

rollermats is basically an advanced filter sock. if you design the sump system with it, having the plumbing go directly into the rollermat, it can remove a ton of particles from the water. if you just add it to a sump space, it's less efficient, but it will remove detritus. doesn't smell any worse than a skimmer.

I tried it and it worked.. but I got tired of buying replacement rolls. I now use a 3D printed bucket with some filter wool inside. toss the wool every week.

 

[Jimbo327]

There are deals on good used tanks, but that become available sporadically. You have to be patient and lucky.

Someone was selling a reef savvy tank at Socalireefs forum about a month ago...but it sold for really cheap.

You might look into Innovative Marine tanks, they run some crazy sales.