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

[birdsandsoap]

Hello, I'm Jenny and I'm a newbie as well. Just broke down and surprised my husband with his first tank after months of his begging and trying to convince me that it would look nice in our house (I was adamant that if we ever got one, it would look like a nice piece of furniture with a canopy!). I'm hoping that I didn't just turn our home into a bachelor pad, haha. After a little research, we quickly switched modes from wanting a freshwater tank to venturing into the world of saltwater.

I've been stalking the forums for a couple of weeks now gleaning information on what we need and what it all does. I have to say, I am super impressed with many of the members on here (CustomColor, I am loving your style and skill!).

At the moment our tank stands empty- I am currently designing a stand for a 72 gallon bowfront tank on Google Sketchup. We are starting from the ground up, and of course on a limited budget (why again, did we choose saltwater? This is already expensive and I don't have anything but a tank! lol. but seriously, not laughing that hard) I'm really excited and am looking forward to this hobby. Originally, it was all my husband's project, but I love to research and I find myself lost in all of the details. Truly an adventure.

Thanks for all of your help fellow members!

[NicksMixedReef]

Hey, so I've been floating around for a while, just posted my 3 foot, 40 gallon tank up for feedback! Currently I have 2 dramas going atm but livestock seems ok (fingers crossed)
1 - TLF reactor mushed up my GAc and now there is a thin coating over my substrate LR and SPS. Strangely LPS doesn't seem to be effected.
2. The real drama. Skimmer has leaked and cause a 4 x 1 hole in my apartment. Now skimmer and ATo are both offline until I figure out how to fix it.
Despite the drama I love my fish tanks (I also have a 2 foot planted tank) and I hope you guys like them too!

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by kennywiz

Hello,
My name is Ken and I've been reefing for a few months. Currently have a JBJ28 and BC14 up.

To Reef Central Ken

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by luis_rocha

Hi my name is Luis and I am new to this completely...I had a 29 gallon tank but unfortunately I had to get rid of it because I did not have the funds. Now I bought a used Oceanic 29 gallon Biocube. Can anyone tell me the steps for a successful biocube system?
I am new so all the advice is greatly appreciated!
Also...the lights on it arent that great...is there a way to change them?

This forum rocks BTW~!

To Reef Central

You are in luck, we have a section completely devoted to nano tanks.

Click here to view it

[catalano]

Originally Posted by birdsandsoap

Hello, I'm Jenny and I'm a newbie as well. Just broke down and surprised my husband with his first tank after months of his begging and trying to convince me that it would look nice in our house (I was adamant that if we ever got one, it would look like a nice piece of furniture with a canopy!). I'm hoping that I didn't just turn our home into a bachelor pad, haha. After a little research, we quickly switched modes from wanting a freshwater tank to venturing into the world of saltwater.

I've been stalking the forums for a couple of weeks now gleaning information on what we need and what it all does. I have to say, I am super impressed with many of the members on here (CustomColor, I am loving your style and skill!).

At the moment our tank stands empty- I am currently designing a stand for a 72 gallon bowfront tank on Google Sketchup. We are starting from the ground up, and of course on a limited budget (why again, did we choose saltwater? This is already expensive and I don't have anything but a tank! lol. but seriously, not laughing that hard) I'm really excited and am looking forward to this hobby. Originally, it was all my husband's project, but I love to research and I find myself lost in all of the details. Truly an adventure.

Thanks for all of your help fellow members!

[Nelz]

Hello all,

Total newb here, in fact I dont even have an aquarium yet.........LuLz

Im kinda in the same boat with birdsandsoap. We started out wanting to get a freshwater tank to have some "interest" in the room. So we went to the various places you would to look at some.

While in a mall pet store, I stumbled upon a decent sized Blue Jaw Trigger fish, and fell in absolute love. You can see in my avatar, that I have a motorcycle, and that fish was almost the EXACT same color!

So I immediately shifted gears and wanted to go saltwater. Did some internet research......and all of the sudden my little 10 gallon freshwater, went to a 150 gallon saltwater.

After spending HOURS on this board, I ran across "rockryno's" nano tank. I have to say it was stunning and simple. After looking at others in the nano section and many on the net, I have decided thats where I will start.

This has become my favorite place to be on the internet, spending almost all my free time on here looking, learning, and enjoying. Im gonna start small and see how it goes.

Thanks for letting me join the party. Off to the, How do I start my nano tank section!

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by Drowning_n_Air

HELLO!!!

Brand Spanking new.
Just scored a full Salt Water setup for free!! Guy never used it when he moved into his condo.

The setup from what I know now. Tank is 6'x12"x18" (67 gallon I believe), and a 33 gallon to go below. A 125 gallon coral life super skimmer, LEE'S PREMIUM UNDER GRAVEL FILTER for 30 gallon. Lights, and a bunch of other stuff I haven't even looked at yet. I'll be posting my progress as I go. The only fish I've ever owned, was when I was about 5. So this will be a huge learning curve.

Thanks Everyone. Glad to be here.

To Reef Central
Sounds like you scored, be sure to read through the stickies so that you can start off on the right foot.

Good Luck

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by birdsandsoap

Hello, I'm Jenny and I'm a newbie as well. Just broke down and surprised my husband with his first tank after months of his begging and trying to convince me that it would look nice in our house (I was adamant that if we ever got one, it would look like a nice piece of furniture with a canopy!). I'm hoping that I didn't just turn our home into a bachelor pad, haha. After a little research, we quickly switched modes from wanting a freshwater tank to venturing into the world of saltwater.

I've been stalking the forums for a couple of weeks now gleaning information on what we need and what it all does. I have to say, I am super impressed with many of the members on here (CustomColor, I am loving your style and skill!).

At the moment our tank stands empty- I am currently designing a stand for a 72 gallon bowfront tank on Google Sketchup. We are starting from the ground up, and of course on a limited budget (why again, did we choose saltwater? This is already expensive and I don't have anything but a tank! lol. but seriously, not laughing that hard) I'm really excited and am looking forward to this hobby. Originally, it was all my husband's project, but I love to research and I find myself lost in all of the details. Truly an adventure.

Thanks for all of your help fellow members!

To Reef Central

I own a 72 bowfront and once you get use to the curve you wont want a straight tank ever.

Seems like you are doing your homework and planning every step of the way, just keep that up, because nothing good happens in this hobby if you try to speed things up and cut corners.

Be sure to post some pics and start a build thread.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by NicksMixedReef

Hey, so I've been floating around for a while, just posted my 3 foot, 40 gallon tank up for feedback! Currently I have 2 dramas going atm but livestock seems ok (fingers crossed)
1 - TLF reactor mushed up my GAc and now there is a thin coating over my substrate LR and SPS. Strangely LPS doesn't seem to be effected.
2. The real drama. Skimmer has leaked and cause a 4 x 1 hole in my apartment. Now skimmer and ATo are both offline until I figure out how to fix it.
Despite the drama I love my fish tanks (I also have a 2 foot planted tank) and I hope you guys like them too!

To Reef Central

Hopefully this doesn't deter you from the hobby, it'll just make you more aware and more vigilante.

You have a nice setup, fix this little problem and press on.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by Nelz

Hello all,

Total newb here, in fact I dont even have an aquarium yet.........LuLz

Im kinda in the same boat with birdsandsoap. We started out wanting to get a freshwater tank to have some "interest" in the room. So we went to the various places you would to look at some.

While in a mall pet store, I stumbled upon a decent sized Blue Jaw Trigger fish, and fell in absolute love. You can see in my avatar, that I have a motorcycle, and that fish was almost the EXACT same color!

So I immediately shifted gears and wanted to go saltwater. Did some internet research......and all of the sudden my little 10 gallon freshwater, went to a 150 gallon saltwater.

After spending HOURS on this board, I ran across "rockryno's" nano tank. I have to say it was stunning and simple. After looking at others in the nano section and many on the net, I have decided thats where I will start.

This has become my favorite place to be on the internet, spending almost all my free time on here looking, learning, and enjoying. Im gonna start small and see how it goes.

Thanks for letting me join the party. Off to the, How do I start my nano tank section!

To Reef Central

Make sure you know that with a nano tank you have very little room for error, although the price seems right, the larger tanks have more leeway when it comes to temperature swings, salinity swing, accidental overdose of something, and the list goes on. You definitely have to be meticulous. But as you can see there are plenty of people that have great success with nanos, hopefully you will be one as well.

Good luck

[Ghosty]

Pretty new here, but actually signed up in 2004. About 30yrs experience with various aquaria, including working at Catfish Charlie's Aquarium Shop in Louisville, CO. as a teenager. Like most, as a child I started with goldfish, then small freshwater community tanks (a 10, then a 20h). My first salt venture as a teen was a 75g FOWLR that wasn't very successful at first, no matter how many books I read! I feel sorry for all the fish I killed back then, ugh. This was back when everyone had UG filter, no sump, crappy lights, no DSB, diatom blooms, cyano plagues, etc. Then sold that and decided to try Carnivores in a 60g hex at my next house. This was actually very successful (despite my trickle filter w/ bioballs, lol). A beautiful Lionfish that grew huge, plus a Spotted Grouper & Snowflake Moray in there.

Spent the next 10yrs fixated on building and racing my car, no way to afford TWO expensive hobbies at the same time, heh. But now I'd like to get back into my first passion, saltwater! Spent the Winter so far researching TONS of threads online, buying new books, shopping around, etc. So much has changed! Excited about being here (and the other forums). This seems to be the biggest forum though, wow....

Was lucky enough to win the recent TFH magazine Facebook contest, they sent me the latest (2009) edition of Martin Moe's Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder. I also picked up copies of (2008) The Marine Reef Aquarium by Phil Hunt, and (2002) Reef Secrets by Alf Nilson. Those along with the hundreds of threads I've been reading should give me a good start to build my new tank.

Deciding how big I really wanna go. A Biocube-29 would be fun, with just some liverock, an anemone, pair of Clowns, and couple other guys. But I know I'd outgrow it within a month! Thinking about either 40breeder at the smallest, but more like a 65. Or even a 75 or 90. A 120 would be sweet but I might have to check the structural integrity in the basement underneath.

(sorry for the novella, I type fast)

[silverado304]

Hi I'm Chris from CT.

I've had a freshwater tank for around 3 years and now is the best time as any to begin the trek into reef territory. I've wanted a reef tank for as long as I can remember. I was just given 37g tank a couple of weeks ago to start with. I havn't purchased any equipment yet (ro/di, sump, etc) on account of i'd like to get as much research (for lack of a better word) done as possible.

From what i've seen so far this site has a crrrraaazyyy ammount of info for the newbie such as myself. I can't wait to get this process started. :-D

[Lucian]

Hello everyone, I'm Lucian, i'm from Romania, curently living in Ireland

and just made the big step forward from fresh to salt. i have to say this forum is a huge resource for any beginer like me. i curently run a 46g fowlr but plan on a 120g in the near future. all my love for goes to the lionfish and frog fish with wich i'm goin to stock my tanks. my wife want a "nemo" and a volitan when we get the bigger tank(she's very funny sometimes)

[Clawed]

Hi!

I'm a French Canadian from Montreal, Canada.

My name is Claude, often wrongly pronounced Clawed.

I actually don't own a saltwater tank, only 4 Tanganyikan cichlid tanks and a Malawi tank...for now.

I will convert myself fully to saltwater within a year but came here since my Grand-Mother's tank crashed and her expert can't be there anymore to fix it. So I'm taking over the job.

Basically, I'm diving in straight away with a problem tank!

Wish me luck!

[salty72]

How long before I can add more fish? Tank finally cycled and I have a sweet little clown pair and a benngai cardinal, got them last weekend and I've tested every day and my water parameters have not changed. Its a 55 gallon for tank.

[salty72]

How long before I can add more fish? Tank finally cycled and I have a sweet little clown pair and a benngai cardinal, got them last weekend and I've tested every day and my water parameters have not changed. Its a 55 gallon for tank.

[tony53176]

Hello all,

My name is Tony and I am 35yrs old. I have been running mostly freshwater tanks for sometime both with and without live plants. My wife is going to be getting me a saltwater set up for Christmas this year so I thought I would join a forum and get the answers to my questions from people who know what they're doing.

The tank description below is what I will have come Christmas, I know the light is not the greatest but I do plan on upgrading in the future. I hope that in the future I can contribute to the forums as much as I hope to get out of it.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by Ghosty

Pretty new here, but actually signed up in 2004. About 30yrs experience with various aquaria, including working at Catfish Charlie's Aquarium Shop in Louisville, CO. as a teenager. Like most, as a child I started with goldfish, then small freshwater community tanks (a 10, then a 20h). My first salt venture as a teen was a 75g FOWLR that wasn't very successful at first, no matter how many books I read! I feel sorry for all the fish I killed back then, ugh. This was back when everyone had UG filter, no sump, crappy lights, no DSB, diatom blooms, cyano plagues, etc. Then sold that and decided to try Carnivores in a 60g hex at my next house. This was actually very successful (despite my trickle filter w/ bioballs, lol). A beautiful Lionfish that grew huge, plus a Spotted Grouper & Snowflake Moray in there.

Spent the next 10yrs fixated on building and racing my car, no way to afford TWO expensive hobbies at the same time, heh. But now I'd like to get back into my first passion, saltwater! Spent the Winter so far researching TONS of threads online, buying new books, shopping around, etc. So much has changed! Excited about being here (and the other forums). This seems to be the biggest forum though, wow....

Was lucky enough to win the recent TFH magazine Facebook contest, they sent me the latest (2009) edition of Martin Moe's Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder. I also picked up copies of (2008) The Marine Reef Aquarium by Phil Hunt, and (2002) Reef Secrets by Alf Nilson. Those along with the hundreds of threads I've been reading should give me a good start to build my new tank.

Deciding how big I really wanna go. A Biocube-29 would be fun, with just some liverock, an anemone, pair of Clowns, and couple other guys. But I know I'd outgrow it within a month! Thinking about either 40breeder at the smallest, but more like a 65. Or even a 75 or 90. A 120 would be sweet but I might have to check the structural integrity in the basement underneath.

(sorry for the novella, I type fast)

To Reef Central
you have been around the block and seem like you're ready to try your hand at a reef tank. Out of your choices of tanks I would really advise the 75 or 90, they are the perfect size for the beginner and you won't outgrow it any time soon.

I lived in Cheyenne Wy for 6 years and was part of MASC Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado. Being around for so long you may already know about them but check them out and get involved. they have grown exponentially in the last couple years and are doing great things.

Good luck

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by silverado304

Hi I'm Chris from CT.

I've had a freshwater tank for around 3 years and now is the best time as any to begin the trek into reef territory. I've wanted a reef tank for as long as I can remember. I was just given 37g tank a couple of weeks ago to start with. I havn't purchased any equipment yet (ro/di, sump, etc) on account of i'd like to get as much research (for lack of a better word) done as possible.

From what i've seen so far this site has a crrrraaazyyy ammount of info for the newbie such as myself. I can't wait to get this process started. :-D

To Reef Central

I'm glad that you found us. be sure to start your own thread when you have a particular question that you can't find answers to. We are a friendly bunch.

[cbm369]

Hi to all,

My name is Charlie. I'm 42 yrs old. I have been keeping fish since I was around 10 or so. I got into saltwater around 10-11 years ago and have not kept a freshie since.

I currently have a 55g fowlr tank, about 9 yrs old. I just purchased a 125g two weeks ago and I am currently in the planning stages for it. It will be a fowlr tank also and I will use the 55g as a sump/fuge for the display. I still have to build me a stand before I can get things started, but hopefully by the end of the month the 125 will starting its cycle.

Absolutely amazing forum I must say! So much information and people willing to help.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by Lucian

Hello everyone, I'm Lucian, i'm from Romania, curently living in Ireland

and just made the big step forward from fresh to salt. i have to say this forum is a huge resource for any beginer like me. i curently run a 46g fowlr but plan on a 120g in the near future. all my love for goes to the lionfish and frog fish with wich i'm goin to stock my tanks. my wife want a "nemo" and a volitan when we get the bigger tank(she's very funny sometimes)

To Reef Central
That's amazing, because I have a friend named Lucian from Romania that just moved to the east coast of the US. (makes me wonder if Lucian is as common in Romania as John or Bill is here.

A 120g would be a great tank to have, be sure to start a thread documenting your progress.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by Clawed

Hi!

I'm a French Canadian from Montreal, Canada.

My name is Claude, often wrongly pronounced Clawed.

I actually don't own a saltwater tank, only 4 Tanganyikan cichlid tanks and a Malawi tank...for now.

I will convert myself fully to saltwater within a year but came here since my Grand-Mother's tank crashed and her expert can't be there anymore to fix it. So I'm taking over the job.

Basically, I'm diving in straight away with a problem tank!

Wish me luck!

To Reef Central
talk about jumping in with both feet, be sure to post any questions that you may have with your grandmothers tank. If you put a little effort into it you will have great success!!

[Commandoe]

Been getting info from site as a guest for a couple of months now, but wanted to make it official, .

Old Dog: I have had a 240 gallon acrylic tank for over 26 yrs and its been a love, hate experience since day one. The tank was originally setup with a DIY under gravel filter and four power heads. Over the years I've purchased everything thing from sharks and sting rays to mermaids it seems. But they would all seem to die too quickly, and I would get discouraged and let the tank roaches (damsels) run the tank for several months until I got my interest back and buy expensive fish again. Recently I purchased a canister filter and a UV sterilizer to augment the filtration system, but I was still not happy with it the way it was.

New Tricks: A couple of months ago a I purchased a 34 gallon hex tank to make it into a nano reef tank after seeing some very beautiful reef tanks at a LFS. Once I was able to convince the wife that it was not going to be that much money, I set it up with a 30lbs of LR, then eventually a Xenia, green mushroom, 2 more that of something that I forgot the names, a couple of clowns and a 6 line wrasse. So I came to the conclusion that this would be even better on a larger scale and this is what I really wanted for my 240, since it needs to be redone with new filtration anyways. After I convinced the wife again, and she gave me permission, I started planning and spending on the 240! I modified the 3 openings from 7 inches wide to 12 inches wide to accommodate better lighting and I drilled 3 holes for drainage and return. I got a AquaC EV-400 Protein Skimmer, made my own sump out of a 50gal glass tank, a 18 gal rubbermaid tub for ATO, changed my stand from 22 inches high(26 yrs ago it was perfect), to 36 inches high, a 4 pump wave maker, XP4 canister filter (mainly to run the UV Sterilizer), over 200lbs of sand and another 200lbs of live rock and lights soon.

No matter how much I've been planning, to the questions I ask and the forums I read, I always find new stuff! But I love it! This is my main hobby now, and I now believe that I have the maturity and time, and hopefully money to make it the most enjoyable experience possible. I will be looking at Reef Central for much more info in the months and years to come!

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by salty72

How long before I can add more fish? Tank finally cycled and I have a sweet little clown pair and a benngai cardinal, got them last weekend and I've tested every day and my water parameters have not changed. Its a 55 gallon for tank.

To Reef Central
it all depends on how you cycled your tank, usually what people do, is start with a small amount of ammonia (in the form of a dead shrimp decaying) and once they see ammonia start to rise they remove it, which promotes the growth of bacteria to convert it to nitrite and that in turn promotes the growth of the bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate. However the amount of bacteria that was cultivated was only enough to sustain a small bioload (a couple fish)

Another way is to allow that ammonia to really take off and cultivate more bacteria to sustain a bigger bioload right from the start.

Depending on how you cycled your tank is going to determine what course you can take, if you did the first example, then you will have to slowly add fish to the tank, giving at minimum 3-4 weeks in between adding new fish so that the tank can adapt to the new fish.

If you did the second example then you have a more robust bacteria that will support more fish all at once.

So to answer your question, it all depends. Most newcomers are bound to adding fish slowly so that the bacteria can catch up.

If you want more answers on the subject or clarification you can either PM me or start a thread in the New to the Hobby forum and we'll be more than happy to help.

Good luck.

[hias6n]

hello
i´m matthias,24 and from austria!
after ah 8g nano i have ah 55g since october;-)
im glad to be here
greets hias