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

[jynxtrix]

I wonder If I should have posted that last post in a different section than here?

[reefer859]

Hey everyone I just got started in the hobby. Name is Paul. Live in the Northern KY. Just got my first biocube 29 in December and am ready for a bigger tank already. Got bit by the reefing bug and am hooked. =) Hope to contribute and be a part of the forums.

Paul

[Eddie V]

Hello everyone, my name is Eddie and I too am an addict. This is my first saltwater tank, I have had many FW tanks before but this is much better. Currently I have a 55 g with about 70-80lbs of LR, sand, and 8 fish. I'll post some pictures soon. First I heed to figure out why my water looks yellow, any tips and suggestions would be great thanks.

[dlamontt3j]

Whats up RC, my name is Donnie but everyone calls me DT. This will be my first saltwater tank and i want to do a reef tank with maybe 2 or 3 fish. I am in the process of buying the equipment. Tank size is 75 gal. I plum it thru the wall and maintain my sump in my wife's craft room I built for her in the garage. She gave me permission and gave me a space about 5' wide and 3' deep and as high as the ceiling so i can fit a huge sump in there. this is an awesome site and I will not as to many questions at first because i have a lot of reading to do on the forum. when i get confused I will definitely be asking for advice. Looking forward to this adventure.

[SmellsFishy123]

Hi Everyone!!

I'd like to start by introducing myself, I'm Vicki and my boyfriend (Eddie) and I just recently started our first saltwater fish tank. We have a 75 gallon reef tank that's been established for about 4 months now and we LOVE it. But wait, we don't only have a saltwater tank.. We've been into freshwater tanks all of our lives so currently we have 4 other tanks in our home BEFORE we started the saltwater reef tank. We also have a 35 gallon, 30 gallon, 20 gallon, and 2 gallon (guppy breeder) freshwater tanks set up for a long time now. We obviously LOVE the hobby and fish so we started our 75 gallon saltwater, which we already have been planning on upgrading to a 250 gallon once we move into a larger house. Yeah, our home looks like the maritime aquarium and we love it.

Our 75 gallon tank includes: 5 damsels, a psuedochromosis, a sailfin tang, 2 cleaner shrimp, a camel shrimp, red corris wrasse (that has been missing for 2 weeks), a purple firefish goby, a redfire goby, a valentini puffer, a sandsifter goby, and a hawkfish. along with blue-leg hermit crabs and a feather duster.

Now we want a few big, colorful fish but all of the fish we like, aren't reef safe. I LOVE seahorses, octopus', eels, lionfish, and we can't get any!? Right!? What about the dwarf lion fishes? We know we may need to get rid of our damsels in order to get larger fish so that they won't get eaten. Is there any larger fish that we can add to our tank?

[clevelandfish]

Welcom rc my name is clevelandfish and if i had marew caracters it would be cleveland fishkeeping. So any way i got a 30g biocube which is doing good but im seting up a 90g on the 15 any qs just ask

[JstRyan]

Hello all, Very new to the hobby 2 days and counting .. set my tank up last night, patiently waiting for my tank to cycle and clear up ! My name is Christopher and I'm from NC... I purchased this tank used about 8 months ago. the guy I purchased it from told me it was a 50 gal show tank but I have found that it's actually 45gal.. 36x12x24 I plan on it just being a reef tank with a few fish.. I have already got bad advice from the local pet store. so hopefully this site will be more help..

[kramer3380]

Hey everyone,

I recently decided to turn to a tropical saltwater aquarium. Im very excited and I already have the ball rolling. Ive done my fair share of research (which felt like 100 hours) so now my next step is to find a good forum with experienced people putting their two sense in to help me in my process with as little trouble as possible.

I have a 75 gallon tank and I'm looking to do a mix of coral and fish. I wont have all that much coral so I wouldn't necessarily call it a reef tank but nonetheless I still have all the required equipment to run a reef tank. I have about 60-70 pounds of baserock and 30 pounds of some nice fiji live rock. Its still in the cycling process. I set everything up a few days ago. I found out the hard way never to listen to when a bag of sand says "no need to rinse." My tank looked like milk for a few days but its nice and clear now. I did my first 50% water change today. I may do one more if my NH3 goes above 3ppm, otherwise I'll let the bacteria do its thing. All of my research points to one main virtue to have.. patients. I dont have much of it but I know that if you rush or cut corners it will show up in the long run. I'll take some pics and upload them so everyone can see.

As of now I don't have too many questions, but being a newbie I'm sure I will have tons of questions for you guys in the future. I just thought I'd take the time out and introduce myself.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

-Joe

[Obbey]

Hello RC, I look forward to sifting through the wealth of information that lies within this forum. New to saltwater tanks, had several fresh water over the years. My current setup is a 120g two weeks into it's cycling process.

[Trevs614]

Hi. I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm a scuba diver and recently got back from the Cayman Islands. I saw some pretty amazing things diving there. I've thought so much about it that I decided to get a salt water aquarium and try and mimic what I see diving, at home.

I have a lot of reading and research to do and know I will be spending quite a lot of time here. I look forward to seeing what everyone else has and eventually post some pictures of what I end up with.

[Muskrat]

Hey everyone. I had a reef tank for about 2 years before, then started an addition on my house and didn't have time to work with it so i sold my rock and fish and let the tank sit empty. Missed the hobby but now 2 years later the addition is done and I just finished plumbing in my 75 gallon tank. One bonus, my wife let me build in a tank with its own utility room. Looking forward to getting it going.....Here are a few picts.

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[xandrew245x]

Hi, my name is andrew, I have a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump and a 20 gallon display refuge. I am about a month and a half into this hobby, and i'm loving every part of it!

[jmount99]

I'm thinking you don't care what my name is. Just my problems and questions. My fish store recomended this site, so I joined today. I am new to salt, (fresh for 12 years) 30 gal. 5 weeks in. I hope to some day be able to give advice. Cheers!

[Suprbug]

Here's the deal. I had a 55g sitting gathering dust, deep blue high out put lights with actinics and led moonlights. I always wanted a reef tank but decided to go fresh to save on cost, time, etc. I went to a local fish dealer told him the situation and he said that i could have a saltwater tank up in a day or two! Within my budget!
I bought an emperor 400 w/bio-wheels, inert sand, marine salt, 150w heater, thermometer, a bottle of bacteria, and a hydrometer. I was told to set it up that night with salinity at 1.022 and the next day bring back some water to test. If I got the water right I would get a few starter fish.
I was sold 4 blue damsels and told they like structure, so off to petco went me and my wife. We went to get temporary artificial structures but saw they sold fiji live rock and bought 8 nice sized pieces along with two camel shrimp.
Put those in the tank and everything looked nice, but hey what did I know? I gleaned more from this website just last night than I was told in five or six trips to various petstores.
So, the damsels started looking out of breath and one died. Went and got apiece of live rock with nice corraline algea on it, a bag of live packaged aragonite and put those in, then did a 5g water change.
My daughter and her boyfriend upon seeing that the tank was now filled brought home two small common clownfishes.
Now, I understand that this is not necessarily a good thing considering I know next to nothing about keeping live rock or marine fish!
So here is where I am now. One clown, one blue damsel left, two shrimp, and a fair amount of rock. I also got an ammonia test kit and a six panel test kit the other day and put a power head into the tank.
Am I spitting into the wind? I realize that i started this with not enough knowledge or patience, but is the situation salvageable?
Any and all advice would be appreciated. I dont like seeing these fish stress and die.

[FreakingReefing]

Hey everyone!

I recently decided my fw tanks were getting too boring so I am taking the plunge into sw. Been keeping fw for 5+ years plan on building a 75reef been doing a lot of research and purchased a lot towards it so far just been put on hold for a few weeks for more funding but at least by tax return time I will be set-up and running. Glad I found the forum member of others but not sw specific.

Glad to be aboard!

[Lubell118]

My name is Lu and my husband and I are on our way to creating our first saltwater fish and eventually coral aquarium! We need light fixtures and found 2 36" led reef capable fixtures from Beamswork that are 1/2 the price of others. Does anyone have any feedback about this brand? I have read a few good reviews but want to be sure.

Lu

[dsobo]

Hello I am new to the saltwater hobby, I have had freshwater tanks n he past, but have been away fom the hobby for about 8 years. I am in the market of creating a reef tank particularly looking at a 60 gal cube or a 54 gal corner till deciding. Hoping for a great experience or a long time o come.

[Suprbug]

Here's an update and an introduction. My name is bill and a lfs sold me a story on how easy and quick this would be. I have learned from theses pages how untrue that is.
I live in the Wilmington DE area, have had freshwater over the years but have always wanted a marine tank.
I have one now, and although it may be a cautionary tale I plan to make the best of it. Optimisim rules!
Before i found this site my reading led me to put in as much live rock as I could afford thinking that would create an instantly cycled tank! I now have 4 less fish because of my exuberance.
Yesterday a lfs tested my water and all parameters were fine (the cheapo tests that i had were reading fine btw) he suggested that i may have just recieved sick fish. He gave me two more blue damsels.
I did take the lid off the tank after reading sk8tr' awesome primer on starting a new tank and now everything seems fine.
I will be looking in to get an ro unit when finances allow, and I will be gettin proper testing equipment asap.
I do have a ? I just top off with freshwater? How low should i allow it to go before topping off or is it a matter of salinity concentration?
I also learned that camel shrimp eat coral so I guess i gotta eventually get them out but should i do it now to maybe save any hitchhikers?
This forum is informative as heck.

Originally Posted by Suprbug

Here's the deal. I had a 55g sitting gathering dust, deep blue high out put lights with actinics and led moonlights. I always wanted a reef tank but decided to go fresh to save on cost, time, etc. I went to a local fish dealer told him the situation and he said that i could have a saltwater tank up in a day or two! Within my budget!
I bought an emperor 400 w/bio-wheels, inert sand, marine salt, 150w heater, thermometer, a bottle of bacteria, and a hydrometer. I was told to set it up that night with salinity at 1.022 and the next day bring back some water to test. If I got the water right I would get a few starter fish.
I was sold 4 blue damsels and told they like structure, so off to petco went me and my wife. We went to get temporary artificial structures but saw they sold fiji live rock and bought 8 nice sized pieces along with two camel shrimp.
Put those in the tank and everything looked nice, but hey what did I know? I gleaned more from this website just last night than I was told in five or six trips to various petstores.
So, the damsels started looking out of breath and one died. Went and got apiece of live rock with nice corraline algea on it, a bag of live packaged aragonite and put those in, then did a 5g water change.
My daughter and her boyfriend upon seeing that the tank was now filled brought home two small common clownfishes.
Now, I understand that this is not necessarily a good thing considering I know next to nothing about keeping live rock or marine fish!
So here is where I am now. One clown, one blue damsel left, two shrimp, and a fair amount of rock. I also got an ammonia test kit and a six panel test kit the other day and put a power head into the tank.
Am I spitting into the wind? I realize that i started this with not enough knowledge or patience, but is the situation salvageable?
Any and all advice would be appreciated. I dont like seeing these fish stress and die.

[aquaspace]

Hi there.... this is Babu living in Bangalore, India. I'm very new to this hobby, just started with a 75gallon FO sumpless tank. I have some experience with planted tanks for a while, and now decided to go the salty way... I'm really fascinated by the marine life, and the efforts that many people around the world take in bringing a portion of the reef into their homes. Itz my dream that one day I'll have a small setup at my place too. RC is an amazing place to learn, share and keep learning... My learning just started and a big thank you to so many experienced folks who share their experiences which is so helpful for newbies like me.

[nicholasdances]

Hello all, name is Nicholas. I am 21 and have been doing FW tanks for about 4 years. Decided to get rid of my FW tanks and want to start with a 180g reef tank. I have always done big tanks. I have a go big or go home mentality and am excited to get started.

[Rploaded]

Hello Everyone,

I have been in the hobby for about 12 years. I have had all sorts of tanks and types of fish/corals over the years. I am currently building a large reef tank for which I have started its own thread you can see it here. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2132771

This will give you lots more info..... Hope I can help other newbies as they get started.

[TripsterAK]

Hey Everyone,

Names Dustin and Im from Anchorage, Alaska. I am just getting started in this Hobby. I currently have a 75G tank. I built a Custom Stand for it. I have a CPR 102 OVerflow and a Custom Piped Return that is on eachside of the tank. I just did my first leak test yesterday and things went well. Hopefully I can get some Sand and Live Rock in this weekend and Start cycling.

[SSTR]

Hello all I just joined today after about two weeks of lurking this was one of the most common forums I read so i'd like to say thanks for all the great info! I have a 55 gallon cichlid tank and the reason I am here is a 29 gallon reef startup I am currently trying to get leveled out to start adding some livestock. I am in Bowling Green KY and as of now the tank is going on two weeks with live rock. I have a Coralife 30" T5 with 124 watts and a PSK-75H skimmer, everything is going well so far! Looking into some DI systems now.

[sEaLiFe4LiFe]

My name is George from Lake Worth FL and started to build a 75g reef tank. I had the tank sitting in the garage for years and my friend gave me that extra push to get it started! I'm a newbie to this beautiful hobby and excited to watch my tank grow over time! It's been 3 months so far and am amazed how well I've been doing! I'll add some pics when I can cause it doesn't allow me to from my phone! Good luck to all the newbies!! 🐠

[Tempelton Pec]

Hi everyone,

My name is Carlos, I am from Spain. I have been like three years with reef tanks and I have just joined reefcentral.

I opened a thread withmy tank and the current probs I am having but wasn't very popular.

Right now i have a 120g with some fish (3 clown fish), 1 tang, 1 Chelmon and corals (SPS,LPS, zoanthid and some softies)

Here is my thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2129937

Hope it goes better soon and I can update with some pics!