opinions on new reef...

Moonstream · 04/03/2015, 09:57 AM

I kept reefs for many years as a teenager and had to get rid of them when I went to college. Now I'm taking a leave from school from this weekend until the end of January and I'm itching a little bit to get something set up again.
I'm going to be away from the last few days of june until early/mid august, but aside from that I'll be home the entire time. my dad babysat my tanks every summer between those times, so he's well versed (then it was while I was attending summer camp, now it'll be because I work there).

I was very impatient and indecisive when I was younger, and I've been itching to change that (one of my classes this semester was a class on coral reefs, so that certainly started it up again) and since I'm on medical leave (bad broken arm and surgery/recovery put me way behind and for mental health reasons) I think it would be soothing.

I'm thinking that I want to setup an easy, low maintenance tank from the many odds and ends I have. I have a fair amount of things to work with from all my past tanks.

I have two ideas about what I want to setup:

1) cute little 10g
would have a 2 bulb T5 light, a HOB octupus skimmer, a sunsun canister (at least at first, to see how I like it) with rock rubble and a little bit of carbon/aquapure). If I still have my ATO unit that will be used as well.
would have 1 cool little fish (royal gramma, clown goby, shrimp/goby pair, pearly jawfish), a few hermits and a few snails.
PROS: smaller and theoretically if I have to sell it off when I go back to school it would be easier to sell; also, because its smaller coral will cost less because I will want/need less to fill up the tank
CONS: probably a little more touchy, maybe harder for my dad to babysit

2) 29g, either pretty tank or dwarf lionfish tank
it will have either with dual T5 unit or with a 175 watt clip-on-back MH pendent (both of which I think I still have). same as 10g; octopus skimmer, ATO, sunsun canister with rubble and some filter media.
if I go the pretty route some kind of interesting burrower (shrimp/goby or jawfish) or percher (starry blenny, longnose hawk) and an open water swimmer (maybe a small angel, most likely something like a gramma or a small species of damsel or a dartfish).
Alternatively a single zebra or fuzzy dwarf lionfish. maybe throw a small species of damsel (yellowtail and/or talbot's) for some movement, if it gets eaten it will have been a cheap meal at least.

in either case the tank would be all cheap, hardy coral. I'm not looking for a masterpiece this time around, just something pleasant to watch. I love euphyllia so if I dont have an angel I might invest in a few of those; maybe even if I get an angel I'll chance it, I had dwarf angels in the past who were model citizens (rusty and coral beauty). I'm also thinking a bunch of gorongia- I love them. probably some softies like kenya trees, maybe a toadstill, definitely some fuzzy mushrooms.

I have plenty of dry rock and also some sand left over from my old ventures. I'll get like 5-10 pounds of live rock from an LFS, depending on the $/lb. I plan to cycle using bottle ammonia like I do with FW tanks; get it up to around 3 and then keep adding until it cycles through.

I'm thinking that when I go back to school if I decide I dont want the reef anymore I'll parcel it out as needed. selling a 29g feels like more of a commitment, but at the same time is probably easier to keep. mostly I think a reef will be very therapeutic/soothing while I'm all penned up without any of my friends around from like 4 months.

I'll probably set a budget for around 500-1000; I have plenty of summer job money saved up and am planning to work during the fall while I'm home, so I figure its a fair investment.

any thoughts?

04/03/2015, 09:57 AM	#1
Moonstream Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 2,581	opinions on new reef... I kept reefs for many years as a teenager and had to get rid of them when I went to college. Now I'm taking a leave from school from this weekend until the end of January and I'm itching a little bit to get something set up again. I'm going to be away from the last few days of june until early/mid august, but aside from that I'll be home the entire time. my dad babysat my tanks every summer between those times, so he's well versed (then it was while I was attending summer camp, now it'll be because I work there). I was very impatient and indecisive when I was younger, and I've been itching to change that (one of my classes this semester was a class on coral reefs, so that certainly started it up again) and since I'm on medical leave (bad broken arm and surgery/recovery put me way behind and for mental health reasons) I think it would be soothing. I'm thinking that I want to setup an easy, low maintenance tank from the many odds and ends I have. I have a fair amount of things to work with from all my past tanks. I have two ideas about what I want to setup: 1) cute little 10g would have a 2 bulb T5 light, a HOB octupus skimmer, a sunsun canister (at least at first, to see how I like it) with rock rubble and a little bit of carbon/aquapure). If I still have my ATO unit that will be used as well. would have 1 cool little fish (royal gramma, clown goby, shrimp/goby pair, pearly jawfish), a few hermits and a few snails. PROS: smaller and theoretically if I have to sell it off when I go back to school it would be easier to sell; also, because its smaller coral will cost less because I will want/need less to fill up the tank CONS: probably a little more touchy, maybe harder for my dad to babysit 2) 29g, either pretty tank or dwarf lionfish tank it will have either with dual T5 unit or with a 175 watt clip-on-back MH pendent (both of which I think I still have). same as 10g; octopus skimmer, ATO, sunsun canister with rubble and some filter media. if I go the pretty route some kind of interesting burrower (shrimp/goby or jawfish) or percher (starry blenny, longnose hawk) and an open water swimmer (maybe a small angel, most likely something like a gramma or a small species of damsel or a dartfish). Alternatively a single zebra or fuzzy dwarf lionfish. maybe throw a small species of damsel (yellowtail and/or talbot's) for some movement, if it gets eaten it will have been a cheap meal at least. in either case the tank would be all cheap, hardy coral. I'm not looking for a masterpiece this time around, just something pleasant to watch. I love euphyllia so if I dont have an angel I might invest in a few of those; maybe even if I get an angel I'll chance it, I had dwarf angels in the past who were model citizens (rusty and coral beauty). I'm also thinking a bunch of gorongia- I love them. probably some softies like kenya trees, maybe a toadstill, definitely some fuzzy mushrooms. I have plenty of dry rock and also some sand left over from my old ventures. I'll get like 5-10 pounds of live rock from an LFS, depending on the $/lb. I plan to cycle using bottle ammonia like I do with FW tanks; get it up to around 3 and then keep adding until it cycles through. I'm thinking that when I go back to school if I decide I dont want the reef anymore I'll parcel it out as needed. selling a 29g feels like more of a commitment, but at the same time is probably easier to keep. mostly I think a reef will be very therapeutic/soothing while I'm all penned up without any of my friends around from like 4 months. I'll probably set a budget for around 500-1000; I have plenty of summer job money saved up and am planning to work during the fall while I'm home, so I figure its a fair investment. any thoughts?