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

[uncleL]

Hello All,

Looking forward to see everyones tanks and getting and giving advice. Thank you for your time.

[WantItNow]

New here folks, not to forums so I know how to use the search function

Started out in January paying for someone to basically have fun with their taste in my office. Meaning I wanted a tank and gave him free range to spend and set up a tank for my patients and I to enjoy. Well a couple months later he moved and left me to figure things out. I've been doing pretty well, definitely learned a lot along the way. Sadly went through my fair share of fish lives along the way. Proud to say I have not had a casualty since maybe May. Just recently I started getting into some corals. Like my name states I want it now and I've learned that patience is a the number 1 element in this hobby.

Anyways I like to ask questions but only after I do my research. I know not even a sliver compared to the most of you. I've posted a video or my tank 120g I think, It's not perfect but it's my tank and I manage it. If you have ANYTHING to say whatsoever please do, compliments or critiquing it. The more I know and the better I can make it the better.

Thanks for the long read

Whatttya think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu9fUR5Crc0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWzMwuIP9Vg

[OllieNZ]

Hi All,
Looking at setting up my first reef tank and am struggling with getting my head around lighting needs but I'll post my q's on that in the relevant section.
Other than that I've been keeping fish (fresh water) for the last 8yrs, into aquascaping for the last five and just converted my 48x18x18 from planted to mbuna. Also running a 2 ft planted setup the will shortly be converted to blackwater to try my hand at breeding apistogramma

[treyman]

Hello,

working on my first reef. i have had several freshwater tanks. and a FOWLR tank for 3 years. working on converting it to a reef is a ton more work than i anticipated. thanks to all of you that are helping me get everything set up right. this site (and my tank) is addicting.

Happy Reefing,
Trey

[jeffdenney]

Hi! Im jeff! Been lurking in the dark for a few months... figured I would say hey... I have had multuple fw tanks.. currently only have two fw running.. a high tech planted 220g and a quarantine lowtech 10g Planted also.. im a member if the planted tank. And I look forward to learning and contributing as much as I can.

My current progress is just an empty 25g.. just got my glass holes overflow kit. Also recieved my magdrive 350gph pump.. will b plumbing and cutting some glass for my sump this weekend.. spectrometer is in the mail and I should b cycling by next week.. super pumped!

[gypsyboyz]

Hi everyone I just joined I hope to get a lot of wise info for my 14 gallon biocube that I had for two years but had to empty due to travel.but now I'm back and want to start up again with more knowledge this time so I need to try to do some mods to the tank and see what happens. Also I'm sorry but my name is Nelson and if anyone wants to message me with biocube tip and tricks please do. Thanx

[harpoon]

Have not owned a tank in probably 10 years but looking to put something spectacular in my new home. Please be gentle, I'm not the most experienced with forums and will be the first to admit I know very little if anything about keeping a fish tank.

My goal is to set up an impressive tank to be a centrepiece at my home entry and my budget will be around the 10k max mark. If I'm spending that sort of coin I should actually do some research and learn heaps before jumping in.

Any thoughts/advice on where to start would be appreciated.

[Roccus]

I stumbled on this site while following a link to fragging corals...

My name is Joe... I've been keeping Fresh water fish and small ornamental ponds for almost 50 years... This past February my wife bought me a 60 gallon tank and stand for my birthday to enter the salt water arena as I have always wanted a salt water tank but never had the time or money to dedicate to it...

after reading a lot and web surfing, I built a 26 gallon sump ( housed in the basement ) with refugiuim and skimmer.. 100 Mic sock filter and separate carbon and Phose ban reactors fed by a 600GPH pump that recirculates back to the filter chamber. the sump is stuffed with macro algae and the 3rd chamber returns water back to the DT @600GPH after head loss. I built.my own over flow box with auto siphon ... control from flooding is by sump volume if the siphon breaks the pump will run out of water ( and turn off via a low water level switch)..I.put 50lbs of live rock and 60 lbs of live sand in the tank...I already had a R/O D/I unit because of my 3 fresh water tanks.. I mixed up IO reef crystals in a 30 gallon trash can ( 2 of them actually) and began my journey... things have changed greatly since my original venture,.. I've learned a lot and had more triumphs than defeats..my understanding about water quality in general helped me greatly)... the 60 developed a leak and two weeks ago got swapped out for a 75.. the sap went without a hitch ..my leathers didn't even shed... I have LPS... and soft corals as well as fish and crustaceans... the tank is still "young" and now that I swapped out I lost all my coralline algae...I can't wait until it loos "lived in" again...

[StarMind]

Hi My name is Roy (User = StarMind)
I used to be very heavy into salt & fresh water tanks but have been out of it for 20 years. Just started again with a 150 Reef tank and waiting for tank to be ready for some new additions, mostly rocks now. I have good advice from Dealer who is a member too. I am retired IT Manager, Programmer & Computer/electronics Engineer. Welcome friends!

[aquareefers]

Hey RC!!
So Im completely new to saltwater tanks, as this will be my first 55 gallon build. I've had a successful 10 gallon freshwater for 2 years now and I'm ready to go saltwater aquarium! I know what type of aquarium I want but I'm having trouble figuring out what's the best way to get there. My goal is to have a reef tank with a 4" in LSB and 50lbs of LR and maybe two or three fish. I don't know yet if I should do everything HOB, or utilize a sump. What do you guys think? Also this build will be over a long period of time, for the fact that I can't buy everything at once. I will probably buy a new toy every month though. I already have my brand New 55gallon tank. Slowly going to be buying peice by peice. I want to get the main stuff set up first though. Like the water and sand but I'm not sure i f that's a good idea being that ill have to add 50lbs of LR after. What do you guys think? I will be using an RO/DI and try and do everything the right way. So my question is what all do I need to start my tank and get my cycle started? Also I want to use a sump but not sure what size tank I should use?

Thanks reefers!!!

[Nighthawk17]

Hello everyone im new to this hobby. Im very interested in building an aquarium and various types of marine life. I use to live by the ocean until getting stationed in Oklahoma. Im currently studying Marine Biology and Oceanography. Ive always wanted to build a saltwater tank just never knew where to start or what works well with what but hey im here to learn and expand my knowledge and get some nice tanks like a lot of others ive seen on here. Hope to hear from everyone soon and pics to come with my set up once I have everything figured out.

[Mebbid]

Hey all, Brandon here. I started out about a year and a half ago with fresh water planted tanks and after about 5 months of that I started my first reef tank, a 20g high mixed reef. I recently upgraded from that to a 90g.

[lady P]

Hi my name is Lady P and I am a new hobbyist I have a 56 gallon tank and it been running for 1 year and I had to change my pump (300 gph) because I would constantly get a lot of micro bubbles in my tube. So I upgraded to a mag 7 the pump is great the issue I am having is the overflow box. I purchased a ball valve to add to the return pump I turned off the pump and the water evaporated quickly into the sump, I immediately plugged it back in realizing to remove the water but what happen is that the excess water accumulated under the blue balls and i pulling my hair to figure out how to remove it. Any suggestions?

[lady P]

Hi my name is Lady P and I am a new hobbyist I have a 56 gallon tank and it been running for 1 year and I had to change my pump (300 gph) because I would constantly get a lot of micro bubbles in my tube. So I upgraded to a mag 7 the pump is great the issue I am having is the overflow box. I purchased a ball valve to add to the return pump I turned off the pump and the water evaporated quickly into the sump, I immediately plugged it back in realizing to remove the water but what happen is that the excess water accumulated under the blue balls and i pulling my hair to figure out how to remove it. Any suggestions?

[37gfl]

Hello all,

Long time lurker. Just getting back into the hobby. As the user name states the current setup in the works is a 37 gallon and I'm down here in sunny fFlorida.

As of right now everything going into this tank is over kill given I see an upgrade in my future ~approx~ a year away.

[JustAHobbiest]

Hi everyone, the names Chris. I've been a fish enthusiest my whole life grew up with tanks and ponds. Never had my own saltwater. Just bought a 180g bowfront pre drilled with two corner overflows and a 40gal DIY sump. Been doing research like crazy over the last year. So I think im ready to give it a go.

Main tank is a 60g Cichlid tank. Been going for two years. Havnt lost a fish... minus the one they murdered in his sleep.

[iwantmoretacos]

Hi All,

My name is Bryce. Been a long time lurker but I finally want to participate in the discussion. I have a 5 year old reef tank and am about to make some major lighting and controller upgrades on it. I'm also in the early stages of a 40 gal breeder display and 29 gal sump build with as much DIY as i can do!

[socaldave]

Hi All, new member here with a brief introduction. I recently acquired a 50gl acrylic tank set-up from my neighbor whom I should say is a reef/fish fanatic himself he did work at one of the local reef stores for many years and maintains tanks for a variety of client base. He has a couple of tanks (210 & 150) and had cycled and started this new tank that I recently (last week) purchased from him. I know it is not the best set-up but for me it is a start to what very well maybe an obsession over time.
What I have now is a 50gl Clear for Life Uniquarium that is pretty much self-contained, Artica chiller, protein skimmer, sand bed, about 25lb of LR, a pair of Ocellaris clowns, one Sailfin Tang, half dozen small snails (?) and one larger one (?).
He had the system fully cycled and everything running for a few months prior to my taking of the system so hopefully everything goes well. He will help me get started on maintaining everything and I have had some experience with tanks many years ago so not like it’s something completely new to me. I do like to understand the proper maintenance and care for my own hobbies thus signing on here for the vast information I’m about to digest.
Here we go!

Dave M.

[Ssacrew]

Hello ReefCentral! I am new to the saltwater world. I have about 5 years of experience keeping various freshwater setups, and have taken the plunge into saltwater! I am currently in the process of cycling a 20gallon long with a 10 gallon sump via live sand and live rock.

[ichthyogeek]

Hi everybody! I've had my saltwater tank since December of 2013, but have kept freshwater fish for about 10+ years. I'm a fish geek, and love learning about this hobby. My 29 gallon tank that was converted to saltwater has been with me for about 8 years.

[Petrocelli.N]

Hey everyone new to this forum still semi new to the saltwater scene 'cpl months shy of a year' but have had freshwater set ups for 10 years+... my current set up is a 72 bowfront reef, recently purchased a 260 acrylic tank from a buddy of mine will be doing a remodel of the tank before I set it up (moving overflow, full buffing, ect.) Real excited on learning more about this hobby and giving and receiving feedback

[Petrocelli.N]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Been Mired]

A friend of mine posted his tank on facebook "looking for a good home" for his 10-gal with a single hermit (Big Herm ) and clown (Nemo, because what else could it be named, right? ).

I have 4 kiddos who love to sit and watch the tank from time to time, and my 6-year-old is more consistent about feeding than I am. They immediately re-named Big Herm "Sebastian" because that is their only frame of reference into the world of crabs.

His advice to me was "feed them twice a week, don't stir up the sand bed, and top off the evaporation daily with this (an RO unit, I think)". Now that I've read hundreds of pages of information here and elsewhere on the interwebs... and I've kept everyone alive for ~6-months, I figured it was safe to consider this tank my own now.

Thanks for being a part of this great community, and for the wealth of information you have shared with me and many other lurkers.

Respectfully,
-Ben

[nvladik]

HI everyone. I am new to saltwater, but have a 125 gallon discus tank. I am currently building a 75 gallon rimless Reef.

[dumbfireman]

Hello everyone! Im new to the site, have dabbled in saltwater before. About to start a new build for my den and thought this would be a great place to share and get some insight.