evojoe67
02/14/2009, 10:31 PM
Hello everyone, my name is joe and this is my reef. I started this tank a year ago this month, and have experienced the usual pitfalls of the new hobbiest. In the begining i was dependent upon my LFS owner, and those i was introduced to by said owner to maintain my tank. This was my first mistake. If you are going to get involved in this hobby you must first ask yourself if you are willing to dedicate the time it takes to keep a successful reef. This is something i did not do. If i had to do it all over again i would spend at least one year studying everything about these tanks and all it's inhabitants, before purchasing anything.
I would have learned to resist "impulse" buying, and thought out the design of my tank setup much more.
I would have educated myself in water chemistry, and how to see the signs of a problem before that problem cost me dearly.
All this being said, i've learned a lot because of the mistakes i've made, so i count the $ i've cost myself in lost corals and fish as a "college tuition" of sorts.
While it breaks my heart to have cost so many beautiful fish, and corals thier lives during my "rookie" season, i am now proud to say i have dedicated myself to making sure my bad decisions are lessons learned, and these mistakes are not to be repeated. As my father always taught me, "if you make a mistake and learn from it, it's experience. If you continue to make the same mistakes, thats stupidity".
My tank is 210 gallons, with a 45 gallon refugium. I have a uv steralizer, phosband reactor, Kalk wasser, E.T.S.S. Protein skimmer, custom in tank filtration setup,3-250w Metal halide lights,4 actinics, and 2 moonlites. I also have a PCI CL600 chiller.
My tank is framed into a wall in my basement with a room housed behind a hidden bookcase(without any books on it)dedicated to said tank. I also have a 29 gallon acrylic quarentine tank.
I'm sure i forgot a few things, but i guess i can edit them in at a later date.
Thanks for letting me ramble. I hope you enjoy the photos. I look forward to becoming a frequent visitor to this forum, and would appreciate any feedback on how to become a more successful reefer.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5191-1.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5235.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5239.jpg
I would have learned to resist "impulse" buying, and thought out the design of my tank setup much more.
I would have educated myself in water chemistry, and how to see the signs of a problem before that problem cost me dearly.
All this being said, i've learned a lot because of the mistakes i've made, so i count the $ i've cost myself in lost corals and fish as a "college tuition" of sorts.
While it breaks my heart to have cost so many beautiful fish, and corals thier lives during my "rookie" season, i am now proud to say i have dedicated myself to making sure my bad decisions are lessons learned, and these mistakes are not to be repeated. As my father always taught me, "if you make a mistake and learn from it, it's experience. If you continue to make the same mistakes, thats stupidity".
My tank is 210 gallons, with a 45 gallon refugium. I have a uv steralizer, phosband reactor, Kalk wasser, E.T.S.S. Protein skimmer, custom in tank filtration setup,3-250w Metal halide lights,4 actinics, and 2 moonlites. I also have a PCI CL600 chiller.
My tank is framed into a wall in my basement with a room housed behind a hidden bookcase(without any books on it)dedicated to said tank. I also have a 29 gallon acrylic quarentine tank.
I'm sure i forgot a few things, but i guess i can edit them in at a later date.
Thanks for letting me ramble. I hope you enjoy the photos. I look forward to becoming a frequent visitor to this forum, and would appreciate any feedback on how to become a more successful reefer.
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5191-1.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5235.jpg
http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/evojoe67/IMG_5239.jpg