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

[Bayze]

Originally Posted by ladynavyvet

Welcome, looking forward to seeing
the photos of your tank.

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Ask and you shall receive! 😀 I'm not so sure about the placement. I think I'd like to more centered...

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[ladynavyvet]

Nice, you have plenty of room for more coral, and a few more fish, if you want them. Do you only have the one clown fish? Just curious, most tanks seem to have them in pairs.

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[Bayze]

Thank you. Yep, just the one 🤡 and the blenny.

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[ladynavyvet]

Originally Posted by Bayze

Thank you. Yep, just the one 🤡 and the blenny.

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It's a good start. I would take my time adding more livestock to the tank. Do you have a good lfs near you? While I have the big national chain pet store close by, I prefer to buy from my local independent retailer. They get almost all their saltwater livestock from the same company you see featured on Tanked. I just added a Bubble Tipped anemone to my 1 yr old reef. We're having fun watching, seeing where it finally decides settle itself.

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[Rennie]

Is this a safe silicone to seal an aquarium? ....GE Supreme Silicone 10.1-oz Clear Silicone Kitchen and Bathroom Caulk Thank you

[CSmooth2009]

Well first time ever using a forum and so far loving it. My first name is Caleb and I have been doing fresh water for a while which obviously got boring in my opinion so I moved on to saltwater. Been doing saltwater for the last 2 years and I must say it's like a drug. I have a 100 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. I'm building up my bubble tip nem counts right now to do a all bubble tip tank for my Wyoming white clowns sometime later this year👍🏼 So glad to be here guys 👍🏼

[ladynavyvet]

Originally Posted by CSmooth2009

Well first time ever using a forum and so far loving it. My first name is Caleb and I have been doing fresh water for a while which obviously got boring in my opinion so I moved on to saltwater. Been doing saltwater for the last 2 years and I must say it's like a drug. I have a 100 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. I'm building up my bubble tip nem counts right now to do a all bubble tip tank for my Wyoming white clowns sometime later this year👍🏼 So glad to be here guys 👍🏼

Welcome, that sounds like it's going to be a impressive reef. Having just gotten my first nem, I'm completely amazed by them.

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[Sol83]

Hey all. My name is Allan and my wife and I jumped into the hobby after a year of thinking about it. We picked up a used 90gal which is being stipped and resealed. We are excited to get it up and running but have to still buy a skimmer and some sand. It came with CC but doesnt work with our design.

Any tips on skimmers looking at reef octopus skimmers

Cheers

Allan

[Sol83]

Originally Posted by Rennie

Is this a safe silicone to seal an aquarium? ....GE Supreme Silicone 10.1-oz Clear Silicone Kitchen and Bathroom Caulk Thank you

I asked the same at the loacl shop. They said make sure it says aquarium safe on the lablel. I ended up buying the stuff they sold at the local aquarium store. 18$ each tube.

[Timy10110]

Hi everyone!...it's my first time joining a reef community(as of yesterday) forum And I finally decided to share what I have for you all. I have been in the hobby for 2.5 years now, and I started with a 5.5 gal. Pretty stoked that I managed to pull it off considering how many of my local fish stores tell me that I'm doomed to encounter many many problems along the road. But I prevailed.😁 but eventually I had to give it all up cause I moved to the Philippines, but luckily I went back into the hobby and managed to get a IM Nuvo 16 gal that I now currently have and still running, kicking, etc....I actually think it's a disaster if I show my setup and livestock. 😁

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[Deleros]

Hi everyone of you.
For so many years I've been enjoying with freshwater tanks.
Now is time to cross the line and have my first Reef.
I've got a 15 USgal mini cube since March 2017 and I'm trying to mature it the better.


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[Deleros]

Originally Posted by Deleros

Hi everyone of you.
For so many years I've been enjoying with freshwater tanks.
Now is time to cross the line and have my first Reef.
I've got a 15 USgal mini cube since March 2017 and I'm trying to mature it the better.

I'll try to keep you posted, despite I'm quite irregular!

Cheers!

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[squeakymcmurdo]

Hi, I'm new to saltwater and just set up a 30 gallon tank to cycle while my husband and I covert a room into an office.

I've been doing North American native fish for over 12 years and I'm ready to branch out. (Any excuse to set up another aquarium)

Here it is. Kind of boring at the moment. I plan to replace the basalt and plastic rock with live rock eventually. The sand is Caribsea live Ocean Direct. Are the conch shells ok?

[ladynavyvet]

Originally Posted by squeakymcmurdo

Hi, I'm new to saltwater and just set up a 30 gallon tank to cycle while my husband and I covert a room into an office.

I've been doing North American native fish for over 12 years and I'm ready to branch out. (Any excuse to set up another aquarium)

Here it is. Kind of boring at the moment. I plan to replace the basalt and plastic rock with live rock eventually. The sand is Caribsea live Ocean Direct. Are the conch shells ok?

Saltwater shells are ok, just give them a good rinse out, making sure you're not adding any hitch hikers. I agree wth "any reason to set up a new tank. Welcome to the group.

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[Bodai]

Hello all,

I am a freshwater aquarium veteran, over 20 years in hobby (with some breaks), I worked in pet stores in the fish department for 9 years when I was a teenager, I have done some volunteer aquaculture work, and even dabbled in professional aquarium servicing.

My favorite has always been African Cichlids and loaches, and although I have done fish-only saltwater a very long time ago (long enough ago that I was using undergravel filters, hehe) I have never done reef because it was always too expensive, too complicated, and I did not much like some of the habitat destruction either. My wife would often ask to set one up, and this is how I would talk her out of it, because she is a banker and a miser...

So, I was getting ready to build the mother-of-all African Cichlid tanks, when the wife finally said the magic words.... "I don't care how much it costs, I want saltwater fish"... you all probably felt a disturbance in the force...

Aside from that:
- Tech has improved, LEDs instead of halides for instance
- Tank-raised fish are a reality now

So, here I am, I am excited to finally try this, but I know I will really need advice and education to be successful. I am working with a pro in New Hampshire to help me build it, but he can only answer so many questions.

Here is what I have so far: (pictures in my profile)
- 135G Oceanic with overflows, starphire glass, and black back
- Matching solid oak Oceanic stand, which I bought used and refurbished
- Four Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue's, w/controller
- A Lifereef LF2 W/D filter
- Iwaki 55RLT main pump
- Lifeguard micron, chemical, and 25W UV modules
- 500W blue-line titanium heater with controller
- Titanium grounding rod
- I am having a plastic fabrication place make a custom ABS canopy to cut down on light wash in the room and improve aesthetics

Based on my research so far, this is my shopping / task list so far:
- Need help (why I am here), do lots of research
- Protein skimmer (I will post to the equipment forum on that)
- Two Ecotech VorTech MP40's for water movement
- Convert W/D to sump/refugium (going to work with Lifereef on that)
- Planning to get another Kessil for the refugium and do chaetomorpha
- Test kits (probably chemical and electronic), need to research
- A vat setup for preparing water for water changes
- My pro in NH is going to get me 135lbs of live rock / sand, and "cure" it for me, and remove bad stuff from it

These are things I am considering, but not sure:
- Automatic top-off system
- Automatic feeder
- Backup power, I have solar panels, so I could get a battery
- Apex or similar controller
- Calcium reactor (might wait on this)
- De-nitrator, need to research these (the one's fed with vodka)
- I have a Kinetico water softener and K5 RO for drinking water, not sure if I can use these for the aquarium or if I will need a separate RO/DI, going to get my tap tested for nitrates and phosphates and such to see
- A separate hospital tank setup, hoping to avoid this but may need it
- There are SO many plugs and wires, I may need to have a separate cabinet next to the tank to store it all, and could also store supplies

These are my goals:
- Going with fish-only w/live rock to start with, and will dabble in corals as my comfort level increases
- Mentor my children in the hobby (two boys, 5 and 7)
- Satisfy the wife - I know she will probably want some fish that will likely be off-limits, so I will have to deal with that. She and the kids are already asking for "Nemo and Dora".... This alone may delay going reef in favor of a tank that can be more flexible with fish species, unless I can talk my wife into two tanks or something
- Invest in the best equipment and automation that I can, I keep aquariums partially to reduce stress, so I am a little scared of how complicated this is at various levels, so let's say I have a healthy respect for this and will take it slow. I can run freshwater tanks in my sleep, but the more I read about reef tanks, my eyes start to bulge a little...

Some of my questions:
- Would appreciate pointing me to any beginners guides or other resources that people here may swear by...
- Specific advise on what I am doing so-far... especially on anything I can do to reduce work such as water changes

Thank you very much in advance

Regards

- Bodai

[mannyo_09]

Hello everyone! My name is Manny, just started a jbj 28 gallon nanocube 3 days ago, anxiously waiting for it to cycle lol. I've been reading a lot of information on this forum for a few weeks now and it's been a huge help! I currently have it cycling with filter floss, live sand and about 12 lbs of dry rock (lfs didn't have fully cured live rock at the moment). Will be purchasing some soon. I also added the 3.3 oz bottle of bio-spira to get some beneficial bacteria growing. Thinking about adding some ammonia, or a shrimp to get the ammonia levels to spike. Looking forward to progressing and learning a lot more as the time passes.




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[ladynavyvet]

Originally Posted by mannyo_09

Hello everyone! My name is Manny, just started a jbj 28 gallon nanocube 3 days ago, anxiously waiting for it to cycle lol. I've been reading a lot of information on this forum for a few weeks now and it's been a huge help! I currently have it cycling with filter floss, live sand and about 12 lbs of dry rock (lfs didn't have fully cured live rock at the moment). Will be purchasing some soon. I also added the 3.3 oz bottle of bio-spira to get some beneficial bacteria growing. Thinking about adding some ammonia, or a shrimp to get the ammonia levels to spike. Looking forward to progressing and learning a lot more as the time passes.




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Welcome Manny. It sounds like you're off to a good start. Adding the live rock should help getting everything going good. I know many here have had great success using a shrimp to quickly jumpstart the ammonia spike, and I wish I had known about it when I started mine. I used a bottle of the beneficial bacteria myself.
What kind of livestock are you interested in having in your nano reef? As I'm sure you've already read, we're somewhat restricted on some of the fish we can have, ie tang's, and the other larger species. Of course you tank could be a perfect home for seahorses and trumpet fish. I only mention those today because I saw some trumpet fish at my lfs Friday. My next system will be just that.
Looking forward to seeing the progress of your tank.

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[mannyo_09]

Originally Posted by ladynavyvet

Welcome Manny. It sounds like you're off to a good start. Adding the live rock should help getting everything going good. I know many here have had great success using a shrimp to quickly jumpstart the ammonia spike, and I wish I had known about it when I started mine. I used a bottle of the beneficial bacteria myself.
What kind of livestock are you interested in having in your nano reef? As I'm sure you've already read, we're somewhat restricted on some of the fish we can have, ie tang's, and the other larger species. Of course you tank could be a perfect home for seahorses and trumpet fish. I only mention those today because I saw some trumpet fish at my lfs Friday. My next system will be just that.
Looking forward to seeing the progress of your tank.

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Hi! I'm probably going to go get a shrimp later today and drop it in for a few days and jump start the ammonia. I'm planning on stocking it pair of black ice clownfish (or two that are slightly more white). Either a royal gamma or a black cap basket, a yellowtail damsel, one of the sand sifting gobies, and definitely a blue dot jawfish. I'll slowly add them over the course of a year and if it's too many for the size of the tank then I'll limit it to 5 fish. I'm going to remove the stock hood and add an AI prime HD. And I'll be doing a diy screen to avoid anything jumping out. As far as corals, I would like to keep Acans, Zoas, Polyps, a Hammer, torch, bubble tip anemone (maybe 2, if it doesn't split), some Xenias, a Kenya tree (if The tank space and conditions are suitable) and as time passes and the tank has almost 2 years, I'd like to venture into sps corals


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[ladynavyvet]

It sounds like a good plan. What about your inverts and shell fish? I strongly recommend some snails, for algae, and some sand conks, the help keep your sand loose. I'd also say some of the little hermit crabs. I have both, and the next time I'm in my lfs, and they have one in stock I'm going to replace my emerald crab. He was so fun to watch.

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[mannyo_09]

Originally Posted by ladynavyvet

It sounds like a good plan. What about your inverts and shell fish? I strongly recommend some snails, for algae, and some sand conks, the help keep your sand loose. I'd also say some of the little hermit crabs. I have both, and the next time I'm in my lfs, and they have one in stock I'm going to replace my emerald crab. He was so fun to watch.

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Yeah definitely going to get snails, hermit crabs, and a cleaner shrimp. I'm also thinking about getting a porcelain anemone crab over the emerald crab.


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[ladynavyvet]

Originally Posted by mannyo_09

Yeah definitely going to get snails, hermit crabs, and a cleaner shrimp. I'm also thinking about getting a porcelain anemone crab over the emerald crab.


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I've never seen one of them, now I'm curious and will have to look them up. 😁 As for shrimp, I've had the peppermint shrimp, but I'm down to 1 again, I think.

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[thaitopher]

I'll go. I have only been on ReefCentral for a few months. For my first ten years I had a FOWLER. I bought my first coral about 4 months ago. I have a sump-less 20 gallon nano. One clown, one fire shrimp, bunch of turbo snails and a few hermits, flowerpot coral, GSPs and zoas.


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[mannyo_09]

Originally Posted by ladynavyvet

I've never seen one of them, now I'm curious and will have to look them up. As for shrimp, I've had the peppermint shrimp, but I'm down to 1 again, I think.

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They're awesome! Seeing them host an anemone is a real treat. But you gotta be careful cause they might try to host the same anemone as the clownfish, but the clownfish normally "out-sizes" it lol. And then the crab has to look for another anemone to host.


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[Kobi347]

Hi there been lurking for a while have a 90 gal been running for a few months now only have 2 clown fish(don't live close to a local fish store) this site is amazing full of great advice


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[T.C.E]

Hi, had no interest in marine fish up until I had to put together a Red Sea 260 E series aquarium last week for a her hobby. I had to learn how to assemble the tank and filter etc and learn quick, bought the whole set up and it turned up with no instructions whatsoever!! She had previously someone's old hand me down tank that looked a mess and somehow she has managed to keep a couple of clowns and some corals alive so between us we must be doing something almost right. This piece of kit is quite impressive I must say and I look forward to reading and learning from this forum.