So here's my story.
As a kid I had several aquariums, mostly freshwater. Back then reef systems weren't very common, so it was basically fish-only, crushed coral over an undergravel filter and a couple of powerheads. To keep tangs alive, we draped some romaine lettuce in the tank. I think I was 19 at the time I set up my first saltwater tank.
Time passed, and in my late 20's/early 30's I set up a spiffy 37 gallon oceanic cube with a noisy HOB overflow box and a sump made out of a large tupperware-like container. It ran beautifully and everything grew very quickly even with the relatively dim 50/50 CF's I used above it.
We lost that tank during the move - but we were able to salvage some of the livestock by giving them to local fish stores. A lot of the stuff in that tank came from a Staten Island outfit called "Island Reef and Fin", if some of you guys remember 'em. Their prices were terrific for the time. Not sure what happened to them.
Fast forward to now, the wife and I have been in our home for around 5 or 6 years now. We had always talked about putting together another reef tank, but it wasn't until I spoke to a colleague I work with (gonzapa) that I started considering seriously getting back into the hobby. After a discussion with my wife, who urged me to "start small", she let me go ahead and put together a little nano.
That little 10 gallon I spun up lit a little fire in her
She was constantly staring into that little 10 gallon, loving all the little things I put into it (mostly frags from Pablo). When I told her I could get a 95 wave for around $400 with a stand, she jumped at the opportunity. She already had the perfect spot planned for it in our upstairs living room that previously never saw much action
I've had some extremely good fortune with this tank thus far. My first major hurdle was lighting. While a friend of gonzapa's had a group buy going for some REALLY good LED's, I didn't want to wait to spin up the 95. So I did what any red-blooded american would do - I threw caution to the wind, whipped out a credit card and ordered two Ecotech Radions.
I think the biggest fortune I've had thus far was gonzapa introducing me to radiata. As it turned out, he was willing to sell me 150lb of live rock for an incredibly good price, with the downside that there MIGHT be some aiptasia on it. Thus far I have only found two small pieces of Aip, and i figured a few peppermint shrimp would take care of that little problem.
The rock he gave me is simply teeming with life. I took my time filling up this 95 gallon, getting the sand bed ready and the like - leaving his rock in several home depot homer buckets. After several hours of leaving the rock dry, I decided to put some saltwater in the buckets just in case. When I took the rock out and placed it in the aquarium, the leftover water was just a party of pods - so in it went.
The die-off was minimal. I think over the next few days I saw an ammonia spike of 0.25, if that. Nitrite never went up. Nor did Nitrates. Both were flat at 0. I added a couple of fish - a tiny yellow tang (about the size of a half dollar) and a six-line wrasse. After several days, no change in water params. Added a purple pseudo and an ocellaris. A couple of days pass, still no changes in water. Today I added two purple firefish - we'll see how the next few days go, but I anticipate no change in water params thanks to Livingston Bob's Magic Rock(TM). "Complete with Twigs, Sediment and Alien Life Forms wielding Weapons of Mass Nitrogen Destruction!"
So, to make a long story EVEN LONGER, I have to say - my re-entry back into this hobby has been met with nothing but fine people who have been willing to help in any way that they can, both here and at the shoutbox over at ReefersCafe.com (hmmmm there's a suggestion, why not a shoutbox of our own?)
And now, without further hubbub, here's some pics.
While Bob thinks my wife's aquascaping is a little too "Fruit Stand" for his taste, I rather like it:
As a kid I had several aquariums, mostly freshwater. Back then reef systems weren't very common, so it was basically fish-only, crushed coral over an undergravel filter and a couple of powerheads. To keep tangs alive, we draped some romaine lettuce in the tank. I think I was 19 at the time I set up my first saltwater tank.
Time passed, and in my late 20's/early 30's I set up a spiffy 37 gallon oceanic cube with a noisy HOB overflow box and a sump made out of a large tupperware-like container. It ran beautifully and everything grew very quickly even with the relatively dim 50/50 CF's I used above it.
We lost that tank during the move - but we were able to salvage some of the livestock by giving them to local fish stores. A lot of the stuff in that tank came from a Staten Island outfit called "Island Reef and Fin", if some of you guys remember 'em. Their prices were terrific for the time. Not sure what happened to them.
Fast forward to now, the wife and I have been in our home for around 5 or 6 years now. We had always talked about putting together another reef tank, but it wasn't until I spoke to a colleague I work with (gonzapa) that I started considering seriously getting back into the hobby. After a discussion with my wife, who urged me to "start small", she let me go ahead and put together a little nano.
That little 10 gallon I spun up lit a little fire in her
She was constantly staring into that little 10 gallon, loving all the little things I put into it (mostly frags from Pablo). When I told her I could get a 95 wave for around $400 with a stand, she jumped at the opportunity. She already had the perfect spot planned for it in our upstairs living room that previously never saw much action I've had some extremely good fortune with this tank thus far. My first major hurdle was lighting. While a friend of gonzapa's had a group buy going for some REALLY good LED's, I didn't want to wait to spin up the 95. So I did what any red-blooded american would do - I threw caution to the wind, whipped out a credit card and ordered two Ecotech Radions.
I think the biggest fortune I've had thus far was gonzapa introducing me to radiata. As it turned out, he was willing to sell me 150lb of live rock for an incredibly good price, with the downside that there MIGHT be some aiptasia on it. Thus far I have only found two small pieces of Aip, and i figured a few peppermint shrimp would take care of that little problem.
The rock he gave me is simply teeming with life. I took my time filling up this 95 gallon, getting the sand bed ready and the like - leaving his rock in several home depot homer buckets. After several hours of leaving the rock dry, I decided to put some saltwater in the buckets just in case. When I took the rock out and placed it in the aquarium, the leftover water was just a party of pods - so in it went.
The die-off was minimal. I think over the next few days I saw an ammonia spike of 0.25, if that. Nitrite never went up. Nor did Nitrates. Both were flat at 0. I added a couple of fish - a tiny yellow tang (about the size of a half dollar) and a six-line wrasse. After several days, no change in water params. Added a purple pseudo and an ocellaris. A couple of days pass, still no changes in water. Today I added two purple firefish - we'll see how the next few days go, but I anticipate no change in water params thanks to Livingston Bob's Magic Rock(TM). "Complete with Twigs, Sediment and Alien Life Forms wielding Weapons of Mass Nitrogen Destruction!"
So, to make a long story EVEN LONGER, I have to say - my re-entry back into this hobby has been met with nothing but fine people who have been willing to help in any way that they can, both here and at the shoutbox over at ReefersCafe.com (hmmmm there's a suggestion, why not a shoutbox of our own?)
And now, without further hubbub, here's some pics.
While Bob thinks my wife's aquascaping is a little too "Fruit Stand" for his taste, I rather like it:
