Dos Ocho
Community Member
Good morning everyone! I've definitely used a lot of information on this site and finally registered and posted a question yesterday, so i figured i would pop my head up and introduce myself.
I've only been in the hobby for just under a year, but it is one of the most fascinating things i have ever done in my life. Still amazes me that i have 2 pieces of THE OCEAN in my home! I have 2 tanks now and working on a 3rd as my winter project. I'm in Nebraska and our winters can be very cold and depressing sometimes, so this will give me something to do while locked indoors for months!
My first tank was started in January at the urging of my girlfriend. She had wanted one for quite a while. I had absolutely no desire to run a tank, let alone a saltwater tank. But after absorbing tons of info online and actually getting the first one up and running, i quickly became hooked.
The first tank i have is a Biocube 29. It is a mixed reef "coral salad" type of setup. I have had my share of death and setbacks with this tank, and it has evolved into an LPS / Softie tank. 3 fish (2 clowns and a firefish), lost a neon goby recently, a peppermint shrimp, various snails, starfish, and other crawling critters! The centerpieces are a beautiful pink nepthea at the top of my rock work, and a large frilly mushroom below in the cove. I have 3 pipe organ corals that i love. A few different palys, zoas, and mushrooms. A couple blastos and a duncan at the bottom. 2 cyphestreas as well. The tank has finally settled in and i have no other addition plans for it. Just sit back and watch it grow.
I started a low tech 10 gallon in July to get my annoying hermit crabs out of my biocube. Transferred all 6 into the tank and have 3 snails too. No fish. Originally i wanted a mushroom only tank, but for some reason they did not do well and i lost a lot of them. I still have a few that are doing well. I recently added xenia, GSP, and some caulerpa algae that are all doing well. I don't want to spend too much more $ on this setup, and figure the three "pests" that i added should thrive and fill in things nicely. I have a couple clumps of dragon's breath in the tank, and between them and the new caulerpa, the tank stays really clean. No major expectations for this tank, just a pretty hermit crab prison!
The 40 gallon setup i am working on now is going to be a macroalgae and anemone tank. I've always loved plants and that love is translating to my reef tanks now as well. I am very interested in anemones now, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks of BTA's, so i've decided on rock flower and possibly Maxi Minis for the new setup. I'm sure i'll add some hardy soft corals and LPS too. I'm going slow with this one since it has a sump and this type of setup is very new to me. Been working on it for about 2 months now. Looking to get it wet at the end of December.
So, that's where i am at. I still consider myself a rookie so i mainly use forums to gather more and more knowledge from those who have been doing this for years. I occasionally comment if i have any advice from my limited experiences so far.
I've only been in the hobby for just under a year, but it is one of the most fascinating things i have ever done in my life. Still amazes me that i have 2 pieces of THE OCEAN in my home! I have 2 tanks now and working on a 3rd as my winter project. I'm in Nebraska and our winters can be very cold and depressing sometimes, so this will give me something to do while locked indoors for months!
My first tank was started in January at the urging of my girlfriend. She had wanted one for quite a while. I had absolutely no desire to run a tank, let alone a saltwater tank. But after absorbing tons of info online and actually getting the first one up and running, i quickly became hooked.
The first tank i have is a Biocube 29. It is a mixed reef "coral salad" type of setup. I have had my share of death and setbacks with this tank, and it has evolved into an LPS / Softie tank. 3 fish (2 clowns and a firefish), lost a neon goby recently, a peppermint shrimp, various snails, starfish, and other crawling critters! The centerpieces are a beautiful pink nepthea at the top of my rock work, and a large frilly mushroom below in the cove. I have 3 pipe organ corals that i love. A few different palys, zoas, and mushrooms. A couple blastos and a duncan at the bottom. 2 cyphestreas as well. The tank has finally settled in and i have no other addition plans for it. Just sit back and watch it grow.
I started a low tech 10 gallon in July to get my annoying hermit crabs out of my biocube. Transferred all 6 into the tank and have 3 snails too. No fish. Originally i wanted a mushroom only tank, but for some reason they did not do well and i lost a lot of them. I still have a few that are doing well. I recently added xenia, GSP, and some caulerpa algae that are all doing well. I don't want to spend too much more $ on this setup, and figure the three "pests" that i added should thrive and fill in things nicely. I have a couple clumps of dragon's breath in the tank, and between them and the new caulerpa, the tank stays really clean. No major expectations for this tank, just a pretty hermit crab prison!
The 40 gallon setup i am working on now is going to be a macroalgae and anemone tank. I've always loved plants and that love is translating to my reef tanks now as well. I am very interested in anemones now, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks of BTA's, so i've decided on rock flower and possibly Maxi Minis for the new setup. I'm sure i'll add some hardy soft corals and LPS too. I'm going slow with this one since it has a sump and this type of setup is very new to me. Been working on it for about 2 months now. Looking to get it wet at the end of December.
So, that's where i am at. I still consider myself a rookie so i mainly use forums to gather more and more knowledge from those who have been doing this for years. I occasionally comment if i have any advice from my limited experiences so far.
