I have sooooo many questions... : )

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

So... I am “back at the reef“ after a 15 year hiatus. At best, I could be called a decent novice, but I’m learning : ) I don’t usually have to ask the same question twice : ) I have a 210 gallon reef tank going... i put water and rock in it 8 weeks ago. My LFS professional has been great for me, but I need more : ) He has been good at keeping me from getting ahead of myself... telling which species I am not ready for... which is great! He has me set up so perfectly for a beginner... there is not enough for me to do (odd problem huh?) I wanna get into the deeper end of the pool. One of the things I want the most is a giant clam.. or two. ...by the time I get to a point where I can have one... other species might not survive?

As I transition into a better aquarists.... how do I meld species of corals I have now.... some that like the water a little dirty... with corals that are harder to maintain and need much more specific water stats and cleanliness? Am I going to kill off what I have now in an effort to get more exotic species over time?

W1ngz · Mar 8, 2020

Things have come a long way in the 6 years I've been doing this, so I cant imagine where things were 15 years ago.

The key to most of that is stability. You can keep most any coral together in one tank by simply choosing the right locations for each according to light and flow. There are thousands of tanks out there that run mixed reefs with clams down in the sand quite successfully.

Once the tank matures and you can keep a stable nitrate and phosphate level, you'll find the happy place.

Take the long view and figure a clam is somewhere around 18 months down the road. I just redid my whole system last summer and I want a clam as well. My benchmark for it is to have at least 4 different species of euphyllia, 2 or 3 lobophyllia and 5 or 6 healthy acropora colonies. If I can get there and keep it for 3-4 months, I'll be confident keeping a clam. Right now I'm in the middle of undoing various mistakes I've made while learning, and waiting to see if my acropora will do ok.

Some of that wait is about the tank. Most of it is about me sharpening my skillset.

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

W1ngz said:
Things have come a long way in the 6 years I've been doing this, so I cant imagine where things were 15 years ago.

The key to most of that is stability. You can keep most any coral together in one tank by simply choosing the right locations for each according to light and flow. There are thousands of tanks out there that run mixed reefs with clams down in the sand quite successfully.

Once the tank matures and you can keep a stable nitrate and phosphate level, you'll find the happy place.

Take the long view and figure a clam is somewhere around 18 months down the road. I just redid my whole system last summer and I want a clam as well. My benchmark for it is to have at least 4 different species of euphyllia, 2 or 3 lobophyllia and 5 or 6 healthy acropora colonies. If I can get there and keep it for 3-4 months, I'll be confident keeping a clam.

Some of that wait is about the tank. Most of it is about me sharpening my skillset.

I gotta say, I love your comments! Thank you for this : )

I am a patient man. I raised my two daughters on my own : ) it took awhile, but I did finally learn patience Lol

18 months is actually a shorter time frame than I was expecting. So that makes me feel pretty good : ) My skill set led me to an LFS professional that I have been really leaning on. He’s awesome : ) but now... it’s on me right?

Rick.45cal · Mar 8, 2020

Welcome back to the hobby!

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

Rick.45cal said:
Welcome back to the hobby!

Thank you! : ) it’s good to be back.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 8, 2020

To best get you in the right direction, post a couple of pics of your tank, describe your goals, mention if you’re going to do mixed reef, lps/softies only, SPS, etc .
There is good and new technology and some may or may not apply to your desired system.
Welcome back to the R2R community and the hobby

Rick.45cal · Mar 8, 2020

I highly recommend reading this article by @Lasse he’s someone who’s definitely won’t steer you wrong and does an excellent job of explaining his reasoning. Lasse Method

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
To best get you in the right direction, post a couple of pics of your tank, describe your goals, mention if you’re going to do mixed reef, lps/softies only, SPS, etc .
There is good and new technology and some may or may not apply to your desired system.
Welcome back to the R2R community and the hobby

I am still figuring out this forum : ) lol... I’ve been here less than a week. I did a build thread and have pics in there of my gear.... other things... I am building up a species list now for what I have. I’m still kinna building my profile here. I keep finding new things... specialiced threads... I have actually been trying to stay in the newbie land thread until someone says it okay for me to post other places : )

I am not locked in on an end result yet... I like rare... I actually “love” being good at thing other people consider difficult : ) the next year is going be spent reading. ....experimenting... playing... the journey will provide the end result : ) I’m after the journey

W1ngz · Mar 8, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
He’s awesome : ) but now... it’s on me right?

That depends. I see a ton of posts from people who bring their water to the store to be tested, buying LFS RODI water and being very dependent on their store, and having someone do all the thinking for them. I don't approve, but it's none of my business.

Nothing wrong with that approach, but do you want to be someone who owns a reef tank, or do you want to be a reefer?

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

Rick.45cal said:
I highly recommend reading this article by @Lasse he’s someone who’s definitely won’t steer you wrong and does an excellent job of explaining his reasoning. Lasse Method

Going there now... love your quote by the way!

Copingwithpods · Mar 8, 2020

Hello there Shawn and welcome back. I was out of the hobby for 10+years and have been back for 8 months so I know exactly how you feel. I think you'll find that not much has changed in the hobby it's more of the veil has been lifted on many mysteries that previously had no solution. Same problems still exist only difference is now the knowledge and solutions are readily available and mostly easy to implement.

As for coral transitions like mentioned above you can keep anything you'd like with a few exceptions. For example if your final goal is an sps dominated tank with tons of flow and no dead spots, some soft corals you might pick up early on won't be too happy. Apart from f22 thrust levels of flow in the tank any coral you pick up now will survive later on with a bit more flow and a bit more light and proper placement. For example when I first got back into the hobby (no refugium and high NO3 PO4) some of the zoas and xenia I picked up thrived and grew like weeds. Now that I keep ultra low NO3 PO4 those same species are still alive and doing very well just not spreading as fast.

Any case Goodluck and remember to dip EVERYTHING lol hitchhikers are no fun.

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

Rick.45cal said:
I highly recommend reading this article by @Lasse he’s someone who’s definitely won’t steer you wrong and does an excellent job of explaining his reasoning. Lasse Method

Okay, so I just read it all... some of it twice : ) I was actually much closer to his method than I thought I was going to be. Made me feel good.

I had a few misses lol

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

W1ngz said:
That depends. I see a ton of posts from people who bring their water to the store to be tested, buying LFS RODI water and being very dependent on their store, and having someone do all the thinking for them. I don't approve, but it's none of my business.

Nothing wrong with that approach, but do you want to be someone who owns a reef tank, or do you want to be a reefer?

I want to become a reefer : ) I am using some crutches at first to get there : )

Shawn_epicurious · Mar 8, 2020

Copingwithpods said:
Hello there Shawn and welcome back. I was out of the hobby for 10+years and have been back for 8 months so I know exactly how you feel. I think you'll find that not much has changed in the hobby it's more of the veil has been lifted on many mysteries that previously had no solution. Same problems still exist only difference is now the knowledge and solutions are readily available and mostly easy to implement.

As for coral transitions like mentioned above you can keep anything you'd like with a few exceptions. For example if your final goal is an sps dominated tank with tons of flow and no dead spots, some soft corals you might pick up early on won't be too happy. Apart from f22 thrust levels of flow in the tank any coral you pick up now will survive later on with a bit more flow and a bit more light and proper placement. For example when I first got back into the hobby (no refugium and high NO3 PO4) some of the zoas and xenia I picked up thrived and grew like weeds. Now that I keep ultra low NO3 PO4 those same species are still alive and doing very well just not spreading as fast.

Any case Goodluck and remember to dip EVERYTHING lol hitchhikers are no fun.

Good read : ). Good advice

Rick.45cal · Mar 9, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
Okay, so I just read it all... some of it twice : ) I was actually much closer to his method than I thought I was going to be. Made me feel good.

I had a few misses lol

Sounds like you’re on the right path then.