New to the Forum

ProudSoonersFan · Oct 13, 2013

Hi, I'm new to this forum and usually lurk around Reef Central. I thought I'd post here and introduce myself. I have a 55 gallon Oceanic tank which I installed a Glass-Holes kit in, custom cabinet, 20 gallon refugium, homemade filter socks, in sump protein skimmer, Coralife dual 50/50 CF fixture, and one standard fluorescent light. I have 1 yellow watchman goby, 1 yellow fin fairy wrasse, 1 blue leg hermit crab, 1 green emerald crab, 1 bumblebee snail, 1 cerith snail, 1 astraea snail, and 2 nassarius snails. I just added some dry rock to the aquarium to get ready for more fish so they can have hidey holes. I have no sponges or corals yet but I'm slowly getting there so it looks a little ugly at the moment. I know it looks lifeless but my nest fish will be mid level swimmers. Anyway, great to be here. Thanks!

mike007 · Oct 13, 2013

Welcome

ChrisKey · Oct 13, 2013

Glad to have you on here. It is always good to get more locals on the forum.

Dmmz · Oct 13, 2013

Welcome to R2R!

gcrawford · Oct 13, 2013

Great start and welcome!

RedReefer · Oct 13, 2013

Welcome

Rothgar · Oct 13, 2013

Welcome!

shovelrider · Oct 17, 2013

Welcome! Looks like your tank is coming along nicely. How long have you been in the hobby? Your plumbing and sump area looks like you may have set up a couple before.

TrishW · Oct 17, 2013

Welcome!

And of course I will go completely off topic and say "Dude, I love your hardwood flooring."

revhtree · Oct 17, 2013

Hello and welcome to R2R!

We appreciate your membership!

Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

ProudSoonersFan · Oct 22, 2013

shovelrider said:
Welcome! Looks like your tank is coming along nicely. How long have you been in the hobby? Your plumbing and sump area looks like you may have set up a couple before.

Hi, I've only been in the hobby for less than 6 months so not long. But, I've spent the last 4 years researching and studying off and on. I bought a 55 gallon aquarium and DIY stand 4 years ago and never set anything up because we were in the process of moving from Oklahoma to here in Alabama. This year I finally decided to go for it so I completely rebuild the stand to accomodate a 20 gallon refugium. I had to read through thousands of posts and look at pics to figure out how I wanted to get all this started. I did as much DIY as I could. I drilled the tank and installed a Glass-Holes kit, which I love. I'm just glad the aquarium wasn't tempered glass on the sides. I then tackled the refugium and had 1/4 inch glass cut by a company in Decatur. I measured and re-measured to make sure I had as close to 10% capacity in the refugium stage. In the drain section, it was a tight fit but I had just enough room for the skimmer (elevated slightly) and drain pipe. I made my own filter socks out of felt that I bought from Walmart. I had to learn to sew using my wife's inherited Singer sewing machine. That was a whole other matter LOL. Anyway, I got it all put together and I'm still very much a student in all this.

As an aside, I my favorite pics in this hobby are the neat plumbing work under the aquarium or equipment room. I guess that's the engineer in me!

TrishW said:
Welcome!

And of course I will go completely off topic and say "Dude, I love your hardwood flooring."

Don't worry, I'm the king of off-topic. I installed a RO/DI unit at my kitchen sink 6 months ago and it sprung a slow leak and went under the wall and nearly warped the floor in the living room. My wife is very particular about the floor and I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell her. I told her that I'd rather say I cheated on her than kill her floor. I kid of course. It turned out fine after it dried. Then about a month ago, I tied a filter sock up too tight and allow water to flow outside the sock. It was right next to the glass and spilled out and eventually dumped a gallon or so on the floor. We were so upset but I dried it and put a fan on it for a few days and it's fine now.

ProudSoonersFan · Oct 22, 2013

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I plan on upgrading the lighting at some point. I'm just not sure what I want yet so for now I'm sticking with the 50/50 CF bulbs and the 40W 5K bulb. It's not pretty but it works for now.

I also have 2 black clownfish in a quarantine tank and I'm setting up another one for a Harptail Blenny (a type of fang blenny). I'm also getting a Duncanops coral, Branching Hammer Coral, and some Candy Apple Zoa polyps.