New to this AMAZING hobby

[PapaBear]

Hi guys I am new to this hobby have had my tank up and running for over a month now. I LOVE this hobby and I have billions of questions that I will be asking over time, I hope I don't get too annoying, :bigsmile:as I have spent ALOT of hard earned money on this wonderful hobby. Any tips or insights you can give a noob I'm all for it. Thank you guys for all your expertise and kindness

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Welcome to the best spot

 

[PapaBear]

I have read alot on R2R and love all the experience on here! Like I said I have a lot of questions as I've only been in the hobby over a month. So I have a dumb easy question for you. What is your thoughts on moon lights?

 

[Greenstreet.1]

I use them and love them but they are not a must have

 

[jeffp1]

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable people that are good at helping here. As far as moon lights, I use them also and really like the ones with my LED's. Adds more hours to the day that I can enjoy my tank.

 

[Waters]

I agree with everyone else....not necessary but they are definitely nice to have. Gives the tank a totally different look at night with colors popping that you sometimes don't get to appreciate as much during the day.

 

[Shep]

Welcome to R2R! You can never ask enough questions!

 

[PapaBear]

Thanks all for the insight! I will get one. Also how long should I wait to do my first water change? And how much should I change 125gal display 40gal sump

 

[mike007]

Best advice Is to go slow and let tank mature. It takes time to develop a ecosystem over time to be successful at this hobby.

 

[PapaBear]

Thank you all! So how when will I want to perform my 1st water change? And how many gallons should I do?

 

[RavenSF]

Hi guys I am new to this hobby have had my tank up and running for over a month now. I LOVE this hobby and I have billions of questions that I will be asking over time, I hope I don't get too annoying, :bigsmile:as I have spent ALOT of hard earned money on this wonderful hobby. Any tips or insights you can give a noob I'm all for it. Thank you guys for all your expertise and kindness

Welcome to the hobby! My only advice would be to take things slow and you'll be successful.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R and the hobby. Usually the first water change is performed after ammonia and nitrite spike when the nitrates start climbing. A good water change schedule to keep is roughly 10% weekly in my opinion.

 

[PapaBear]

Kschweer thank you so much, my water reading are fairly good still. Have not had any spikes just yet my ammonia moved to 0.02 from 0 so I think I'm still good there. I have a couple zoa families and they are doing great. I can't thank you enough. Also I clean my sump socks and skimmer cap every 2-3 days as they get very dirty, is that normal at this stage?

 

[Paul B]

Yes that is normal. Algae may grow, that is also normal, red slimy stuff (Cyano) may grow, that is normal. Your ammonia is not normal and should always be zero before you add any animals. You don't need to change water yet. Use your money to go out to dinner and have a nice glass of wine to calm down. Your tank is fine and it will mature after it goes through those things I mentioned. When you start changing water it depends on what and how much livestock you have in there so out of the million people on here, thats how many suggestions you will get so I won't add another one. Keep reading and try to learn from people who have had a successful tank for a number of years and didn't start it last Tuesday. There are plenty of very good aquarists on here. All you have to do is sort through all the information because there is no censor and anyone can post anything no matter how bizare. Use comon sence. Your tank is fine now.

 

[PapaBear]

Yes that is normal. Algae may grow, that is also normal, red slimy stuff (Cyano) may grow, that is normal. Your ammonia is not normal and should always be zero before you add any animals. You don't need to change water yet. Use your money to go out to dinner and have a nice glass of wine to calm down. Your tank is fine and it will mature after it goes through those things I mentioned. When you start changing water it depends on what and how much livestock you have in there so out of the million people on here, thats how many suggestions you will get so I won't add another one. Keep reading and try to learn from people who have had a successful tank for a number of years and didn't start it last Tuesday. There are plenty of very good aquarists on here. All you have to do is sort through all the information because there is no censor and anyone can post anything no matter how bizare. Use comon sence. Your tank is fine now.

Thank you so much I really appreciate that! So how would I lower ammonia?

 

[Paul B]

You do not, the bacteria will do that for you for free. Even on Easter, that's what they do. They just may need a little more time to mature.

 

[knotsmart]

hey papa.. im new to this forum as well, but ive been a reefer off and on for over 15 yrs.. I just wanted to make a couple of quick comments/ tips that ive learned the hard way over the years. IMHO the fact that you have 125gl DT is going to make your life so much easier. the more water volume, the more time it takes for the water chemistry to change. The down side is the expense to maintain ( water changes ect). However, the more water, the more bio/ bacteria you need to clean the water, you need lots of live rock or bio balls for the bacteria to grow on. without the right balance everything you put in the tank will slowly die. Do yourself a favor and first figure out what corals you'd like to keep and then build your tank around that. meaning, if you want to keep SPS youre going to need great lighting and great water conditions consistently. I love his forum, ive forgotten so much stuff and find that having the resources available here invaluable. patience will save you a ton of money.