Newb from State College PA

grabbermj · Jan 18, 2020

David Matthews said:
Welcome to R2R! im not to far away from you, Im about a half hour north of Harrisburg. Idk if youve plunged into the world of corals yet or not but if you ever want to come down someday lmk I have plenty of stuff I could give if you ever want to get your feet wet. Good way to learn and it wouldnt cost a thing. Half the time I end up throwing stuff out when trimming and this way it gets put to good use. I hurts my cheap soul after I buy something care for it and then the reward is throwing it out. Almost feels sacrilegious lol. Anyways, welcome and good luck in your endeavors!

Thanks! I may take you up on that sometime! I am thinking of starting with soft corals soon.

KJ · Jan 18, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!!

reef lover · Jan 18, 2020

Welcome to r2r and the salt life!

Sashaka · Jan 18, 2020

grabbermj said:
Very new to the hobby, have a 65g cube tank that is about 6 months old. So far, I haven't had any huge problems, but I have made a few mistakes. I bought a cheaper protein skimmer (Coralife super skimmer) for my sump and just scrapped it and replaced with a better one (Reef Octopus eSsence 130). I also purchased some led lights that looked neat and had some cool features (Current Marine IC LED pro) but I am now realizing that they will have a hard time supporting SPS (if/when I get to that point). But that is a year or so out and I guess I can buy another fixture then if needed. But the biggest mistake I made was using tap water w/conditioner instead of RODI. I had a significant algae bloom and decided to buy and install a RODI unit, my water quality has increased significantly. I should have started with a RODI unit..... Anyway, i am looking forward to learning all I can about the hobby!!

Welcome to R2R! Glad to have you with us.

I have a large Coralife skimmer on my BioCube. It works great! I also have a smaller sized Coralife but I had trouble tuning that one in. When I started, I bought RODI water from the LFS, which is not really local. I had to travel 1 and a half hours to get there, so I always bought in quantity. About a year into the hobby, I got tired of lugging this water out of store, in and out of the car, and then into the house, so I bought my own RODI unit too - and then set up a water changing station for even less pail to tank lugging. Best decision I ever made.

If you have a spot near a water pipe you can spare, I highly recommend a water changing station to make the hobby more enjoyable.

Hope to see you swimming around R2R!

sp1187 · Jan 18, 2020

welcome to the show.

dbl · Jan 18, 2020

Welcome to R2R and your new reefing family.

grabbermj · Jan 18, 2020

Sashaka said:
Welcome to R2R! Glad to have you with us. I have a large Coralife skimmer on my BioCube. It works great! I also have a smaller sized Coralife but I had trouble tuning that one in. When I started, I bought RODI water from the LFS, which is not really local. I had to travel 1 and a half hours to get there, so I always bought in quantity. About a year into the hobby, I got tired of lugging this water out of store, in and out of the car, and then into the house, so I bought my own RODI unit too - and then set up a water changing station for even less pail to tank lugging. Best decision I ever made. If you have a spot near a water pipe you can spare, I highly recommend a water changing station to make the hobby more enjoyable. Hope to see you swimming around R2R!

Thanks for the advice!!