Coinzmans Reef
Active Member
Welcome back.
Your back story is very close to mine. I have nearly four years in and maybe I can save you some time and money..... or cost you a hole lot more...
Here is my take on lessons learned.
1- Forget what you know and start over.
2- QT EVERYTHING !!!!! Fish, corals, inverts and live rock..... dip most EVERYTHING (toss original plugs) When I buy fish they get acclimated with Prozipro and corals in Revive coral cleaner. You will need to research dry VRS live rock....
3- BUY the BIGGEST tank you can.
4- Contemplate worst case scenario and plan for it (power outage, equipment failure etc.) and think redundancy.
I also looked at the 32 cube but a friend talked me out of it and said " You will never be satisfied with a small tank due to its limitation on livestock" He was right. I bought the Red Sea 525XXL, then started a 30 gallon QT tank. The QT tank is now 75 gallons and a frag tank with fish just incase I need to add to the 525. The 38 gallon sump is now also a fish tank... or is it still a sump or both? I have been throwing the idea of a Innovative 200 int/ext around with the Warden, I am trying to sell the idea of just ONE LARGE tank. I thought the 525 would be big enough.... Hmm... is the 200 big enough? or should it be BIGGER?
Happy reefing
Your back story is very close to mine. I have nearly four years in and maybe I can save you some time and money..... or cost you a hole lot more...
Here is my take on lessons learned.
1- Forget what you know and start over.
2- QT EVERYTHING !!!!! Fish, corals, inverts and live rock..... dip most EVERYTHING (toss original plugs) When I buy fish they get acclimated with Prozipro and corals in Revive coral cleaner. You will need to research dry VRS live rock....
3- BUY the BIGGEST tank you can.
4- Contemplate worst case scenario and plan for it (power outage, equipment failure etc.) and think redundancy.
I also looked at the 32 cube but a friend talked me out of it and said " You will never be satisfied with a small tank due to its limitation on livestock" He was right. I bought the Red Sea 525XXL, then started a 30 gallon QT tank. The QT tank is now 75 gallons and a frag tank with fish just incase I need to add to the 525. The 38 gallon sump is now also a fish tank... or is it still a sump or both? I have been throwing the idea of a Innovative 200 int/ext around with the Warden, I am trying to sell the idea of just ONE LARGE tank. I thought the 525 would be big enough.... Hmm... is the 200 big enough? or should it be BIGGER?
Happy reefing
LilElroyJetson
Valuable Member
Roatan Reef
Valuable Member
Hello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now
Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).
I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.
I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.
OP
OP
firedad74
New Member
Thanks for the tips!
1 - Forgot everything anyway so I'm ahead of the game!
2 - QT's are mandatory for fish IMO. I never QT'd my inverts/corals back then but maybe I should rethink that.
3 - I'm limited on tank size at the moment. Not because of space but due to a spouse with no aquarium experience. I give her 6 months and she'll be fully on board with a large setup and I'll move the Cube to another room.
4 - With such a small footprint with the BioCube I'll have to pick and choose what extra equipment I can fit into the stand. My old house had a backup generator but not my current house. I'll look into battery backup systems that may fit.
MDAquatics
Well-Known Member
Welcome back!
xtianGEO
Active Member
One of usHello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now
Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).
I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.
I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.
Kiwi reefer
Valuable Member
Welcome to R2R, looking forward to seeing your progress
Supa
Well-Known Member
Welcome back to the hobby! CongratsHello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now
Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).
I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.
I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.
