thinking of returning to the hobby

[Pbh-reef]

Hi R2R,
I joined this site this past month after my husband and I took a trip to Hawaii and snorkeled a ton. Being in a reef and seeing all the beauty and wonder of the fish and corals awoke my childhood love for fish and inverts. When I was a kid I had a 10 gallon fw from the age of 4, then a 55 g fw from 6-13, and finally a 125 g FOWLR with a wet/dry bioball filter from 13 to college. That tank had lots of problems, mostly related to ich and all those beautiful tangs, but finally I gave up on tangs and kept fish that were a bit hardier and things stopped dying for a year or so. When I had to leave it in my parents care for the summer before college it crashed though, and everything died, which was heartbreaking. That was almost 20 years ago (in my 30s now) and I left the hobby behind when I went off to college.

Back when I first started the 125 I remember reading Moe's enormous (it seemed to me at the time) book and wishing I could build an algae reactor... so dorky.... But I was amazed when I found out refugiums are such an important part of filtration now. Any way as I sort of put my toe back into the hobby now I want to see what it would mean to do it right, I'm at least a year away from buying a tank, and honestly am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the idea of quarantine tanks (which seem 100% necessary to me), lighting, corals (which I know much less about than fish) etc. Its also a bit overwhelming to think of all the different filtration possibilities (all those different skimmers... huge lights...), I'm less of a gadget person than a lover of living things.

Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum, which I've enjoyed reading the last few weeks. I won't have much of any advice for anyone, or questions for awhile, so I won't be posting much in the near future, except to follow threads perhaps. That said I do have 3 questions for folks if anyone cares to answer them.

1. How do people make an effective and rigorous quarantine system work in an apartment (I live in SF now, and will probably move to NYC in a year or less) and will not have space for a 'fish room...' unless I win the lottery, and I don't play, sooooo.....

2. This forum, some other websites and the BRS videos are great, but I like to learn through reading books. Does anyone have recommendations of books I can read? When I was a teen I read Fenner's books (CMA, and poked into the invert one), as well as Moe, and Michael's Marine Fish pocket guide and some others that were less good. But are there any newer books that walk you through how to set up a tank and pick between different filters, lights, tank sizes, etc - in other words, are there books that can help me navigate the current market? Any other books on fish and inverts I should read and check out? Even harder to read/more scientific ones are ok (I'm not a scientist but I love to read).

3. As I read this site I see all these beautiful smaller tanks, but there are also so many threads from people new to the hobby where the answer is 'you need a bigger tank for a sohal tang' or some version of that. I guess I wonder what people's experience with tank sizes are, and growing out of them. If I come back to the hobby, I don't really want to buy a 30 or 40 gallon just to buy a 180 gallon 2 years later. I want to commit to my tank if I get one. I do love the bigger tangs, triggers and angels, but at the same time, a smaller tank has so many advantages in terms of cost and space. I wonder if this is also a mental thing, so I guess I wonder, how do people with smaller tanks who don't get larger ones stay happy?

Well if anyone made it through that wall of text congrats and thank you. Looking forward to learning more over the next year or so, and if I ever do get a tank I look forward to being part of this community.

-PBH

 

[ihavecrabs]

Welcome back! (You are already sucked in if you are here!!!)

For most smaller fish, quarantine can be simple and temporary. TTM (Tank Transfer Method), using tw0 1og tanks one at a time, can suffice for preventing ich and also adding a dewormer in the process if you like. If you have to go slightly bigger, a 30b will suffice for most fish and can be found at $ per gallon sales. Get fish through it and tear it down when you are no longer using it.

The other option is purchasing pre-treated fish which I know we have a vendor from California on the forum that offers these.

As far as books, I can't help there. The market and hobby change so often, I think it would be difficult to get up-to-date information on technology; however, diseases, treatment, and husbandry don't date nearly as fast.

If you want tangs and triggers, go big for them. If you think you can be happy smaller it is really up to you. You know you best.

Best of luck and can't want to see the build start once you have decided!

 

[GWHouston]

Jump on in...the waters fine.

 

[Pbh-reef]

(You are already sucked in if you are here!!!)

hmmm.... good point

thanks very much for the thoughtful and helpful response. I'll keep doing my research online (and haunting fish stores, and convincing my husband) as I plan out a tank for the future!

Jump on in...the waters fine.

I see what you did there

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and your new reefing family.

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R and getting back into the hobby

My suggestion would be to wait for the move, have all the pieces in place, then setup the system in NY. My reasoning is the system will just be getting into the groove by the time of the move, then there will be the rehoming of whatever you have living in the system.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R and getting back into the hobby

 

[Jason mack]

Welcome To R2R , happy reefing!!!

 

[foxt]

My suggestion would be to wait for the move, have all the pieces in place, then setup the system in NY. My reasoning is the system will just be getting into the groove by the time of the move, then there will be the rehoming of whatever you have living in the system.

This is good advice, and since you mentioned that you are at least a year away from a tank, it sounds like you plan on waiting until you move to get started.

My own experience was that I knew that I wanted a big tank, but I also knew that, like you, I had been out of the hobby for about 20 years, and I had a lot to catch up on. So I found a complete used 55g setup that I could use as a learning vehicle, to figure out how I was going to approach the "big" tank. After a year of that system, I moved up to a 220g tank which was the largest tank I could fit in the space I have.

Moving the system wasn't a hassle, and I liked the fact that I could start with something that had already been set up and was "working", then start changing things a bit at a time to see what my options were. I learned a lot from that smaller system, and coupled with all of the info on r2r, it helped drive the design/equipment decisions on the larger tank, so that approach worked for me.

As for QT, as has already been said, you can make it work in a small space, and break it down when you aren't using it. Of course, the larger the display tank, the more fish you are likely to put into it, and the more need you will have for a QT, so there is that to consider.

I am a big book person too, having probably read the same things you were reading back when we were starting. Like you, when I started thinking about a return to the hobby, I looked for books, but kept coming back to google, and eventually realized that places like r2r, and that other reef forum, and other online resources were just as informative, if not more so because you can interact with people! In fact, the internet has made all the difference in the world between my previous experience (which was often very lonely, it was a smaller hobby back then), and this time around. Sure, there is information overload and at times a dizzying array of opinions and experiences, but I find all of that fairly helpful in working my way through decisions that need to be made.

So, take the year you have to start wading through build threads, and pondering what kind of system you want to run, and making decisions about what kind of animals you want to keep, how big of a tank you would need for that and if it is realistic given whatever size constraints you may have to deal with, and sumps, and lights, and rocks, and on and on, and then find a place in NY that has a nice spot for your planned system!

 

[WWIII]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[keithdoc]

Welcome Back.

1) I always do Tank Transfer Method with two 20G Long tanks. Clean them with vinegar when done, let them dry, and stack them when not in use. I also tend to source my fish from Live Aquaria (Divers Den) - for all the effort I spend in TTM, I'd rather start with best possible stock.

2) By the time a book comes out, it's 5-10years of dogma. I think the BRS series are pretty informative for someone who's inquisitive and really looking to build a better mousetrap. I'd look for a LFS or reef club, and folks who have tanks with livestock that you're interested in having / maintaining. Then figure out what they do, and try to replicate it.

3) I lived with a 12G aqua pod for 10 years. Then moved up to a 120G DD. Completely happy with that size (think it is perfect balance). As for livestock - stock your tank (with appropriate fish, tangs are fine in 120), or build a tank for the livestock you want.
I've been really impressed with how gorgeous some of the smaller all in one cubes can be.

For me small tank was awesome, and with a decent refugium, reverse lighting, and DSB it lasted about 7 years without issue.
I hated lagging water from LFS, but I didn't have to buy RO/DI and keep Brute cans around for water changes (currently).
Large tank was more forgiving (once planned and dialed in), but maintenance eventually became a bigger time sink.
At the end, you have to find the right balance between what you see and what you have to do. You can buy lots of toys that make this easier (apex, ATO, etc).

In a perfect world, I'd have the stability of a large tank, with minimal maintenance and water changes.

You might want to look into Ultra Low Maintenance / Triton Method (I'm breaking my 120DD tank down to set this up in next few weeks).
If you want to go smaller those AIO cubes could be magnificent.

Best of luck as you rediscover Reefing!!!

K

 

[Neo Jeo]

Welcome Back! I also just started back! My tank came in yesterday! I would deff wait until you move, time flys and moving a tank is not fun...

 

[Pbh-reef]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome, I really appreciate it! I will definitely wait til I move before getting a tank, there's no way I'll set a tank up and then take it across the country.

Thanks very much @keithdoc and @foxt for your perspectives on smaller tanks and restarting in this hobby and the confirmation that books aren't the way to go. I especially appreciate you both sharing your perspectives on having a smaller tank for a good amount of time. The ULM and brs160 series are definitely the most helpful things I've seen as far as reintroducing me to the hobby and making it feel like its possible to succeed.

One thing that snorkeling in Hawaii gave me an appreciation for was some of the fish I hadn't paid as much attention to as a teen, like the toby puffers, fantail filefish, and the wonderful blennies I swam with. As I research and plan/fantasize I'll keep an open mind about what the tank could be!