Newbie

[Deepsixer]

I hate thinking of myself as a newbie, but I guess I am. I had a 35gal setup once before over 11 years ago. I am setting up another. My dad was good enough to give me an acrylic tank of which I guess is approximately 40gals. Needs some clean up work for sure. I've always wanted to setup a reef tank so I will be spending some time soaking up information. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Reefland]

Hi Deepsixer and Welcome to Reefland!

My bit of advice is to throw any methodology you used 11 years ago out the window and start from scratch reading and researching. The techniques that were used a decade ago are, for the most part, not practiced anymore and considered obsolete.

What are you hoping to keep in your reef aquarium?

Regards,
Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Well that about sums it up Scott!!! LOL

But you are right, with Mud Filters Sumps Refugiums Protein Skimmers and Bio Wheels all that was not practiced that long ago... Oh yeah Fluidized Bed too.

Deepsixer, this a great place to get the info you need, just do a Search on almost any product or Topic and you will find previous people who had all the same questions as you do/will have.

But for starters what are you planning on keeping? Softies, or Stoney's? Or maybe try a mixture? And what fish are you interested in?

[Deepsixer]

Hi Deepsixer and Welcome to Reefland!

My bit of advice is to throw any methodology you used 11 years ago out the window and start from scratch reading and researching. The techniques that were used a decade ago are, for the most part, not practiced anymore and considered obsolete.

What are you hoping to keep in your reef aquarium?

Regards,
Scott Z.

Nothings stands still does it? Just in the few days I've been researching I've noticed this to be true. Well, no action be taken until I do understand the latest in technology. I am not sure what sort of creatures I'd like to keep yet. Hoping to develop this as I learn more from you all.

Thanks for the reply.

[Deepsixer]

Well that about sums it up Scott!!! LOL

But you are right, with Mud Filters Sumps Refugiums Protein Skimmers and Bio Wheels all that was not practiced that long ago... Oh yeah Fluidized Bed too.

Deepsixer, this a great place to get the info you need, just do a Search on almost any product or Topic and you will find previous people who had all the same questions as you do/will have.

But for starters what are you planning on keeping? Softies, or Stoney's? Or maybe try a mixture? And what fish are you interested in?

Not sure of anything yet. I have a bit of cleaning to do on the tank and have to ensure it's leakproof. There is alot of new equipment terminology so I'm sure I will need to learn the lingo. Still alot of oooo and aaaahs going on for me.

[Reefland]

Alright, well that gives me a better starting point then.

Don't purchase one piece of equipment until you determine what it is you want to do. A Fish Only saltwater tank is not going to need the same equipment as a mixed reef tank, which is not going to need the same equipment as an SPS/clam reef tank. The best thing to do is browse through the site and our picture gallery, find some fish and coral that strike your eye and learn more about their requirements. I am very happy to see that your browsing around trying to do some research before you get anything.

Oh, another piece of advice, do NOT listen to your LFS, I repeat, do NOT!

Scott Z.

[Deepsixer]

Alright, well that gives me a better starting point then.

Don't purchase one piece of equipment until you determine what it is you want to do. A Fish Only saltwater tank is not going to need the same equipment as a mixed reef tank, which is not going to need the same equipment as an SPS/clam reef tank. The best thing to do is browse through the site and our picture gallery, find some fish and coral that strike your eye and learn more about their requirements. I am very happy to see that your browsing around trying to do some research before you get anything.

Oh, another piece of advice, do NOT listen to your LFS, I repeat, do NOT!

Scott Z.

Okay, if I'm gonna learn the lingo let's start with SPS. What's does that mean? I am pretty sure LFS is "Local Fish Store". Actually, I met someone who gave me a ton of information as well as the URL's for several websites. This one included. Still browsing this site. So much info!

[Reefland]

SPS - Small Polyped Stoney Corals. Acropora sp. and Montipora. sp are typically what SPS refers to. These are the "reef building" corals found on shallow reefs which require prestine water conditions, lots of water flow and very intense light; most people recommend Metal Halide lighting for them.

You'll also see LPS - Large Polyp Stoney Corals which include brain corals, torch corals, plate corals and lots of other. Soft Corals include leathers, polpys, mushrooms, stars, xenia and many others. Your right about LFS too.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[Poseidon]

Yup Scott is right you have to be VERY careful with the LFS, here is an example: My New fishes

If the LFS sold Spike all those fish at once they were not interested in the fish just the money!!!

[Amphibious]

Deepsixer
Yes, you have alot of catch-up to do and you've found a good place to start.

You mentioned your tank, "Needs some clean up work for sure." I use Acrylic tanks and I'm wondering if you need to remove some scratches. If so here's where you can find "Scratch Kits".

[Deepsixer]

Deepsixer
Yes, you have alot of catch-up to do and you've found a good place to start.

You mentioned your tank, "Needs some clean up work for sure." I use Acrylic tanks and I'm wondering if you need to remove some scratches. If so here's where you can find "Scratch Kits".

Yes! Thank you for the link. I've also began to layout my stand. One of my other passions is woodworking. I have a whole plethora of tools and stock. I am focusing on those two projects at the moment.

[Deepsixer]

Yup Scott is right you have to be VERY careful with the LFS, here is an example: My New fishes

If the LFS sold Spike all those fish at once they were not interested in the fish just the money!!!

Interesting. Thanks for the pointer. I'll remember that.