NoAhoysLeft
Community Member
Hi there folks. I'm Noah, I'm about to turn 25 years old. For what it's worth I am a pretty average person, although I am mildly disabled.
Some basic things about my interests: I have been into amphibians and reptiles for 10+ years now, but only recently got into aquaria (freshwater) a few years ago. Additionally, I have recently gotten into breeding/farming invertebrates for my reptiles to eat, but I will be downsizing my colony collection because I now only have one reptile.
Throughout my life I have always been into biological topics, and have taken a few college courses on things like botany, forestry, native plant ID, zoology, and more, but never really finished my degree, because I don't know what major, field, or job I should really aim for. I always love to learn about different critters, plants, and in between.
Since I got into fishkeeping and aquaria, I feel like I've really found "the one" and I feel that endless sense of wonder and excitement.
I love doing tank maintenance always. I try to keep things regular. I have a handful of mature freshwater tanks by now, and I love admiring the ecosystems within them (all the microorganisms, algae, my own livestock breeding and making new life, etc). I also love testing my parameters and discovering what kinds of awesome gadgets there are to help us out in the hobby, so as you can imagine, opening my world up to saltwater aquaria has really blown my mind with how many bits and bobs y'all have for measuring.
I'm currently in the process of setting up my very first saltwater tank.
That is why I'm here!
I am beyond excited to start the journey, and I can't wait to watch my tank grow from an ugly baby duckling into a mature system over time.
I have some vague idea of what to expect, including (ironically) that I might run into all sorts of situations I didn't expect when starting. My mind is open and I am ready to see what the saltwater world has to offer.
For now, I'm beginning with the following equipment:
- 15 gallon Innovative Marine desktop AIO (all-in-one) for the tank,
- Fluval Aquaclear 70 foam insert (coarse sponge)
- A bag of bio balls
- Filter sock which is included with the tank
- a K7 Mini Noopsyche for lighting (I am interested in some easier LPS and maybe macroalgae?)
- 10~ish pounds of dry rock
- Roughly 1" of fine dry sand
- Tim's One and Only (and if this does not work for whatever reason, I will be picking up some refrigerated Fritzyme turbostart 900 at my LFS)
- and Tim's Fishless Fuel (for fishless cycle ammonia- in my experience fishless fuel was a bit more potent than advertised at least with FW, so I will have to be cautious not to add too much)
- A heater (have not purchased yet, but I want to get something reliable such as an inkbird thermostat system perhaps? I was thinking Hygger's smaller 50w inline quartz heater, as I love how small it is and how budget-friendly Hygger has been to me for FW, but I am definitely open to suggestions. I have also heard Eheim jagers are great)
- Fluval Sea CP2 Circulation Pump (which claims 425 GPH / "up to" 25 gallon aquariums) (this was leftover from my freshwater hillstream aquarium, so I am using it)
- Refractometer
- RO Buddie + DI
- Instant Ocean salt
- Hanna phosphate checker
- Salifert pH test
- Patience and love
I also happen to have a few API freshwater master test kits, and I am unsure if this will work for testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates while cycling in SW. Any thoughts?
I bought all of this stuff piecemeal over the course of around half a year, since I do not make very much money. I've had a lot of time to think about what I was able to buy, what I want in the future, etc... I am mostly happy with the equipment I have built up for this, but I know I will likely need a few more bits here and there. Feel free to help a NOOB out and recommend whatever you think might help me, or anything I may have forgotten/missed, or any products you feel enhance the QoL of this hobby!
That being said, here is my tank! (So far)
My only complaint right now is that I think I want to add around 5 more pounds of dry rock (which I do have on hand, rinsed and sitting in RODI water), probably on the right-hand side atop the existing pillar. There are only about 10 pounds in here I would estimate.
Some basic things about my interests: I have been into amphibians and reptiles for 10+ years now, but only recently got into aquaria (freshwater) a few years ago. Additionally, I have recently gotten into breeding/farming invertebrates for my reptiles to eat, but I will be downsizing my colony collection because I now only have one reptile.
Throughout my life I have always been into biological topics, and have taken a few college courses on things like botany, forestry, native plant ID, zoology, and more, but never really finished my degree, because I don't know what major, field, or job I should really aim for. I always love to learn about different critters, plants, and in between.
Since I got into fishkeeping and aquaria, I feel like I've really found "the one" and I feel that endless sense of wonder and excitement.
I love doing tank maintenance always. I try to keep things regular. I have a handful of mature freshwater tanks by now, and I love admiring the ecosystems within them (all the microorganisms, algae, my own livestock breeding and making new life, etc). I also love testing my parameters and discovering what kinds of awesome gadgets there are to help us out in the hobby, so as you can imagine, opening my world up to saltwater aquaria has really blown my mind with how many bits and bobs y'all have for measuring.
I'm currently in the process of setting up my very first saltwater tank.
That is why I'm here!
I am beyond excited to start the journey, and I can't wait to watch my tank grow from an ugly baby duckling into a mature system over time.
I have some vague idea of what to expect, including (ironically) that I might run into all sorts of situations I didn't expect when starting. My mind is open and I am ready to see what the saltwater world has to offer.
For now, I'm beginning with the following equipment:
- 15 gallon Innovative Marine desktop AIO (all-in-one) for the tank,
- Fluval Aquaclear 70 foam insert (coarse sponge)
- A bag of bio balls
- Filter sock which is included with the tank
- a K7 Mini Noopsyche for lighting (I am interested in some easier LPS and maybe macroalgae?)
- 10~ish pounds of dry rock
- Roughly 1" of fine dry sand
- Tim's One and Only (and if this does not work for whatever reason, I will be picking up some refrigerated Fritzyme turbostart 900 at my LFS)
- and Tim's Fishless Fuel (for fishless cycle ammonia- in my experience fishless fuel was a bit more potent than advertised at least with FW, so I will have to be cautious not to add too much)
- A heater (have not purchased yet, but I want to get something reliable such as an inkbird thermostat system perhaps? I was thinking Hygger's smaller 50w inline quartz heater, as I love how small it is and how budget-friendly Hygger has been to me for FW, but I am definitely open to suggestions. I have also heard Eheim jagers are great)
- Fluval Sea CP2 Circulation Pump (which claims 425 GPH / "up to" 25 gallon aquariums) (this was leftover from my freshwater hillstream aquarium, so I am using it)
- Refractometer
- RO Buddie + DI
- Instant Ocean salt
- Hanna phosphate checker
- Salifert pH test
- Patience and love
I also happen to have a few API freshwater master test kits, and I am unsure if this will work for testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates while cycling in SW. Any thoughts?
I bought all of this stuff piecemeal over the course of around half a year, since I do not make very much money. I've had a lot of time to think about what I was able to buy, what I want in the future, etc... I am mostly happy with the equipment I have built up for this, but I know I will likely need a few more bits here and there. Feel free to help a NOOB out and recommend whatever you think might help me, or anything I may have forgotten/missed, or any products you feel enhance the QoL of this hobby!
That being said, here is my tank! (So far)
My only complaint right now is that I think I want to add around 5 more pounds of dry rock (which I do have on hand, rinsed and sitting in RODI water), probably on the right-hand side atop the existing pillar. There are only about 10 pounds in here I would estimate.
