Diver wanting to bring the ocean home again!

[scubasubiker]

Hello, I am a lifelong diver, mountain biker and dirt biker living in SW Missouri who used to have salt water aquariums and would like to get back into the hobby, specifically reefing with more upfront planning this time. My last tanks were a 175 fish only, 55 fish only, but my favorite was a 29 gallon reef. Back then, I couldn’t afford much so they were all done with regular fish tanks and lots of stuff and cords hanging off the back. My goal here is to learn how to build my own well planned reef setup (much smaller and manageable @60 gal) with as little stuff visible as possible, arranged in a way its easier to keep clean things neat. I want to bring a small section of the colorful shallow diving my family loves home so we can enjoy it daily when we can’t travel. If there are any groups or folks close to me in the hobby please let me know. I live in SW Missouri and also am close to upper NW Arkansas.
Interested in learning about new style AOI tanks also utilizing sumps underneath. Also, thoughts on buying a bigger standard tank and installing drop in style spaces for overflow/filtration/heat/returns etc… I love the learning process and it’s fun to build and create things myself. Any builds or threads you think might be helpful send them my way! I watched the 31 part series yesterday as a refresher since I’ve been out of this hobby so long and was surprised by all the new stuff, additives and technology!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[1112-425XL]

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[BonnieB]

Welcome to our R2R family!

 

[Utubereefer]

Welcome to the club

 

[B&CinB.C.]

Hello . Welcome to R2R

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here!

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Welcome to Reef2Reef

 

[bast]

Welcome!

Check this guide, it might help answer some questions

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and back to the salty world.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

 

[Ocean_Queenie]

Hello & Welcome!

 

[fishface NJ]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!

 

[scubasubiker]

Welcome!

Check this guide, it might help answer some questions

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Thank you I will

 

[scubasubiker]

Welcome!

Check this guide, it might help answer some questions

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

WOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH! THAT WAS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND ANSWERED SO MANY QUESTIONS. Even ones i didnt think to ask! Invaluable and so glad to have this BEFORE I start up a reef tank again. I am surprised given this info I was even mildly successful when set up my first 29 gallon 20 years ago. You wouldn’t believe how I actually cycled that first tank. I drove from Missouri to Padre Island, picked up sand off the beach, colorful burrowing clams from the beach, pink urchins off the jetty, live rocks from the water with water and hauled it back in coolers with bait bubblers in a 1989 Toyota truck. The clams all died in 1-2 weeks. I had to do nearly complete water changes multiple times to keep the ammonia down. I had all these super cool worms sticking out of the rocks, I later learned were bristle worms when i got stabbed. And I had what I thought was the coolest colony of little brown anemones growing everywhere. I later learned were a pest called aptasia. Would you believe one of my one urchins lived to the ripe old age of 4 before I moved and gave him to a local pet store. Ignorance was bliss for 18 with dial up LOL!