Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and new to the hobby, but I've been thinking about it for a while. I grew on the east coast of south Florida with lots of fishing, snorkeling, and diving. Now I live in Brooklyn, NY and I miss being able to see the coral reefs all the time. So instead of traveling to Florida every week, I'm bringing a little piece of the Caribbean to me!
Last week I purchased a used Red Sea Max E170 AIO tank with all of the base equipment (plus an AI Prime light and an IM Hyrdrofill ATO) off Facebook marketplace. It's definitely needed some cleaning. And I've heard about Red Sea troubles, so I bought some extra silicon sealant from my LFS to make double sure all of the joints are sealed. But it's been a ton of fun researching everything and getting it ready to start my cycle on Monday.
I have some TBS live sand and rock coming in plus some dried / formerly live rock that came with the tank. My goal is to only stock the tank with creatures native to the Caribbean and things that I used to see while diving in Florida. Taking care of corals seems intimidating for now, so I'm going to stick with a FOWLR setup and then once things stabilize and I get in a routine (maybe 6 months), I'll slowly start adding in corals.
I'm excited to be part of the community here and can't wait to learn more! If you have any tips for me on getting started or examples of other Caribbean-themed tanks, I'd love to hear it!
Last week I purchased a used Red Sea Max E170 AIO tank with all of the base equipment (plus an AI Prime light and an IM Hyrdrofill ATO) off Facebook marketplace. It's definitely needed some cleaning. And I've heard about Red Sea troubles, so I bought some extra silicon sealant from my LFS to make double sure all of the joints are sealed. But it's been a ton of fun researching everything and getting it ready to start my cycle on Monday.
I have some TBS live sand and rock coming in plus some dried / formerly live rock that came with the tank. My goal is to only stock the tank with creatures native to the Caribbean and things that I used to see while diving in Florida. Taking care of corals seems intimidating for now, so I'm going to stick with a FOWLR setup and then once things stabilize and I get in a routine (maybe 6 months), I'll slowly start adding in corals.
I'm excited to be part of the community here and can't wait to learn more! If you have any tips for me on getting started or examples of other Caribbean-themed tanks, I'd love to hear it!