I say "hobby" in quotes because it becomes an obsession very quickly with me.
I'm not exactly new to aquariums. I ran a Jaubert system back in the 90s that was bullet proof, albeit somewhat ugly because of the deep sand bed. I used the same tank my dad had used when he started back in the 70s - a 55 gallon. I have fond memories of his fish. He had the first clownfish and anemone I had ever seen ... all with an undergravel filter and no live rock!
I am now a lapsed aquarist. My daughter gifted me a 30 gallon breeder tank and I am now cycling it. I have 40 lbs of Carbsea sand and 30 lbs of Marco Rocks. I'm running a Tidal 55 with a little Hyyger powehead for how and filtration. Lighting is provided by a Coralife Seascape that produces somewhere between 50 - 100 PAR depending on where you look.
I am planning to have a pair of clownfish and an anemone with a few familiar faces like a Royal Gramma and possibly Watchman Goby/ Pistol Shrimp pair. I had a Cinnamon clown paired with a LTA in my Jaubert system, but this time I'm prolly gonna go Oscellaris with BTA. I'm glad to see the hobby has evolved where we can utilize aquarium raised livestock.
I'm in a LFS desert. The nearest LFS is an OSA superstore that I'm honestly not that impressed with. I am using them for RODI water bc I don't have good water here at home. The water here has so much iron that I have been advised not to try to install RODI bc the membranes would clog too quickly. Water will be an issue for me. That is a priority I gotta figure out.
I'm on day 5 of my initial cycle. Still no ammonia even after adding Fritz 9. My LFS recommended something called Monster 460(?) which looks more like a sludge remover(??). I'm a very patient and cautious person and an prepared to wait for whatever period of time it takes for the water to cycle before I add livestock.
I'm looking forward to the advice and wisdom this community can provide, as well as general support and comradeship.

I'm not exactly new to aquariums. I ran a Jaubert system back in the 90s that was bullet proof, albeit somewhat ugly because of the deep sand bed. I used the same tank my dad had used when he started back in the 70s - a 55 gallon. I have fond memories of his fish. He had the first clownfish and anemone I had ever seen ... all with an undergravel filter and no live rock!
I am now a lapsed aquarist. My daughter gifted me a 30 gallon breeder tank and I am now cycling it. I have 40 lbs of Carbsea sand and 30 lbs of Marco Rocks. I'm running a Tidal 55 with a little Hyyger powehead for how and filtration. Lighting is provided by a Coralife Seascape that produces somewhere between 50 - 100 PAR depending on where you look.
I am planning to have a pair of clownfish and an anemone with a few familiar faces like a Royal Gramma and possibly Watchman Goby/ Pistol Shrimp pair. I had a Cinnamon clown paired with a LTA in my Jaubert system, but this time I'm prolly gonna go Oscellaris with BTA. I'm glad to see the hobby has evolved where we can utilize aquarium raised livestock.
I'm in a LFS desert. The nearest LFS is an OSA superstore that I'm honestly not that impressed with. I am using them for RODI water bc I don't have good water here at home. The water here has so much iron that I have been advised not to try to install RODI bc the membranes would clog too quickly. Water will be an issue for me. That is a priority I gotta figure out.
I'm on day 5 of my initial cycle. Still no ammonia even after adding Fritz 9. My LFS recommended something called Monster 460(?) which looks more like a sludge remover(??). I'm a very patient and cautious person and an prepared to wait for whatever period of time it takes for the water to cycle before I add livestock.
I'm looking forward to the advice and wisdom this community can provide, as well as general support and comradeship.




