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JimG1966

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Every time I do a search on anything I end up here so figured I might as well join up since it seems all the answers are here....lol.
Here is alittle about my salt water life.

20 yrs ago before the internet or at least before i knew what it was my dad and i got into this hobby, for just having a 55 gallon at each home we did pretty decent on figuring things out on our own and a few books from the library. Back then we both used Biolife filters that went into the tank and they did a great job. I hatched a shark out of an egg and had it 2 months, came home from taking the family out for supper and found it half way down the carpet that i had that was to big for a 55 gal. I sold out a week later. Dad passed awhile back and about that time my wifes cousin had a tank for sale and my wife thinking it might help me deal with it bought the tank thinking it was a 75 gal. I got to pick it up and its only a 55. We go to the same fs we used to and find out everything has changed so i come home and start studying up on things. I ended up going with canister filters and now wishing i had made a sump for it. After set up our youngest son who is 23 goes to the fs with us and sees a stingray and porcupine puffer.. gets all excited until i tell him the 55 isnt big enough for either. 2 months down the road and we end up with a 125. This is when the string of bad luck hits, we get it all set up, cycled with all the new stuff and a few damsels and now its time for the sting ray. Along with it we do find a small puffer to go in the 55 since i was told puffers and rays cant go together because the puffer will pick at the eyes of the ray. So now we have a koran angel, puffer and a wrasse in the 55 and all is doing awsome. When we got the ray i decided on a lionfish to go with it. Already had a couple of nems in the tank and didnt think of them stinging the ray but figured it out real quick. The night before a friend is to come and get the nems my new lionfish swims into one that moved in the night and i find it dead laying beside it when i turn the lights on. Friend comes and gets the nems and I reluctaly go by another lionfish. Now the first one and the ray got along great, ray had the front of the tank and lionfish hung out in the rocks until feeding time, as soon as i drop the new lionfish in the tank the first thing it does is go after the ray. Kept watch on them for a few days and they just was not seeing eye to eye on things. Being that the lionfish is so aggrisive i decide it needs to go back but knowing the ray would outgrow the 125 we had made arrangements to go to pick up a 210. Yea we got the fever bad real quick and a 210 is what my dad always wanted so its kinda a memorial tank to him... but while gone the lionfish killed the ray. Major set back and if not for my Koran angel that i loved and my wife, son and the dude at the fs i would have probably gave up again. Lionfish goes back, puffer and Angel goes in the 125. I buy some cool crabs but while trying to dip them out of the bag it slips and some of the water goes in the tank. A week later I have ich on both fish. I set up a quick 10 gallon to try to treat them but after 3 weeks of worry and stress and no sleep i loose both fish. Now my 125 has set empty since the 1st of January other than 2 snowflake eels trying to let the ich die off, the 55 has a couple of clowns, mandrian dragonet, some zoas and a few other corals in it and the 210 is setting here waiting for me to get inspired again to build a sump for it. The plan is for it to be a shark and ray tank. I have canisters on the 125 to but I am not happy with them because i have to watch nitrates so bad with these filters. The tank is a old tank and can not be drilled i am told and i have read so many bad things about hang on overflows but will probably end up going that route so i can put a sump on it also. Planning on a 75 gal sump for the 210 and a 55 gal for the 125. I would love to set up a 75 and take down the 55 but its been up 9 months and is doing so good i hate to take a chance on messing up the stuff i have in it. I had set up a 20 gallon for a feeder tank for the lionfish but now its been turned into a molly tank since dad loved his mollys. he was always buying certain ones to breed to try to come up with something cool. Not got into all of that but did end up with some cool babys that are half black and half orange not trying...lol

Its a long read but thats our story so far... hoping things come together soon and it turns into the enjoyable hobby i remember instead of the work that it is now.

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Peace River

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Welcome to R2R!!! Thank you for the introduction!

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vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
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JimG1966

JimG1966

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Thanks for all the welcomes... been trying to navigate myself around and get all the info filled out. Its been a rough ride getting back into the hobby and figuring out that i kind of put the cart in front of the horse. As i had never heard of a q/t tank until after the first fish was bought, setting up a 20 gallon q/t before any fish are put back in the 125. I set up a 10 gallon dipping tank when i was fighting the ich but do not think that is big enough for a q/t. I did not realize you could run a salt water tank with a hob filter until after buying the canisters but going to use one on the q/t. Going to search on here as i am sure the question of what hob filter works best has been asked many times over.
 

fishguy242

Cronies..... INSERT BUILD THREAD BADGE HERE !!
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wow,and welcome to the reef going to love it here

looking forward to your future builds
need any help the r2r is here with all the answers
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

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