Hi everyone!

Todvod · Jul 7, 2018

welcome Jake. Since you already know about all the work of setting up a tank, you'll be all set for home ownership. haha.

Jake Watson · Jul 7, 2018

Fin said:
Bummer about having to move right as you got things started. Hopefully you can get the second set-up going soon.

I know right! However I’ve done a lot of research since then and I’m gonna set it up differently than I had it and I think that’s going to translate to long term success

Turbo's Aquatics · Jul 7, 2018

Jake Watson said:
when I finally ordered some fish and started filling it with water (which took a couple days due to slow ro/di production) I found out that my landlord had sold our building and we had to move

ugh!

Welcome to R2R!

Here's a pic from one of my favorite articles on reefkeeping, applicable to new hobbyists and old as well:

The nitrogen cycle is only the startup of a SW tank cycle. The next 6-12 months is a maturing phase, and it's typically in this time frame where algae outbreaks occur and things can sort of roller-coaster, and if you stock the tank up too quickly, you might see corals randomly dying & fish getting sick, etc...hobbyists can very easily fall into the trap of chasing problems = making more problems => giving up and selling everything off. We don't want that to happen to anyone!

Long-term stability and balance are the keys, and you just can't shortcut the process significantly. That's always the #1 thing to keep in mind!