New to the Salty World

Reef_Obsessed · Mar 18, 2014

Hello all. Just wanted to say hello to my fellow reefers. I am an experienced fish-keeper of 20+ years, but this is freshwater. I finally got the courage to start a saltwater. I have heard all the same stories that everyone else has, such as, how expensive the hobby is, how difficult it is to maintain, and how you have to be an expert to do it. Well, all I have to say is, this is one time I wish I didn't listen. I started with a 10 gallon FOWLR, cycled, and added a Clown and a Dottyback. Everything was going great in the beginning, but we had a major storm that knocked out my power for a week and I lost them both :sad:. My poor Clown, I still miss him. Anyway, I still have this 10 Gallon now and it is doing great! I now have just 2 Yellowtail Damsels in there with a few hermits, a snail and have upgraded with coral. I am addicted!! I will be moving in a little over a year from now, so that is when the BIG plans begin...I'm thinking 75, 90, 125...along those lines:xd: So, for now, this is my setup, stock, and parameters:

10 Gallon Reef
HOB Filter w/ charcoal (changed every week), with weekly 20% water change
EVO Quad Clip-on LED Aquarium Light
1 Koralia Powerhead
Temp 79*
Salinity 1.025
Cal 420
PH 8.1
Nitrates 10ppm
Phosphates 0
Magnesium Around 1300
Alk 3.5

Stock:
2 Yellowtails
2 Feather Dusters

Coral:
Kenya tree
Dragon Eye Zoas
Eagle Eye Zoas
Yellow Polyps
Red Mushrooms
Green and Orange Ricordea Mushroom
Green Toadstool
Long-Polyp Leather
Starburst Polyp
Candy Cane
(Maybe Torch coming soon)

Sorry for going on and on, but I am just so excited that I had to tell everyone...I had no idea what I was missing...BTW, if you see anything that is out of place, let me know...all constructive criticism accepted.

Thanks for reading!

vlangel · Mar 18, 2014

Only thing missing that I can see is a pic! May we see a FTS? Please???

Reefing Madness · Mar 18, 2014

spspirate · Mar 19, 2014

Welcome to REEF2REEF!!!

fishroomlady · Mar 19, 2014

vlangel said:
Only thing missing that I can see is a pic! May we see a FTS? Please???

no doubt! :)

Reef_Obsessed · Mar 19, 2014

vlangel said:
Only thing missing that I can see is a pic! May we see a FTS? Please???

here you go guys! Sorry! I just added a branching hammer and some additional red mushrooms today...

Nurse Payne · Mar 19, 2014

Sweet set-up. Sorry to hear about your clown loss :( It's a very addictive hobby. I started with freshwater and a friend told me "saltwater is hard...don't try it. You can't succeed." Needless to say, I had changed over within 2 weeks and still love it. That was about 9 years ago. I did have to take a break, but I'm back.