Old reefer coming back

[fodsod]

 

[Coinzmans Reef]

Welcome back.

Your back story is very close to mine. I have nearly four years in and maybe I can save you some time and money..... or cost you a hole lot more...
Here is my take on lessons learned.


1- Forget what you know and start over.
2- QT EVERYTHING !!!!! Fish, corals, inverts and live rock..... dip most EVERYTHING (toss original plugs) When I buy fish they get acclimated with Prozipro and corals in Revive coral cleaner. You will need to research dry VRS live rock....
3- BUY the BIGGEST tank you can.
4- Contemplate worst case scenario and plan for it (power outage, equipment failure etc.) and think redundancy.

I also looked at the 32 cube but a friend talked me out of it and said " You will never be satisfied with a small tank due to its limitation on livestock" He was right. I bought the Red Sea 525XXL, then started a 30 gallon QT tank. The QT tank is now 75 gallons and a frag tank with fish just incase I need to add to the 525. The 38 gallon sump is now also a fish tank... or is it still a sump or both? I have been throwing the idea of a Innovative 200 int/ext around with the Warden, I am trying to sell the idea of just ONE LARGE tank. I thought the 525 would be big enough.... Hmm... is the 200 big enough? or should it be BIGGER?


Happy reefing

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and back to the salty world. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[jsker]

 

[Reefolution]

Check out the BRS video series. Lots of information to catch you up.

 

[LilElroyJetson]

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[Roatan Reef]

Hello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now :grinning-face:

Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).

I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.

I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.

 

[firedad74]

Welcome back.

Your back story is very close to mine. I have nearly four years in and maybe I can save you some time and money..... or cost you a hole lot more...
Here is my take on lessons learned.


1- Forget what you know and start over.
2- QT EVERYTHING !!!!! Fish, corals, inverts and live rock..... dip most EVERYTHING (toss original plugs) When I buy fish they get acclimated with Prozipro and corals in Revive coral cleaner. You will need to research dry VRS live rock....
3- BUY the BIGGEST tank you can.
4- Contemplate worst case scenario and plan for it (power outage, equipment failure etc.) and think redundancy.

I also looked at the 32 cube but a friend talked me out of it and said " You will never be satisfied with a small tank due to its limitation on livestock" He was right. I bought the Red Sea 525XXL, then started a 30 gallon QT tank. The QT tank is now 75 gallons and a frag tank with fish just incase I need to add to the 525. The 38 gallon sump is now also a fish tank... or is it still a sump or both? I have been throwing the idea of a Innovative 200 int/ext around with the Warden, I am trying to sell the idea of just ONE LARGE tank. I thought the 525 would be big enough.... Hmm... is the 200 big enough? or should it be BIGGER?


Happy reefing

Thanks for the tips!

1 - Forgot everything anyway so I'm ahead of the game!
2 - QT's are mandatory for fish IMO. I never QT'd my inverts/corals back then but maybe I should rethink that.
3 - I'm limited on tank size at the moment. Not because of space but due to a spouse with no aquarium experience. I give her 6 months and she'll be fully on board with a large setup and I'll move the Cube to another room. :grinning-face:
4 - With such a small footprint with the BioCube I'll have to pick and choose what extra equipment I can fit into the stand. My old house had a backup generator but not my current house. I'll look into battery backup systems that may fit.

 

[00W]

Glad you jumped back in and welcome welcome to R2R!

 

[Mike1970]

 

[JC1977]

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !! :cool:

 

[firedad74]

Totally forgot to add pics of the aquascape I built! It’s all “live” Life Rock. Lots of nooks, holes, tunnels etc. Tank is fully cycled.

 

[MDAquatics]

Welcome back!

 

[xtianGEO]

Hello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now :grinning-face:

Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).

I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.

I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.

One of us

 

[Coinzmans Reef]

Same rock I used, add some good bacteria. My tank is 3.5 yrs and I add bacteria weekly.

 

[Doons32]

Welcome

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R, looking forward to seeing your progress

 

[Supa]

Hello all! I was heavy into saltwater and reefs in particular in the early 2000's and once kiddos came along....well....you know. They're grown now :grinning-face:

Anyway, all my systems were larger back then and had a nice side business selling frags and even setup a few systems for people. I had always wanted a smaller nano-style tank so that's what I'm starting back with, BioCube 32g is being set up today. I plan on a mostly reef tank with lots of inverts and likely 2-3 fish (wife requirement).

I've forgotten most of everything over the past 20 years and am sure the technology and methods have greatly evolved. I already see LEDs have finally become viable over the old metal halides (thankfully!). No more giant powerheads hanging in all corners to get flow.

I look forward to learning from everyone in a hobby that dearly loved and missed.

Welcome back to the hobby! Congrats