Saltwater Newb from OKC

[Jimbhoy13]

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

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!! :cool:

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

 

[Adam Houston]

What up my man, Lived and was in the hobby in OKC for about 10 years and just moved to Denver. There's a couple good people. You just have to know where to look.

100% the best place to be is LeighAnne's shop "Aquariums" in south Edmond. It's not flashy, but her knowledge of the science of the hobby is excellent (and she teaches), she loves her animals more than she loves your money, and her integrity is absolutely impeccable.

If you're setting up your first tank I would also recommend contacting my personal friend Dave Madsen from AquaVentures LLC. Honest, confusingly hardworking sometimes, and very fairly priced given the product. He'll help you plumb and set your tank up for success. You can peek at my build thread and see what Dave and I designed last year.

Prestige Worldwide Corals has some amazing stock... but I recommend going in there armed with experience and discretion.

Gonna pretend like all my info isn't already on internet and not give my name, but you can tell Leigh and Dave the young doc who moved to Denver last spring sent you. They'll know who I am.

What up my man, Lived and was in the hobby in OKC for about 10 years and just moved to Denver. There's a couple good people. You just have to know where to look.

100% the best place to be is LeighAnne's shop "Aquariums" in south Edmond. It's not flashy, but her knowledge of the science of the hobby is excellent (and she teaches), she loves her animals more than she loves your money, and her integrity is absolutely impeccable.

If you're setting up your first tank I would also recommend contacting my personal friend Dave Madsen from AquaVentures LLC. Honest, confusingly hardworking sometimes, and very fairly priced given the product. He'll help you plumb and set your tank up for success. You can peek at my build thread and see what Dave and I designed last year.

Prestige Worldwide Corals has some amazing stock... but I recommend going in there armed with experience and discretion.

Gonna pretend like all my info isn't already on internet and not give my name, but you can tell Leigh and Dave the young doc who moved to Denver last spring sent you. They'll know who I am.

What up my man, Lived and was in the hobby in OKC for about 10 years and just moved to Denver. There's a couple good people. You just have to know where to look.

100% the best place to be is LeighAnne's shop "Aquariums" in south Edmond. It's not flashy, but her knowledge of the science of the hobby is excellent (and she teaches), she loves her animals more than she loves your money, and her integrity is absolutely impeccable.

If you're setting up your first tank I would also recommend contacting my personal friend Dave Madsen from AquaVentures LLC. Honest, confusingly hardworking sometimes, and very fairly priced given the product. He'll help you plumb and set your tank up for success. You can peek at my build thread and see what Dave and I designed last year.

Prestige Worldwide Corals has some amazing stock... but I recommend going in there armed with experience and discretion.

Gonna pretend like all my info isn't already on internet and not give my name, but you can tell Leigh and Dave the young doc who moved to Denver last spring sent you. They'll know who I am.

Ayy what’s good man! That’s crazy just when I thought no one could relate to OKC reef-life I read your comment & now I’m def more optimistic about finding the local scene.

Just checked out that 250 and it’s a beaut fr!! I’ll have to find you on social media sometime to follow your updates- I saw the build thread but now I gotta see the livestock lol I actually just hit up Prestige WWCorals last weekend and Steve’s Wet Pets in Norman. Pretty decent selection but I will definitely have to check out that lfs in Edmond asap.

I just might have to contact Dave in the near future cuz I have a whole bunch of equipment for this sump…too much pvc and overflow box skimmer etc I have no idea what’s goin on without an instruction manual

 

[Adam Houston]

Welcome aboard! I wouldn’t say the reefing hobby isn’t popular in Oklahoma. There are quite a few reefer here. You just have to know where to look and what better place than Reef2Reef. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Thanks man! I’m still trying to find the local scene- just joined the OKC Saltwater hobbyist group to see if there’s any reef clubs or events.

 

[Pankney72]

Ayy what’s good man! That’s crazy just when I thought no one could relate to OKC reef-life I read your comment & now I’m def more optimistic about finding the local scene.

Just checked out that 250 and it’s a beaut fr!! I’ll have to find you on social media sometime to follow your updates- I saw the build thread but now I gotta see the livestock lol I actually just hit up Prestige WWCorals last weekend and Steve’s Wet Pets in Norman. Pretty decent selection but I will definitely have to check out that lfs in Edmond asap.

I just might have to contact Dave in the near future cuz I have a whole bunch of equipment for this sump…too much pvc and overflow box skimmer etc I have no idea what’s goin on without an instruction manual

Dave hates a needlessly complicated sump. Makes it hard to work with.

yeah... I need to update that thread. I'm just outrageously busy with work and the tank is kinda my zen garden. just quietly maintaining and letting things grow. I'll do it by the beginning of march. Promise, because I also want to throw in some discussion of how I handled Dinos for a couple months and what I think I'm kinda figuring out in terms of getting gonis to grow.

This is about as social media as I get haha. Give the thread a follow if you want and I'll get the pics and commentary going soon.

 

[Nano_Man]

 

[Adam Houston]

Dave hates a needlessly complicated sump. Makes it hard to work with.

yeah... I need to update that thread. I'm just outrageously busy with work and the tank is kinda my zen garden. just quietly maintaining and letting things grow. I'll do it by the beginning of march. Promise, because I also want to throw in some discussion of how I handled Dinos for a couple months and what I think I'm kinda figuring out in terms of getting gonis to grow.

This is about as social media as I get haha. Give the thread a follow if you want and I'll get the pics and commentary going soon.

Dave hates a needlessly complicated sump. Makes it hard to work with.

yeah... I need to update that thread. I'm just outrageously busy with work and the tank is kinda my zen garden. just quietly maintaining and letting things grow. I'll do it by the beginning of march. Promise, because I also want to throw in some discussion of how I handled Dinos for a couple months and what I think I'm kinda figuring out in terms of getting gonis to grow.

This is about as social media as I get haha. Give the thread a follow if you want and I'll get the pics and commentary going soon.

Will do for sure! I bet it’s looking great. I’m so new I don’t even know what dinos are but I’m sure I’ll learn that soon lol

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the Reef and to the obsession

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hey there, and welcome to the channel.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hey there R2R Fam! I am completely new when it comes to the saltwater/reef hobby and will be purchasing my first SW setup this weekend (75 Gal). Unfortunately this hobby isn’t very popular in my area so I will be road tripping to good ol’ Dallas, Texas to purchase a like new setup. A protein skimmer & lights aren’t included so I’m hoping I can find recommendations of what to buy on here for a mainly fish-nems-beginner chorals tank. Open to suggestions!!

Welcome! Glad you joined. While OKC isn't as active as DFW, you have to realize it isn't as large. Dallas is 9th largest city, Fort Worth is 12th, and when combined then the DFW metroplex is 3rd behind only NYC and LA. I know there are Frag Swaps in OKC, so there has to be hobbyists local to you to support that activity (but I know countless people that drive down for our local hobby club frag swaps, too...) Look in this thread for OKC event(s):
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/2023-swap-and-show-schedule.946661/
Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you in OKC:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/local-reef-club-discussion.516/
This is a good reference book type online article I still review:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.84/

 

[Adam Houston]

Welcome! Glad you joined. While OKC isn't as active as DFW, you have to realize it isn't as large. Dallas is 9th largest city, Fort Worth is 12th, and when combined then the DFW metroplex is 3rd behind only NYC and LA. I know there are Frag Swaps in OKC, so there has to be hobbyists local to you to support that activity (but I know countless people that drive down for our local hobby club frag swaps, too...) Look in this thread for OKC event(s):
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/2023-swap-and-show-schedule.946661/
Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you in OKC:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/local-reef-club-discussion.516/
This is a good reference book type online article I still review:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.84/

Thanks for the welcome & the advice my new Reef friend! That is very true, population of Dallas and especially DFW metro is much larger than OKC. I am originally from Houston and recently moved here from Chicago so you could say I’m still adjusting to the smaller city scene lol

I will check out that thread for sure & I did see that we actually have a frag swap coming up on Saturday so I might check that out. I wish I had my 75 setup already but unfortunately I was dealt a hand of beginners bad luck with my “like-new” setup. After transporting the aquarium home and unloading it I noticed a chipped section which made me worry. I received a lot of feedback on here and FB & was told to not risk filling it and that it is beyond repair. Luckily I had a local hobbyist reach out to me and offered to give me a good deal on his 120 setup so I should be able to start my build thread pretty soon.

 

[Adam Houston]

Got to check out this 120 setup over the weekend and I’m even more stoked to dive into the hobby! Should be able to pick this big boi tank up once it’s available in the next 2-3 weeks

 

[Adam Houston]

Welcome glad you are here! I’m one that believes no reef tank is complete without a clown fish pair, many other hardy inexpensive fish do well with clowns it will depend on what you prefer but all need to be reef safe. There are plenty of beginner, easy corals such as zoas, gsp, sinularia (leather coral) and mushrooms that will help you with the learning curve before moving to more expensive and difficult corals. Consider rock islands for zoas and gsp so they don’t take over your main rock scape. Anemones need better water quality and stability and you should wait, at a minimum, 6 months. Best of luck.

I totally want to get a pair of clown fish to start off with! I see that many hobbyists start cycling their tank & add clown fish shortly after. Do you think I would be able to cycle my tank for 2-3 weeks then add 2 clowns and maybe another fish or 2? I love the aesthetics of the cleaner wrasse and really enjoy watching them swim around. Would it be okay to start with 3-4 fish or is that too many for the early stage?

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome to R2R, looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Keko21]

 

[Adam Houston]

Finally after a pretty crappy introduction to the reefing world by getting screwed over on a busted up 75 gal setup I was able to acquire this new to me 120 gallon Reef tank with Eshopps sump. Local hobbyist and owner of Heartland Corals hooked me up with this setup and I couldn’t be happier. I will be starting my build thread fairly soon. Until then here’s a few pics of it in my garage- ready for some citric acid but honestly wish I could keep all that coralline algae!