starting over ~5 years later

[posie&capone]

hi everyone well im happy to be back... used to be a pretty active member on here (under a different account name) & used to love my tanks & order from SWF frequently. been out of the hobby for several years, so i have a lot of equipment and (previously) live rock. ive been wanting to set up a new tank for a while. i have a 65 or 75 (honestly cant remember) tank w/overflow that has never been filled. as soon as i got it i painted the back of it and cut eggcrate for the bottom and then stuff came up for the next 5 or 6 years. its gonna be a slow process getting started, but i am excited to be back & also excited that i recognize a lot of names from the notable members page. I'm basically starting back at step 1, but i know this is the best place to do it.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Welcome back!

What was your old screen name?

 

[posie&capone]

hi snakeblitz. well i was originally "alix" but i think i was "alix2.0" for a longer period of time.

 

[aduvall]

welcome back!

 

[posie&capone]

thanks! im taking inventory of what i have to work with, what i need, what i know, and what i want to accomplish. i have the tank, eggcrate, and stand, but no lighting fixture to fit the big tank. i have a couple different containers i am thinking about using for a sump, which will be underneath the tank in the basement. i have a large industrial gaylord (maybe 100 gallons?) and a 50 gallon long that i am considering using. i have maybe 50 pounds (dry) of what used to be live rock. i have several heaters, powerheads, cannister filters, and an aqua-c remora skimmer. might have to get some new powerheads, and i have to figure out the pump situation because ive never had a tank with a sump before. i have an R/O system but i have not bought filters for it in years. realistically my goal for the next couple months is just to get the tank together & cycling.

 

[honu808]

Welcome back. Some things changed and skimmers have evolved since you were here last. I too just recently got back in from a 5 year break and was amazed at the difference in lights and skimmers mainly.

 

[snakeblitz33]

And powerhead technology has also gotten a lot better too.

What's a gaylord?

 

[posie&capone]

they're kind of like rubbermade containers or stock tanks. used for shipping industrial stuff. mine are grey and were never used.

 

[posie&capone]

probably leaning towards using a glass tank for the sump though. contemplating even just using a 20L so i dont have to plumb into the basement. not sure if the 50L would fit under my stand, but less is more as far as im concerned. i realize a larger water volume allow for more stability, but i think a 100 gal sump might be a little overkill for now.

 

[snakeblitz33]

A 20g long will do fine for a 75g display.

I bought a used tank that came with a trigger systems 36g sump for my 75g display. I love it. Lol.

I've never heard of a stock trough be called a Gaylord. Interesting.



Now days they have all kinds of pumps and stuff on the market that are variable speed DC pumps. They are putting them on skimmers, powerheads, and even the main utility pumps. The hobby is turning into a control freaks paradise. Lol.

Check out a Skimz monzter mini 123 protein skimmer. They are one of the cheapest in-sump DC pump driven skimmers I have been able to find. Getting mine on Thursday. Woohoo!

 

[posie&capone]

this is probably gonna be a very slow process for me because i am in the process of trying to get my life together. no idea how i used to afford this when i was a teenager. i guess having no bills probably helped. super excited to start looking at new equipment, but honestly my set up is probably gonna be pretty ghetto for the first couple months. i figure im looking at minimum $300 just to get the tank cycling. pump, RO filters, live sand, and a couple pounds of live rock to seed my existing dead rock. i prefer soft & LPS corals over SPS personally, so i dont need super fancy lights, but i imagine that will be my first major investment. i wonder if it would be worth hocking some of my existing fixtures & equipment. FIRST STEP is just figuring out how to get the sump set up, cause i have no idea. i assume ill read a bunch of DIYs, then just go to home depot and buy a bunch of random pieces of PVC pipe and then call my dad and just have him figure it out.

 

[beaslbob]

welcome back.

as usual start the tank with a refugium full of macro algae. Which is what you seem to be doing.

Best tank ever.

my .02

 

[jorge garrido]

that's great to have you back ... you have a great start if I were you I would check out craigslist for fuge or any 20 gal tanks.. some people even give them away LOL I also mostly like the soft and lps corals and with lighting I got the cheap EBAY leds and corals are doing great, even my clam is loving it .. if I were you I would just have the dead rock and buy some of the bacteria in the bottle like bacter 7.. that would save you money from buying live rock and it would be pest free..

 

[geridoc]

Welcome back! You might be able to save some $$ on lighting by retrofitting your existing canopy with LEDs - there are some pretty reasonably priced kits. If you are interested, send me a pm and I'll give you a website that seems pretty good.

 

[john suh]

Me too, and it was far longer, almost 15 years, before the internet raised in popularity. The stuff I am reading now...boy I sure made a lot of mistakes back in the day. Surprised some of the habitants in my 95 gallons did as well as they did. I never had much luck with anemones tho, and knowing what I do now...can understand why, hah.