Convinced to give saltwater a go!

[Marz]

Hey everybody!

Here's my brief story.....
Was shopping with the wife and kids, well mostly for my daughter who received a small tank for Christmas. Ended up at a new Waterloo fish store to get her the Betta she wanted...of course tank was cycled. I have been itching to get myself a 90G tank as I have had cichlids for years and wanted to setup another tank. However I am space challenged at the place we have been in for the last 8 years.

Long story short, my wife loved the saltwater fish, and also really liked the IM cube tanks. In the 20+ years that I have had freshwater tanks, I always wanted to try my hand at SW. The reef tanks are beautiful and the fish are outrageous! I was fortunate to meet a kind soul at the store who talked to me quite a bit about SW, coral, and even the fish. He also suggested this forum...so, here I am, as new as new can be, and really looking forward to taking my time to get something that I can be proud of.

Looking forward to learning from all the people on this forum (I have already read a lot of posts). I am here mostly to pick everyone's brain about what to do, fish to get, coral to setup, and how to make sure I setup the right environment.

Cheers!

 

[Boga]

Welcome to The Frag Tank.

One of the first rules of saltwater is patience. And read a lot before you do something. I think someone from here said this before: you have to forget what you know about fresh water systems and learn again from scratch.

 

[sunnykita]

Welcome and yes I echo what Boga said, throw all your freshwater thinking out the window, a new ballgame, and a completely different way of keeping fish. Read, read, and more reading, and ask questions. They are a great group of people here with many years of experience. They will ask you questions as well as answer yours. Good luck and enjoy !

 

[davesolo29]

Must have been Jeff that sent you here. 
Welcome to the frag tank. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Poseidon]

Welcome welcome!!! Patience is the key!

 

[AdInfinitum]

It was me and this is likely the first time I've ever been referred to as a kind soul...lol

Play nice!!  I'm still trying to live down responsibility for Brandon (Poseidon) being here. 

 

[Poseidon]

It was me and this is likely the first time I've ever been referred to as a kind soul...lol

Play nice!!  I'm still trying to live down responsibility for Brandon (Poseidon) being here. 

Hey! You referred to thefragtank very active poster.

 

[Marz]

Well, when joining a new forum, I like to put my best foot forward plus AdInfinitum has a Dalek as an icon! - good in my books.

My plan is to take it very very slow...I may start a new thread that describes my thoughts and asks questions. As to what Boga has said, even over the last few days reading voraciously, it is VERY apparent that I am green when it comes to SW...even something as simple yet important as water changes is far more complicated, then ATO, then...as you can tell my head is spinning.

With all that said, I am very excited. All of the setups here are masterpieces, and if I can get even remotely close I will be extremely happy.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Welcome and enjoy your stay.

I will say this: When I started out I ignored a lot of advice.  Especially the advice that was expensive.  In the end, trying to do things on the cheap, I ended up spending thousands more than I would have if I had just gotten the right things in the beginning.  Also would have saved a lot of frustration.

The second rule is: Even if you buy all the best stuff, you have to accept that it's going to take a year (or more!) for your tank to properly grow and populate.  To be honest, your tank will never look as crisp, shiny and awesome as the day you set it up.  Once you get over that fact you're on your way. 

 

[Marz]

All great advice. I don't have deep pockets so everything that I ask and decide to get will have to be done with consideration and time.

 

[Darryl_V]

If you don't have deep pockets it's all the more reason to be very educated before you make purchases.  That cant be over emphasized.

 

[Jewel]

Welcome, You know when we say take your time, Well it's hard to do because you get so invested in your system, But it's true. When I started my current tank I had most everything but money, I wasn't working, so I was forced to do what I could. Since then I'm still not working ( I thought I could retire early 55 but it's proven to be difficult) Anyway I've upgraded a lot over xmas and bought quite a few Corals over the last couple of months.,  But initially when my tank was maturing, it was a slow go. Just remember it's ok to ask us anything because between us all we've made every mistake twice.