Newbie

[sidewinder]

New to the marine side of aquaria but not new to fish keeping, kept and raised discus in a previous life.
Im in the process of building a 220 Gallon mixed reef but it will be another year before anything gets wet so I bought a used Red Sea Max 130 so I can play around, experiment a bit and make my mistakes on a smaller, cheaper system than my 220.

Anyone have any advice on the Red Sea Max 130 set up? As far as I can tell it hasnt been upgraded at all but I got it for a steal ($325) so Im up for a few simple upgrades if anyone has any suggestions.

My plans are to use it to get some experience with corals and maybe grow out some frags that can be used in the 220 once its established.

 

[TORX]

First off, reef aquariums and fresh water aquariums are different, your best bet is to pretty much forget what you knew and do not compare them. There are some similarities, but best to just consider it a whole new work.

Second, go slow, I see that you are already taking your time collecting what you want to start with. From there it will be months, closer to a year before your tank has matured, not that your can not enjoy corals, there are a lot of stages and cycles that you will go through as your tank matures that will be extremely frustrating. However quick fixes and rash decisions to those cycles will be more detrimental to your tank then letting them run their course.

Nanos are killer, I had a Nano-Cube as my third tank and miss it all the time. I upgraded the mh lighting to LED through a kit from RapidLED and upgraded the return pumps to MJ1200 for more flow without adding bulky powerheads in the tank. These smaller set ups are different from larger ones with husbandry, be sure to read about nano tanks.

 

[Poseidon]

welcome!

def take it slow and research everything you do, try learn from other peoples mistakes rather than learn the hard way

 

[pulpfiction1]

:welcome:

 

[sidewinder]

Thanks Torx,

No worries, I am under no illusions about salt versus fresh water aquariums. Ive been in the planning process for several years and if it hadnt been for some life changes recently, I'd have learned all my lessons and made my mistakes on the 220 system. I dont do frustration or quick fixes, no timeframe in mind and I'm patient to a point that drives others nuts.

I considered a kit from Rapid LED for my 220 but I ended up going with a 72" 12 bulb Aquaticlife fixture, if that isnt up to the task of keeping coral, when I get to that stage, I'll supplement with LEDs or switch over completely. I'm a techy so DIY projects like LEDs and plumbing are right up my alley and to be honest, as big a draw to the hobby as the livestock husbandry is.

Looking forward to picking up tips and hints from all the folks in here with any level of expreience  ;D

 

[KBennett]

Your story sounds exactly like mine.  I was really into chiclids.  I spent years researching and finally got a 220.  It's awesome and so much better than fresh. 

 

[Jewel]

I started with Cichlids over 10 years ago and I loved it, then a bunch of guys at work went to Salt and I never looked back, Had multiple set-ups, the side of the hobby that I enjoy most is the building of the system, then the patience and good husbandry kicks in. The result is a piece of art that everyone enjoys. Have fun,