New to reef aquariums from Taunton

[SeaCilla1212]

Hello everyone, my name is Priscilla. I recently moved to Taunton about six months ago. When I moved in I met my neighbor who has a reef tank. I was amazed to say the least!!!! I myself have never had a fish in my life saltwater or freshwater! So with absolutely no idea for what I was about to get myself into I decided to jump head first into this hobby. So with a little help from my neighbor I decided to set up my first tank. I decided to set up a 55gallon tank. At first it was supposed to just be a "fish only" tank so I bought a dogface puffer and quite a bit of live rock. I was ready!!! As soon as my cycle was over I was soooo excited to add new fish. I got a valentine puffer cuz they were so cute. Then just as I was about to get started my dogface got one hell of a serious case of ick. I was new to this whole thing so it was so incredibly hard for me someone who knows so little about saltwater fish and this whole hobby in general to get my fish better. To say the least I went threw about two months of hell and I was about to give up all together, it was costing me way to much money and worry. Clearly I did not give up I kept reading my marine books and slowly made it threw. So once my fish got better I decided to jump into corals as if I didn't have enough of my plate as it was I had to add more. I now have a Kenya tree coral, star polyp, and a orangy colored zoo polyp I believe. (I don't know to much about coral I could have the zoo polyp wrong). Also I have recently just added a foxface rabbit fish as we'll. oh and by the way no more valentine puffer I woke up one day and he was gone. I'm guessing my dogface ate him? They were living together just fine for about three months. But long story short I am new to this hobby and new to BRS. I absolutely fell in love with this hobby but I really do need so much help so I decided to join this and I look forward to meeting everyone and hope u guys can pleaseeeee help me with alllll my questions lol!

 

[dilligaf29]

welcome glad u stuck with it i dont think anyone can really get out of this hoobbie once its bites them =)

 

[SeaCilla1212]

Thank you! Yeah it's pretty bad I'm like more excited about this meeting than I should be lol. I just can't wait to talk to people that share the same interests as me. I don't really know anyone that has a tank so it's nice to finally have people to ask questions to!!

 

[Flame Angel]

Welcome Aboard! We are meeting in Taunton next weekend.

Check out the forum header often for locks meetings and speakers.

Hopefully we will see you.

Good Luck!

 

[jason401]

Welcome aboard Priscilla

See you at the meeting, definitely going to be a good one.

 

[Fishport]

Hi Priscilla,
Welcome from another newbie.

I just wanted to mention a second valuable resource for gaining information (BRS being naturally the first). Bob Goemans started his first saltwater tank in 1956 and even has a valid claim to being the first person in the US to use an undergravel filter. He has been a prolific author in this hobby and written for most of the major hobbyist magazines. He also is personally acquainted with most of the leading contributors to the hobby over the past five decades. I find his opinions to be drawn from a great amount of first hand experience. His writing is usually ground in the underlying science and in a style that is still accessible to most of us.

He has very generously assembled a wealth of information on his website, www.saltcorner.com. This website has a free copy of his book, The Living Marine Aquarium Manual which is full of hyperlink terms which is a big aid to a newcomer, Most impressive is his willingness to respond to emails directly. There are tons of other links, but this website is unique. It's like having access to a mentor who couldn't possibly have greater experience.

That said, one of the most bewildering and yet fascinating elements of this hobby is that there is no one path to success and consequently there are many conflicting opinions. It keeps us newbies busy reading. Luckily we now have the internet (more than half of my life occurred prior to personal computers).

Glad you were able to eventually bring your fish back to health. I hope to make it to the March meeting, hope to see you there.
Ralph

 

[SeaCilla1212]

Hi Priscilla,
Welcome from another newbie.

I just wanted to mention a second valuable resource for gaining information (BRS being naturally the first). Bob Goemans started his first saltwater tank in 1956 and even has a valid claim to being the first person in the US to use an undergravel filter. He has been a prolific author in this hobby and written for most of the major hobbyist magazines. He also is personally acquainted with most of the leading contributors to the hobby over the past five decades. I find his opinions to be drawn from a great amount of first hand experience. His writing is usually ground in the underlying science and in a style that is still accessible to most of us.

He has very generously assembled a wealth of information on his website, www.saltcorner.com. This website has a free copy of his book, The Living Marine Aquarium Manual which is full of hyperlink terms which is a big aid to a newcomer, Most impressive is his willingness to respond to emails directly. There are tons of other links, but this website is unique. It's like having access to a mentor who couldn't possibly have greater experience.

That said, one of the most bewildering and yet fascinating elements of this hobby is that there is no one path to success and consequently there are many conflicting opinions. It keeps us newbies busy reading. Luckily we now have the internet (more than half of my life occurred prior to personal computers).

Glad you were able to eventually bring your fish back to health. I hope to make it to the March meeting, hope to see you there.
Ralph

Thank you so much Ralph! I'll definitely be taking a look at this! I'm sure it's going to help me anything is a help really lol I've been having a tough time with my puffer. Also now I want to put corals in but I'm scared he will eat them. So for now I've been keeping my corals in a separate tank. I don't know if I should get rid of the puffer or try and see if he can coexist with the corals.

 

[Fishport]

Your welcome.

I don't have any experience with puffers but from what I read, your going to have the best success with your current separate tanks for corals. If you decide to get rid of your puffer, just don't eat him. We hate to lose new members.
Ralph

 

[Turbosnail]

Welcome to the BRS!

 

[Overlook reef]

Welcome!

 

[s_kelley]

Welcome aboard! Your in the right place to ask questions!
Its always good to see a few locals on here.

 

[SeaCilla1212]

Welcome!

I noticed ur signature says Red Sea max. I was curious what does that mean?

 

[Overlook reef]

Red Sea Max 130D is a 34 Gal tank with a sump behind it. It is a self contained system. I have upgraded everything it comes with, but it comes with power compacts, hood, timer and protein skimmer.

 

[ashleydif143]

Welcome. I just joined as well. Also I'm like a town over if you ever need help with anything I know when I first started it was one step forward 2 steps back for a while..

 

[SquareFace]

Hi Priscilla.
You've got yourself into a hobby that is very rewarding, but at the same time with a great potential of bringing also grief. This hobby involves lives of very beautiful and precious animals. And it's in our hands to keep them safe and "happy". Some mistakes on this hobby can make us suffer financially (you already know this is an expensive hobby), emotionally (we all put our hearts into it) and there can be loss of living things. Not every reefer take this in consideration, but we may make the difference either for the preservation of the animals we are trying to keep or their extinction. So, we must be responsible reef keepers. As you already heard, try to learn as much as you can, by reading and also listening to experienced hobbyists. Knowledge will make the difference between enjoying the hobby or getting frustrated with it. Try to find out the most experienced and successful reefers on the club and make them a visit. Look at their tanks and analyze their systems. Try to understand what they do and why they do it. Find the science behind it. Let them mentor you and ask questions. I'm sure that everyone who loves the animals we keep will be pleased to teach you what they know. And I'm sure they will be willing to give you a frag or two of their most hardy corals so you can try keeping them before trying more sensitive ones. Be patient. Don't rush anything on this hobby. Don't go for the cheap equipments because you will end up replacing them latter. Save your money by buying the "good stuff." There's a lot to be said. But, I think you already have some directions to follow and a lot of learning to do. After I had a tank crash that literarily wiped out every living thing on it, I re-did my whole system, always thinking what could go wrong that I could prevent it. Plan a visit. My wife and I will be pleased to show you our system and share the knowledge we acquired with the things we did right and the things we did wrong. Happy reef keeping!

 

[ReefKeeper1699]

Welcome Priscilla!!!! I am just 10 mins or so away from you. My father lives in Taunton, nice place! If you are ever stuck or ever need a hand let me know and I will help you out. This is an awesome hobby for sure! Everyone seems so peaceful and tranquil that I run into that have a salt water tank. It's like a society of its own. Stick through it no matter what and you will find yourself a strong, tranquil, mastered owner of a little piece of the ocean in your home. Glad you joined this awesome community and look forward to see your progress!!!

 

[Steviereefs]

Hi Priscilla ,
It's Steve, It was nice meeting ya the other day if you need any advice or anything let me know. For some reason I think I'm always logged in so pretty much anytime just pm me and I'll get back to ya. Welcome to the hobby!!!!