New to the hobby and BRS

[honeypotGlen]

Hello reefers,

Being a MA resident and new to the hobby, this seems like a great way to exchange ideas. Thanks to the people who dedicate time to set this up!

My plan is to start a FOWLR aquarium first using a 75 gal tank, 60lbs Key Largo dry rock from Marcorocks.com and an Eheim 2026 canister filter. I plan to seed the dry rock with LR and LS, and use that for biological filtration. I will keep the fish population low until I raise funds for a skimmer and wet/dry filter. I’m also going to use tap water with conditioners until I can get RO/DI. After I gain experience and equipment I want to convert to a full reef aquarium.

I saw the thread with the ratings of LFS’s in the greater Boston area. Are any of these particularly good sources for LR? Also, does anyone have experience with these online sources?

www.seatrademarine.com
www.liveaquaria.com
www.saltwaterfish.com

If buying LR on the net, is it important to spend extra $$ for overnight shipping?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[CrazyCorals]

if your buying the rock dry then i wouldn't do overnight shipping

 

[CrazyCorals]

ohhhhh sorry and welcome to the club

 

[Reefer140]

if your buying the rock dry then i wouldn't do overnight shipping

completely agree. also if hes cycling a tank even if it was liverock i would not ship overnight. a little rock die off in a cycling tank wont hurt anything anyways.

 

[The Ng Thing]

Welcome!

 

[honeypotGlen]

Thanks for the welcome! Really looking forward to getting started.

 

[pillowfish]

Welcome to the BRS!! If you plan on starting the tank with dry rock and seeding with LR and LS your tank will need to cycle before adding livestock. As for the LR, I would not buy any online or at a LFS, instead save some bucks and buy some from other members here in the marketplace. If you are ust seeding then you will only need a few pieces at most and many members here will be more than happy to help you out. I would just make sure the tank you get LR and LS from is free of any pests(aptasia, mojanos, flatworms, etc.) I would also advise against using tap water in any way, if you can't afford an RO/DI unit up front most of the LFS that are sponsors here do sell RO/DI and also pre-made SW for pretty darn cheap. It will save you tons of water quality issues and algae problems later on down the road. Take your time, do research and ask plenty of questions, good luck and hope to see you at one of the monthly meetings!

 

[nichols]

Welcome to the club.
I'd get an rodi unit before I even put water in the tank. Going through the various algae cycles in any new tank is tough enough, without the added nutrients of tap water. An rodi unit is short money considering the improvement in water quality.
I'd consider buying live rock from members on the board. It regularly comes up for $2-$3 a pound. One of the biggest mistakes I made was buying 100 lbs @ $6 lb and another $35 to have it flown to Providence where I picked it up.
Not sure what your time frame is, but in the next few days I'll start selling off about 600 lbs from my system. I'm just over in Grafton if you want to stop by.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Welcome to your newest addiction!