Hello Everybody

I just wanted to say hello and Thank You for all the help Ive got here in the past few weeks... Ive been wanting to get into a Reef setup for a long time and I finally got a starter system. I Know everyone says to get as big of a tank as you can afford due to being a little easier to keep stable. I was very limited on space in my room for it so I ended up going with a 24 gal. Aqua Euro curved glass tank. I used all the standard filter stuff that came with the tank except for the bio balls, instead I filled that compartment with small 1"-2" pieces of live rock ... It came with a 150w MH and I bought a 1/2 white 1/2 blue 17" JBJ eco light to go with it . This tank comes with the Aqua Euro nano skimmer that fits in the back filter area. It seems to work ok, but I know its not nearly as efficent as a better one . I instantly had an issue with tank water temp gettng way too high so Off I went to talk my LFS into selling a chiller off one of their tanks cause I didnt wanna pay full pop for a new one. I ended up with a 4 month old 1/10th hp JBJ Artica w/ pump and hoses for $200. Since hooking it up my tank hasnt moved more than 1 deg up or down . I then added a Hydor Koralia #3 to move a little more water around. I also put in a nice submercable heater set at 75deg, but I dont think its even turnrd on yet .
I have about 35 lbs of live rock and about 35 lbs of live sand and just started my second week of cycling. I didnt know at first I shouldnt be running my MH light during the cycle and I had some excess algae start but now that i cut the MH light for now its slowed way down ... Here is a low quality pic from my phone , I'll get some good pics when i get my camera back from the wife ...The water looks cloudy in these phone pics but its actually crystal clear .. This place is great : )

 

Welcom and nice pics

 

welcome to 3reef!!! $200 for a chiller??? thats one heck of a deal! tank looks like its off to a great start! and you camera phone is actually quite impressive, what do you have?

 

I have been a forum Junkie for years with my motorcycle racing stuff, but this this is my first non Motorcycle or Truck forum ever ... I checked out several Reef forums and this one seems to be a very knowledgeable and friendly group, and Ive found those two qualities dont always go hand in hand on a lot of Forums . I know I will not only learn a lot from my time here, but Ill be entertained by these great chronicles of Reef building successes and hardships ...
The pics were taken with the old OG Iphone , but its been through hell and back, I cant believe it even turns on : )
and as for the Chiller, yeah I knew I had to find a deal somewhere as my $400 tank was quickly turning into $1200... everyone laugh at the newbie <<<<<
I heard my LFS talking about a tank they were keeping for a customer and they were running a chiller on it for him that he never paid for, so when he came to pick up his tank he didnt pay for the chiller so they had a 4 month old used chiller for sale and wanted $250 , but they took $200 for the chiller and pump and plumming .

 

Hello nice tank

 

sweet deal! way to haggle, a good habbit in this hobby, but it doesnt allways pan out . and btw, we dont laugh at newbs, only poke fun at behind their backs ;D lol j/k! hope you like your stay here (i sound like im welcoming you to a hotel...)

 

I forgot to say, one of the best tips i can give is get to know your LFS employees, try to find any tricks or hints that they might use to make a sale, if its a good/honest fish store they will know what there talking about and tell you to avoid things that you are not ready for. and most of all do reasearch, you cant learn enough in this hobby!

 

Welcome to 3reef

 

Howdy! and welcome to 3Reef