Been sitting on the fence for some time

[skwestle]

Just wanted to say hi. I have been lurking here for some time with no reason to post till now. I have been keeping freshwater tanks for just over 3 years and have been sitting on the fence when it comes to salt. Well I think I now want to make the plunge into the world of salt without knowing a thing about it. Well I know a few things but I ask you people to be patient with me. I think I want to start with a 135g 72"X18" Sea Star tank. I now have to start gathering the rest of the equipment I need. I will start a tank journal thread in a couple weeks when I get the space finished for this tank.

Sean

[Binare]

Welcome to CR Sean. Nice size tank to start off with. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions around here... Especially when you start heading out to buy equipment, hate to see your first tank turn into a bigger money then it already will be ;)

[banditpowdercoat]

Welcome, you've come to the right place, and done it the right way. Me, I bought a tank, ten said well, lets make a Salt Water tank LOL. Turns out, I bought a tricky tank to convert, being a corner, and did so many other mistakes, before coming here and learning ALOT!!!!

[muck]

Welcome to Canreef Sean!

[christyf5]

Welcome Sean!

Great tank to start with! Don't hesitate to ask questions, we love showing off how smart we are :razz:

And we love tank build photos so don't hesitate to post those either :wink:

[kien]

welcome to canreef! At some point, we all knew nothing about saltwater tank keeping :-)

ps. I sure hope it wasn't one of those pointy picket fences.. ouch..

[Johnny Reefer]

Sean, Hi,

Got your PM on VIAquaria. Tried replying twice but it wouldn't go. Not sure why.

EDIT: Figured it out. Check your PMs on VIAquaria. Haha. You probably have three PM sfrom me, all exactly the same.

Anyway,...I hope it's not innappropriate to answer your question here....

"Yes, that’s right. Still available.
Coralife Aqualight Pro.
72" long; 3 x 150W Metal Halides; 4 x 96W actinics; 4 x 1W Lunar "Moon Glows".
Approximately 4.5 years old.

The MHs are ready for a change.
3 brand new Coralife 14K 150W bulbs are included.

$600
I can post a pic if you like."


Cheers,
Mark.

[Lance]

Welcome to Canreef Sean. :biggrin:

[PoonTang]

Welcome to CR.
ps. the people with the highest post counts are not necessarily the smartest. LOL :evil:

[workn2hard2day]

:welcome:

[christyf5]

Welcome to CR.
ps. the people with the highest post counts are not necessarily the smartest. LOL :evil:

You're just jealous Darren :razz:

[Borderjumper]

Hey Sean, nice to see you here.:mrgreen: You should go check out Marks lights, his stuff is really well taken care of.

[Johnny Reefer]

Hey Sean, nice to see you here.:mrgreen: You should go check out Marks lights, his stuff is really well taken care of.
Hey Shelley,

Thanx for the plug.

Merry Christmas,

[Cameron]

I have a 135g with stand for sale if interested.

[chandigz]

Another convert. Yay. Welcome aboard.

[muck]

ps. I sure hope it wasn't one of those pointy picket fences.. ouch..

I laughed.. :redface:

[bvlester]

:biggrin:welcome to the board LOL off one fence and onto another.
Anyways have a marry christmas.. can I say that here. because I just did.....
May santa bring you a pile of saft water stuff...:smile::smile:

Bill

[skwestle]

Thanks for the nice welcome, can't wait to get going on this project. I do have the tank already I have close to 20 tanks just need pick one to convert. I think I will be on the right path soon I have a friend that is giving me some great advice. Thanks Shell
I will be drilling my 135 as soon as I get the office finished and can move in. As it sits right now I have a 1500gph Mag drive pump that has very little use on it or I could use my 500gph external Little Giant. I would prefer to use the submersible but is it to big for my tank if I have a 30g sump??
As soon as I get Christmas over with I will start looking for rock

Sean

[bvlester]

go with the Mag a rate of about 10x turnover is pretty good unless you are going to have a fudge in the sump then you may want to slow the flow down in the sump or you could recalculate some of the water flow back to the sump it would give the slowed down effect. I have allot of movement in my tank but slow in my sump as I have fudge in it too. I also have a little giant external it has some thing like 895 gph with a vertical lift of 18 feet this pump will be on my 90 once in is up and running

Bill

[Johnny Reefer]

Mmmmmmmm, sump fudge :hungry:. :wink:

[bvlester]

That’s what spell check wanted and it was late and I was not arguing with a computer. In the mean time got to go have some rocky mountain fudge for a snack.

Yum yum.:hungry:

[piusma]

I dove into the salt water world around this time last year. Bought a 90 gallon tank on boxing day sales at big als and got my feet wet doing salt. What I figured in the salt water world is that your tank is your cheapest investment. Everything else costs multiple times more expensive. The skimmer, the light, the pumps, the powerheads, the calcium reactor, the controller. etc. I spent approx $300 on the tank but spent probably 10 times more in the rest of the equipment with the 90 gallon and I am no where close to be done. My tank is barely stocked and I would expect that it'll cost another couple thousand to stock the tank with the fish and corals I would want. It is very rewarding but be prepared for the expenses. Merry Christmas.
Steven

[bvlester]

I have bought almost everything off here and kijiji or what ever it is called. spent about $700 - $750 that includes a20g, 55g and 90g tank 2 sumps 2 skimmers power heads for 2 tanks still looking for a couple more for the 90g a squid and external pump. lights and more lights. ATO system 2 aqua lifters. Rock and stock.

So watch on the forums and used sites you can get some realy good deals.

Admitedly the tanks are not pristean condition a couple scratches here and there but that side went to the back and that I prosume is where it was in the first place. One of the sumps I have to replace the bottom pane of glass but that is simple to do I believe it is a oceanic 30 sump..

Bill

[skwestle]

Thanks for all the advise, I am aware of the costs to set-up a salt tank and with that in mind it wasn't a factor as to why I never made this choice sooner. I currently have over 1000 gallons of fresh running right now and a wife that hates the hobby so I have to take it cool. I must admit I was very nervous about going in a direction that was very new to me. Well I will be moving very slow here and hope to avoid some costly mistakes.

[Lance]

Thanks for all the advise, I am aware of the costs to set-up a salt tank and with that in mind it wasn't a factor as to why I never made this choice sooner. I currently have over 1000 gallons of fresh running right now and a wife that hates the hobby so I have to take it cool. I must admit I was very nervous about going in a direction that was very new to me. Well I will be moving very slow here and hope to avoid some costly mistakes.


Absolutely Sean! Slow is good. :biggrin: