for those new to saltwater aquariums i offer my help:):)

[reefwars]

well i put on an ad on kijiji telling people what certain things like rock should be sold at as alot of people who start new tanks go there and not canreef or other great sites. ive gotten alot of responses from new people to the hobby who arent sure how to get started or paid way to much for a new set up only to feel burdened by their tank and quit.its sad really because we all know its a great hobby and there are people out there who would rape your wallet and could care less if you have a tank or not as long as they make a sale(not talking about just lfs either)ive been giving advice and have invited alot of people over to ask questions or make a plan with some advice on where to search without paying " top dollar"

i offer my advice to them for free and help them get started, i help them figure out what they need, what they can afford,what they want and then help them to do all this.

after getting so many responces i figured i would start a thread here for any new comer to the hobby who would like to ask any questions or would like some hands on help approach on getting started.

all advice is free and i wouldnt give advice on anything i was unsure of or didnt know but rather help the individual find the answers they are looking for , i invite people over to ask questions in person or see my set ups and new build.

i have a bit of a soft heart for those who get ripped off so im happy enough just getting new people into the hobby with out any headache and enjoy their tanks the way i do.


if you have any questions pls feel free to post them here in this thread or personal message me directly or email me at denny.sa@hotmail.com

i charge absolutely nothing and my payment is interaction and satisfaction, i am selling nothing :):) cheers all hope to here from some newbies!!!!!!!!!1

[reefwars]

i will be posting this same ad on kijiji in hopes of getting alot of new people into the hobby :) thanks again guys and gals:):)

[intarsiabox]

Great job! I really enjoy helping beginners at various hobbies of mine too. People can read and get lots of info but it's never the same as one on one with someone who has gone through it all before.

[tgrover]

Denny, I'm getting great advice from people you gave advice too!

And I will be asking you as well. This is an amazing forum and with people like you it will only get better.

Thanks, Tim

[reefwars]

thanks guys, well lets be honest its a very expensive hobby and if you have help its not that bad, ive def helped alot of people get started and i know they are all very happy i did so. i myself need answers alot and i have alot of saltwater friends in edmonton who help me if i have any problems so i would like to return the favor. if i dont have the answers i can at least point them in the right direction:)

i agree its completely different to ask questions in person and alot of people would feel better asking the questions to someone not trying to sell them stuff and alot of people feel " dumb" when they have new questions when it shouldnt be like that at all:):) cheers i hope to help alot of reefers:):)

[Dez]

Thanks Denny. I used to tell people to buy rubbernaid containers for sumps when I worked at an LFS cause I just couldn't bring myself to sell a $200 sump. I would rather see them spend $ on livestock than fancy stuff that's not nessesarily "needed". I bought most of my stuff used and it has saved so much $.

[reefwars]

Thanks Denny. I used to tell people to buy rubbernaid containers for sumps when I worked at an LFS cause I just couldn't bring myself to sell a $200 sump. I would rather see them spend $ on livestock than fancy stuff that's not nessesarily "needed". I bought most of my stuff used and it has saved so much $.



My thoughts exactly dez, it seems like alot of new people are afraid to ask questions and I'm also surprised at how many people have tanks and are constantly battling problems. Truth be told this hobby can be extremely simple or just like rocket science ... It's what we make it :)

This is such a beautiful hobby and I really want all people to enjoy it and not to be afraid to ask for help:) years ago back in nl I had a fowlr and not a single person to ask for advice or go to see their tank , so I'm glad the times are changing and we now have a fully accessible hobby that even the less experienced can enjoy:)

[RedCoralEdmonton]

great post Denny, I too find myself telling newbies to check out kijiji and canreef to buy used for their first tanks, even though that may seem counter productive, but i have the same philosophy, help those get into tanks for a decent price, and in turn they always feel good about their tank and come back to see me for stock! So a win win as far as im concerned......hell i even had a board for used equipment in my last store for people to post up for free...

Steve

[reefwars]

great post Denny, I too find myself telling newbies to check out kijiji and canreef to buy used for their first tanks, even though that may seem counter productive, but i have the same philosophy, help those get into tanks for a decent price, and in turn they always feel good about their tank and come back to see me for stock! So a win win as far as im concerned......hell i even had a board for used equipment in my last store for people to post up for free...

Steve


thanks steve and i always tell people to visit your store and ask you for advice and i tell people your always willing to help people get started and not out to treat people like dollar signs:):) , new equipment is great and in my opinion alot of it is a must have but for new people i believe there should be the option or knowlege of used gear to get started.now im not saying to go buy the cheapest stuff you can find but if i know someone with a high end skimmer for sale for half of its cost than obviously thats a savings, what started this was seeing alot of problem rock for sale on kijiji in the last while with alot of hair algae and aiptasia or mojanos.....for like 8/lb............not right in my opinion:):) alot of people try to pawn off full systems that are just getting by for 500-1000 when they are only 50gallons or so and when someone buys this they think great deal untill they realize their system is just getting by and upgrades are needed:):)

alot of money can be spent if you buy on impulse or from advice from otheres without doing any re search and alot of new people dont know where to turn for advice.i was at big A's a little while ago and heard one of the staff say that an elegance is a perfect start up coral and this lady had said her tank is only running for a month..........not good advice for a coral that had a $230 price tag. i stepped in and said i would not purchase that coral and explained she should stick to beginner corals untill she has the hang of things. the staff member didnt ask about lighting,water parameters,or live stock....this lady had her young daughter there and was trying to make something nice for her daughter if she had of bought that in a week she would be mad her coral withered away and she would be that much closer to giving it up.cant stress enough about patience in this hobby:):)

steve you are one of the great ones ive never ever seen you give advice just to make a sale and as the owner of the business you work there and interact with the customers which is the best practice imo:) keep up[ the good work and youll always have my business and i will always tell people to visit your store:):)

[bvlester]

good post I help newbies where I can I even buy up rock and stock pile it so newbies don't have to pay up to $13/ pound here in the loops. I sell it to them for what it costs me including my gas. I will search out any equipment they need if they ask me to do it for them I have a extra set of hands and eyes at home most of the time, (my wife has MS and is on the computer off and on throughout the day.) My wife find deals and leaves them up for me to look at. I have saved people Much $$$$$$.... and given them a lot of advice also, I commend what you are doing.

Bill

[tgrover]

Hey Denny,

Do you want people to ask you questions through this thread as well?

Tim

[reefwars]

for sure you can ask here on the thread or in a pm or to my e mail which ever is more comfortable for you, if you post your questions on the thread you will get advice from alot of great reefers and if its something your looking and you post it maybe someone will see it and offer to help out:):)


thanks bvlester , not too long ago i had someone message me from kijiji to my hotmail, they wanted help in looking for some coral but werent sure where to look and what they could get. i was planning a trip to red coral anyways so i invited the person to meet me there and we could talk about their tank and see in person some of the coral they could get:):)

ive helped alot of people in edmonton get going and i know theres quite a few on here as i usually tell them to make an account and ask ask ask.i know close to 50 people id say in this city who have tanks and ive been to most houses or vice versa not to mention i keep in good faith with most of the lfs's here in town. i feel lucky to have known so many reefers here in the city that i thought i would put that to good use:):)

[bvlester]

for sure you can ask here on the thread or in a pm or to my e mail which ever is more comfortable for you, if you post your questions on the thread you will get advice from alot of great reefers and if its something your looking and you post it maybe someone will see it and offer to help out:):)


thanks bvlester , not too long ago i had someone message me from kijiji to my hotmail, they wanted help in looking for some coral but werent sure where to look and what they could get. i was planning a trip to red coral anyways so i invited the person to meet me there and we could talk about their tank and see in person some of the coral they could get:):)

ive helped alot of people in edmonton get going and i know theres quite a few on here as i usually tell them to make an account and ask ask ask.i know close to 50 people id say in this city who have tanks and ive been to most houses or vice versa not to mention i keep in good faith with most of the lfs's here in town. i feel lucky to have known so many reefers here in the city that i thought i would put that to good use:):)

good to hear I used to live in Edmonton between 1996 and 2003 I worked for Telus back then. I know the guy that got AI up and running in the saltwater fish, that's another story not for forums. I went to all the LFS there some are great as far as employees and stock and some just didn't care they just wanted your money.

Bill

[oizo]

Hey Denny.
I spoke with you through email before after your live rock and sand post on kijiji, about possibly getting into the hobby. Then i told you I thought we may just go the freshwater route, after realizing the costs.
Well after me and my old lady talked about it for awhile we decided to go the saltwater route anyways and purchased a 12 gal nano cube and currently have it cycling.
Seeing as were both rooks to fish in general I'm sure we'll have lots of questions, but to start off here's what we have.

12 gal jbj nano cube
14 lbs live rock
5 lbs sugar sand?
bought a refractometer boxing day
hagen water test kit (the briefcase one that has tests for pretty much everything)
marineland 50w heater
Prime
bactervital
H2Ocean salt
brand new 5 gal bucket
and a 200$ gift certificate with boxing day deals for fish!


So by your guys experience, what am i missing? i'm sure there must be something. I've been looking at other peoples tanks on youtube and noticed some with a oceanic biocube protein skimmers... Do you feel i'll need one? if so where would you purchase one around here? I haven't seen any, mind you last time i was at any of the stores in town I was not aware of there existence.
And finally any quick suggestions on fish and possibly invertebrates that would be a good starter for us rookies? We have been doing some research but I'll wait until we at least finish looking through the books we grabbed before i'll let you know what we would like to do.
Ryan

[intarsiabox]

You don't need a skimmer on your tank. Just keep up with your weekly water changes and the live rock will take care of the rest. As far as fish suggestions go there are lots of small fish that would go nicely into the tank and it's going to be up to you what you like. Small gobies, percula, ocellaris or sebae clowns, firefish, yellowtail blue damsel, small fairy wrasses. All would work and are reef safe. A cleaner or peppermint shrimp would be nice to. You may need a nano size powerhead for in tank circulation, I'm not sure if the stock system provides enough. Of course you'll need food, frozen mysis and a good quality pellet food such as Ocean Nutrition. And you'll also need some patience to let the tank cycle for about a month before adding any fish.

[RedCoralEdmonton]

Woot woot gift certificate! hehe great way to extend the awesome boxing day deals..... anyways as for beginner fish, for a 12 gallon the most popular has to be the Ocellaris Clownfish, and as for inverts, a few blue leg hermits, and/or a shrimp is never a bad choice!

Steve

[RedCoralEdmonton]

lol posted almost the same time....but what he said!

Steve

[topher]

Hey Denny, Chris here. just wondering what your thought is on UV sterilizers? good, bad, don't do much, or what?

[reefwars]

Hey Denny.
I spoke with you through email before after your live rock and sand post on kijiji, about possibly getting into the hobby. Then i told you I thought we may just go the freshwater route, after realizing the costs.
Well after me and my old lady talked about it for awhile we decided to go the saltwater route anyways and purchased a 12 gal nano cube and currently have it cycling.
Seeing as were both rooks to fish in general I'm sure we'll have lots of questions, but to start off here's what we have.

12 gal jbj nano cube
14 lbs live rock
5 lbs sugar sand?
bought a refractometer boxing day
hagen water test kit (the briefcase one that has tests for pretty much everything)
marineland 50w heater
Prime
bactervital
H2Ocean salt
brand new 5 gal bucket
and a 200$ gift certificate with boxing day deals for fish!


So by your guys experience, what am i missing? i'm sure there must be something. I've been looking at other peoples tanks on youtube and noticed some with a oceanic biocube protein skimmers... Do you feel i'll need one? if so where would you purchase one around here? I haven't seen any, mind you last time i was at any of the stores in town I was not aware of there existence.
And finally any quick suggestions on fish and possibly invertebrates that would be a good starter for us rookies? We have been doing some research but I'll wait until we at least finish looking through the books we grabbed before i'll let you know what we would like to do.
Ryan


Welcome to the salty world friend, I think skimmer would def be a good purchase and if you can afford one then get one, there are alot of good or decent hang on back models to choose from. All great advice previously posted and there are plenty of small fish to choose from but clownfish are plenty hardy and usually a more popular starter fish.

Would recommend cheking out some set ups big or small to find the direction you want to go, your always welcomevto visit mine and I know alot of others would offer as well.

What do you have for Lighting??:)

pics plsss lol :):)

[reefwars]

Hey Denny, Chris here. just wondering what your thought is on UV sterilizers? good, bad, don't do much, or what?


I guess it depends on what your goal is with it, personally I don't use them and with good husbandry you shouldn't need one who knows what else they take out but to he their own those who use them probably love them those who font say their not necessary sooooo it's a see saw topic that goes back to why do you need it??:) cheers:)

[The Grizz]

I need help...........can you come clean my tank for me I am toooooo lazy to do it:lol:

[reefwars]

I need help...........can you come clean my tank for me I am toooooo lazy to do it:lol:

no but I have a recipe for motivation: three parts rum and one part coke and a happy new year lol :):)

[intarsiabox]

no but I have a recipe for motivation: three parts rum and one part coke and a happy new year lol :):)

I tried that motivator last night, I cleaned the tank this afternoon!

[The Grizz]

no but I have a recipe for motivation: three parts rum and one part coke and a happy new year lol :):)

Mine is a homemade long island, 1 oz of rum, vodka, gin & triple sec topped with limeade and a splash of coke :drinking: yeehaa

[topher]

I don't need it. i have one laying around and was researching if there are any good benifits to adding it to my tank.

[MarkoD]

great post. saw your post on kijiji as well.

was looking around for months for a saltwater setup and finally found one to try it out without breaking my wallet.

thanks for the great advice and help

[oizo]

Hey thanks for the responses. Sorry it took so long to reply I've been pretty busy at work. I think I would like to get a skimmer like you suggested Denny but I am not sure which will fit in a 12gal jbj nanocube? Any advice on that would be appreciated.
Steve. Do you guys have any nano skimmers which would fit, or any you could get in?
I am also curious on your guys advice regarding our new R/O system. When we started the aquarium we didn't have it yet so we used tap water and prime. Now thy we have I'm wondering wether I should do a ccomplete water change? Or perhaps just 50% water change weekly for awhile. As our tank as stabilized on the ammonia/ nitrite/ nitrate front. Our water is a bit hard so we have quite high calcium in the water with the addition of our salt we use.
Thanks again
Ryan.

[reefwars]

Hey thanks for the responses. Sorry it took so long to reply I've been pretty busy at work. I think I would like to get a skimmer like you suggested Denny but I am not sure which will fit in a 12gal jbj nanocube? Any advice on that would be appreciated.
Steve. Do you guys have any nano skimmers which would fit, or any you could get in?
I am also curious on your guys advice regarding our new R/O system. When we started the aquarium we didn't have it yet so we used tap water and prime. Now thy we have I'm wondering wether I should do a ccomplete water change? Or perhaps just 50% water change weekly for awhile. As our tank as stabilized on the ammonia/ nitrite/ nitrate front. Our water is a bit hard so we have quite high calcium in the water with the addition of our salt we use.
Thanks again
Ryan.


Hey Ryan, so the beauty about alot of equipment is some don't need to be directly in the tank so a hang on back skimmer is Ideal when there's no sump or room they just mount on the backside or side , draw water it's skimmed then returned to the tank and they are as safe as any hob filter or any other type of reactor. Now the skimmer you choose is up to yourself based on price and availability , asthetics..... Some are great and some suck so go to the search bar here and search for skimmer advice there's plenty of good articles and reading them will also educate you on the ones you wouldn't want.

[reefwars]

Regarding your ro if continue to use ro water you'll be fine with water changes, there's still ways of introducing phosphates and nitrates into your tank isn't ro water is just one variable we control another is food and dying matter and also rock sand and foreign objects plus alot more I'm sure lol the trick is to introduce as little as possible so it doesn't show on our tests once your system uses what it needs we don't want any excess or those nutients are quicky used by pests algae and other problems we don't want.:) cheers:)

[jmsplitfyre]

Greeting Reefwars and Canreef!

Been lurking around the forums for quite a while now, viewing build threads and other stuffs and stumbled upon this one. Good to know someone who offers free help for a newbie.

I used to have a FW Fluval edge tank but got bored with it 'coz fw didn't have that option for corals and other weird looking livestock so I got rid of the livestock and turned it into a SW tank. It was nothing fancy, just a couple of LR and one clown from my dads small 10g tank.

Now my dad upgraded to a 29g and I'm pretty annoyed by how wrong he's doing up his tank and want to make my own nano (term I've learned here referring to a small tank, I assume?) and show him how to do a SW tank the right way based on what I've read and will learn from experienced people here.

As for now, I'm still debating on using his old 10g tank or maybe something less than 20g. I don't want it too big because I'm going to put it in my room. As for livestock, I'm undecided yet but definitely only smaller fish, corals, and a small CUC.

But my questions now is for the hardware set-up. Let's say I get a 15g tank, how big should the filter be and should it be hang-on type or submersible? A powerhead and heater is a must, right? As for lighting, does it need to have multiple lights and/or a timer? And do I need a skimmer?

Oh and budget will be a bit on the average side, as my pockets are a bit tight due to bills and other projects.

Thanks in advance!
J:biggrin:

[reefwars]

Greeting Reefwars and Canreef!

Been lurking around the forums for quite a while now, viewing build threads and other stuffs and stumbled upon this one. Good to know someone who offers free help for a newbie.

I used to have a FW Fluval edge tank but got bored with it 'coz fw didn't have that option for corals and other weird looking livestock so I got rid of the livestock and turned it into a SW tank. It was nothing fancy, just a couple of LR and one clown from my dads small 10g tank.

Now my dad upgraded to a 29g and I'm pretty annoyed by how wrong he's doing up his tank and want to make my own nano (term I've learned here referring to a small tank, I assume?) and show him how to do a SW tank the right way based on what I've read and will learn from experienced people here.

As for now, I'm still debating on using his old 10g tank or maybe something less than 20g. I don't want it too big because I'm going to put it in my room. As for livestock, I'm undecided yet but definitely only smaller fish, corals, and a small CUC.

But my questions now is for the hardware set-up. Let's say I get a 15g tank, how big should the filter be and should it be hang-on type or submersible? A powerhead and heater is a must, right? As for lighting, does it need to have multiple lights and/or a timer? And do I need a skimmer?

Oh and budget will be a bit on the average side, as my pockets are a bit tight due to bills and other projects.

Thanks in advance!
J:biggrin:




welcome j to canreef:)


so in regards to your question typically yor liverock will be your filtration but a skimmer is def ideal to have it will keep your tank oxygenated and remove large and small debris.

you can use a hob filter like an aquaclear but i would remove any foam media and fill with carbon and liverock rubble and then your hob will double as a refugium for pod reproduction.......pods are good:)

as for lights it will depend on what you plan to keep or where do you see this tank going in the future??


a heater is a must and imo you should have 2 small ones in case one breaks and the second one will also help take some of the work off the first.


powerheads arent a "must" if you have a sump with return lines but it is imo good to have in case your pump was to crap out and its also good to have for extra flow.koralias are affordable and a vortech is the way to go if you can afford.


any more question pls fee free to ask, and keep reading and asking its your best weapon
:):)

cheers buddy and again welcome to canreef, start up a tank journal its a great way to meet and chat with other reefers and its hella fun:):) cheers!!!

[jmsplitfyre]

LOL I only placed J as my name, forgot the other initial. It's JM. :D

I do agree this hobby is fun, and one reason I wanna do it is because it relaxes me whenever I sit back and stare at my dads tank (Even though I'm annoyed at how it's set up).

But now I think this tank will be going to my girl since she wants me to set up a nano for her as we believe that fish brings goodluck to our homes.

So this tank is a 10g, should I buy a filter that's bigger? Like maybe for a 20g-30g? And then a heater and a small powerhead as she's not going to run a sump.

And by pods, do you mean those li'l critters? What benefits do they give?
As for livestock, maybe small fish, small cuc, and lotsa colorful corals! :)

Thank you for the advice Reefwars!

JM:biggrin:

[reef-keeper]

when I get my tank almost done I will probe your mind immensely about the proper plumbing and drilling of the main tank. If that is alright with you?

[Reef Puffer]

hi guys, im new to this sw stuff. been a fw guy for years. i have always wanted to get into the sw hobby..... so i drained my fresh water, built me a sump.... and now im on my way. i find my biggest obstacle to be finding supplies. i live in the shuswap/okanagan and it took me a month to find a simple return pump. LR is around 10$/lbs (and that means driving an hour to the lps). and nobody really even knows what their talking about. any ways, i have a 33gal main and a 15ish gal sump. everything just sitting here with salt water circulating. can the system just run like that with nothing in it but dead rock/coral? i figure another good month before i can afford LR at 10$lb. also does anyone know the best place for supplies and advice between kamloops and kelowna. anything else anyone would like to add that might be helpful to a newbie would b greatly appreciated thanx.