Newbie help? Planning my reef !

[rishu_pepper]

Hey Hitechi, I went through a lot of the same questions last year when I first got into the hobby. I can tell you a bunch of things that helped me and perhaps what to avoid.

Rocks, I agree with Warren to go with live for sure. LFS rock is pretty expensive. Not to advertise or anything but I have a whole 5g bucket of live rock that needs a new home if you are interested. Buying live will drastically reduce your cycle time, and probably reduce chance of nuisance algae if proper steps are taken.

For tank size, bigger is better. I will put it as, get as big as you can get for your home/decor. Larger water volume will make it easier to handle water parameters and also allow you to keep more fish in numbers and variety.

Which relates to the fish question, with a 60g cube, the length is extremely limited (your usual guideline for what size of fish to keep).

For corals, what you want to keep you can probably get away with a small light like Prime/XR15/Hydra but coverage will be sketchy at best. If there's an anemone, a more powerful light is warranted. You can probably pick up a used Radion for a decent price. I've used a Kessil before and they are quite nice also.

When you get your tank ready, let me know if you need anything like frags or whatever. PM me if you're interested in the rocks.

[xenon]

If the OP can find pre-cured live rock for a good price, I would agree that its the quickest method to get a tank up and running.

I personally don't like the idea of used live rock due to not knowing the history of the rock. It's hard enough to start in this hobby without having to inherit other peoples mistakes.

I had a customer purchase used LR on kijiji and turns out the previous owner must have used the LR in quarantine and used copper.

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by xenon

If the OP can find pre-cured live rock for a good price, I would agree that its the quickest method to get a tank up and running.

I personally don't like the idea of used live rock due to not knowing the history of the rock. It's hard enough to start in this hobby without having to inherit other peoples mistakes.

I had a customer purchase used LR on kijiji and turns out the previous owner must have used the LR in quarantine and used copper.

Agreed. It's good to have reliable sources and know a few people. Hitechi, we do a social meet every several weeks here in the GVRD. You should come out to the next one and make a few contacts.

[hitechi]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Agreed. It's good to have reliable sources and know a few people. Hitechi, we do a social meet every several weeks here in the GVRD. You should come out to the next one and make a few contacts.

Oooh! That's awesome - I hope I can make the next meet.
I'm think I'm leaning towards the 60 cube (24x24x24). I don't think I'm allowed to go up to the 36 inch/75 gallon tank. =;c(

I had no idea there was a buy/sell on these forums... this might spell trouble for my wallet!

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by hitechi

I had no idea there was a buy/sell on these forums... this might spell trouble for my wallet!

You've only made 2 posts, so you might not be able to see them yet. Just make a few 'looks nice' comments and you should be in, lol.