Wippit

You guys rock! Much good advice, and answered my questions well. Hope you don't get tired of all my silly questions 'cause I have a lot more

I'm reading the standard recommended books, but I'd like to get some ideas on good SW periodicals, especially any that may be good for us noobs. Ben

Planning it out was exactly what prompted me to make the original post. I was thinking about how to get rid of the water and thought, "Man, 20% is 40+ gallons, or 9 five gallon jugs, to lug around the house each month--at a minimum." I even thought of knocking a hole in the exterior wall, but then remembered it's *salt* water I'd be dumping into the yard. I may not mind piping it to our cantankerous neighbor's yard, but we share the same grass. I suppose one could use a pump and a garden hose to transport water to the sink/bathtub. Has anyone tried that? WTB a voodoo charm I can use to get my wife to do the water changes. Paying top dollar!

ReefCentral does indeed have a very nifty cost calculator, but I dont yet know any of the values to plug into it. I'm guessing that I can locate something similar that will help me estimate the number, size, and maybe even wattage of the equipment needed. Searching...

Also, the metric ton of research has already started. I do plan to go slowly; I'd imagine I wouldn't call the thing "finished" (if such a term can be truly applied to an aquarium) for two or three years.

Thanks, Robb. I see you're an old married guy like me. Yes, I got The Boss' buy-in early. There are no old married guys that don't; they're called old single guys. Space, yes. RO/DI brings up a topic that I need to post on also. When I upgrade The Boss will probably make me take a job in Monaco. (I once saw Iron Maiden, but Sponge Bob didn't make an appearance.)

Wryknow has a 215 for sale. Everything I read about SW says that "bigger is better" in terms of tank size. I'm wondering if there's a practical limit to this philosophy, especially since I notice that 75-120 gallons seems to be the common range of tank capacity. What I'd like to ask concerns the day-to-day practicality of a system this (or similar) size, especially the long-term maintenance that would need to be done on a system this size. First, the real question: is Ben off his meds for even thinking about a tank this big? Should this be best left to more experienced SW folks? I want to be more in love with my tank in a year, not feeling like a slave to it. - What do you do with up to 40 gallons of "old" salt water at water change times? Can you dump it down the sink? If so, doesn't it rust everything out? - Did you have to do partial changes of substrate? If so, how much at a time? - Do equipment costs scale up proportionally (ie, does it cost about twice as much as equipping a 110 gallon)? - Anything I forgot/didn't know to ask? BTW, I called AquaTek and got an estimate of $200 to move this beast. TIA, Ben

I'm still looking and lusting...

Thanks for the PM. Wow, that is HUGE! It's probably deeper than I was thinking since my arms aren't 29" long Ben

Anyone have any large tanks? Acrylic and scratch-free preferred.

anything left?

Ah, well, I'd logged in to get your number. It's a beautiful tank and someone will enjoy it.

(Yet) another question. Sorry for the spam, but I'm posting as my tired brain suggests them. When is your move date?

Also, any information on the stand? pic would be good.

I think your tank is beautiful, and I'm potentially interested in the whole setup. However, I'm new to SW (was about to start cycling my first tank, a 120 I got from Craigs list, that I could easily turn into another FW tank) and thought it might be a good thing to ping the group before making any move on this. All: Do you think this is a viable option for a newbie? I've been reading daily, studying forums, and have some background (many years ago) in exotic freshwater tanks, but I'm still a sw wanna-be. I dont want to kill anything through ignorance or (maybe even worse) good intent. That said, if we come to an arrangement how in the world do you transport something like this? I have a full size truck that carried the 120 easily, but it's the setting up and that makes me wonder. How do you get half a ton of living stuff from point A to point B safely? All feedback is welcome.

how would I contact "kingsnake"? I might be interested in more than just rock...

I could also use some LR to start a 120. Who is "professor Live Rock" and how would I contact him?

Thanks, all, I'm really looking forward to getting started.

Hello All! I'm new to SW and am very glad to find a local organization. Too bad I missed the meeting a few days ago, but there's always next month. (When is that, btw?) From the posts I've looked at ARC seems to be a friendly, laid-back group, which sounds like a good match. I've been wanting to do salt water for many years, and after getting a bit too enthusiastic about a Craig's List posting I'm the proud owner of a 120g. A good deal more than I'd planned, but the possibilities it opens up have me pretty excited. So far it's sitting in the garage while I try to figure out if I need to buff out the multitude of scratches, but I'm patient, and there's so much to learn before putting in water that I'll only benefit from the delay. Pleased to meet you! Ben

Good luck and welcome to the hobby - it's as addictive as crack and just a little more expensive!

On spot feeding feather duster worms : "their mouth is in the bottom of the tube, the middle of the fan is their anus. You are just spot feeding their butt."

She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO)