Salty Jeff Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Hey Guys, I got my first legit aquarium 6 weeks ago and I love it. It's freshwater because I didn't have the money for a brand new SW setup. I ended up going with a 29 gallon biocube. I think kits are a great idea for beginners. I know research is key, so if anybody has advice or whatever, I'm always interested. I will be at the frag swap just checking things out. Probably looking at getting a SW tank around the fall. I also have an in-home Mac training business (www.ihelpaustin.com) and I'll give 10% off to Reef Club members Thanks, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekreefer Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Welcome Jeff, You could always convert this to saltwater and do fish only with live rock. You would not need need new equipment. Only instant ocean, live rock and sand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 You could always convert this to saltwater and do fish only with live rock. True. But I like the color. And I have a nice fung shui going. Unless there was some AMAZING fish I could add to the freshwater one. I have peaceful Amazon fish. I just bought the Idiot's Guide to Saltwater, so we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 What do you have in the tank (fish)? If you have mollies of gupies they can be converted in to saltwater fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 I have 4 cories, 4 South American puffers, 1 male apistogramma borelli (waiting on Aquatek to get the female), M/F honet gourami, 3 cherry barbs (2M 1 F), a butterfly pleco and a whiptail. I might add some african algae eaters to help clean the sides, because that stupid pleco was $40 and only eats the wood. He doesn't move unless I change the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netmaster Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 do u know what the scientific name is of the pleco, because I know there are at least three diffrent kinds of fish that can be called by that common name, the L168 pleco is supposed to be a verey good algae eater, the L052 doesnt seem to like algae, and the hillstream loach I dont know about its eating habits but its cool looking but since aquadome has them for five dollars I cant imagine u payed that much for on so I dont think thats what u have, they are cool looking though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netmaster Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 do u know what kind of puffers u have because most of them like salt some even require it as they get older Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Welcome! Beautiful freshwater tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 do u know what the scientific name is of the pleco L-168. Last night I was reading and turned off the lights at 3. I decided to get out and check to see if he was lurking around...nocturnally. I didn't see anything with the moon lights on so I turned on one of the lights and he swam right back to his spot. I guess he does move. South American puffers...like this: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Puffers/AmazonPuffer.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 Welcome! Beautiful freshwater tank. Thanks Andrew! I really like your tank. Would you recommend a nano reef tank to a beginner? I'm interested in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Welcome! I would think any of the all-in-one nano tanks would be a decent starting point for a beginner. Normally the rule of "the bigger the better" applies, but the current generation of nano tanks have pretty much everything you need to get going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Welcome! Normally the rule of "the bigger the better" applies, but the current generation of nano tanks have pretty much everything you need to get going. I like the idea of a nano reef for monetary and space reasons. I guess my only concern is a sump tank and skimmer etc. I'd prefer to not have the tank go haywire if I'm out of town for a week. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Most all in one tanks have a "sump area" in the back of them... basically it is a false wall in the tank that gives you room to put pumps, filter media, skimmers, etc. Heck, some people even fashion a small refugium back there. The only issue some people have with these type of tanks is heat. Since they generally have a hood on them, they tend to warm up in the summer. When I had my 24g aquapod, this wasn't too big of an issue. I made some slight modifications to the hood (added an extra fan, cut out some vent plastic) and it kept it at around a max of 80F. Leaving for a week shouldn't be a problem if you have some one to feed the fish, and maybe add top-off water. Of course, if you are really worried, we do have a tank sitting/maintenance service as a sponsor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 I would like to consider looking into lights and maybe an extra RO tank to help with top offs. Since I already have a 29g Biocube, I'm good to go I guess. Just gotta move the freshwater stuff to a different tank. Will you be at the frag swap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Yep, I am planning on it. Don't think I will have frags to sell (haven't had time to thin out my zoas), but might be there with some used Korlias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Jeff Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 Cool. I promised my wife I wouldn't even THINK about getting a new tank until after we get back from Puerto Rico in August. Do you think I still need a heater if the lights are going to be causing heat? I have one now that keeps the tank at 80, so it's not that big of a deal. I was just curious. See you at the frag swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Cool. I promised my wife I wouldn't even THINK about getting a new tank until after we get back from Puerto Rico in August. Do you think I still need a heater if the lights are going to be causing heat? I have one now that keeps the tank at 80, so it's not that big of a deal. I was just curious. See you at the frag swap. Heh.. sounds familiar I am itching to set up a seahorse tank, but I told my wife that I won't do it until our fall trip. Heater/no heater is a bit of a personal opinion. We have members here that run without them and don't have problems. I personally always had one (and still have one in my 75g) in there for the winter times just in case. But we have had people whose heaters exploded in the tanks and killed off everything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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