New to Hobby

[FoxhoundTSX]

Hello Everyone,

Finally the time has come for me to build my own reef aquarium, I've always been attracted and curious by them, so as I read and read to the tons of threads and information, please feel free to post suggestion, tips, and what you think I should do from day one. links would be helpful too, as I don't really know what im looking for, I am learning as I go.
My main goal for now is to get a big tank, which (according to what I was reading) are easier to maintain when building a reef aquarium. I live in Chula Vista and would love to see someone's aquarium in action, or at least a hands on in cleaning and maintaining...

Im excited to be part of this new hobby and can't wait to see how everything turns out.


:beer:

[Harleycvo12]

Fox welcome to the hobby, I am new as well. You will find the people here are very friendly, helpfull and awesome. I have met a few when I went to buy gear and saw their tanks up close and it was awesome. I am jelous and can not wait till until i have something anywhere close to them. Best of luck, and I wish I could offer more advice. You will find friendly helpfull people here though so best of luck, and when you start the build post pictures and people will comment and offer advice as well.

[jada1]

Welcome to Sdreefs..be patient..ask if in doubt. .

[FoxhoundTSX]

thanks guys, im pretty excited, I just want to do it right the first time. I'm still trying to learn about all the equipment needed, stands, and other things.

[XO PRESENTS]

Welcome to SDR... there are several members down in your area... check out the Members Tanks thread.. you'll get a kick out of it and see what area they are located... you can also use the search box on the top left to perhaps find answers to any questions... so if you have a question.. odds are that they have been asked and answered by very educated fellow reefers here.. but if your stumped.. asked away !!! Enjoy the hobby as much as we all do.. best wishes...

[bladedrummer]

Hello and welcome!

P.S.: I would say that 75 or 90 gal is a good size to start. =)

[FoxhoundTSX]

Welcome to SDR... there are several members down in your area... check out the Members Tanks thread.. you'll get a kick out of it and see what area they are located... you can also use the search box on the top left to perhaps find answers to any questions... so if you have a question.. odds are that they have been asked and answered by very educated fellow reefers here.. but if your stumped.. asked away !!! Enjoy the hobby as much as we all do.. best wishes...

Thank u sir, yes, I am pretty familiar with the search bar, I actually rather search than post a thread, I have also checked out some of the builds, so many great ideas and designs.


Hello and welcome!

P.S.: I would say that 75 or 90 gal is a good size to start. =)

I'm glad you mentioned that, I was looking at a 225 gallon, is that too big?

[bladedrummer]

I'm glad you mentioned that, I was looking at a 225 gallon, is that too big?

No, that is just my opinion. Too big, too small, it's a very subjective matter.

I can give you my reasons though:
1) Price. A 225 gallon is going to be expensive. It will be expensive to buy, expensive to fill with all the goodies (sand, rock and livestock) and it will be expensive to upkeep as well.
2) Scope. Before going all out and getting a huge tank, I would get a medium size tank and see if the hobby suits you. I'll be honest, tons of people who start a saltwater tank quit in the first six months to a year.
3) Medium size tanks won't have the stability issues that smaller systems have and will be more forgiving of your mistakes. At the same time, a medium-size tank will also have enough room for you to try out several things.

Again, this is all very subjective. Some people will say that a smaller tank would be even better and some others will say "go big or go home"...
I personally think that a 125 or 120 (different proportions, standard 120s have more depth) would be "the perfect middle", if you feel like smaller won't cut it.

[specvjeff]

Welcome to the hobby and to San Diego Reefs! Coming to San Diego Marine Aquarium Society meetings would be a great way for you to learn and also a great way to get to know fellow hobbyists!

[onyong4u]

Welcome Fox!

+1 on 120g for starter. I prefer 48x24x24. Wider is much better for aquascaping!

[photoguy]

Welcome to the hobby..

[wholagan]

+1 on coming to the meeting and starting with a 90-120g. I re-entered the hobby a little over a year ago with a 50 and now I'm in a 120g 4x2x2. Welcome to SDreefs!

[FoxhoundTSX]

You guys were right, I went today to "Fountain's Aquarium" to check out the size's of the tanks to kinda get an idea. I saw a 240 Gallon tank and that thing was hugeeeeee!. my wife immediately said no, so I figured the 225 was out of the question. There was a very nice employee there who decided to take us to the back and show us the rest of the sizes. I really liked all the ones from 100-135 Gallons, Of course I want the 135 :lol: so now the search begins for a tank locally :)

Edit: can I have more information on this meet please? I would love to attend.


Edit: I found the facebook page for SDMAS and got all the info for it. I also found a 135 Gallon tank with stand and canopy, I'm not sure how much it will weigh but from what I read it seems like it would be too much for me and my wife (we just moved here so we really don't know the neighbors) if I needed some help moving it, can any of you help me?

[wholagan]

I don't live in your area but I know from experience reefers are always willing to lend a hand.

I think the most important thing in shopping the tank is make it suit your needs. Like bladerunner said, the bigger it is, the more cost it is to fill it. If your shopping used tanks, don't settle with the right size but with no internal overflow or other types of "extras" you want in it. These types of things. I've made those mistakes but am now happy with my current build to fit the types of livestock I want to put in it. When in doubt, ask away. Also, I will travel south to lift tanks for Carne asada burritos lol.

[FoxhoundTSX]

this is the one I found http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/for/3743973397.html it says it has internal overflow. im guessing it's ready to go

[wholagan]

this is the one I found http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/for/3743973397.html it says it has internal overflow. im guessing it's ready to go

Yep, looks like a left corner clear overflow.

[sherrerb]

Welcome to SDR, the Hobby and maybe, a new addiction! that 135 is a great started tank, same size tank i started out with in 2006. I also live in Chula Vista and know a few guys down here that would be more than willing to open their door for you to take a look at what you are getting yourself into. My door is also open anytime you want to come by and check some stuff out. I also have a nice garage with many wood tools and could help you build a custom stand to fit you better than buying a stand. I have found, and many other reefers on here, that custom stands are way better! they give you a great way to start everything out! check out my build thread and take a look at my stand i built for my 125 peninsula. also, i would highly suggest you take your time when setting your new tank up. it may take 2-6 months to do it the right way and not kill your wallet all in one week. if you would like to come by and check my tank out and ask some questions, shoot me a PM and we can schedule something. i am free in the evenings during the week and anytime on the weekends. have a great day and again, WELCOME TO SDR!

[FoxhoundTSX]

Welcome to SDR, the Hobby and maybe, a new addiction! that 135 is a great started tank, same size tank i started out with in 2006. I also live in Chula Vista and know a few guys down here that would be more than willing to open their door for you to take a look at what you are getting yourself into. My door is also open anytime you want to come by and check some stuff out. I also have a nice garage with many wood tools and could help you build a custom stand to fit you better than buying a stand. I have found, and many other reefers on here, that custom stands are way better! they give you a great way to start everything out! check out my build thread and take a look at my stand i built for my 125 peninsula. also, i would highly suggest you take your time when setting your new tank up. it may take 2-6 months to do it the right way and not kill your wallet all in one week. if you would like to come by and check my tank out and ask some questions, shoot me a PM and we can schedule something. i am free in the evenings during the week and anytime on the weekends. have a great day and again, WELCOME TO SDR!

Thanks for the offer, now I have two ppl that have offered to show me and school me on reef aquariums, that's awesome. I saw your build, it was really nice, I actually have a tab open with the build for reference. The tank im going to purchase today has a stand and canopy so I guess I won't need to worry about that. Yes, I will take my time and do it right. Thanks for the suggestions.

[sherrerb]

If its the Craigslist tank you previously posted, its a grwat looking tank. the only thing i would change would be to make the door openings bigger, that will be something you will thank me for later when you are working under your stand inside your sump. also, you might want to think about putting a door on one end in case you ever want to pull your sump out due to a leak or need to do work on it. these are thing that reefers think about when designing a system.

[bigkahuna]

Welcome to Sdreefs.

[FoxhoundTSX]

Well I guess I am the ultimate newbie........

I went and got the tank, the guy seemed really nice and the tank didn't look in bad shape, I was inspecting it left and right, I didn't even know what I was looking for, all I could tell was that it needed to be cleaned out majorly. it was hard to move, specially in my home, since it was just me and my wife, we ate dinner and I decided to clean the tank, I used water and a small amount of vinegar (to remove the white build up, I read this online). As I am cleaning the tank I noticed there was a crack in the back .... F$%^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not the way I was planning to start this, I don't even know if the crack was there or it if happened as we where moving it, we were extremely careful and we didn't even drop it. I'm so demoralized right now, I don't even know what to do, did I just buy a huge glass trash can?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Mikecelic07/b850f511-75e9-4ec4-a5eb-7b271422d67e_zpsffb8e771.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/Mikecelic07/media/b850f511-75e9-4ec4-a5eb-7b271422d67e_zpsffb8e771.jpg.html)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Mikecelic07/d6016fd1-7178-425c-9257-9092adc87d85_zps410f8dd6.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/Mikecelic07/media/d6016fd1-7178-425c-9257-9092adc87d85_zps410f8dd6.jpg.html)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Mikecelic07/9f95aafc-5d94-4bd0-b225-d6c6dcc369cb_zpsd076827c.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/Mikecelic07/media/9f95aafc-5d94-4bd0-b225-d6c6dcc369cb_zpsd076827c.jpg.html)

[slicktoppomp]

Aww man sorry to hear that. The least you could do is try to resell the tank again as a reptile tank just to make a little something back. Don't let it get you down though. Keep going.

[bbandu]

First let me say Welcome to the forum and to the hobby.

Second, sorry to hear about the bad experience you had in buying your first tank........ But don't let it get you down.

Have you tried contacting the person that you bought the tank from. You can always find out what it would cost to replace the glass
but whatever you decide to do, I would not use a cracked tank even if it held water.

[socalaly]

Agree with Larry contact the person you bought it from. I've heard not sure if its true but you can replace a glass side. However that might be more expensive than just buying a new tank. If this one doesn't work out there are usually a lot of great tanks FS on the equipment thread. Good luck!

[FoxhoundTSX]

First let me say Welcome to the forum and to the hobby.

Second, sorry to hear about the bad experience you had in buying your first tank........ But don't let it get you down.

Have you tried contacting the person that you bought the tank from.

Yes I did, I called and he didn't answer, so I texted him " Hello Mario, I was just cleaning the tank and noticed there was a crack in the back of it, you didn't mention this to me, and I failed to inspect it properly and didn't see it, please call me so we can discuss this further" obviously he didn't reply :/

I'm trying not to get upset, but how could I have missed that?, someone come to my home and smack me on the face please.

[sherrerb]

What's your address? i'll be there in 5! just kidding man, sorry to hear your misfortune, but like everyone else says, don't let this stop you from enjoying a hobby that you and your wife will love. as for the tank, you were talking about "white" stuff, i would think you might be talking about bleached coralline algae. if that is the fact and there was alot built up on the back glass, it is very possible that you would not be able to see it if the glass had not shifted. so don't beat yourself up about it. I would try to get ahold of this guy and talk it out, if not, then just write it off and move on and find another tank. If you do find another tank, see if someone on here wouldn't mind going with you and helping you out to inspect and move the tank. i have a truck and wouldn't mind at all to go help anyone out!

[wholagan]

Man that sucks. Def try to flip the tank and recoup some cash. Hope it works out.

[FoxhoundTSX]

So as soon as I woke up, I decided to inspect the tank further, and to my surprise the crack is now bigger, it went past the overflow. I left the hose in the tank and it was leaking water inside overnight, so the water level went up slightly, therefore increasing the pressure. I also noticed a chip on the top of the tank which is where I am thinking the whole crack originated from.

an hour later, the guy called me and told me that he inspected the tank prior to selling it and he is going to try to contact someone to try to fix it. He seemed very honest, He said he felt really bad and that he wasn't expecting this unfortunate outcome. He is trying to help, but I still posted the tank on craigslist, at this point I just want it gone, I should have never bought it. :/

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Mikecelic07/DSC_0597_zps324e4e79.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/Mikecelic07/media/DSC_0597_zps324e4e79.jpg.html)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/Mikecelic07/DSC_0598_zps1df60f13.jpg (http://s29.photobucket.com/user/Mikecelic07/media/DSC_0598_zps1df60f13.jpg.html)

[sherrerb]

now that you have posted some better pictures, it looks like the overflow box is a DIY overflow box. which is not a bad thing, but i personally dont touch tanks with any DIY mods when it comes to a glass tank. Just my personal opinion though.

[FoxhoundTSX]

Yeah I wish I would have waited on the tank, I should have never bought it, they guy has officially declined every single offer that i've thrown at him so I can get my money back. is not even worth it anymore...

[Wu tang]

Yeah I have the same issue too I bought a 40 gallon breeder and it has a crack on the bottom right of the tank I guess I kinda rushed buying it and didn't think anything of it by checking the tank because the guy seemed really nice and i was super careful with the tank but I guess we"ll both learn from our mistakes and check out the tank before buying the tank.