Blitzburggirl
Non-member
So here I am, a Steelers fan in Pats country. I moved here last spring, and... well... yes.. I've not had a tank since last fall.. It is killing me. Quick intro...
Other than the last year (!! seriously a YEAR! I didn't think I could do it!) I have had salty aquariums for the last 15 years.
I started with a 220 in Colorado in 2000. Oh man was that a disaster. I don't even want to talk about it. Let's just say... Online retailers had no accountability, and.. as a buyer, I never considered compatibility or environment. It was a discovery channel experiment for sure.
Then I moved to NC in 2003 and I bought a 240. This was my cradle of life. I learned soooo much with this tank. Mostly LPS (NEVER again would I have put so much frogspawn and hammer a tank.. but OMG did I learn to DOSE!) and... I made lots of bad fish choices, but learned why they were bad. Since then (broken down in 2007) I will say I've been a more mindful steward of nature. Well, as far as that goes legitimately in this hobby. I also learned to love MH. My first and lasting love.
I moved to an apartment in 2008, where aquariums weren't allowed (hmmm) and so I went with a 12 gallon nanocube... terrarium lol. Yeah, I fragged my favorites and that 12 gallon nano was where I learned all the hard lessons I didn't have to learn in my 240... like choosing between what I loved and what I loved- because they couldn't cohabitate. I will say that 12 gallon was the most successful tank I ever had.. because it was small and was bulletproof and I stayed on top of it.
In 2009, I moved into my house and bought a 180. 4 400watt MH's a dolphin return, and 4 6 foot actinic, 2 mp40's, a killer skimmer, and every other bell and whistle imaginable and I had a super successful tank. The 180 was my favorite, by far. I kept an LTA (started in the 12) a set of Picassos (I lived 5 miles from the Picasso originator) and eventually a blue Haddoni that was so well known in NC that if you ask any reefer around for more than 5 years about Papa Smurf, they know my anemone. It was featured last year on one of the Nano sites.. anyway..... I LOVED that tank. My borbonias anthias, my stunning purple tang and my crazy weird hybrid bristletooth tang. This tank was seriously the love of my reefing life. I decided I would be moving relatively soon, and needed to downsize.
I passed Papa Smurf and the bristletooth to my most trusted reefing friend. My other fish and corals were downsized and I put together a 60 cube. This 60 cube (2013) was filled with all the rare corals I had amassed over the years. I didn't like it. I wanted out of the hobby. The only thing keeping me in? I had a beautiful blue gigantea and the pair of Picassos that I'd put in my 12 gallon tank. I knew if I let them go, I'd never replace them. Soooooo I stayed in. Most people would say my 180 was beautiful, but my 60 was art. I never really loved the 60 though. Then, I came home from Christmas vacation, and I lost 98% due to some form of equipment failure (I think a heater exploded and managed to crack the return section of my sump.) It broke my heart.
I love reefing and I loved my reefing community, so I got a RSM and set that up. It was ok. I set it up as best as it could be and it was ok. Then, another weather/power related disaster. Turned my stomach and I've been out since then. I've been feeling the reefing bug, and I just know I want to start something. Apartment life you know, so smallllllllllllllll. I'm 800 miles from my reefing buddies, so I'd love to join your community, for real. I've been a lurker for nearly a year. Nearly bit the bullet a few times, but I know what I want. I see a cube in my early winter future. Hell, I even miss the nonstop asternia stars out of my 180. I'll post some pictures in the next day or so (thought I would today, but just not figuring it out for some reason...) In the meantime, if you're curious... I've been Blitzburggirl on all the sites. Lots of pictures on RC and there are 2 main Carolina sites.
Happy reefing everyone!
Other than the last year (!! seriously a YEAR! I didn't think I could do it!) I have had salty aquariums for the last 15 years.
I started with a 220 in Colorado in 2000. Oh man was that a disaster. I don't even want to talk about it. Let's just say... Online retailers had no accountability, and.. as a buyer, I never considered compatibility or environment. It was a discovery channel experiment for sure.
Then I moved to NC in 2003 and I bought a 240. This was my cradle of life. I learned soooo much with this tank. Mostly LPS (NEVER again would I have put so much frogspawn and hammer a tank.. but OMG did I learn to DOSE!) and... I made lots of bad fish choices, but learned why they were bad. Since then (broken down in 2007) I will say I've been a more mindful steward of nature. Well, as far as that goes legitimately in this hobby. I also learned to love MH. My first and lasting love.
I moved to an apartment in 2008, where aquariums weren't allowed (hmmm) and so I went with a 12 gallon nanocube... terrarium lol. Yeah, I fragged my favorites and that 12 gallon nano was where I learned all the hard lessons I didn't have to learn in my 240... like choosing between what I loved and what I loved- because they couldn't cohabitate. I will say that 12 gallon was the most successful tank I ever had.. because it was small and was bulletproof and I stayed on top of it.
In 2009, I moved into my house and bought a 180. 4 400watt MH's a dolphin return, and 4 6 foot actinic, 2 mp40's, a killer skimmer, and every other bell and whistle imaginable and I had a super successful tank. The 180 was my favorite, by far. I kept an LTA (started in the 12) a set of Picassos (I lived 5 miles from the Picasso originator) and eventually a blue Haddoni that was so well known in NC that if you ask any reefer around for more than 5 years about Papa Smurf, they know my anemone. It was featured last year on one of the Nano sites.. anyway..... I LOVED that tank. My borbonias anthias, my stunning purple tang and my crazy weird hybrid bristletooth tang. This tank was seriously the love of my reefing life. I decided I would be moving relatively soon, and needed to downsize.
I passed Papa Smurf and the bristletooth to my most trusted reefing friend. My other fish and corals were downsized and I put together a 60 cube. This 60 cube (2013) was filled with all the rare corals I had amassed over the years. I didn't like it. I wanted out of the hobby. The only thing keeping me in? I had a beautiful blue gigantea and the pair of Picassos that I'd put in my 12 gallon tank. I knew if I let them go, I'd never replace them. Soooooo I stayed in. Most people would say my 180 was beautiful, but my 60 was art. I never really loved the 60 though. Then, I came home from Christmas vacation, and I lost 98% due to some form of equipment failure (I think a heater exploded and managed to crack the return section of my sump.) It broke my heart.
I love reefing and I loved my reefing community, so I got a RSM and set that up. It was ok. I set it up as best as it could be and it was ok. Then, another weather/power related disaster. Turned my stomach and I've been out since then. I've been feeling the reefing bug, and I just know I want to start something. Apartment life you know, so smallllllllllllllll. I'm 800 miles from my reefing buddies, so I'd love to join your community, for real. I've been a lurker for nearly a year. Nearly bit the bullet a few times, but I know what I want. I see a cube in my early winter future. Hell, I even miss the nonstop asternia stars out of my 180. I'll post some pictures in the next day or so (thought I would today, but just not figuring it out for some reason...) In the meantime, if you're curious... I've been Blitzburggirl on all the sites. Lots of pictures on RC and there are 2 main Carolina sites.
Happy reefing everyone!
