Returning to New England

[DaytonaJoe]

Hello!

I'm Joe. I grew up in Plymouth but moved down to Daytona Beach, FL for college. During my last year or two down there, I decided to set up a 90 FOWLR. Which soon escalated to reef status. I rushed into things and made all kinds of mistakes that I could have easily avoided had I taken more time and researched a little more thoroughly. Luckily, I didn't kill any animals... I just made things a bit harder on myself (Lots of algae, leak in the plumbing, horrible rock and not enough of it). So just as I began to get things right, I got hired for my dream job in Warwick, RI. I sold the tank and hit the road to begin the training process.

Now I'm all done training and I'm settled in RI. It's time to start planning my new tank!



My original idea was a 20 x 20 x 18 rimless cube with starphire glass on 3 sides, but it turns out that I could only get this custom made and $700 (Miracle aquariums) is more than I'm willing to pay. I found a 25 x 18 x 18 rimless tank in starphire for $189 from greenleaf aquariums. I think it's going to be the one! The only problem is that it's not drilled and I'll need to install an overflow as well. Are there any locals who would do this for a price? Or for some frags down the road or something? I'll drive up to Boston or wherever necessary.

I'm going to light the tank with a DIY LED fixture, as documented on several of the major forums. I think I'll try and incorporate the new Cree XP-G LEDs. I'm undecided as to how many LEDs I'll need for full coverage

The stand will be custom built as well. I'm not so skilled with woodworking, but my grandfather is fantastic and has all the tools I could ever need. I want a very simple, clean look. It will probably be all black and completely smooth, no handles. The two side panels and the front will be held on by magnets; that way I can remove them for easy maintenance.

For flow I'm gonna go with an MP20. Anyone know of a good return pump for a tank of this size? Stand height will be 35'' plus 16'' or so to the top of the overflow... +/- 50'' vertical travel.

Skimmer of choice at the moment is the Vertex IN 80, might change by the time everything is put together.

Rock's probably going to come from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Anyone have experience with them?

Thats all for now. I'll be sure to start a build thread when I start the ball rolling! Glad to be a part of BR, I've heard good things

 

[Miller]

Welcome back to New England!

For rocks I would suggest Marco Rocks! Buying dry rock is WAY cheaper and his shipping is very cheap when you consider 50lb boxes of rock. The Marco Rock is frickin AWESOME and everybody in the club loves it.

Eheim 1262 or the next one down would work well for a return pump. I would avoid Mag pumps are they are not very reliable and put out a boat load of heat.

 

[DaytonaJoe]

Hmm that is an interesting idea. I really wanted to start the tank off with some biodiversity, but if the price is right... TBS would cost about ($5/lb) $180 plus $100 for shipping and I'd be getting 30lbs of rock. It looks like a 50lb box of marco rock is $110 but I can't find the price for shipping. If its only about $100 more to go with live rock encrusted with all kinds of coral/sponge/coralline and inverts... I'm probably going to stick with TBS.

Thanks for the advice on the returns, I'll check out the Eheim. I remember that they were a good name.

And thanks for the welcome!

 

[Turbosnail]

Welcome back.

 

[saltwaterB]

welcome back to the area!


I would steer clear of the TBS rock. IME their rock is garbage, unless you want to deal with Mantis Shrimp for the next few years. (unless they have changed something) Everyone I know that has gotten rock from them including myself, has had a ton of Mantis Shrimp in there. Plus they can hatch out for quite some time. While I agree you will get some cool biodiversity in TBS rock, the bunches of unwanted stuff you will get outway the good stuff. The thought now is to go with more sterile dry rock to avoid bringing in tons of pests like; Mantis Shrimp, Aiptasia, manjano, Flatworm, Hydroids, Nuisance Algae, etc.

you could always get a small amount of TBS to seed your tank, and keep it QT in a sperate tank for a few months to eradicate te unwated pests. then add it to the main display when you are sure it is pest free.

 

[DaytonaJoe]

-B-,

I actually may have met you a couple weeks ago! I came in to Skiptons on tuesday the 9th and spoke with a couple of the employees, but one guy in particular. I'm sorry to say I can't remember his (or your, if it was you) name. He was in the process of feeding the tanks... I told him about my move from Daytona, the LFS I had been to in Providence and we talked about some of the corals... the girl I was with was really impressed with the hermit crabs, haha! Was that you??

In regards to TBS: you're probably right about that. I definitely don't want to deal with that stuff. Maybe I'll just get the marco rock and seed it with a couple lbs of LR from your shop.


Turbosnail: Thank you!

 

[saltwaterB]

Joe,
was the person you dealt with short, stalky, with a backwards Red Sox hat....if so then it was me for sure...lol Otherwise, if the preson was a bit on the older side with glasses and a bunch of sweet tatoos, that would be Ed. And if the person was tall and kind of looked like Chewbaka, that would be Anthony.

Sorry, if I don't exactly remember....days can tend to blur together in there and we do see a lot of people. Not to mention my terrible short term memory

 

[DaytonaJoe]

I understand completely, not to worry. It was definitely Ed though. He seemed to really know his stuff. Too bad you guys are an hour away from me... could be worse. Anyway thanks for the advice! See you around the forum

 

[rusty18]

Hey Joe,
If you decide you need an overflow for your tank I can proably help you out. I am in Boston. Shoot me a pm when you decide on a tank and what your thinking.
-Rusty

 

[willray]

Welcome!Speaking as a TBS past user....don't do it!As B said way to many pests.I had 13 mantis alone in my 55 gal package.Marco rocks or Bulkreef supply has what your looking for and I think B has some of marcos at Skiptons.good luck with your builds.

 

[TomD]

Agreed on the rock. I used TBS for my first reef. It was a 30 gallon tank and I had about 5 mantis, and other bad crabs. When it was all said and done, I had the heaviest most dense rock I had ever seen....awful. Go for Marc's rock, much better. The cool creatures that do come in are few and probably don't live long in captivity.

 

[Behrmon]

 

[Aquaman_68]

a late welcome

Welcome aboard...Your a south coast member like me!!
Plymouth is about 20 mins from me!!!