Audemars

Hello Fish Lore. First I just want to say that as a person who has been lurking the forums for quite some time now, I would be remiss to not point out that this is a very courteous community that is supportive and caring.

I am in college at this point I just cant wait any longer to set up a reef tank. This would be my first real experience with fish (other than sushi, hehe, j/k) and i know that i am choosing a bit of a difficult road to venture out on as a newb. i am willing to take this very, very slow and build my little underwater reef world with great care and patience. All to enjoy each stage as if it were a 5 star, 5 course meal.
My plan is to go with prolly a 45 gallon glass tank, very good skimmer, filtration, and heater. I so badly want to use LED’s over MH, so we will see what I can work out. Any suggestions?
at this point i have the nitrogen cycle committed to memory, knowing even the part of the nitrosomons and nitrobacters part that is played. I have learned what all the readings mean in the test kits and what general ranges to look for. However, I am new and totally submit to the greater knowledge of those ahead of me, so as to learn from those as much as possible.

Just wanted to say hi and to let you guys know you have a new friend!

Thank you ahead of time for help with all the countless questions I will no doubt have.

I look forward to future interactions with all of you.

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!!!!!!
Im glad you are so eager to jump right in! I give you lots of credit
Im sure some of our salty members will be of great assistance and I wish you well!

Stang Man

Welcome Audemars !!!
Have you had tanks before fresh or salt? If not don.t jump into it without knowledge it can back fire on you not trying to discourage you but this is a very delicate tank that you would like to proceed. We would all like to help you in any way!

Meenu

welcome to fl.

harpua2002

Welcome!

Viper

I just want to say welcome to Fishlore. I like yourself and new and have been able to get a lot of good tips from other great members. You have joined a good group.

Borisbbadd

Welcome !!!

Goldwing_Don

Welcome to fishlore... look forward to reading your post in the future..

aquarist48

Hello Audemars and Welcome to Fish Lore.
I hope you enjoy the site.
Ken

charzar-g

welcome to fishlore!

I'd say that, if this is your first SW tank, you should not start with a reef, have a FOWLR, and then upgrade the lighting and get corals once you've mastered the marine side of the hobby
Just make sure you get reef safe fish, so that when you DO go for corals, they won't be under threat from your fishies

harpua2002

I started with reef. If you take your time and do plenty of research, it's not hard to do.

Stang Man

Yep it all depends on the owner to take care of all the things he or she needs to in order to be a sucess. And to this day wow how time flies, I still read every thing I can get my hands on. Even if it's the same thing I read a thousand times just can't get enough!!!!!

David C

What size tanks are you looking at? Are you living in the dorms during college or do you have a stable place to live? You most definitely don't want to be moving the tank multiple times a year. Have you considered what types of fish you want to keep or what kinds of corals? You can always start with T5HO lights and supplement with LED's, lower power usage than MH.

It's good that you are putting in the effort to research before buying. It will end up saving you a small fortune by purchasing the right equipment from the start and not killing all your livestock multiple times because you had no idea about the nitrogen cycle.

Welcome to FL!

Dave

lorabell

Welcome!!! And good luck in your venture!!!