New reefer looking for a cool community

StonesReef

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#1
Hello, my name is Andrew and i currently reside in Kern County.

i recently got into the hobby after many years of dreaming of having my own little reef in my home. Now that i have my own house i can finally do it!

I started with a 22.4Gal FijiCube AIO, and have been slowly piecing all of the necessary equipment together. Currently i am only a light and some live rock away from starting my cycle!! These will be on order soon, and i cant wait to get started and share my experience with all of you guys!

My experience in the hobby is only from the perspective of curiosity, and I don't have a ton of actual experience in general with aquariums, so ill be counting on you guys once in a while for help and ideas. I've spent well over 100 hours doing research into all of the basics of maintaining a reef tank, but still feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

My main goal for this AIO system would be to have a variety of LPS such as hammers, cynarina, acan, and a few BTA's would be great. pocillopora have recently sparked my interest as well. Id also love to keep some interesting inverts, and a few fish, with an emphasis on coral rather than fish.

ill post more about my setup once i have the equipment i need to get the cycle going. Cant wait to meet everybody.
 
Last edited:

moondoggy

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#6
Make sure to get a Phosphate Checker ULR, check weekly, practice with no powder or sugar until you get the hang of it.
What kind of lighting do you have?
Do not get many fish, make sure they are small and stay small, maybe 3 fish.
 

StonesReef

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#7
Make sure to get a Phosphate Checker ULR, check weekly, practice with no powder or sugar until you get the hang of it.
What kind of lighting do you have?
Do not get many fish, make sure they are small and stay small, maybe 3 fish.
Thank you! i will definitely get myself a ULR phos tester, would the Hanna instruments checker do the trick you think, or do you have a recommendation?
I haven't bought the light yet, but I'm planning on purchasing the AI Prime 16. I didn't plan on having many fish as this will be a LPS/Anemone focused tank i think, but i do want to get a bonded pair of black ice long fin clowns, and later on a mandarin goby FOR SURE! Do you think i could get away with having a mandarin and the two clowns? or another possible alternative i had in mind was a ruby red dragonet, but i haven't had the chance to research the species thoroughly enough yet. Thanks for the advice!
 

moondoggy

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#8
Skip the Ruby Red Dragonet, two clowns would be fine, if you get a Mandarin Goby only get one if it is taking food, maybe look into a dotty back or small bleeney.
You do not need a light to cycle the tank, but if you want to keep coral right away, I would not put coral in for long as you can stand not having coral in there.
 
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#9
I started with a 22.4Gal FijiCube AIO, and have been slowly piecing all of the necessary equipment together. Currently i am only a light and some live rock away from starting my cycle!! These will be on order soon, and i cant wait to get started and share my experience with all of you guys!
You actually don't need a light to start your cycle and in most cases it's actually better to cycle your tank with your light off. As soon as you get your rock/live rock, get everything in there and kick start your cycle!
 
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#10
If you get a mandarin, you need to get a captive bread one eating pellets. Otherwise your never going to be able to keep a mandarin or scoter blenny in that small a tank without spending a lot of money on pods.
 
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#12
Also wait until your tank is well established before adding an anemone. Typicly 6 months, longer if using dry rock. When your ready, I always have some anemones available.
 
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#13
Welcome to the small community! I currently have a 20 gallon and I have a build thread for it if you want to take a gander. We are the small guys compared to some of the systems these other cats have but MOST of the people here are pretty awesome and willing to help if you have questions! Good luck on your journey and hopefully you will update us all with your progress!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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#14
Small systems can be great! Some of the best tanks I have had were small tanks. Maintaince is very easy, as quick weekly water changes take care of most of it. A comparable water change in a 300 gallon is a bit of a project.
 

drexel

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#15
Welcome! I would look for volumes 1 & 3 of The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek and Sprung. You can find them used and in some cases for a pretty good price. These two books will set you up for success, as the basics/fundamentals are explained in detail. I honestly think this is where new reefers go wrong, not reading books on the hobby. Forums are great, but you have to sift through so much info and you really have no clue who's behind the words. I would also find someone who has a nice tank and see what they did to make that happen. If you're starting with dry rock, make sure you clean it before you cure it. You'll want to research acid bath and bleaching dry rock. Then I would seed it with some AquaBiomics rubble and sand. Bottled bacteria will only take you so far. If you are starting with dry rock, be prepared to wait for a long time before introducing corals into the tank.
I would start with some basic fish like the clowns you mentioned, but I would stay away from anything that needs specialized care/food. Nothing hurts more than losing a fish because you can't give it a proper environment to thrive. There are plenty of captive bred nano fish that would do well in your tank. Just look at ORA's or Biota's fish list. If you have the time, I would make the trip to Ali's place, Amazing Aquariums & Reefs in Orange, he probably has the best shop in SoCal, as each one of his tanks are displays.
 
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