Cali Kid Corals

Greetings from Gilroy

ibaj

Guest
Greeting Bay Area Reefers! I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and provide a bit of my background.

I'm mostly new to this hobby. Several years ago, while I was in college, I began keeping a nano reef. I was only able to keep it for a couple of years before I had to move on and get a job. I gave up my corals and fish to the local fish store and never picked it back up. Well, until now that is.

My wife has warmed up to the idea and has given me the approval (and the budget) to move forward. I decided to go with a larger tank than my first, the Rea Sea Max 250. The all in one appealed to me since I don't have a great deal of experience and included almost everything you need. I also got the Aqueon ProFlex Sump (Model 1) to setup a refugium underneath along with a Coralife Super Skimmer. Since I'm a techy and love data, I ordered the Seneye Reef monitor.

I just setup the aquarium on Tuesday and the water has settled. Here's a picture:

ROqj2Ygh.jpg
 
Welcome to BAR AJ. Nice RSM and aquascaping. :)

You will find becoming a member has many benefits...like our coral swap to fill that tank up with corals. ;)
 
Thanks Gimmito! If only I had something to swap to get started. I have weeks to go before the cycling is done anyway.

What's your opinion on the amount of live rock I've got in there? It's only about 25 lbs... I feel like I need more.
 
Oh cool. Welcome again and I hope you came to the right place. Most people on here are pretty nuts about this hobby so don't let them sucker you too much into it.... :bigsmile:
 
ibaj said:
Thanks Gimmito! If only I had something to swap to get started. I have weeks to go before the cycling is done anyway.

No worries...we have a members only frag swap in the fall.

ibaj said:
What's your opinion on the amount of live rock I've got in there? It's only about 25 lbs... I feel like I need more.

I think 25 lbs is fine...more room for corals to grow !
 
Can't wait till I have more corals so I can give the new members starter frags, I've been in the same predicament myself recently. I think I spotted you on norcal :steve:
 
Welcome, AJ!

I used to live in Hollister but live in San Jose now (better jobs). You're not the only techie here so you're not alone in this crazy hobby of ours. :)

As far as how much rock you have, I think it depends on what you plan on stocking in the tank, both corals, fish, and cleanup crew. Once you know that, we'll be able to provide some suggestions.

What made you choose the Seneye? I wasn't sure if you were aware of the other controllers that are out there like Neptune Systems or Digital Aquatics.
 
Thanks for the welcome, Denzil.

First, I'll answer your question about the Seneye: I chose this over the others because of 1) price, 2) ease of use, 3) the website dashboard, 4) push notifications, and 5) I like to support the latest thing! ;)

About what I intend to stock with... well, I've got my heart set on soft corals and squishes. Lobophyllia, Zoanthid, Scoly, Favia -- you know, the pretty stuff. I'd also like a bulb tip anemone or two, a pair of clowns, hopefully a blue hippo tang, firefish, and a couple gobies. Clean-up crew would be the standard turbos, crabs, and shrimp.
 
ibaj said:
Thanks for the welcome, Denzil.

First, I'll answer your question about the Seneye: I chose this over the others because of 1) price, 2) ease of use, 3) the website dashboard, 4) push notifications, and 5) I like to support the latest thing! ;)

About what I intend to stock with... well, I've got my heart set on soft corals and squishes. Lobophyllia, Zoanthid, Scoly, Favia -- you know, the pretty stuff. I'd also like a bulb tip anemone or two, a pair of clowns, hopefully a blue hippo tang, firefish, and a couple gobies. Clean-up crew would be the standard turbos, crabs, and shrimp.

With that livestock in mind, if it were me, I'd put more rock in. :)
 
Denzil, I stopped by Neptune's Aquatics after work and got some of their fancy engineered rock. I think there are now plenty of crevices for corals and anemones.

2J2UU43.jpg
 
Awesome! It looks like you have plenty of homes for all of your planned live stock now. :)

About how many pounds of rock are you at about now?
 
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