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Another person new to reefs and the Bay Area

I moved here in June and have decided to take the plunge and finally start a reef tank. I've keep Discus in the past. Over the last couple years, I spent a fair amount of time reading books and forums about reefs but held off on actually going forward.

I'm still in the planning phase. I'm currently leaning towards keeping it simple with a 40G breeder and 20G tank for a sump (taking advantage of Petco $1/G sale). I'm unsure about the stand. I'd build one but I don't have many tools here (just a drill) or a good vehicle for picking up a 4x8 of plywood. Both obstacles easily overcome but going with a prebuilt used or new stand might make sense.

I'm reading Theil's Nano Reef Aquariums book which has been interesting. It is more conversational than some books and has links to forum threads and such. The style/approach helps when reading about common corals and what care is required for them (flow, light, etc).

In terms of equipment, also going with LED lights, BRS RO/DI, probably glass-holes overflow and not sure about much else.

On a side note, I've been informed this photo (came over from my GMail profile I think) makes me look super serious but I'm actually a humble person who enjoys humor and likes to laugh. I'll need to find a more appropriate photo :).
 
Hi and welcome to BAR :)

I've gone through the exact same experience and if I may I'd like to share a small piece of advice.

If you don't have the tools or means to venture deeply into DIY when it comes to your tank build, you will be much better off purchasing a reef ready tank with built in overflow which will make your life easy, glassholes is ok but far from fail safe (very far) and designing/building a fully functional fail safe overflow system can be a task & a half, specially without certain tools. Sump is where you can save money & buy a standard glass tank then silicone your own baffles in. The baffles can be glass or acrylic, TAP plastics will precisely cut any shape/size sheet for you and a glass shop can also cut class panes to your heart's desires, thus siliconing the baffles in place is an easy task from there. The only tool you would need to purchase is a caulking gun for your silicone.

I would keep an eye on CL, RC & the classifieds here, a bargain on a used reef ready tank is always bound to pop up.
 
First thing I would ask you is what exactly are you looking to get out of your tank? what is your desire? Do you just want to see a submerged sandy beach with some rocks and colorful fish? or do you want to go full blown reef with colorful corals and the like?

As to the stand, yeah a drill by itself isn't going to hack it. At the very least you need some type of saw (hand held circular or table) so you can cut pieces the size you need), while you can get cuts at home depot, they do often limit what you have, and they're not going to be exactly so you'll have to trim up some stuff later anyways. One thing I did for my first stand was just use an old end table, emphasis on the old because they were built sturdy out of solid wood and not particle board.

Regardless of what the answer to the first question is, I'd probably start with just fish, that way you can worry about the heavy duty thinking stuff (like lighting) later, you can make sure you have your tank dialed in as far as "dirtiness" is involved (fish are a lot more hearty than corals in that regard). And basically go slow, nothing in this hobby goes fast.

As to your photo... have to say it reminds me of a serious Shia LaBouf :D
 
I want to learn more about coral propagation. I don't mind a fish or two but don't want too many. I'd prefer to understock on fishes. So full blown with colorful corals. I'm fine with sticking to something like xenia for a while to get the lay of the land (after the tank cycles) and then going on to some large polyp with small polyp way off. Not expecting to rush anything :).
 
Welcome!

You might want to look for a good used 55G tank+stand. Pretty common and cheap.
And a bit larger is arguably easier, since it is more stable.

For DIY, there might be club members near you to help. At least for small things.

Be careful of Xenia, and a few other corals. They can grow like weeds (in the bad way), and really
cause a ton of frustration.
 
stay away from Xenia & GSP, they're hard to kill when you want them gone and no one will take them from you when you're ready to give them away (maybe the gsp but not xenia). Don't be discouraged to try out a few corals (even LPS) there are plenty of softies to be had once you're ready just don't do xenias haha....

I can give you starter frags when you're ready, this can include LPS like frogspwan, a green tree (i always forget the name) kinda like a kenya trees but bright green and quite desirable, mushrooms also are nice to have and very hard to kill.
I've let my mushrooms float around the sandbed for many months now and it doesn't seem to hurt them, kinda fun in my opinion one day it's here and one day it's there haha keeps me from getting bored with them.
 
Welcome to BAR. You can also lookup local forums or Craigslist for cheap Tank + Stand + Sump (I've seen them as low as $100 for all)
 
The problem I have with a 55G is depth and how long it is -- I want more depth to fit more structure/open space and it would be too long for the spot I can put it in. The wife acceptance factor would be a lot higher with a 36" over a 48" (so maybe a 50G would work).

I started pricing out the whole kits from glass-holes and then adding that to the tank cost and now the used tanks with overflows seem like more of a bargain than before. I also know DIY can be a hassle and cost more than one would expect (although you do end up with nice tools). My brother is a wood worker with a shop full of fancy equipment but he is in the midwest. I ran it by him too and I would need at least a circular saw and some clamps. I'm fairly handy but I'm going to keep on hunting Craigslist for now.

Thanks for the warning about Xenia! I do like how it pulses but I can live without it if it is really that much of a pest (I will take your word for it).

HiFidelity: Thanks for the offer of frags. I will ping you once I get cycled and setup to see if would work out. I really appreciate it.
 
Welcome.

There is a $1 a gallon sale right meow @petco. I would just do that for a first tank. 40b and 20l sump. Thats $60 + tax. Not a bad start ;)
 
Xeniidaes can be controlled.. just need to choose the right species and give it the right situation. Same with GSP. Just like anything, it takes a little planning.
 
You told the landlord you are having a tank? Oops. Hopefully they are cool somehow.
Yeah, I was wondering if it would be best to avoid the conversation. I mentioned the possibility when I signed the lease. I should have gotten it signed off on then -- lesson learned. They are pretty cool though -- my wife checked with them today and they replied with up to a 20G. I'm going to try to counter that but I might end up with a 20G which I know is not ideal for a beginner.
 
I would get the tank we talked about & tell them it's 20, I highly doubt they're going to come inside your house & measure the tank. Besides the dimensions of that tank are deceptive, to someone who isn't familiar they won't be able to tell the difference haha

P.S. landlord can only enter your home after submitting a written notice of inspection, unless you call them over to make repairs. I know this quite well since I rent to tenants and had to become pretty familiar with California rental laws because which renter hasn't had horrible tenants lol
 
I would get the tank we talked about & tell them it's 20...

Sorry, that may not be the best idea.
In normal renting situation, sure, it would be a total non-issue. Nobody would notice.

The big issue is if there is a leak, which unfortunately happens fairly often.

If a leak causes any damage, and you lied about it, that is bad news.
At the very least, your landlord will be really pissed at you.
But you could end up being fully liable, then getting evicted.
 
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