Back into Reefing After A Long Break

LPS_Blasto

Member
Hi!!

I had to get rid of my reef tanks and frag tank during the recession. Life has changed an awful lot since then. Got divorced in 2014. Met a nice gal. Got re-married in 2017.

I moved to Florida in April 2018 with my wife. She got a massive promotion (3 levels up the ladder in one step) and a huge pay raise. The company paid for us to move from Colorado to Florida.

I started looking on facebook marketplace and craigslist for tanks. I bought a gently used Aquaeon 90g RR with factory stand, Reef Octopus 150 classic skimmer, LED lights, 30L sump, BRS media reactor with a MaxJett 1200, an Eheim 700-800gpm return pump. It was only 2yrs old. I got a great deal on it. $240

My wife and I started talking and she said maybe we should build a custom stand. That led to her saying, "Well if you're going to spend this kind of money on a fish tank -- are you sure this one is big enough?"
:poke:
(never ask a reefer if the current tank is big enough)
:poke:
I sold the 90g tank and stand. Kept the other equipment. I kept looking for a couple more weeks, but people are such flakes -- it was really frustrating to get people to communicate and make arrangements to go see their tanks for sale. I'd show up and a 150g tank turned out to actually be a 50g tank. A 220g tank turned out to be a 650lb behemoth that was "custom made" about 20 years ago. There's no way my wife was going to let me put that in the living room. She was worried about seals on such an old tank. One guy had a brand new 125g RR Aqueon for a nice price but I never could get him nailed down to a time to actually take my money and sell me the tank. You know how it is......

So last weekend I went down to the LFS and ordered a brand new Marineland 180g RR with all black sealent and trim. I can go pick it up this coming Friday.
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
The thing is that once you upgrade to a larger tank, you usually need to upgrade much of the other equipment. Then you find out that the tank is one of the least expensive items. However, you will have a good time doing all this.
 

LPS_Blasto

Member
The thing is that once you upgrade to a larger tank, you usually need to upgrade much of the other equipment. Then you find out that the tank is one of the least expensive items. However, you will have a good time doing all this.

I didn't upgrade to a larger tank. I'm getting back into the hobby after a break. :woohoo:
 

saintsreturn

Well-Known Member
Welcome back and post lots of pictures! Also, congratulations on all the positive changes! Do me a favor and head over to Florida Tech, watch a football game for me and stop at that hot dog joint with the surfboard out front and have a dog for me :D haha

I miss home.. but anyway, good luck and congratulations!
 

LPS_Blasto

Member
Welcome back and post lots of pictures! Also, congratulations on all the positive changes! Do me a favor and head over to Florida Tech, watch a football game for me and stop at that hot dog joint with the surfboard out front and have a dog for me :D haha

I miss home.. but anyway, good luck and congratulations!

Thanks so much! I think I can catch a game this fall. A football game and a dog sounds like a good time. It doesn't feel like home yet, but we're adjusting slowly. There's a ton of good seafood, pizza and Greek food here. We love that! Entertainment is waaaaaay cheaper than Colorado. Houses are a LOT cheaper. We bought a big house with a swimming pool, that we could never afford in Colorado. Pools in Colorado are reserved for the very wealthy. They absolutely are NOT practical there.

Everything else is really expensive here. Groceries are outrageous and Publix ...... kinda stinks. They're selections are terrible. Produce in Colorado was waaaaay better, and that's shocking. You'd think all this moisture and sunshine would make a decent strawberry or watermelon here in the citrus state. They're just okay...not great. Meat is off the charts expensive here. Insane.
Clothes are more expensive. Utilities are crazy. Our 'lectric bill is averaging $250/month so far. It's just 2 of us and 2 little dogs. Must be the pool pump. Our AC unit is a top of the line Trane with variable speed air handler and dual stage compressor. Super efficient with DC motors and fancy whistles. Less than 2yrs old.
I'm definitely going to have to buy some high efficiency LED's and DC return pumps.
 

saintsreturn

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much! I think I can catch a game this fall. A football game and a dog sounds like a good time. It doesn't feel like home yet, but we're adjusting slowly. There's a ton of good seafood, pizza and Greek food here. We love that! Entertainment is waaaaaay cheaper than Colorado. Houses are a LOT cheaper. We bought a big house with a swimming pool, that we could never afford in Colorado. Pools in Colorado are reserved for the very wealthy. They absolutely are NOT practical there.

Everything else is really expensive here. Groceries are outrageous and Publix ...... kinda stinks. They're selections are terrible. Produce in Colorado was waaaaay better, and that's shocking. You'd think all this moisture and sunshine would make a decent strawberry or watermelon here in the citrus state. They're just okay...not great. Meat is off the charts expensive here. Insane.
Clothes are more expensive. Utilities are crazy. Our 'lectric bill is averaging $250/month so far. It's just 2 of us and 2 little dogs. Must be the pool pump. Our AC unit is a top of the line Trane with variable speed air handler and dual stage compressor. Super efficient with DC motors and fancy whistles. Less than 2yrs old.
I'm definitely going to have to buy some high efficiency LED's and DC return pumps.

I will give you time and then check back. Publix is the best grocery store in the states. Kroger is number 1 rated, but Publix is better. Try a fresh made “pub sub” and see if that helps lol.

Ok besides that, meat is expensive in florida, which I always had an issue with since the largest cattle drive in a,Erica is about an hour from you. The seafood is fantastic. Grouper and fresh red snapper always does me well when I am home. The Cuban sandwiches are better in Tampa, but the Greek is fantastic in that area. I prefer the west coast of florida, but Melbourne is a great spot with a lot to offer. And yeah, real estate is strange down there. Where I am now, the market is so hot that I bought a house I never thought possible. My home town in Seminole would price this house around 600k and I paid less than 1/2 that.

Some friends bought amazing houses in florida with pools for even less than I paid here... and I don’t have a pool! Idaho was similar to Colorado in the sense. We actually got gym memberships just to use the pool.

Take your time and don’t be in a rush. Only rush there is the driving, other than that it is a family based area with so much to take in.

Congrats again and if I make it to Melbourne in March, I’ll let you know and even show you why Publix is the best lol...


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StanD

New Member
On that pool pump - swap it out for a variable speed model. Run it at lower rpms for longer periods and your bill will go down. Some states/counties even give you a rebate if you buy a variable speed pool pump.
 

LPS_Blasto

Member
On that pool pump - swap it out for a variable speed model. Run it at lower rpms for longer periods and your bill will go down. Some states/counties even give you a rebate if you buy a variable speed pool pump.

My wife and I were just talking about that. From the looks of it - the pump we have right now must be at least 10-15yrs old. It's definitely NOT a newer model, and isn't going to last forever. We could see a significant electrical savings with a newer model.
 

LPS_Blasto

Member
I will give you time and then check back. Publix is the best grocery store in the states. Kroger is number 1 rated, but Publix is better. Try a fresh made “pub sub” and see if that helps lol.

Ok besides that, meat is expensive in florida, which I always had an issue with since the largest cattle drive in a,Erica is about an hour from you. The seafood is fantastic. Grouper and fresh red snapper always does me well when I am home. The Cuban sandwiches are better in Tampa, but the Greek is fantastic in that area. I prefer the west coast of florida, but Melbourne is a great spot with a lot to offer. And yeah, real estate is strange down there. Where I am now, the market is so hot that I bought a house I never thought possible. My home town in Seminole would price this house around 600k and I paid less than 1/2 that.

Some friends bought amazing houses in florida with pools for even less than I paid here... and I don’t have a pool! Idaho was similar to Colorado in the sense. We actually got gym memberships just to use the pool.

Take your time and don’t be in a rush. Only rush there is the driving, other than that it is a family based area with so much to take in.

Congrats again and if I make it to Melbourne in March, I’ll let you know and even show you why Publix is the best lol...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Kroger - that explains it. Colorado has King Soopers - a Kroger company. They are AWESOME. There is also Safeway in Colorado. Higher prices, but better produce usually, and better sales.
It depends on how you shop. My wife and I shop the perimeter, for the most part. Fresh produce, meat, dairy. We eat almost nothing from a box, so many of the isles in the store have very few items that we would purchase. (we do eat cereal occasionally). I do most of the cooking and it's usually made from scratch.

We didn't need a house this big, but if you don't invest the money, you have no tax deductions at the end of the year. ..... and... it's Florida... you can't NOT have a pool. After living in our house for a few months my wife and I were talking. We wouldn't live here without a pool. It's the only way you can go outside and enjoy the weather. Who wants to sit around and sweat in the humidity for nothing?
 

saintsreturn

Well-Known Member
Kroger - that explains it. Colorado has King Soopers - a Kroger company. They are AWESOME. There is also Safeway in Colorado. Higher prices, but better produce usually, and better sales.
It depends on how you shop. My wife and I shop the perimeter, for the most part. Fresh produce, meat, dairy. We eat almost nothing from a box, so many of the isles in the store have very few items that we would purchase. (we do eat cereal occasionally). I do most of the cooking and it's usually made from scratch.

We didn't need a house this big, but if you don't invest the money, you have no tax deductions at the end of the year. ..... and... it's Florida... you can't NOT have a pool. After living in our house for a few months my wife and I were talking. We wouldn't live here without a pool. It's the only way you can go outside and enjoy the weather. Who wants to sit around and sweat in the humidity for nothing?

We have the same shopping practices. Off the top of my head, soups, pastas, some sauces and cereal are usually the only things we grab from the aisles. We love hitting the outer perimeter only and buying fresh stuff. We had really good luck in Destin and Tampa bay with Publix meats and veggies.

Growing up, i would keep 5 shirts in my truck per day. I would wear all 5 on days that i did not work and at least 3 on days i did work. I bought into the "fishing shirts" that breath big time and even here in texas, that is half of my closet. I am a bigger guy who sweats bad, even when i was skinny, and these shirts made all the difference to me. That said, i could not imagine not having a pool when we move back. It was a saving grace when my dad finally put one in. (I left when i was 18 with work and moved back to Florida in the Destin area for a couple of years in rentals until i ended up here in Texas).

We bought a much larger house than we wanted/need, but our mind is on tax write offs and resale abilities for when the time comes.
 
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