Hey from Tennessee!

[farasfarm]

Hey,
I am a home school mom of 5. We love all kinds of unique animals. I live on 8 beautiful acres in middle Tennessee. We have emus, peacocks, fancy banny chickens of all types, turkeys and ducks. We have raised several species of aquatic turtles...I've had freshwater tanks and a brackish tank and have always dreamed of setting up a reef tank. I am so excited at the prospect. I am going slow about it...reading several books on the subject and finding this forum to get great information. I am prepared to take this very slow...build on my knowledge...gather the equipment I need and then set out to have the tank of my dreams...I hope. When I was a kid we lived in Bradenton, Florida. My parents took me to the beach almost every day during the summer. I miss the ocean and all it has to offer. I want to share a little slice of ocean heaven with my kids...what a great learning/teaching opportunity! My kids are: girl-11 yrs...boy-10 yrs...girl-7 yrs...boy-3 yrs...girl-17 months. We have an empty 75 gallon tank sitting in the family room...we had a bad goldfish experience last summer...a rogue red cap goldfish went madd and beat up/killed all the other goldfish in the tank. Pretty traumatic on the kids. Anyway, I look forward to reading all about reef tanks.
Thanks,
Farasfarm

[BigAl07]

Good morning neighbor (Western NC here, Blue Ridge Mtns).

Welcome to the Reef! now that you're here you should know...

You can log out but you can never LEAVE the Reef

Enjoy yourself and learn all you can. This is a VERY knowledge rich environment and if you don't learn here, you'll probably NEVER learn anywhere!!

Have a GREAT Middle Tenn Day and by all means... Go VOLS!!!!!

[blue_eyes53813]

Hello welcome to RS... If you have any questions feel free to post them.. We love to Help.

[farasfarm]

Hey BigAl07,
Thanks for the message and encouragement. I love the Carolinas. My parents are in the Smokies camping right now...I wish I could have joined them. I have been looking around the sanctuary and loving all the gorgious pics. I'm totally inspired...to keep reading my reef tank book...and terrified I won't be able to afford the initial set up for this hobby...I imagine all that live rock will cost a fortune. All the shop talk is confusing to me right now...I'm sure I'll get the lingo sooner or later. lol...I have to figure out a good way to get my husband on board with this project...gotta think about that one.

Have a great North Carolina day friend & neighbor!!!
Fara

[BigAl07]

*Waving across the Mtns* Good morning again!

Keep reading and researching. The more you know BEFORE your first purchase the better off you and your tank "Critters" will be.

As for "funding" do like I did.. I created a "Fish-Fund" and came up with an estimated original set-up amount.. then I trippled it. It was just a tad high at that point but I had no problems spending the excess on my first livestock purchase. In fact I've done that 2 times now and am now working on a much larger project which of course is a much larger "fish-fund". I don't buy the first item until the fund is FULLY funded that way I am able to deal with life's little surprises head on and not have any "Emergencies" can't handle.

Hey it's an AMAZING place where I live. I get to enjoy some of our Creator's Most amazing views each and every day! In the evenings I have a view of some breath taking sunsets right from my living room looking down on the small town of Waynesville, NC! I like calling, North Carolina home!

I do get to TN a lot though (only 18 miles from the TN border here on I-40). I have dear friends who live in K-town (Go BIG ORANGE!) and we spend a LOT of time between here, K-town, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. I contribute to your state EVERY chance I get.

Sincerely,
Allen

[farasfarm]

Hey Blue_eyes,

I looked at your reef tank shots. AMAZING!!! I didn't have time to read every single page of it...got to about half. My 17 month old and my 3 yr old loved the pictures of your fish...my older three slept outside in their tent last night...when they come on in I'll be showing them the pics too. I know they will be so excited to see them. I'm still reading through my reef tank book...I am feeling a little discouraged...it all looks/sounds so complicated...(and expensive) much more so than the fresh or brackish water tanks I have had set up in the past. I have been looking around at protein skimmers...there are so many out there and at such varying prices...how do I know which one to set my sights on and then save $$ for? One thing about me...I am an extreme...over-the-top type...when I do something you can be assured it will be done right...I have wanted a reef tank for a good 10 years now...it seems every time I decide to set out and actually do it...I get side tracked with babies, or home school etc. I want to achieve this goal at last...I have patience...my tank has sat there empty for almost a year now...my son has a 75 gal. fresh water tank set up with black fin sharks in his pirate ship room...he loves it...it took me a good year to get around to that tank too...lol.
I'm going to keep reading and studying everything I can...I'm sure I'll start catching on to the reef hobby lingo and the lighting info. will start to click in my head as well.
Thanks for your message and encouragement...I CAN DO THIS!!!
Again, love your tank...it will be a great source of inspiration for our family.
Fara

[saltwaterfarm]

Hi Fara! Welcome to RS! You have picked a great site to learn from. There are tons of people here to help you along the way. What does your saltwater library consist of so far?
As far as the skimmers go... you have a couple of choices. Are you planning on a HOB (hang on back), or a in sump. Are you planning on a sump/refugium? The AquaC remora HOB seem to be the most highly recommended. And, the ASM G series gets rave reviews for the in sump models. Both of these, in my opinion will give you the best bang for your buck! Hope this helped and didn't confuse.... LOL

[boozeman]

[sasquatch]

Hi Fara and a big welcome to RS, we really like pictures here(ask Lynn lol) dosen have to be tank either, all the best with your research, hope to see you again. Steve

[farasfarm]

Hey again BigAl07,
Setting up a reef tank fund is a great idea! Especially since I visited our small local pet store this afternoon and after talking with the owner realized that my 75 gallon glass tank does not have the hole needed for the sump. I am not totally sure what a sump is...exactly...I know it is a container for the water on the outside of the tank...boy I am really showing my ignorance here. Both the books I have read so far didn't really go into the sump with detailed explanations & pics. I will keep researching. Also the only protein skimmer they carry is the Sea Clone 100...it was marked $130.00 but he said he could sell it to me for under $100.00. I haven't researched the protein skimmers out there yet. Let me know if the name Sea Clone raises any red flags. Looks like I am going to have to buy a new tank that is set up for salt water...oh well...dems de berries. Thanks...gotta go read some books to my night owl three year old.
Fara

[farasfarm]

Hey Salt Water Farm,
Thanks for the advise. I will write these down and research them. The local pet store only carries one brand of protein skimmer...the Sea Clone 100. Know anything about that one?
These are the books I have so far: Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms by John H. Tullock...The Saltwater Aquarium Handbook by George Blasiola...An Owner's Guide to Setting Up a Saltwater Aquarium by Gregory Skomal (these are the books I purchased and read about 6 years ago when I thought I was going to be setting up a reef tank...ended up having to move...had 2 more babies etc) I am about 2/3 the way through a new book I got Monday called...The Simple Guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums by Jeffrey Kurtz...I got another book this afternoon and have flipped through it but not read it yet...The Marine Aquarium Problem Solver by Nick Dakin. This book looks like a doosie...but what reading I did do showed me that the authors of these last two books do not agree on several main topics...like the substrate/no substate issue...the ozone issue...the live rock and sand issue...a little confusing to have two such convincing arguments for each side.
In your message you asked me if I was going with a HOB skimmer or an in sump skimmer...hmm...don't know yet...I don't really understand the "sump" yet. What is a sump/refugium? Sorry, I am really new with all the equipment needed for a reef tank. (light years away from fresh & brackish tanks) That is why I went by the pet store this afternoon...they used to have a salt tank set up in the store...but they didn't have it anymore...I wanted to actually see a sump and a protein skimmer in use so I could understand the set up better.
I looked on ebay a little this evening for 75 gallon aquariums...no luck. (as my 75 gallon tank is not suitable for salt water--no hole drilled for the sump) I saw an ad for those small biocube set ups by Oceanic...I noticed you had one. How do you like it? They sounded really neat. Is going with a nano or pico tank a bad idea for a first reef tank attempt? I really like the idea of having such a small ecosystem set up. I read that the less water you have the less forgiving the chemistry of the water is. I am looking forward to visiting your gallery to see your pics...especially of your little shrimp tank...too cool.
I also saw an ad for a Fission Nano Reef Tank Protein Skimmer by Current USA...are these any good?
I am not only a newbie to the reef tank hobby...but a newbie to computer forums...I have never joined one or posted anything until yesterday. I need to get my computer savy husband to show me how to get these cute icons to show up in my posts etc.
So much to learn...so little time...
Have a nice evening,
Fara

[kimoy]

welcome to the sanctuary fara. ask a quetion and you shal recieve countless answers.
kim

[iamkellogg]

I just wanted to add my welcome. Have you checked out the products review section some of the items might be listed there. I can tell you to stay away from the protein skimmer/filter combo the skilter it is NOT good I had to learn the hard way. I ordered my live rock from Premium Aquatics (one of our sponsers) and got a great deal with very little die off and lots of life it had lots of critters on it. I hope you find the help you need here.

Kelly

[farasfarm]

Hey Kelly,
Thanks for the live rock scoop! I will check them out soon. I see you have one of those Seaclone Protein Skimmers I was wondering about...how do you like it?
I have been reading on the forum for hours and hours today...I saw that article on advice of how to navigate one of these forums...oops...I was asking stupid questions...please forgive. I will research all my questions first from now on. Thanks.

God Bless,
Fara

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS! Glad you could join us.
Looks like you are starting out right with the research. You will be much happier in the long run by doing lots of research. Also the most important thing in this hobby is patience which you obviously have.
As far as equipment prices check our on-line sponsors. I have found that hardware is much cheaper on-line than at the lfs. You can also get great LR online for a lot less than the lfs sells it for. You can even get uncured LR for less and take the time to cure it yourself. It just takes time and patience.
Also you can have a SW setup without a drilled tank. You would just need a HOB overflow. Many people do it this way though I personally have a drilled tank and love it.
Be sure to post any questions you have. We love to answer. Particularly when someone new to the hobby is trying to start out right like you are. There is no such thing as a stupid question in this hobby since it is all so important.
Since you are homeschooling your kids this could be a great opportunity for a marine biology experiment. Get them involved in the research and testing etc. It can be a great and fun learning experience particularly for the older kids but there are things even the little ones can help with so they feel involved.
Oh and because Steve alredy warned you I am not going to ask for pics. LOL Ok yes I am. Be sure to post them when you get set up. We do love pics here.