Reefer_Madness

This one and the next tank are my two favorites (not my tank)

Overall I really like the aquascape of this tank. I just don't have the length to do this.

I like the idea of a pillar or column, but this one is entirely too big.

I love the color of the contrasting colors in this one.

Hello all! I’m new to WAMAS, but have had a few SW tanks over the years. I’ve been pretty much a loner in the hobby since I had been moving a lot and never really joined a club or met any good reefers. I bought my first tank (65g) in 2003. I moved that tank from Utah to Seattle to Florida to Colorado to New Mexico. I had very good luck moving the tank with no major deaths. Granted I was only moving LR, softies and fish. By the last move, I had it down to a science!!! ….then I got tired and stopped reefing for a while. About 3 years ago, I moved to DC and found some amazing reef shops. The reefer bug really kicked in at that point. So I went crazy and bought a 4g nano tank!!!! I tricked it out with nice LED lights. I kept that tank for about a year with great luck. I did water changes every week and had all of the benefits of a large tank in that little teacup of a tank. Between us WAMAS members…that was just my gateway tank for my wife. I knew she would love it, but it was hard to ask her for $$$$ to start up a big tank. She became obsessed with our little teacup reef. All the pieces fell into place when she saw the Red Sea plug and play tank in one of my reef mags. Secretly I knew she would be completely shocked by the cost. I didn’t even want a Red Sea tank, but I knew that when she saw the $5k price on it she would say “Holy $#H!! there is no way we can get that tank”…..then you show her the cheaper tanks. Well needless to say, we left the LFS with an IM Nuvo 30 with stand and 92w LED light. I’ve had that tank going for about a year and a half. I moved all of my little guys from the teacup reef over to the “big” tank and they are happier than ever. With the new light and access to good LFSs I was able to get into SPS corals, which is amazing. Now I have outgrown my 30g and have just bought a 60g cube. I’ll get into the equipment I have later. I don’t have it all, but I am working towards it. Every time I have aquascaped my tank in the past, I have gone with the standard “wall of live rock” on the back wall. Sometimes I put a cave, but that is about it. Because of my moves I have done this lots of times. Normally I am trying to get the tank up and operational as quickly as possible. This time is different. I have time to plan and think outside the box (cube) with my aquascaping. A few ideas I am bouncing around are pillars, shelves, and maybe a big cantilevered piece. I’d like to hear thoughts on these ideas or maybe pictures! Equipment I have now: 60gallon cube framed - Deep Blue 24x24 Marineland Venture stand 130 Vertex Omega 130 skimmer 2 – MP10s Digital Aquatics Elite controller 2 – BRS dosers Autoaqua Smart ATO AquaLife RO Buddie RO/DI system Trigger Systems 20x20 Ruby Cube sump - Just got it. Waveline DC-6000 pump - Just got it. What I need: New LED light – My crappy choice of an LED just went out of warranty and a row of lights is out now! Sump – I plan to use a 10g tank and make a sump Sump return pump Heaters – Probably 2-150w heaters My goal is to have a very natural looking tank and not just a wall of rock with corals on it. I like the idea of columns (in the wild) but have quite figured out how to implement one in my tank. Below are a few pictures of my inspirations and my equipment. Ben

You have pics of your new tank setup??

Subscribed.

I had a 5.5g nano with a marineland reef led light. It did really good. I liked that setup a lot. I have since moved everything out of the nano, but that light impressed me. The price wasn't bad either. I didn't do any sps but everything I put in there did well. I'm pretty sure it was around $100 or less

Apparently, Steve read the posting about my beautiful dead clam. He sent me a PM last night. saw your post about the decorator crab eating your clam... sorry to hear about that. Stop by this weekend and we'll get one for you at a really, really, really, nice price... as long as you promise to get rid of the decorator crab... they are a menace in my opinion and will go after your other inverts... this is why we don't sell them at the store and any store that sells them... well... they need to warn people before they sell them... anyhow, we hate it when our customers don't get the great satisfaction of shopping with us. So the offer is there for you. We'll have to go over some of the other inhabitants in your tank to ensure compatibility with one another. I'll be there on Saturday and Sunday so come by if you can... also, we are getting in a large shipment of gold torches, toxic hammers, duncans and such tomorrow... part of our labor day extravaganza i haven't announced yet. You will be very pleased.... does that work for you? Steve That is a person that actually cares about reefing and customer service. I'm the moron that didn't do the research, but Steve cared enough to write me a note. They have earned my loyalty.

So much for my ORA clam.....I'm a newbie to clams and obviously didn't do enough research. My decorator crab ate my beautiful clam. A sad day it is.... I still love Quantum Reefs though!!!

I am a newbie on the forum, but I have been reefing for almost 15 years. I am no reef geek pro, but I have had reef tanks all over the US and a couple in Europe, which means I have visited stores all over the place looking for livestock. I am in construction, so I travel a lot for projects. This is by far the best coral selection I have ever seen. This store is not for the faint of heart. If you go there, you will see some amazing stuff. I went to the shop just to take a look (since it was listed on the WAMAS LFS map) and left with an ORA clam, an sps frag, and some zoas. Amazing. I have found my new favorite place. The prices were good as well. I was just amazed at the selection. Thanks Vince for opening such a cool place!! Ben

Steveoutlaw - I have a Marineland reef light I am not using. I had it on a nano reef for a couple of months. It's like brand new. I had it on an 18" tank and it worked great. Never had a problem. It isn't the new model with the built-in timer. It has a switch, but it looks like brand new. I'm looking for frags for my tank. You want to trade some frags for it? Sounds like a win win to me!!

Live in DC, but work in DMV. I'm new to the site.