MeganTheProfishional

Thanks for the feedback! I mostly was prepared to rule out RS for budget concerns entirely, especially since I'm hesitant about anything secondhand. I'm not against Nuvo again, since I can't predict what might have caused it between the tank's age and the move. I wouldn't be against getting my hands on a RS that's the right size, I know the lids can be well-fitted, and I do have room for a stand (and could maybe add a sump later which would be nice). Just gotta see if I can get lucky. Thankfully I didn't open my live sand up yet, my rocks are still in buckets (which will be getting bubblers now that there's no immediate new home for them), and the livestock is still away at summer camp. Still, want to get things up and running ASAP.

Well, it's happened again and I think I've learned my lesson. After going through all the trouble of moving my NuVO 38 from Manassas to Maryland, I finally started filling today...and saw water pooling underneath. Given the tank's shape, weight and age, I don't feel comfortable taking a crack at trying to find the leak and re-seal the entire tank. It's impressively heavy, and while I am in larger space it's just not a feasible project right now. So, I'm once again in the market for a tank. This time I'm saving up and buying new (or secondhand if I can manage to find something opened but not set up), since I'm two for two on being burned by used AIOs now. But I've been away from the hobby for a bit and need some recommendations. Only planning on small reef community fish and low-maintenance softies for this system. My requirements: -30-40 gallon range -AIO strongly preferred, unless it's something pre-plumbed with a sump. -Must be able to be FULLY COVERED, no mesh lids (I've lost too many little guys to jumping through holes that should be impossible to get out of) -Preferred no hoods or built-in lights, as I still want to use my Kessils -Does not need additional hardware included, I have pumps, powerheads, potentially media baskets and things like that on hand already. -Because this is a bit of a surprise purchase, I am on a budget. No Red Sea-level suggestions.

Wow, tanks for the feedback everyone! I'll ha've to do some research but this is a perfect jumping off point

After The Incident (tank cracked) my husband has brought up the idea of getting a camera to watch my fish tank wall remotely. Even if it's just for peace of mind while we're away I think it might be a good idea. Has anyone done something like this or have any recommendations? I'm trying to stay as budget as possible.

If a bicolor doesn't work for you, coral beauties tend to have the best track record for not picking at corals. Captive bred would be the most foolproof option imo

I'm thinking about trying to get a single/pair/group of the Hybrid Cleaner Gobies produced by ORA, but I can't for the life of me find them for sale. Does anyone have experience with them, or know where I could get my hands on some? I've checked out our wholesalers but never seen them, only the standard neons and very rarely the figaros.

I've personally been very happy with the ceramic Aqueon Pros, been using them for a while now with no issues or complaints. I have a curse with glass heater coils breaking on me, so I've never tried a jager, but I know plenty of people like them. Same with the neotherms, but they're just out of my budget range lol

So I've figured out the cause of my mystery stings has to be Euphyllia...which is a shame because we have lots of it at the shop. I wear gloves now whenever I handle it for any period but that isn't always foolproof. Anyone else have this issue and got any suggestions for helping them go away? Or at least stop itching so darn much lol

Well I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get my hands on another one of these setups, let alone just the tank, so right now it's undecided.

Big update posted. I might put some pictures of the tank as it was up here, just so everyone can see how far it came from scratch. Still a little too soon for me, though.

Apologies if this is the wrong board to ask, I figured general was a safe bet. AquaSD is having a sitewide 30% off sale today, and there's a single frag I really want but have trouble justifying the shipping. Figured it was worth seeing if anyone else was ordering from them today and I could possibly slip that frag in their order and pick it up locally, in exchange for sharing the shipping cost. My coworker might also be interested in frags from them, so the shipping could potentially be thirded as well. If anyone is doing this and willing to work something out, please text me (2403970506) since I won't have the chance to check here as often today. Big thanks in advance y'all!

Ooh, good to know about this! I usually get by with my TLF nano mag but I suppose that thing isn't strong enough for coralline or other tough stuff.

Thanks y'all! I've only ever been around gyre pumps of any sort in the shop, which has kind of a baseline dull roar of filter noise, so judging sound hasn't been easy.

Anyone have thoughts on how the IceCap gyre pumps stack up against the maxspects? those seem to be the only two of that style of powerheads I've seen

Interesting read, especially the historical side, although I feel like there were a lot of points that were rather cherry-picked to fit his argument. My main issue is when people see problematic things in a hobby they just suggest "well stop doing that hobby" rather than trying to propose ways to make changes for the better. Pushing for more sustainable and ethical practices from larger businesses (looking at you PetCo/Smart) and at the collection level seems much more productive. Over the few years I've been part of the fishkeeping world I've definitely seen an increase in support for captive breeding, ocean-friendly materials, and better catching practices, and while I dont have data to fall back on I imagine that's been just as beneficial as collection bans and the like (note I'm not fully against moratoriums on collecting, I get why they can be beneficial, but full lockdowns seem counterproductive i.e. Indo ban). While it sounds nice to say we should just stop keeping fish in captivity, there are two big things standing in the way of that goal. First, regardless of the aquarium hobby's impact on the environment, the greatest threat to the oceans is widespread human-caused climate change and habitat destruction, which is happening on a scale that the entire fishkeeping industry could probably never manage. While we should prioritize the health and safety of what's left, there is also a case that some of these organisms and ecosystems may be better off preserved in captivity rather than see them be wiped out in nature. The second obstacle is that so long as enough people are profiting from it, the hobby will never truly go away. Therefore I think it's a much better mindset to improve the hobby we have rather than try to eliminate it entirely. It will require a bit more personal investment from all of us to try and change some of the culture in the aquarium hobby, but it's very likely the only way forward.

Livestock will hopefully come in on Sunday/Monday. I've used so much pre-established stuff I'm hopeful the cycling won't take long. Glad to hear the scaling looks good, I honestly had very little sure idea except that I wanted lots of flat space for coral growing and tons of hidey holes. Shoutout to @Big Sarge 81 sold me a bunch of this rock, including all the cool branch bits

Also wouldn't mind some feedback on my stocking plans, I know all the fish I'm going for are pretty hardy, and since they're a lot of little guys I don't think I'd be pushing it too much. After the initial few guys I plan on introducing one or two at a time, slowly. Next priority will probably be the goby/gobies so that my pistol can have a friend and they can do a little sand work.

Operation Un-heck This Tank went off almost without a hitch! Well, one or two hitches. That thing was really heavy. But then I got to do the fun part Scape time! I may or may not be adding a really sweet centerpiece rock that's being stored at work since it also has an RFA hanging out on it, but I'm honestly digging the look as it is already. Focus was on plenty of space to grow softies, as well as plenty of hiding spots for all the gobies and friends. Also I had to make sure everything was stable, since I am planning on a shrimp/goby pair, and I don't need them knocking anything over. Thankfully all the rock I had was pretty sturdy, and I gave everything a good weight-test to make sure it was well in place and also hitting the sandbed so future sand removal doesn't collapse stuff. Now I just have to put all that water back and wait for it to settle, then we can add lights and skimmer! I was able to shove a few leftover rock pieces in one of the media baskets for extra biofiltration space. Still need to get me some good pads and maybe another sack of chemi-pure or some GFO or something...I already suspect I may be bringing over some algae from the previous setup so I want to nip that in the bud early if possible.

Thanks for the feedback y'all, I think I have a yoga mat lying around that I'll happily sacrifice for the Greater Good. My rock is actually all pre-cured I guess, since about half came from another member's tank breakdown and half from the shop, where all our stuff tends to come from established tanks as well. The only rock we've actually ordered any time lately has been RealReef stuff. Perks of working for a service company! Everything else was just the live sand and the media from my existing tank that I'm upgrading from.

Thanks! Also we may have a slight bump in the road so far...I've realized this tank doesn't have a mat underneath, which is Not Great for a rimless tank. Guess we're going to have a quick adventure in draining and rock juggling tomorrow so I can slip something underneath. Unless anyone has suggestions/input with rimless stuff? I've heard plenty of bad stuff about rimless tanks without pads getting all explode-y after a while.

UPDATE 7/5/19 Well it finally happened to me, the hobbyist's worst nightmare. I came home last night to a crack down the side of the tank, about 15 gallons of water missing, and some very unhappy animals. Luckily, I was able to salvage a lot. There wasn't any serious damage to the flooring or walls, none of my electrical stuff got shorted, and I was able to evacuate just about everything to the shop until I get this sorted out. The only losses were my midas blenny, and my possum wrasse is missing (there's a small chance he's alive and just crammed into one of my rocks, but I'm not optimistic at this point). Amazingly, all my corals are fine, including the ones that were out of water for a bit. The leak must have only started an hour or two before I got back. Let me say, I've never been more thankful to work at a store 10 minutes from home, otherwise I might have lost everything. Obviously, the tank is a write-off. I'm disappointed, mostly because literally 24 hours prior I had finally installed my second Kessil and was going to start securing my frags in the final stage of the scaping. I suppose it's a good thing I didn't yet. I also really liked how the tank was set up and running, all the hardware was great and it was the perfect shape and layout I needed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do going forward. I still plan on going to FragFest, and I'm reluctant to sell my livestock since I've amassed a nice collection of corals and I'm in love with all my fish. But I'm at the point where we may be moving to a new house in the next 6-9 months and I'm not sure I want to try and set up a tank again only to break it down so soon. The best thing I have for a leading plan right now is boarding my livestock wherever I can, and accumulate the pieces to a new setup that I'll actually assemble when we move. I'm still kind of processing everything right now. I know I'm lucky and that it could have gone a lot worse, but that doesn't change the fact that I lost two months of work and several hundred dollars thanks to what looks like a fluke. The best theory I have is that maybe the yoga mat I put underneath as a leveling pad wasn't adequate, but from what I've heard about un-leveled rimless tanks, they tend to explode rather than have a single crack. If anyone has any suggestions or feedback I'd be happy to hear it. If I do replace the tank part of me wants to just contact Cobalt and see if they can sell me just the tank and nothing else, since I still have all the working hardware. I don't know if there are similar AIOs out there, but I'm open to alternatives. In my current space I'm limited to essentially a 40 breeder layout, although for a future setup I may be able to do a larger tank with a sump. --------------------------------- It's finally happening! After one too many fissues (fish issues) with my nano tank, I did what I tell everyone else to do and bought a bigger tank. Everything fell into place pretty nicely, so it was clearly a sign to dive in to such a project. My end goal is a tank that will satisfy my need for a salty setup (at least one...for now...) and allow me to grow out my favorite corals. So, zoas and mushrooms pretty much. Cool Stats for Nerds -Tank: Cobalt C-Vue 40g, bought used but in very nice shape. -Filtration: stock Cobalt return pumps (love the dual return already), dual InTank media baskets. Exact media setup still being figured out. -Skimmer: CADLights PLS-50 Elite II skimmer (came with the tank) -Heating: Aqueon Pro 100 (considering adding an additional 50w as backup) -Lighting: 2x Kessil 160E w/ Spectral controller. -Substrate: Fiji Pink AragAlive (the classic) -Lid: I think it's the stock lid, but what matters is that it's absolutely airtight over the part where fish go, so no carpet surfing allowed. -Rocks: Lots. Current stock (7/5/19): -Ocellaris clown pair (Mocha x Black Photon): Vicky and Vance -Yellow Coris Wrasse: Banana Man -Wheeler Goby M&F pair: Huff and Puff -Neon Blue/Allen's Damsel: no name earned yet -Emerald Crabs: Cornelia and Marie -Fighting Conchs: Gary and Missilelauncher -Pencil Urchin: Pence-a-gram -An assortment of snails including Beyblade and Beyblade Jr. the Star Astreas, and a handful of banded trochus and astreas -3-4x Scarlet Hermits -A large assortment of zoas and mushrooms Future? -Kamohara Blenny (or other fang species) -Undecided combtooth/rock blenny -ORA Hybrid Neon Goby pair R.I.P -Midas Blenny: Flop -Yellow-Band Possum Wrasse: Worm-on-a-String I'm already thinking about adding a really simple 'fuge in one of the filter compartments, since after the two baskets and the skimmer I'll have an empty one, and I'm always okay with growing pods. Only other fish I'm considering down the line is a mandarin, because I can't say no to pinchy mouths and pretty colors. Not in the immediate future though. The Building (T-minus zero!) Please note the tasteful Walmart tablecloth I utilized as a drip shield/salt creep deterrent. Next place I live is *not* being carpeted, that's for sure. Also shoutout to Zach for letting me borrow a pair of the company Giant Tank-Moving Suction Cup Handles, which made bringing this monster up the stairs so much easier. Yummy yummy silt! After cracking open the return pumps so I could attack them with a cleaning brush, sliding the heater into just the right spot, spending way too long fiddling with the terrible rat's nest that is my wiring, and closing my eyes...we're powered up and running! The floating cup contains one (1) naughty pistol shrimp who hid in the rocks that I cleaned out from the old tank and therefore didn't get taken to work along with all my other livestock for a couple days' vacation until the tank was cycled. He had to stay in baby jail overnight. Behold my skilled and masterful aquascaping! I'd like to thank my late-evening tiredness for the design inspiration. What will my scape actually look like? Will I get that second Kessil? How long until the fish get to finally come home? Tune in next week for another thrilling episode of Profishional Tank Time!

ok good to know, thought I was missing something there

What's the take on deep blue/seapora rimless? I've only ever had rimless tiny tanks (<20 gal) so I doubt those have much issue. Is it possible to drill those? We just ordered a 75 gal and it was ridiculously heavy bc of the thicker glass. Also do people see differences between all-in-one rimlesses like the Reefers vs standalone rimless tanks?

I just recently realized that I never received any sort of official wamas membership card after joining last October. How do you got about getting one?

Very interested on behalf of @MaeganWink, who I've been working with to help run tanks in her marine bio class. I'm probably most likely to be able to come up this week to get it, Wednesday works best. Feel free to PM with your availability or text 2403970506