Folta

Thanks for the welcome Chris and Lee! Here's a pic of the tank AFTER I spent a day cleaning it and getting the equipment running (btw, the algae had gotten so bad in it, that all of the glass was coated in it.. even with the lights on you couldn't see anything: Here it is a week later at the time of the move: And here is a pic from last weekend:

Thanks again! I was just reading the thread about tank tours... that sounds like a neat idea. I definitely would like to see the assortment of corals that people keep in real life, not just photos. Also, I was wondering what LFS's you guys recommend in my area, north of dc. I know of congressional aquarium on rockville pike, tropicalfishworld off of shady grove further up 355, and totally fish on georgia avenue in layhill.

Thanks for the welcome!

Hello everyone! I just moved to Olney, MD, and was looking for local people who are reefkeeping as a hobby. I have much experience with freshwater fish, but until recently none with saltwater. So far things are going well. I actually aquired the tank, stand, uv sterelizer, light bar, skimmer, sump, overflow, tons of chemicals/test kits/fish food for free. The tank was in pretty bad condition (not structurally, just that no upkeep had been done on the tank for over a year) and there were actually still 3 fish left alive when I got it. I've sold one of the fish ( a lunare wrasse ) to a LFS, and the other two (oc. clowns) are still in the tank. The powerheads, skimmer, etc are all running well now, and water parameters are stable (no ammonia, nitrite, etc). I've put in some additions - a coral banded shrimp, a sixline wrasse, a copperband butterfly, and a bunch of various snails (including a redfoot snail that I found out was not reef safe, luckily I've gotten him out). The bulbs needed replacing, so instead I just ordered a new light bar and lights - 260 watt PC fluorescent. I also purchased a bunch of liverock for the tank thats been in for a few weeks now, and replaced the substrate with argonite sand (which looks so much better than the crushed coral, imo). So, I wanted to say hello to everyone out there in the area!! Also, I'm looking to start keeping some easy maintenance corals - zoas, shrooms, etc. If anyone close to me is looking to give/sell some, please don't hesitate to contact me! I've been getting some fabulous advice from reefcentral. In fact, that is how I heard about this site. I have some pictures that I've taken, if anyone would like to see. I have them hosted on photobucket, can I embed links in this forum?