New Member/New Tank?

[Guest bullfish]

Hello there, I just joined WAMAS today and have been a member of Reef Central for a good while.

 

I think I am finally ready to make the first steps in the reef hobby and just wanted to chime in here as this is a local forum! I currently live in Manassas, Virginia.

 

I started a thread at reefcentral.com of my planning process. the link can be found here.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=624836

 

I am pretty sure I want to get the 120 AGA and instead of building a stand, I think I am going to purchase the pine AGA stand and canopy. I know of a few stores in this area that sell marine supplies, ie Marine Scene in Herndon, VA and Cordis Fish and Pet Supply here in Manassas. Does anyone know of any other stores in this area that might have more competitve prices? Oh, and if you have a 120 or something close, post your pics or websites!!!!

 

thanks!

[Lee Stearns]

If you have the time - I would watch the local for sale board in the members only section and buy a used set up- you will certainlly save a lot of money. many can come with skimmers pumps lighting and some even stocked. If you watch long enough every size tank and set imaginable comes through there. 90 and 120s come up every so often- only if you want a stranger size for some reason like a 150 high or something will you not see it come up. If you want to design your own flow, sump ect then a new set up is the way- just know you will pay retail for each peice- New aquariums- many buy from glass cages-

if you are in a hurry to set up while the feeling can be appreciated - you are probably in the wrong hobby. Nothing good happens fast in the reef hobby.

Welcome aboard, you will find lots of folks willing to help out with your questions or support with some frags or trades when the tank is mature enough.

Regards,

[Guest bullfish]

thanks for the info, I will be keeping a look out for used items.

 

If you have the time - I would watch the local for sale board in the members only section and buy a used set up- you will certainlly save a lot of money. many can come with skimmers pumps lighting and some even stocked. If you watch long enough every size tank and set imaginable comes through there. 90 and 120s come up every so often- only if you want a stranger size for some reason like a 150 high or something will you not see it come up. If you want to design your own flow, sump ect then a new set up is the way- just know you will pay retail for each peice- New aquariums- many buy from glass cages-

if you are in a hurry to set up while the feeling can be appreciated - you are probably in the wrong hobby. Nothing good happens fast in the reef hobby.

Welcome aboard, you will find lots of folks willing to help out with your questions or support with some frags or trades when the tank is mature enough.

Regards,

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[dbartco]

Welcome. You will see a ton of for sale items as soon as you get you access to that part of the site finalized.

[Guest bullfish]

I am not sure what you mean by 'access to that part of the site finalized' Is there something I need to do to be able to see this other stuff??

 

Welcome. You will see a ton of for sale items as soon as you get you access to that part of the site finalized.

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[dbartco]

I'm sorry, I thought you said that you joined the club. There is a bulletin board section membership for free, and there is a paid membership that grants you access to the for sale/for trade section, a members only discussion area, plus other forums. Paid membership is $20. Trust me, just in free frags, trades, and speakers at meetings you will make that up at the first meeting. When you join, and your permissions are set, you will automatically see those areas when you log in.

 

The only things allowed for sale on the bulletin board section are complete teardowns of tanks. Any individual peices of equip or livestock may not be posted. You will see a ton more stuff for sale in the members area.

 

I would consider becoming a paid member if you plan on staying in this hobby, it has been well worth the experience and knowledge gained from it.

 

So again, welcome.

 

Doug

[Folta]

Just want to throw in my vote for becoming a member. I got my money back on the first day - Dr. Mac offers a discount for wamas club members, and I saved over $20 on my first trip; that right there made it worth it!

 

I've asked many questions already in the members section, and can tell you from my experience that the knowledge of the club members here has really helped me.

[Guest bullfish]

thanks for the advice, perhaps I will join up so I can take advantage of all the perks. I am sure when I dive in, I will need all the help I can get!

[steveoutlaw]

Welcome! This is a great club and you'll find a lot of help and great deals here. I have a 120g reef that I bought off of this site and I certainly got my moneys worth. Here is a link to a tank that you might be interested in.

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4809

 

It's only a 90g but it comes with a stand and the price is right.

 

Good luck.

 

Steve

[Guest bullfish]

Hmm.. seems like that link is not working for me. Is that because I am not a paying member? If that is the case, perhaps I need to hop on the wagon and check sign up, cause I was thinking of getting a 90 before I changed my mind to the 120.

 

Welcome!  This is a great club and you'll find a lot of help and great deals here.  I have a 120g reef that I bought off of this site and I certainly got my moneys worth.  Here is a link to a tank that you might be interested in.

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4809

 

It's only a 90g but it comes with a stand and the price is right.

 

Good luck.

 

Steve

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[dbartco]

Exactly!

 

 

 

We are not trying to blackmail you for $$ in any way, just keeps the bulletin board up, speakers coming, and the bandwidth available.

[Guest bullfish]

HEY GUYS!

 

FYI.. I updated my thread at reef central, the link is in my 1st post in this thread. Good news, bought a tank!!!!

[Guest bullfish]

Created a new thread at RC detailing my plan for my tank. If anyone is interested.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=650470

[Folta]

Cool. I am planning on making a new sump shortly myself, as the one I have is too tiny and has no baffles (I want to put a skimmer in the sump).

 

A 55 gallon doesn't have much room under the stand (11 1/2" front to back, between the wood), so I very well may end up putting it next to the tank instead. I'm still in the thinking phase.

 

Good luck with it, and I hope it works out well. It's good to see that you're actually planning everything out before just buying stuff!

[davelin315]

A couple of suggestions:

 

1. Don't use 1/4" acrylic. It's more expensive and you really don't need it. 1/8" is enough. Also, it won't bond as well to glass as it will acrylic, so if you are considering doing it the way you said you are, put in some braces as well along the glass to keep it in place. This will give you some more support. Also, since it's not really supporting anything, it doesn't really matter if it flexes at all. The main point of a baffle is to allow the bubbles to come out, so they are not subjected to any real pressure.

 

2. If you're buying from Foster's and Smith, I am placing an order next week for some stuff (again, though, I think it's in the members only section!).

 

3. It seems like you have a compartment on the far left in the last drawing that is simply holding water. Is this going to be a refugium? If so, it should be somewhere where unfiltered/unskimmed water can go.

 

4. Looks like (and I might be totally off) the return is going from the same place as the skimmer, you'll want the baffles to come after the skimmer. Again, I might be wrong, but I couldn't tell from your drawing.

 

Other than those suggestions, I think your planning is great, I have sketched out ideas before, but they always look lousy...

 

Dave

 

Oh, and one other thing, make sure that your water level is low enough so that during a power outage your drainage from the tank won't flood your sump and also that your water level is high enough in the sump to accomodate the two pumps and skimmer without them failing when water is at the right level.

[Guest bullfish]

Cool.  I am planning on making a new sump shortly myself, as the one I have is too tiny and has no baffles (I want to put a skimmer in the sump).

 

A 55 gallon doesn't have much room under the stand (11 1/2" front to back, between the wood), so I very well may end up putting it next to the tank instead.  I'm still in the thinking phase.

 

Good luck with it, and I hope it works out well.  It's good to see that you're actually planning everything out before just buying stuff!

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Yeah, I ran into the space issue with my planning. I hope the 15 gallon sump will be allright for my system.

 

Thanks for the comments.

[Guest bullfish]

A couple of suggestions:

 

1. Don't use 1/4" acrylic.  It's more expensive and you really don't need it.  1/8" is enough.  Also, it won't bond as well to glass as it will acrylic, so if you are considering doing it the way you said you are, put in some braces as well along the glass to keep it in place.  This will give you some more support.  Also, since it's not really supporting anything, it doesn't really matter if it flexes at all.  The main point of a baffle is to allow the bubbles to come out, so they are not subjected to any real pressure.

 

2. If you're buying from Foster's and Smith, I am placing an order next week for some stuff (again, though, I think it's in the members only section!).

 

3. It seems like you have a compartment on the far left in the last drawing that is simply holding water.  Is this going to be a refugium?  If so, it should be somewhere where unfiltered/unskimmed water can go.

 

4. Looks like (and I might be totally off) the return is going from the same place as the skimmer, you'll want the baffles to come after the skimmer.  Again, I might be wrong, but I couldn't tell from your drawing.

 

Other than those suggestions, I think your planning is great, I have sketched out ideas before, but they always look lousy...

 

Dave

 

Oh, and one other thing, make sure that your water level is low enough so that during a power outage your drainage from the tank won't flood your sump and also that your water level is high enough in the sump to accomodate the two pumps and skimmer without them failing when water is at the right level.

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I will use 1/8" acrylic then. I thought about this and was not sure if it would be fine. One thing I am not sure of is where to buy acrylic. I have heard HD sells it. I haven't checked yet, but I did look in Lowes the other day and didn't see anything there I could use. Do you have an sugestions where I could purchase it?

 

I appreciate the offer on the 'group buy' But unfortunatey I will not be ready to buy anything at that time.

 

I was planning for that compartment to be a refugium. As it is designed at this moment, the water that it is holding is skimmed and is being fed from the return section. The return pump is tee'd and has a valve so that it returns to the tank and then to the refugium. I realized at the time that the water going to the refugium was skimmed and thought I read a few articles that it really didn't matter. I may have to look into this more.

 

The return is actually after the baffles. I think what you are looking at is the intake area with the skmmer in it.

 

How exactly do I calculate how much water will drain back to my sump. This was something I have been thinking about for a while and have not figured out how calculate it. Any input?

 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep em coming!

[Guest mightymouse]

be careful with cordis everytime i go in there they haev unhealthy livestock and now they have corals under very little light at least thats hwo it was last time i was there just a heads up beware of their livestock

[Guest bullfish]

be careful with cordis everytime i go in there they haev unhealthy livestock and now they have corals under very little light at least thats hwo it was last time i was there just a heads up beware of their livestock

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Thanks for the heads up. I went in there a few times just to look around, I wasn't very impressed.

[davelin315]

When trying to calculate how much will spill over, I usually eyeball what I think. I'm sure there's a good way to calculate it using a volume calculator, but I'm too lazy to do it. I usually pull the plug after eyeballing and see where it gets me. If it's going to overflow, I rush the plug back in again and hope the pump starts!

[sturnmeyer]

I also am just getting into the reefing. I've had FOWLR tanks for many years and are taking my 30Gal into a reef as we speak. (Don't worry, all of the water specifcs are great). I've moved the lighting to PCs, which I know are MHs, but it'll work for now.

 

Just wondering if anyone had anything frags they'd like to get rid of out west near Front Royal or Winchester?????? I also work in Manassas.

 

BTW...new member here....glad I found ya....

 

Scott

[sturnmeyer]

I also am just getting into the reefing. I've had FOWLR tanks for many years and are taking my 30Gal into a reef as we speak. (Don't worry, all of the water specifcs are great). I've moved the lighting to PCs, which I know are MHs, but it'll work for now.

 

Just wondering if anyone had anything frags they'd like to get rid of out west near Front Royal or Winchester?????? I also work in Manassas.

 

BTW...new member here....glad I found ya....

 

Scott

38543[/snapback]

 

 

Sorry....wrong thread!!!!!!!!