I won the lottery....I think..

[Joshifer]

Well fish lottery. Story time kiddies.

 

My uncle tony. Not much older then me grew up like brothers. Has a $50k setup. I don't go to him with questions because he's not a hobbyist. He pays people to keep his 500 gallon reef. He doesn't even know what ammonia is. He keeps the tank as "a piece of living art" he only buys fish and corals if their over $1000.. He paid $4000 on one fish. And $2500 on one coral. And it goes on and on. Anyway..

 

Tony is moving to London summer 2014 and he's giving me everything. He's paying people to move the tank into my house. Water and everything. I told him I'm uncomfortable with taking care of a single fish that's more then my rent. Let alone a tank full of them. I told him sell it all. And buy me 400lbs of Fiji. But I'm keeping the 300lbs of live sand. And the tank and all his crazy equipment. (The $50k is the setup alone not the inhabitants) he agreed.

 

Is this something I want to get involved with? He has everything I'd need to run it. And is sending people to set it all up and show me how to work everything. And by then I should get some expirience from my tank and from you fine people.

 

It's gonna destroy my light bill I know that. Maybe ill tell him to sell it to his people who run it.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Joshifer

[Der ABT]

you forgot to tell him to give me the coral and some of the fish

 

truthfully running costs will kill you

salt/water/food

if he is willing to pay for someone to keep it fine...cant imagine that move though

[Joshifer]

you forgot to tell him to give me the coral and some of the fish

 

truthfully running costs will kill you

salt/water/food

if he is willing to pay for someone to keep it fine...cant imagine that move though

The people will come over set up. And come back a month later and see if I'm keeping it good. And never see them again.

I thought of the electricity. Food salt. Etc.

[Joshifer]

I'd totally buy sharks. And attach lasers to their heads.

[Der ABT]

even sea bass would be cool...ill tempered of course

 

yeh that's cool they will move it but...im sure that would cause a cycle etc

 

10% water change is 50g, 20 100g..dont forget top up...making the water, salt etc....food, electricity, humidity, floor strong enough for the tank...its ALOT to do

not saying it cant be done just really need to think about it

 

if he wants to get rid of fish or corals...let me know, I could even let his guys bring them over haha...sorry cant resist.

id say sell the expensive fish and keep any you want. same with corals.

[Joshifer]

even sea bass would be cool...ill tempered of course

 

yeh that's cool they will move it but...im sure that would cause a cycle etc

 

10% water change is 50g, 20 100g..dont forget top up...making the water, salt etc....food, electricity, humidity, floor strong enough for the tank...its ALOT to do

not saying it cant be done just really need to think about it

 

if he wants to get rid of fish or corals...let me know, I could even let his guys bring them over haha...sorry cant resist.

id say sell the expensive fish and keep any you want. same with corals.

Knowing him he already has his people putting them up on auctions. Hes one of those doesn't lift a finger kinda guys lol. Ill let you know

 

And I can't possibly handle that much water changes and mixing and too offs. And what happends when I have to move I'm renting.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Joshifer

[Der ABT]

if your renting just put the tank outside and live in it

 

just do it

[swimmatte]

Come on man, there's so much that's wrong with this post.  Give it a rest...........

[Joshifer]

And now ill go crawl back under my rock again...

[gmerek2]

Can your floor support a tank this heavy

[Squishie89]

Yeah it sounds like you won the lottery but lost the ticket. That is a huge tank, especially if you are renting. Could you maybe put the bare bones of it in storage?

[swimmatte]

And now ill go crawl back under my rock again...

Look man, you don't need to "crawl back under a rock", you just need to ask yourself a few questions before you post. Those questions should be something similar to below:

 

1. Is what I'm about to write true?

2. Has this question or comment been posted before, with the answers/responses already laid out for me if I use the search function?

3. Is this question/comment relevant, and beneficial to WAMAS members?

4. By posting this, am I doing something that could in anyway interfere with people that really need the help of our members?

 

If what you're about to write goes against any of the above, I'd suggest taking a deep breathe, and consider not posting it.

 

Look, I wouldn't know 10% of what I know if I didn't have WAMAS. And because of that, I attempt to be as much help as I possibly can be. But with that said, when I was first starting out I found that I learned much easier if I kept quiet and listened. Also, I'm not saying questions or bad, or that you shouldn't post questions. I just think you'd get more help if you toned it down a bit and were a little more cautious prior to posting.

 

Please feel free to PM me if you ever have something you need help with.

[Joshifer]

Look man, you don't need to "crawl back under a rock", you just need to ask yourself a few questions before you post. Those questions should be something similar to below:

 

1. Is what I'm about to write true?

2. Has this question or comment been posted before, with the answers/responses already laid out for me if I use the search function?

3. Is this question/comment relevant, and beneficial to WAMAS members?

4. By posting this, am I doing something that could in anyway interfere with people that really need the help of our members?

 

If what you're about to write goes against any of the above, I'd suggest taking a deep breathe, and consider not posting it.

 

Look, I wouldn't know 10% of what I know if I didn't have WAMAS. And because of that, I attempt to be as much help as I possibly can be. But with that said, when I was first starting out I found that I learned much easier if I kept quiet and listened. Also, I'm not saying questions or bad, or that you shouldn't post questions. I just think you'd get more help if you toned it down a bit and were a little more cautious prior to posting.

 

Please feel free to PM me if you ever have something you need help with.

Ok you need to relax. It's people like you that makes me recluse. This post is not beneficial to anyone because its in general discussion. If it were to be beneficial or whatever I'd put it in the help forum. I was asking people who I normally talk to on here. If I could handle some thing like this after a year. No I won't PM you and ask for anything. In fact Im leaving this forum because I'm tierd of being attacked for making a conversation. I'm going to get a few people that actually like me on here's email and keep in touch thru that because I'm really tierd of people like you attacking me because you'd rather troll on boards and scold and flame instead of doing what this forum is about. Extending the hobby to new people. I made enough friends. I'm finished Im tierd of nasty messages and PMs telling me Im unfit to hold any life in my hands and its a miracle my children are alive. It was that message last week that kept me away but Tom Kim and Jen persuaded me to come back. I am deleting my account. Don't worry you won't have me around any more cluttering your new content box. I'm sending my email to those 3 and deleting. Goodbye.

[brad908]

[.OptimusPrime.]

[zygote2k]

pictures or it's a fish tale.

[lutz123]

 

 

I can't say that I blame him for bowing out. I don't need every thread to be about cycling and skimmer comparisons - keeps it interesting. There's no need to even click on a thread that you don't think will be relevant.

 

I was curious to hear about this tank - he has mentioned it before. Could have made for awesome daily reading! Recently, my favorite threads have been the Joshifer threads...kind of addicting.

[SunWyrm]

Looks like I missed the party

[swimmatte]

Ok you need to relax. It's people like you that makes me recluse. This post is not beneficial to anyone because its in general discussion. If it were to be beneficial or whatever I'd put it in the help forum. I was asking people who I normally talk to on here. If I could handle some thing like this after a year. No I won't PM you and ask for anything. In fact Im leaving this forum because I'm tierd of being attacked for making a conversation. I'm going to get a few people that actually like me on here's email and keep in touch thru that because I'm really tierd of people like you attacking me because you'd rather troll on boards and scold and flame instead of doing what this forum is about. Extending the hobby to new people. I made enough friends. I'm finished Im tierd of nasty messages and PMs telling me Im unfit to hold any life in my hands and its a miracle my children are alive. It was that message last week that kept me away but Tom Kim and Jen persuaded me to come back. I am deleting my account. Don't worry you won't have me around any more cluttering your new content box. I'm sending my email to those 3 and deleting. Goodbye.

I apologize if you took my message as an attack, and realize that it was probably better suited for a PM. With that said, accusing me of trolling on boards looking to scold and flame is a little ridiculous. Honestly, while again I realized I handled it the wrong way, I was trying to help you get people to take you seriously. It looks as if you have received some over the top PM's so I guess I see why you took this as an attack, but I assure you that was not my intention. Good luck.

[lnevo]

Its the internet man...everyone got their opinions. Kinda like something else that everyone has.

 

If these posts really offend you that badly to delete your account and come here no longer then just shut off that computer and go outside.

 

Otherwise get yourself back here and ignore those you feel are trolls and let them learn to ignore you!

[Origami]

He asked a simple question. It seemed earnest enough and plausible. Joshifer focused on two elements: Cost and his lack of experience (which he confessed to). Evan had the right approach - acquisition costs are only the start of the expenses associated with this hobby. Maintenance costs are significant and have to be considered. Plus, if dear uncle was willing to help out there and with providing caretakers with the system, then maybe it's not so bad.

 

I have no reason really to question the truthfulness of the question.

 

I see no place where this specific question has been answered or support given.

 

This board is full of places where people ask the same question again and again. I sometimes find it hard to fathom that we counsel patience to people over and over, yet fail to exercise it in our dealings with others. Sometimes people just need support. Dad used to tell me, if you can't say something positive, don't say it at all. I don't subscribe to that entirely, but there's wisdom in thinking it through first.

 

Now, I'm off to a meeting that'll last most of the day.

[SunWyrm]

I was just about to chime in, then I read the whole "mods delete my acct" and was sad. As someone with 600+ gallons in her basement I think I couldve provided a little insight into just how hard those water changes can be, not to mention algae wiping...
 

I thought his posts were kinda fun, if a little crazy. Certainly kept me entertained at work and got me posting on the forum again.

[Curtis Scott]

Josh, I've been keeping reef tanks for over 5 years and I'm still only running a 75g w/ 30g sump. While I know I could probably go bigger, I just don't really have the time or experience to have something that is that big of an investment (time and money) have something go wrong on me. I just don't feel like I'm prepared yet.

 

There are many things to think about like with a tank that large like:

• flooring support
• liability insurance, if you are renting and something catastrophic happens (flood)
• making sure the environment is ready for this, humidity/heat export, fresh air import, and I'm sure I missing more than a few other things as I've never had to plan out a tank of this size
• cost of salt, supplements, food ect (general upkeep)
• auto top off
• RODI, saltwater production and water changes for a tank this large
• and many more

 

I would pass on this set up for now. Choose to concentrate more on slowly working your way up to knowing more and being able to plan through all the basics of a smaller set up. Over time as your experience grows and you become more comfortable in your knowledge of reef keeping successfully, then consider to moving up to larger tanks.

 

I know you have been recommended some reading material, but I'd like to run a couple books by you that really helped me:

 

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Conscientious-Marine-Aquarist-Professional/dp/1890087998/ref=pd_sim_b_6

 

Reef Secrets

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Secrets-Alf-Jacob-Nilsen/dp/189008767X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379678489&sr=8-1&keywords=Reef+Secrets

 

This hobby is really all about baby steps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Curtis Scott

[sachabballi reef]

Sigh.....

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[steveoutlaw]

Josh - Some good advice above.  We all want the large tank to keep whatever fish we want.  Unfortunately, the maintenance costs for a tank like that, as well as the time, are HUGE.  Most of the time people don't realize it until they are neck deep and saying "what have I gotten myself into".

 

My advice to you is this;  keep the tank you have and make it successful.  There are a lot of really great nano tanks and a lot of cool fish and coral you can put in there (search some here and on RC).  In a year, upgrade to something bigger, yet manageable, if you want but with the knowledge you've gained from taking care of what you have.  If your Uncle really wants to help you, see if he'll let you sell the stuff and put it towards a larger setup down the road.