Just became legit :)

[bendeng]

Just paid for my membership and joined the club!

 

Ok, here's my intro:

 

Born in '88, Baltimore Md (yissss Ravens!). Navy brat, spent most of my childhood raised in Hawaii (mom kept a 55g freshwater). Moved here to NoVA cuz island life ain't cheap.

 

Tbh, I started my 10g freshwater tank 4months ago because my boyfriend caught a rusty crayfish out of a local creek and gifted it to me (I had spent the last several months sharing my research on saltwater setups and got his 46g bowfront running). One crayfish, a dozen tiger barbs, two figure8 puffers, two pink kissers all have come and gone, and now a pleco, convict cichlid, and a tiger oscar alongside some dwarf hairgrass and java ferns rent my tank.

 

Currently working on a 20g xH saltwater setup. Got a 10g sump built. Skimmer on order. Need to drill holes for plumbing and start cycling. Got LR off of craigslist and cleaned off all the B.Algae. Got that sittin in a tub with a powerhead running some purple up just for kicks.

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Oh. Im a bartender. Slowly getting my higher education on. I live with my folks and extended fam. I have an adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Frankie who loves to gaze at fish tanks with me... and I'm half korean.

 

Lol TL; DR. Half asian long time lurker new to the hobby.

 

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[Cliff Puckstable]

Welcome banhan.

[DaveS]

Welcome. Funny that you consider NoVa has lower cost of living...

 

No malasadas but at least there's lots of Korean food and shaved ice!

[monkiboy]

pictures of frankie and the new setup you're working on when you get a chance! welcome aboard!

[Coral Hind]

Welcome to the club. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the 20g reef.

[Origami]

Welcome! This is a great personal introduction! Though separated by nearly three decades, we share a couple of things in common in our private lives. I was raised a Navy brat, too, and am half Japanese. It sounds like you're of to a good and thoughtful start. And I'm looking forward to hearing more about your build progress. Feel free to start a build thread in the Dedicated Tank forum.

 

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[AlanM]

Wow, sounds like you're off to a good start with sump built, skimmer on order, live rock scrubbed and cooking, and getting ready to drill the tank.  There are a bunch of NOVA folks who have drilled lots of tanks before, and if you brought it to the October 26 meeting I bet someone would help you drill it if that's not too late.

 

What do you plan to put in the tank? 

 

Also, what happened to all those fish that went through your tank in 4 months?

[howaboutme]

Welcome to WAMAS! Yes, agreed NOVA is cheaper than many places. We moved from NYC. My daughter (and soon to be 2nd daughter) are half asian too. You'll love it here!

[bendeng]

Leonard, my crayfish who just died of an overheated tank, ate all of my barbs. First puffer died of an injury from getting stuck to the filter, second died because he wouldn't eat. Two kissing gouramis had ich and died within the first day of me bringing them home...

 

So many struggles for what your average joe would think is a normal tank! Not as easy as it looks and now I know :(

 

My main concern is that my house stays hot. So I'm researching some chillers or even diy options on keeping temperatures down (I sleep with my windows open during the winter).

 

As for the saltwater, I was fortunate enough to make most of the rookie mistakes while helping my bf with his 46g mixed reef. I haven't decided a stock list yet... I had some ideas but now I'm rethinking everything.

 

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[smallreef]

Well, nice to meet you, and please never post your age again, you make me feel OLD! Lol

Lots of military brats round here! My dad was Navy also, and so is my husband....

But the one great thing is we have had a tank in each of the last 4 houses since we seem to move every few years,lol

 

Oh and getting your higher learning on, good for you! Alot of us didn't figure out till we graduated HS that we need some college, I'm currently taking satellite classes at ODU...so I understand your pain,lol

[Arkonen]

Welcome aboard!

[AlanM]

Old is right. I got my first car in 88 after mowing lawns for two years.

 

Someone just had a small chiller posted recently on the WTB forum. I think it might have been Steve or Adam (incredible corals or artfully acrylic).

[Marc Weaver]

Welcome!!

[smallreef]

Old is right. I got my first car in 88 after mowing lawns for two years.

Someone just had a small chiller posted recently on the WTB forum. I think it might have been Steve or Adam (incredible corals or artfully acrylic).

Well I'm not THAT old,lol I didn't start driving till 1998 but...

[surf&turf]

Welcome!

[bendeng]

 

Here's my current 10g freshie. Ill be sure to snap photos of my sw build and make a DT build thread

 

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[Gatortailale]

Welcome to the club.

I graduated from high school in 88! 

 

Freshie tanks is looking good.  Looking forward to reading about your saltwater fun.

 

Now we know we have a bar we can go visit and sit around having a pint and telling fish tales to a bartender who really cares to hear them.

[Neto]

Welcome aboard! What lights where you thinking on using?

[bendeng]

Thanks @Neto I bought two sets of LEDs off of eBay. Some bobo Chinese made 165w. One is running over my freshwater and works nice I'm letting the bf test the other over his sw tank and we'll see how the corals like it.

 

 

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[Origami]

I think I found the light here. They basically look like Evergrow D120's with a very slight rearrangement of controls on the top. They both actually consume 120W, not 165W. The 165W figure comes from there being 55-3W LED's on the board, but I see from the specs that you posted, bendeng, that the actual power consumption is about 120W. That means that each LED is being driven lower than it's max level.

[lnevo]

Fyi, that may not have read right. Running LED's lower than their spec is common and is better in the long run. Less power, less hear, longer life. The D120 style light seem to he great bang for the buck and may my future lights.

[paul b]

Born in '88, Baltimore Md (yissss Ravens!).

 

 

Welcome Bendeng.  Nice to meet you.  I got these socks I am wearing in 88

 

I graduated from high school in 88!

 

My highschool was probably condemmed and torn down in 88

 

I have amphipods from before 88.  Some of my amphipods have canker sores older then you, but not much.

[Origami]

Fyi, that may not have read right. Running LED's lower than their spec is common and is better in the long run. Less power, less hear, longer life. The D120 style light seem to he great bang for the buck and may my future lights.

Less heat at the junction diode equates to longer life. But, yes, this is very common to run LED's at below their max ratings (it's true in most electronics to run devices below their max ratings, in fact). It's just kind of deceptive to call a light a 165W light when it's dissipating 120W (at the input to the driver, no less). Bottom line, the light shown is effectively the same as a D120. Good value.

[monkiboy]

Bottom line, the light shown is effectively the same as a D120. Good value.

the ones shown in the ebay link above are different in that they are manufactured by a different company that in my and others i have helped experience have been of a lower quality when it came to the internal layout, components used, final assembly, etc in comparison to that of the evergrow units. i had four of the ones linked very early on and logan at reefbreeders used to sell them but with the problems we both experienced we decided even at the slightly lower cost, it just wasn't worth it and stuck to the evergrow units which have grown immensely in popularity.

[Origami]

the ones shown in the ebay link above are different in that they are manufactured by a different company that in my and others i have helped experience have been of a lower quality when it came to the internal layout, components used, final assembly, etc in comparison to that of the evergrow units. i had four of the ones linked very early on and logan at reefbreeders used to sell them but with the problems we both experienced we decided even at the slightly lower cost, it just wasn't worth it and stuck to the evergrow units which have grown immensely in popularity.

Interesting. Thanks, Marco.

 

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