xWascallyWabbit
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Welcome! Western PA reefer here. Keep on reading and doing research it's all part of the fun
Just someone who finds aquariums beautiful & healing
findingsimple
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Gday and welcome!
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
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My Tank Thread
OP
OP
wow thanks so much! I'm in Delco so I'm a bit west of you; still ok to join?welcome aboard the r2r board. hello from PA!
take a gander at my signature and look to the link provided to learn how to join the eastern PA reef association forum group! hoping to get a good amount of active reefers to one day start planning events and the like. i recently took down my tank and have lots of equipment available for sale if you haven't started buying things, yet!
I'm so sorry you had to take your tank down. hope everything is ok. budget is tight atm & I'm in a tiny apartment that I'll probably have to move out of in the next year or two due to my partner's job situation
so I wouldn't have anywhere to store supplies yet, but I rly appreciate the offer!! truly hope you're doing all right.
OP
OP
I feel that. or, I expect I would feel that, if I did have a tank to look after.
try not to be too hard on yourself, tho! we are all human and just trying to figure things out - everything is a learning process. it's easier to say someone else, of course (I have yet to internalize this myself, lol) but I do think it's true. the fact that you take it hard shows how much you care, and no one who cares would go out of their way to harm a tank they've worked super hard on. I think you're doing a good job 
perfectly fine! as the group expands we'll look to invite those in the north/south east parts of PA as well. maybe even collaborate with the groups towards wester/central PA!wow thanks so much! I'm in Delco so I'm a bit west of you; still ok to join?
I'm so sorry you had to take your tank down. hope everything is ok. budget is tight atm & I'm in a tiny apartment that I'll probably have to move out of in the next year or two due to my partner's job situation
and thank you! everything is going good. just a transition period
Welcome!
Hello, and Welcome
Welcome
Welcome and sorry to hear you had a rough patch. It happens to all of us. I was actually just thinking about this yesterday as a matter of fact (before my power went out and I began panicking). I was just thinking how beautiful reef tank is and how relaxing it is to watch. It makes a challenging day at work or just a bad day in general a little easier.
The main thing I would tell you is this: starting off try to get more water volume than less. 40g and up is a good start imo. A sump is awesome to hide equipment and also gives you a little extra water volume. Nanos and picos are "cute" but bad things happen more quickly in those tanks unless you are very experienced. You also get to stock more creatures in a larger reef tank.
Secondly, this hobby requires redundancy plans. You want to have some source of power whether an Lithium ion inverter, gas inverter generator, or whatever choice of backup electricity if power goes out. In PA, it may not be as bad. Im on the east coast and we get some crazy storms. An ATO is also a necessity, one that also has a float switch if the water pump fails and keeps going. Sometimes you go away for a few days at least. You want to know that your reef is covered as best as possible.
You can go this hobby on the cheaper side if you want, but that will take many months of slowly gathering your equipment, looking for sales (here and on FB marketplace etc). There are always people exiting the hobby and you WILL get unbelievable deals on items that are 4x or more the value. People have to suddenly move and they need to get things out fast. A guy had a reef tank on marketplace yesterday that was 100 gallons with a light that is worth 1500 dollars and coral that was worth at least 3 grand alone (huge torch) etc selling for 3 grand. The whole thing- skimmer, rock, rollers, fish, tank, stand, everything. I can tell you that setup is worth about ten thousand or more dollars, probably 12. If I didnt have my 65 gallon up and running I would have driven there today to go pick it up.
Enjoy it here- you are in good hands.
The main thing I would tell you is this: starting off try to get more water volume than less. 40g and up is a good start imo. A sump is awesome to hide equipment and also gives you a little extra water volume. Nanos and picos are "cute" but bad things happen more quickly in those tanks unless you are very experienced. You also get to stock more creatures in a larger reef tank.
Secondly, this hobby requires redundancy plans. You want to have some source of power whether an Lithium ion inverter, gas inverter generator, or whatever choice of backup electricity if power goes out. In PA, it may not be as bad. Im on the east coast and we get some crazy storms. An ATO is also a necessity, one that also has a float switch if the water pump fails and keeps going. Sometimes you go away for a few days at least. You want to know that your reef is covered as best as possible.
You can go this hobby on the cheaper side if you want, but that will take many months of slowly gathering your equipment, looking for sales (here and on FB marketplace etc). There are always people exiting the hobby and you WILL get unbelievable deals on items that are 4x or more the value. People have to suddenly move and they need to get things out fast. A guy had a reef tank on marketplace yesterday that was 100 gallons with a light that is worth 1500 dollars and coral that was worth at least 3 grand alone (huge torch) etc selling for 3 grand. The whole thing- skimmer, rock, rollers, fish, tank, stand, everything. I can tell you that setup is worth about ten thousand or more dollars, probably 12. If I didnt have my 65 gallon up and running I would have driven there today to go pick it up.
Enjoy it here- you are in good hands.
Welcome to R2R!!!
Welcome to Reef2Reef! My father told me he got into aquariums before I was born to help with high blood pressure. Super calming in my opinion. Sometimes I forget the time between messing with stuff and just watching the tank. Whenever you're ready to dive in, this is the perfect place to help guide you along. There's tons of knowledgeable and kind people on this forum.
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