Hi there,
My name is Ray. I’ve been reading Reef2Reef since summer 2020, at least, and mostly a result of search results linking back to this site as well as mentions by the BRS team in their five minute and other guides.
Once Upon a Time
My desire for a saltwater aquarium dates back to when I was in high school. My AP chemistry teacher had one in her home. We would all get together at her home and have study sessions. I remember the fascination and serenity I felt watching the fish and the sea urchins navigate around the tank. So cool.
Recent Bio
2020 was a crazy year of change for me just as coronavirus started ravaging the world. In 2019, I sold my home to move to Austin to complete what was supposed to be a long term project. I was sick for like half of my time there with some unidentifiable coughing for that would lead to me passing out. I think it was laryngial spasms. Then there was the hellacious heat and the torturous allergies made life so difficult. I didn’t get to spend time with friends as a result of much of this. 2019 was not a great year for us, but at least the world was normal.
Mid 2019 I found out that the business had miscommunicated requirements for the project and also residency requirements. As soon as we found out, we started planning our move back to Denver. With the hospitality job market in Austin being so uncompetitive, I sent my partner ahead of me to start looking for homes and also accept a great job opportunity.
We eventually found a builder, a location, and a floor plan with a completion timeframe that aligned with ours. A year later, 2021 our home was ready and we started our move.
Six or so months into 2020 coronavirus was in full swing. My employer (a restaurant SaaS vertical tech company) kicked off a round of RIFs and anxiety, coronavirus restrictions, and lockdowns were driving me crazy.
Many people I knew were using this time constructively by indulging their hobbies and labors of love and so I started thinking about what I could do. I’m a gamer, but not hard core. I play MMOs like WoW, SWTOR, GW2, and ESO. But grinding beyond reaching the end game or story arcs wasn’t good enough for me. I worked on finishing some of the garage. I did plenty of yard work. But being a new home and a garage still partially in chaos from the move, there wasn’t much more I could do at the time.
While I have always kept fish and planted aquariums, I restricted myself to only freshwater because I moved frequently, didn’t have the money, or time. New home, just moved back to town, why not jump back into the hobby and finally going saltwater?
Eventually at summers end I came across a good deal for a tank to get me started. I knew I wanted something larger, but i just couldn’t settle on just how large and where I would place it. I was also weary of the commitment. I also wasn’t part of this community then or I probably would have just gone big from the get go.
In the meantime, I had an office that I could use to place this tank and a closet I could hide equipment in. I even had easily accessible plumbing. Who knows maybe this tank would satisfy my desire to start and care for a saltwater aquarium? Though I took some pictures here and there, I didn’t get to document the process or the journey.
Now
8 months later my “starter” tank (built using the BRS five minute guides) is maturing with each passing day. My home is settled and the other major projects are complete until the weather is more regularly agreeable.
After much consideration for the costs, time, the satisfaction and serenity this hobby provides me, and the fact that the main floor of the home was ready for the main attraction we decided to pull the trigger and get a larger tank. Top contenders were Red Sea, Cade, and Waterbox. The space demanded a peninsula style.
Today I ordered a Waterbox Peninsula 6025.
Cool Kids Club?
Though this thread will include some details of the existing “starter” tank that will be used to seed (as well as be replaced by) the new tank, it will primarily host details of the build for the new Waterbox. I’ll admit, it won’t be much of a ”build.” I already have a tank that is already on its journey and I have equipment and livestock that will be transferred over. The aquarium itself is new, comes with a cabinet, is pre-plumbed with easy connections, and includes a sump. Waiting for its own cycle to complete will allow me time to explore potential new lighting that may hit the market (*cough* Neptune’s Sky) as well as time to purchase the remaining equipment.
Any questions or feedback along the way are welcome.
Cheers folk,
P.S. According to the by-laws of the community, this thread now makes me a member of the “cool kids club,” right? Let it be known that deep inside this honor has me squealing like a “Belieber” that meets the Biebs IRL for the first time.
My name is Ray. I’ve been reading Reef2Reef since summer 2020, at least, and mostly a result of search results linking back to this site as well as mentions by the BRS team in their five minute and other guides.
Once Upon a Time
My desire for a saltwater aquarium dates back to when I was in high school. My AP chemistry teacher had one in her home. We would all get together at her home and have study sessions. I remember the fascination and serenity I felt watching the fish and the sea urchins navigate around the tank. So cool.
Recent Bio
2020 was a crazy year of change for me just as coronavirus started ravaging the world. In 2019, I sold my home to move to Austin to complete what was supposed to be a long term project. I was sick for like half of my time there with some unidentifiable coughing for that would lead to me passing out. I think it was laryngial spasms. Then there was the hellacious heat and the torturous allergies made life so difficult. I didn’t get to spend time with friends as a result of much of this. 2019 was not a great year for us, but at least the world was normal.
Mid 2019 I found out that the business had miscommunicated requirements for the project and also residency requirements. As soon as we found out, we started planning our move back to Denver. With the hospitality job market in Austin being so uncompetitive, I sent my partner ahead of me to start looking for homes and also accept a great job opportunity.
We eventually found a builder, a location, and a floor plan with a completion timeframe that aligned with ours. A year later, 2021 our home was ready and we started our move.
Six or so months into 2020 coronavirus was in full swing. My employer (a restaurant SaaS vertical tech company) kicked off a round of RIFs and anxiety, coronavirus restrictions, and lockdowns were driving me crazy.
Many people I knew were using this time constructively by indulging their hobbies and labors of love and so I started thinking about what I could do. I’m a gamer, but not hard core. I play MMOs like WoW, SWTOR, GW2, and ESO. But grinding beyond reaching the end game or story arcs wasn’t good enough for me. I worked on finishing some of the garage. I did plenty of yard work. But being a new home and a garage still partially in chaos from the move, there wasn’t much more I could do at the time.
While I have always kept fish and planted aquariums, I restricted myself to only freshwater because I moved frequently, didn’t have the money, or time. New home, just moved back to town, why not jump back into the hobby and finally going saltwater?
Eventually at summers end I came across a good deal for a tank to get me started. I knew I wanted something larger, but i just couldn’t settle on just how large and where I would place it. I was also weary of the commitment. I also wasn’t part of this community then or I probably would have just gone big from the get go.
In the meantime, I had an office that I could use to place this tank and a closet I could hide equipment in. I even had easily accessible plumbing. Who knows maybe this tank would satisfy my desire to start and care for a saltwater aquarium? Though I took some pictures here and there, I didn’t get to document the process or the journey.
Now
8 months later my “starter” tank (built using the BRS five minute guides) is maturing with each passing day. My home is settled and the other major projects are complete until the weather is more regularly agreeable.
After much consideration for the costs, time, the satisfaction and serenity this hobby provides me, and the fact that the main floor of the home was ready for the main attraction we decided to pull the trigger and get a larger tank. Top contenders were Red Sea, Cade, and Waterbox. The space demanded a peninsula style.
Today I ordered a Waterbox Peninsula 6025.
Cool Kids Club?
Though this thread will include some details of the existing “starter” tank that will be used to seed (as well as be replaced by) the new tank, it will primarily host details of the build for the new Waterbox. I’ll admit, it won’t be much of a ”build.” I already have a tank that is already on its journey and I have equipment and livestock that will be transferred over. The aquarium itself is new, comes with a cabinet, is pre-plumbed with easy connections, and includes a sump. Waiting for its own cycle to complete will allow me time to explore potential new lighting that may hit the market (*cough* Neptune’s Sky) as well as time to purchase the remaining equipment.
Any questions or feedback along the way are welcome.
Cheers folk,
P.S. According to the by-laws of the community, this thread now makes me a member of the “cool kids club,” right? Let it be known that deep inside this honor has me squealing like a “Belieber” that meets the Biebs IRL for the first time.
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