newbie here

[mikmoy76]

Hello, My name is Mike, I am new to this site and forum. It was highly recommended to me by "Spanky", he is a personal friend of mine. he said to read everything possible and ask lots of questions and this is the best place to get the information. i am just starting out in the saltwater life. i am taking my time and gathering as much info possible. i have a 100 gallon tank to start at the moment and nothing else. if anyone has any helpful information it would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

[WV Reefer]

20 minutes ago, mikmoy76 said:

Hello, My name is Mike, I am new to this site and forum. It was highly recommended to me by "Spanky", he is a personal friend of mine. he said to read everything possible and ask lots of questions and this is the best place to get the information. i am just starting out in the saltwater life. i am taking my time and gathering as much info possible. i have a 100 gallon tank to start at the moment and nothing else. if anyone has any helpful information it would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Welcome to NR! 😊

 

You can ask us anything. There is also a lot of great info in the Beginners Forum. 

[Friendly]

23 minutes ago, mikmoy76 said:

Hello, My name is Mike, I am new to this site and forum. It was highly recommended to me by "Spanky", he is a personal friend of mine. he said to read everything possible and ask lots of questions and this is the best place to get the information. i am just starting out in the saltwater life. i am taking my time and gathering as much info possible. i have a 100 gallon tank to start at the moment and nothing else. if anyone has any helpful information it would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

ignore WV...she says that to everyone.  😉

 

this is a great site, though. it's unfortunate, but a few other SW reef forums are a bit snobbish while everyone here is pretty good...laid back friendly and have the desire to be helpful, not put you down or have your inexperience rubbed in your face. so welcome and enjoy! 😄

[ECLS Reefer]

Hi!! I'm super new too, and I've bombarded these guys with so many questions!! They haven't blocked me yet, so I would venture to say you'll be okay here with this group! I'm jealous about your 100gallon tank- someday I'll graduate to a bigger one, once I figure this 13.5 gallon one out. Or I'll keep it and have TWO. Who knows-this saltwater hobby is like a bad addiction. 😳😳

[Clown79]

Welcome to Nano

 

Like already said, there is tons of info and so many helpful ppl here. 

 

Read lots of beginner threads and journals, so much info and learning experience with those.

 

Ask lots of questions, none are stupid.😁

[mikmoy76]

 thank you all for the kind words and support. we are so excited to get this going and going correctly. i have a ton of reading and researching to do before i start putting things into place.

 

the one thing that has be puzzled at the moment is all of the plumbing and different tanks that are needed.

 

does anyone have any pictures to share that i could get some idea of how to set it up?

[Friendly]

hey Mik...there are three primary ways to run a tank.

 

- AiO w/built in refugium

- Tank w/Sump

- Au Naturel

 

good examples of AiO tanks are the options from Innovative Marine. These have a section at the back that is broken up into chambers for you to place the gear that goes into a sump. they aret a bit more than your regular tank, but not as much as a tank and sump. the idea is to lower your entry point while providing options for adding skimmers, reactors, etc, depending on your tank needs.

 

tank w/sump is the way it used to be...but is still very popular as with water volume comes added stability. it also lets you tuck away and hide a lot of unsightly gear, which is one of the downsides of an AiO, depending on what you stick into the chambers.

 

then au naturel...where you have a lower bio load than the tank is capable of if you ran skimmers, reactors, etc and do consistent/regular water changes and let the self-contained system care for itself. good examples are WV Reefer's threads under her 12 gallon long and dirty and 75 gallon long and dirty.

 

for starters, one of the most popular tanks is IM's Nuvo Fusion Nao 10.

 

[Clown79]

Plumbing depends on the system.

 

An aio(all in one) has no real plumbing. It has a small sump(back chambers) its plug n play. Hoses attach to pump and return nozzles

 

Tank with hob has no plumbing either. Just hang the filter on the rim and done.

 

Tanks with a sump have plumbing. I can't offer any advice as I have aio's for the ease of use.

 

[Oldsalt01]

Welcome to the obsession and this site. I run an aio, so won’t comment on plumbing. I will offer 4 recommendations though: 1) keep a paper or computer record of your water test results, when new livestock is acquired/added, water/media changes. You’ll be glad you did down the road as it will become a reference for you.

2) keep a photo journal from day one to record your progress (we’re also crazy about seeing a new tank grow).

3) SERIOUSLY consider setting up a quarantine tank to keep potential diseases out of the display tank (still no guarantee, but a good hedge against it). It doesn’t have to be a big deal..... a 5 gal bucket can suffice.

4) Take your time and do your research. Nothing good ever happens fast in a saltwater tank.