Evenin' all

[Alchemist]

Hello,

Before I make an a## of myself in the main forum area I thought I'd say hello here.

New to saltwater but had freshwater tanks on and off for 15y.  They are all gone now (FW)...BUT...I have a nice 3.5 week old 25g tank set up with currently 5lbs of live rock and 20 lbs crushed coral substrate with 5lb of live sand in a "play area"...added a few snails and a few blue leg hermits a couple of days ago.  I have a nice external canister filter with sponge, carbon and bio-rings in and I just ordered a 24" 2X 65 Watt PC + lunar light combo canopy from J&L Aquatics which I hope will give me a bit of flexibility as to what I can keep in my tank.  I'm going to get some more live rock before I get any fish (hopefully another 10lbs or so this weekend from Jim in Gananoque (Forty Fathoms)...I'm in Kingston).  I might add another 10lbs of good live rock to that total before I add anything with fins.

This tank is my intro to the hobby...wife wants this as a decorative fixure which I agreed to as then she'll get interested in it (and pay half     !!).  I want to keep a good mix of everything that I can with the set up I have.  I don't have a skimmer yet and to be honest...I'm running out of cash right now...so that will have to be a later purchase and a cheap one at that.  So...on to the main forum....I have a few questions..surprise surprise.

Great site by the way.

[babblefish1960]

Well hello there and welcome to the website, that is quite a leap there into the salt fray. A great many moments of doubt and fear are coming your way, but you are in good company here, as there are many with a lot of experience here that love to help. Jim in Gananoque is a great resource with much in the way of experience and knowledge and helpfulness.

Sounds like many bargains to be made with the power in the family for years to come. Good luck with that, and the inevitable extension of interest in the hobby to gain ground. This could become an interesting story all on its own.

I would invite you to have a look at the "online names" thread in the lounge forum, and give us a story as to why you are the Alchemist. Apart from the interest in saltwater, what sort of things did you do with freshwater all those years?

[Alchemist]

Hi,

I'll explain the name in the lounge thread....it's slightly accurate although I haven't turned any lead into gold, more the other way round.

My freshwater tanks continually changed over the years.  At the start it was just a community aquarium and I made the typical enthusiastic beginner's mistakes of impulse buys and so I ended up with a few firemouth cichlids and kribensis who ruled the roost.  The most interesting part of this hobby was when my Dwarf Agassiz cichlids bred unexpectedly.  They were great little fish.

Anyway...I always wanted to go into saltwater eventually so after my latest freshwater tank turned into an algae filled nightmare I thought I'd start over and put a nice clean slatwater tank with just a few interesting, colourful critters in my downstairs room so I can relax with a good book next to it.  This room is darker, quieter for the fish and the bright tank will give the room some character and also bring more people downstairs too.

[kennyman]

Hi there Alchyman 

I am also South of Ottawa, far enough that Scotties petshop on #2 is only 20 Min's from my house. Have you checked his place out yet? Not allot of SW but what I saw there was in GREAT condition. SW is much longer to setup and cycle than fw as you have to get past a few algal blooms but once you get over the hump its fun.

Welcome to OVAS land!

[Alchemist]

Hi there Alchyman 

I am also South of Ottawa, far enough that Scotties petshop on #2 is only 20 Min's from my house. Have you checked his place out yet? Not allot of SW but what I saw there was in GREAT condition. SW is much longer to setup and cycle than fw as you have to get past a few algal blooms but once you get over the hump its fun.

Welcome to OVAS land!

Yeeeees...I've been to Scotties a few times and I agree, it's spotless.  Expensive though perhaps but great quality (from what I can see with my noob eyes).  He has a new shipment in this week apparently.  I was going to go and have a look.

Right now I'm still trying to decide exactly what I want in my tank...see my other thread in the main forum.  Colour is very important.  The fish have to be really colourful...which shouldn't be difficult...I was wondering about maybe a dwarf angelfish?

Is there anything that is a bright yellow that's reef safe for a small tank?