returning to hobby - new standards in reef keeping?

[Old Timer]

Hi all.

I used to be an avid reef keeper. Used to be. I am getting the bug
once again and so much has changed in 10 years! When I was keeping my
reefs, the latest buzz words were "Berlin system", kalkwasser, live
sand, and folks were ditching their nitrate factories (wet/dry
filters).

Now I'm reading acronyms I don't recognize (DSB?), etc.. and wondering
what the heck I should do to start up a little reef (under 5 gal) to
get me started in the hobby before.

IF I recall correctly, my last setup was a 40 gal, metal
halide/actinic combo, sump with protein skimmer, kalk drip, 2 inches
of live sand and good circulation. That was about the meat of it.

From the looks of things today, I can start up a nice destkop micro
without the need of a sump. That'd be nice.

Help apreciated.

[John]

If you're going the 5 gallon route, I'd suggest checking out nano-reef.com
forums for advice. Most of the people there have tanks 15 gallons or under.
Another good site that deal with everything is reefcentral.com, they have a
subsection for nano tanks in their forums.

Here's a link for some for some abbreviations, couldnt find the other one that
has more:
http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/?article=9
~John

[rtk]

Old Timer, I can't believe I'm finding you here! I knew about the
orchids, but not this!!!! This is too funny. It's a long way from
rec.sport.triathlon. Maybe I'm mistaken and there are two Old Timers in
the world?

Ruth



Old Timer wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> I used to be an avid reef keeper. Used to be. I am getting the bug
> once again and so much has changed in 10 years! When I was keeping my
> reefs, the latest buzz words were "Berlin system", kalkwasser, live
> sand, and folks were ditching their nitrate factories (wet/dry
> filters).
>
> Now I'm reading acronyms I don't recognize (DSB?), etc.. and wondering
> what the heck I should do to start up a little reef (under 5 gal) to
> get me started in the hobby before.
>
> IF I recall correctly, my last setup was a 40 gal, metal
> halide/actinic combo, sump with protein skimmer, kalk drip, 2 inches
> of live sand and good circulation. That was about the meat of it.
>
> From the looks of things today, I can start up a nice destkop micro
> without the need of a sump. That'd be nice.
>
> Help apreciated.

5 Gal? Your a better man than I. My last reef was 90gal , no skimmer, ug with cc, 6 no 50/50
bulbs, no sump.This ended because babies . 8 mo ago I decited to start again, The wife said " You have all these tanks and
things just do another fresh water tank". NO!!!
At this point I'm running a 30 gal. with a DSB (deep sand bed) with a skimmer, and I'm in the
process of setting up either my 90 or the 110 in the basement for the sump. My first FOWR
geez( fish only with live rock) about 10 yrs ago was a 20 gal. running a ug with cc and progessed from there.
I guess the point is the guys that can keep a successful nano are in my opinion
should be considered reef guru's. By the way did I mention this 30 is to small?
**********End Of Post*************

Hi all.

I used to be an avid reef keeper. Used to be. I am getting the bug
once again and so much has changed in 10 years! When I was keeping my
reefs, the latest buzz words were "Berlin system", kalkwasser, live
sand, and folks were ditching their nitrate factories (wet/dry
filters).

Now I'm reading acronyms I don't recognize (DSB?), etc.. and wondering
what the heck I should do to start up a little reef (under 5 gal) to
get me started in the hobby before.

IF I recall correctly, my last setup was a 40 gal, metal
halide/actinic combo, sump with protein skimmer, kalk drip, 2 inches
of live sand and good circulation. That was about the meat of it.

From the looks of things today, I can start up a nice destkop micro
without the need of a sump. That'd be nice.

Help apreciated.


**********End Of Post*************

[John]

>I guess the point is the guys that can keep a successful nano are in my
>opinion
>should be considered reef guru's.

I'd travel over to the nano-reef.com gallery and check out some of the nano's
there. Many are beginners with alot of success. I'd hate for a beginner to
see your statement and not get into the hobby because they think small tank's
are for guru's only. Patience, observation, lots of reading should be good
enough. IMO.

Also, to orignial poster. Try the term pico instead of micro in your searches.
Pico I think goes for anything under 5 gallons (and yes I've seen 1/2 gallon
tanks). Nano for under 20-30.
~John

[rtk]

M.S., There is a guru right here on r.a.m.reefs. He's here and at
http://www.melevsreef.com
He's very accessible, knows everything, and is incredibly generous about
sharing his knowledge and experience.
I have a 29sw in addition to tanks from 38 to 120 for fw fish and
critters and a couple ponds.

rtk


John wrote:

>>I guess the point is the guys that can keep a successful nano are in my
>>opinion
>>should be considered reef guru's.
>
>
> I'd travel over to the nano-reef.com gallery and check out some of the nano's
> there. Many are beginners with alot of success. I'd hate for a beginner to
> see your statement and not get into the hobby because they think small tank's
> are for guru's only. Patience, observation, lots of reading should be good
> enough. IMO.
>
> Also, to orignial poster. Try the term pico instead of micro in your searches.
> Pico I think goes for anything under 5 gallons (and yes I've seen 1/2 gallon
> tanks). Nano for under 20-30.
> ~John

[Old Timer]

Ruth! HAHAHA! It sure is me. Really funny!

I believe I knew in the back of my head that you were into aquarium
keeping. How funny to find a response from rtk.

Yeah, I think I'm going to build a little reef to keep soft corals,
mushroooms and a couple of critters, but I'll probably research it for
6 months before starting.

Where did all of the folks from rst go Ruth? I hang on slowtwitch
forums now, some of the "old timers" are there but not most.