Newbie to SW aquaria and new member

budsreef

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Because of a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium and urging from a friend who recently got back into SW reefkeeping, I decided to make the plunge myself. I'm starting out small and have a 24G Aquapod with florescent lighting. I have had it running now for about a month and have about 30 lbs of live rock and 15 lbs of live sand. I have tried to go slow and be patient and I think I've been successful so far. Right now I have 2 yellow-bellied damsels, 10 blue-legged hermits, 2 red-tipped hermits, 4 margarita snails, two astreas, 2 nassarius snails and 1 peppermint shrimp. Yesterday, I added a small frag of white pom pom zenia. My plan is to add a pistol shrimp/goby pair, rose bubble-tip anenome, and then a pair of maroon clownfish. I'll remove the damsels when I get the clownfish. I have been doing a lot of reading over the past month, books, forums and web articles and feel like I'm drinking from a firehose. I've already found answers to many of my questions, but with each answer comes morequestions. It looks like there are a lot of experienced, helpful people on here and I hope you don't mind another newbie.

Anyway, that's a long way to just say Hi!
 
Hello... you are starting out fantastically. Better than I did and better than most I would suspect.
 
Welcome to the hobby and the club. I know I speak for everyone here by saying that if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask... we will do our best to answer them.

If you want to learn more, our annual conference is coming in 2 months... SaltwaterU
 
Budsreef wrote: I've already found answers to many of my questions, but with each answer comes morequestions.

Welcome, By this statement you have figured out the secret about this hobby: THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN!!!
 
Welcome to the ARC! We're glad to have you on board!

just as a side note, I wanted to bring attention to
budsreef wrote: My plan is to add a pistol shrimp/goby pair, rose bubble-tip anemone, and then a pair of maroon clownfish.
Keep in mind that the anemone will require more intense lighting (such as Metal Halide) and that maroon clowns are very aggressive and get quite large (as much as 8in). Two of them in a 24 would be a tight squeeze and they would likely not allow anyone else in the tank (goby/shrimp, etc).

...just something to look out for.
 
Tony

I have gone back and forth on the anenome and maroon clownfish for the reasons you state. I have seen several BTAs thriving under flourescent lighting so thought I would be OK with it and thought if I get tank raised maroons they may not get as big. Maybe I'm kidding myself and need to rethink my plan again. It would really be a shame if I found I had to get a bigger better tank, though. Could I get a written note on that to give my wife?
 
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