newbie reefer wanna be (no, not that kind, lol)

[smooth rivers]

here is what I have...old african set up

55 Oceanic (not drilled) Old tank
Emp 400 power filter
Fluval 404
2 Penguin 660R on RUFG
full hood with 2 23in bulbs corallife 50/50

have a 10 gal I could use for a sump, if I would really need it.

Would remove the UGF and reconfigure the powerheads for internal flow.
What else would I have to get for a starter reef?


Thanks

 

[ReefLion]

The first thing you would need is a book. There are a number of good beginners guides. I recommend Natural Reef Aquariums by Tullock. Then I would read all the basic information from the last 20 or so pages of this board, along with all the faq's and all the basic stuff in the library.

After you do some reading for a month or two, you would need a lighting upgrade, lots of live rock, lots of sugar-sized aragonite sand, and a protein skimmer. I would seriously consider purchasing a reef ready tank (meaning pre-drilled), and I am totally serious about the month or two of reading. Good luck with everything and welcome to reefing, where knowledge and patience are the keys to success.

Tim

 

[reefsRcool]

in no way do i want to scare you off, but you may want to considder placing your current setup for sale and starting out totally fresh. I started with a non reef ready tank and no sump and regretted it almost instantly. ever since i made the switch to a reef ready with a sump good skimmer and refugium my life has become much simpler. just trying to save you from the biggest newbie mistake. the cost of the tank itself is miniscule compared to all the stuff you will add, so start right if at all possible. and read read read. spend as much time on this site as possible you will be amazed at how quickly you learn from the others.

 

[reefsRcool]

impulsivity will destroy this hobby for you. patience is key.

 

[REEFDAZE]

As Tim says read read read and then read some more it worked for me a few years ago.Utlize the search engine on this board and be very paitent,cheers Daz

 

[liquid]

We have a very detailed recommended reading list in our library. Please see the following url and click on Beginner: http://www.reefs.org/library/reading/

FWIW, the reason we did not link up with Amazon or any other large bookstore chain (like some of the other websites) is because we would rather have you support our sponsors than the large bookstore sites on the web. For a complete listing of our sponsors, please see the following url: http://www.reefs.org/sponsor.html

HTH

Shane