i have a couple questions

[Redfish]

Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying a person can't start with an sps tank, you can. But, I think there is a learning curve in this hobby and that a person starting out in this hobby and starting out with an sps tank had better do a lot of reading on sps corals before starting one. Just using myself as an example, I have only been in the hobby for coming up on two years now. I have read a ton on this hobby and I am just now starting to feel that I could get an sps tank up and running and most important, keep the corals alive. I am just trying to give those in our forum that are new to the hobby the best advice that I can as I was in their shoes not that long ago. It might save them a few $$$ and avoid some of the things that I have done wrong. I walked into Gerwins shop one day and told him I wanted a saltwater fish tank, he got me set up and got me going in the right direction. I would then buy a fish here and a fish there, not knowing what I was really doing, ohhh that fish looks pretty, lets buy that one. Out of the (just a guess here) 15 fish that I had in the tank in the first 9 months, there is only one of those fish left in my tank today, the Midas Blenny. All of the other except for one that I killed, had issues and have been taken out of my tank, meaning that if I knew then what I know now, I would have never bought those fish. The learning curve in action.

[phisher]

I am not knocking anyone's method by any means, I learned it the hard way myself. And yes Redfish is correct, you cannot walk into a store to look at guppies and walk out with a turnkey sps system. But with the overwhelming amount of available information and helpful people in this hobby there is no reason to have to trial and error it anymore. I personally know 2 people locally who's first tanks were mind blowing (and successful) sps tanks. Years ago the technology/information/healthy tank raised stock wasn't available and sps keeping was frankly a mystery and a bitch .

Don't set up a 300g tank full of softies if you want sps...Gerwin will only take so much of the corals you don't want....TRUST ME!

Damion is clearly going about it the right way, learning and taking his time. Decide what you are interested in, learn about what it takes to keep it successfully then plan your system accordingly. Stuff will still die, accidents will still happen, and hair algae/aiptaisia/ich/diatoms/cyano bacteria will still find their way into your life...welcome to reef keeping!

[sweetpea355]

And that wraps it up in a nutshell.

[Damion]

I love all the free information we get here. I could have spent days looking for the same sound advice here. Yes, the advice was sound either way

As for the question about what is in my FW tank - 11 Tiger barbs, 4 green tiger barbs, 5 black ruby tiger barbs, a banded leporinus, and a red finned shark, and a clean up crew of 2 small plecos and some funny looking sucker fish (forgot the name). Tank is a 55g

[Redfish]

55g tank, that would make a real good sump

[Gerwin]

I love the discussion , good topic and opinions for thought

[Damion]

55g tank, that would make a real good sump

HAHA - sounds like you are trying to turn this into a "mine's bigger then yours" thread, LOL

[Redfish]

Naw, turn it into a get rid of the freshwater tank and turn it into a saltwater tank

[goalk33p3r]

i love my salt water tank it is really cool and very interesting to have

[Damion]

Naw, turn it into a get rid of the freshwater tank and turn it into a saltwater tank

LOL - that is a thought but over the past few months that I have entered this hobby, my wife has slowly taken over the 55g and the barbs are hers,

I also want to get a 100g +/- tank for Cichlids. Then, if the barbs start having babies I can throw the fry in the tank with them