Bad spelling
 

You you guys want bad spelling I'm you man :lol:

Bad spelling
 

See what I mean

Hi all,

I'm new to the area, new to the forum and new to the hobby (or is it obsession) so I don't think I'm quite ready for club meetings yet ;). I could use a little local advice though. This may not be the right thread but since this is the closest thread to a Victoria club forum here goes.

I am currently in the planning stages of my first reef tank and have been reading as much as I can (mostly internet a few books also). I have lots of questions but I will start with some simple ones.

Are there any local stores (LFS) that are worth dealing with or do most people deal with the stores on the mainland or mail order? Where is the best place to get a few good pieces of live rock (or is this just hit and miss)?

I was thinking of starting slow with just a few good pieces of live rock a few critters and maybe a fish or two. I am being given some equipment (never been used) but I am not sure yet what all is included other than a 45 gallon tank and accessories. Any helpful advice for a beginner would be appreciated. As I have specific questions I will post them.

Sorry for hijacking this thread, just seemed like a good place to introduce myself.

Alex

Alex, good to see you post. Did you get my email? I think you are right at the exact point to be attending meetings, as that is where you get to pick everyone's brain about all your questions.
2 stores in town, Safari Pets and Hillside Aquatics. Both have rock for about the same price and it comes from the same place (most of the time). Mail order from J&L is a popular method of buying stuff, but nothing beats browsing in the stores.
Let us know when you get the equipment ad we'll give you honest advice on what to use and what to sell (for rock money).

Brad,

I got your email (checked it after I got your reply in the thread ;), thanks for the prompting. I have browsed through both of the stores you mentioned, one of the guys I talked with at Safari seemed ok. I saw a few half dead fish at the other store so I haven't hurried back, maybe they were just having a bad day.

Alex

Alex, glad you decided to not just lurk. When picking a store to deal with, you can often tell by the way the talk to you and how knowledgable they are, and I always note the health of the fish. It sounds like you're finding your way around, but if you need help, let us know.

New pic
 

Hey everyone just finished posting a pic of our tank if you have a chance take a look. As you can see it still needs a lot of work any coments to help us in the right direction would be great. The tanks been up for over 3 years but we just decided to start going bigger on the reef side of it and got rid of all our non reef fish. :mrgreen:

they are more like social get togeathers sence we don;t have a formal club. we just get togeather look at a tank or two and then try see what we can convince the person hosting to frag for us :mrgreen:

the board here can be a valuable asset, befor you buy something ask for opinions or do a serch and see if there is any info about it in a previous thread, a little time here can save a lot of money in the long run, but if you like spending it just say so and I can show ya how.. I seam to be getting good at it :rolleyes: :mrgreen:

Steve

Tyler, looks like a good base to start with. You'll appreciate the depth of the tank for landscaping. Pic is a bit dark though.

Pic
 

Ya I need to spend some time and get a good pic :lol: