Hello from Ottawa, On. Canada

[DCDN]

Welcome to canreef
I have a 50 gallon and I'm loving it, though I've only had it set up for like 4 months and I'm already thinking about what i could do with a bigger one.

[rayjay]

Welcome to the hobby and to the site.
50g as mentioned is a pretty good size.
However, if you are like most hobbyists, it won't be long before you regret going that small if you can afford larger.
If you have room for more tanks to add in the future then it's not a problem as I went from one system up to 10 systems within about 2 1/2 yrs.
If not, you almost certainly would be better to go bigger now.
The larger you can make your sump, the more total water in the system, and the more forgiving your set up will be if something gets out of wack, giving you a bit more time to straighten things out before losses set in.

[kat]

Great city to be in for starting a tank...lots of resources and great people to get you going...look up Ottawa Inverts and talk to Patrick or Trina, they will have everything you need...as for other marine stores, there is the big box Big Al's and then the LFS Marinescapes, Aqua Valley, Ottawa Inverts, and a private home one run by Ray...Look into checking out OVAS...google it!! you will find lots of help there too....Really looking forward to seeing the build...oh, one more thing...GO BIGGER!!! but not deeper!!! longer and wider front to back , but not too tall...

[Brent Shaver]

Thanks all for the warm welcomes, resources, suggestions and over all time to recommend things. As I put in my first responce I am going to have to stick to my 50 for now, we need a bigger place to host anything more. If I had my way I would have a 450 but then I would be divorced...lol (Still wieghing that option..grins)

I am already a member of the OVAS website and plan on joining as a full member as soon as I can get to one of the meetings. As for stores Big Als have been great for my cichlid tank but they dont seem to have reef tanks I would trust. I will be sure to check out all the other options when the time is right, as of right now I need to look into my plumbing and possibly making a new stand to house everything.

I know this is going to be slow as I wont put something in to just get done, I want it right the first time. There is an old saying "There is only 2 ways to do something, Right or Again and again costs money"

I will say there is a fear factor getting into this as the more I read I see people that have experience in this hobby stuggling and losing things all the time. So I am going to wait till I have the best I can build/make to at least help reduce the possiblity of having to write a horror story.

Again thanks for everything and as soon as I have enough information to build my plumbing I will start my journal. And yes I will make sure there is lots of pictures and explainations....

Thanks
Brent

[Parker]

Welcome!!

There is nothing wrong with taking your time, you might as well get used to it. Nothing but bad things happen fast in a reef tank..

I started my build thread two years ago and my tank still isn't complete, there are several other members that have builds that have taken years as well, so you're in good company.

[PACMAN416]

Originally Posted by Brent Shaver

Again thanks for everything and as soon as I have enough information to build my plumbing I will start my journal. And yes I will make sure there is lots of pictures and explainations....

I can't wait!

I will be following your journal!!!!!!!!