[stephaniesquires]

I've been asking questions for a day or two now and have received so much great information - thanks to everybody!!
I bought a house in December that came with a 220 gallon tank already set up. It had 10 fish and live rock. No crabs or snails. I had a local store send a "fish person" out to show me how to take care of it and they told me it needed upgrading if I wanted a colorful tank.
We went on a 5 day trip and the electricity went out - yep you guessed it - no more fish and a stinky tank. I decided to have the fish people do the upgrades - the previous owners of the house were definitely DIYers and probably should have left a lot of the stuff they did to the professionals!! (Tile floors are uneven and I keep stubbing my toes etc...) The pumps and skimmers were replacd and the plumbing more efficient. They cleaned off the rock and brought in some snails and crabs. Then they let me know that the lights weren't enough and I would more $. I wasn't ready for that yet - but they said I could get some fish etc.. in there with what I had.. I noticed all the crab and snails were dying and asked if that was normal - they said yes.. and then POOF the fish people vanished. After a few weeks of trying to keep the tank full of water with bottled water etc.. I decided it wasn't worth the stress and shut off the pumps and lights.
Then a few days ago I decided I was ready for the challenge of learning how to do it myself!! I thought it woule be a lot more difficult - but after finding this site I think it will be less stressfull and a lot of fun!!!
I'm in Rancho Cucamonga CA - if you're near me let me know if there are any LFS worth checking out!!

[msbdiving]

Hey there, welcome to RB. The places down on my end might be a little far for you. I know of a place in Onterio next to the airport called Global Aquatics. They are not the type of place to help, they are more of a fish coral warehouse. You need to know what you want and do your research before going. If you are ever down this way, you might want to check out Farwest. They are really helpful.

[jimw369]

Glad to see you found RB. From the sound of it, it only gets better from here on!

[glampka]

Welcome Stephanie..
1st off, READ, READ, READ & READ.
2nd - take what the lfs says to you with a grain of salt - they're in business to sell you things & since you don't know much they're going to take you for a ride which will end up costing you more in the long run. All they see with you right now are $$$$$$
3rd - ask questions - we're here to help and we have no agenda of trying to sell you anything. You'll get a number of opinions just like everything else in life but take them together with what you've read & you should be alright.
4th - most importantly - have PATIENCE. Nothing in this hobby comes by rushing things.

Good luck & keep us posted.

[CyberJester]

Hey Stephanie, welcome to RB!!!

[dfurbee]

Welcome to RB Stephanie