Hello From Iowa

S

shaynablizard

New member
This is a pretty cool place, so thought I'd say hi. I usually visit the Chicagoland area a few times a year. I have had a 29g biocube for about 3 years now, and I'm considering upgrading. My next trip is planned for next month, and I can't wait. A friend and I are going to visit some of my favorite fish stores. I've had my eye on the marketplace and might meet a couple locals to pick up some frags too. (really hoping to find some blue clove polyps, despite their reputation of taking over)

As the hobby goes, I'm considering an upgrade to a larger saltwater tank since I've eliminated all of my freshwater. I do have one neat 75 gallon brackish mudskipper set up still. I'd like to upgrade my saltwater to a 75 as well. I have a stand and canopy already from a freshwater setup, so I might be watching for a nice reef ready 75 with a sump and some good lighting. :)

First picture is what my saltwater tank did look like a couple months ago....

Then I changed the lighting, rearranged, fragged, and did a big cleaning. Unfortunately, that triggered a cycle that made some of my corals unhappy. We're past that now, but some of the corals are still recovering.

And some new pics.

Anyway, so this is what I have, and nice to meet you all!
 
thats a great and FULL looking biocube. looks like the 75 has been in the plans for a while. good luck to you
 
Thanks - and yep it is pretty full, definitely time to upgrade! Wish I had better pictures, most of these were taken from my phone, sorry they aren't so clear.

Any suggestions on the best saltwater stores to see while I'm in Chicago? I was so sad to learn Midwest Coral Farms closed to the public.
 
There are plenty of great stores and many are sponsors on here. Reefwise is one such store and its not far off of 88 and 355. What part of Iowa you from? I grew up in the QC.
 
Great looking tank! I went to university of Iowa and my girlfriend is graduating in a few months. I am out there quite a bit to visit fraternity brothers and my gf. We're are you located? When I lived there I had a freshwater tank and I would shop at Coralville bay in Coralville Iowa
 
DAS212 said:
Great looking tank! I went to university of Iowa and my girlfriend is graduating in a few months. I am out there quite a bit to visit fraternity brothers and my gf. We're are you located? When I lived there I had a freshwater tank and I would shop at Coralville bay in Coralville Iowa
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Ha, so many Iowans! Coralville Bay is my old lfs when I.studied at uoi
 
I'm only about 30 minutes from Coralville Bay (I live in the country). You'd be surprised how much they've done with that place in the past few months. It's pretty cool! I also go to Sea of Marvels in North Liberty often. There's a new saltwater store opening this week in Cedar Rapids too...

Not that any of that will stop me from my road trip to Chicago to find some stuff there! I'm thinking I should bring the van just in case I happen to find a fantastic deal on the 75 gallon I need. :)
 
He's still doing well. That's where I get my saltwater usually. A few of us met there the other day to swap some stuff and spent quite a bit of time in there chatting. He was joking that he needs to have a table and coffee. Not a bad idea!
 
I was born and raised in Iowa City. I worked at Coralville Bay for a couple of years during High School. I also spent a lot of time with Hung at Sea of Marvels. His new store is great, has a ton of floor space.

Next time you see Hung, as him about the scar on his arm. He had a crazy encounter with an Octopus during a dive!!
 
Haha is Ed still manning Coralville bay? I use to haggle with that guy like it was my job. Brings back memories lol
 
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