Possibly moving to Houston - what is the reef scene like? (1 Viewer)

[smootie]

There is a high probability that I will be moving to Houston this year (for hubby's job) and thought it would be a good opportunity to get back into marine aquariums because I'll have a lot of free time.

I've had saltwater tanks but, being in Hawaii, I am severely limited by what I could have. It's impossible to mail order critters due to shipping restrictions (and distance). We're not allowed to have any corals, so "reef" tanks here are generally zoa gardens. It's nice to have options for filtered NSW, but most equipment is incredibly expensive due to shipping fees. We also don't really have seasons so I never needed a heater or chiller.

What's it like to have a reef tank in Houston? It it easy to get livestock? Equipment? Are there restrictions on what you can and cannot have? Are there restrictions on what you can collect? Are the hobbyist societies active? Are reefers there friendly? What is public opinion like (if any) with regard to reefkeeping or aquariumkeeping? How is your water quality? How expensive is it to run a chiller in the Houston heat?

I guess I just wanted to get an idea of what to expect. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

 

[phhoth]

Everything is big in TEXAS ...we like freedom....have at it and go wild on a reef tank.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

Well, you will probably need a heater and possibly a chiller. You can go to the store and pick out much of what you want. Y'all come on over to the mainland and pick out what you like!

 

[reefling]

This is one of the best places you can do this hobby. There are so many LFS stores it will make your head spin.

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[Bigfishy]

I am not aware of anything we are not allowed to have here. We have some awesome fish stores here in Houston. Depending on what lights you put on the tank will determine if you need heater and or chiller. I run leds and have to have both. It probably cost on average 25.00 to run chiller.

 

[smootie]

Thanks for the info and the reassurances. I'm not particularly excited about the move so it's nice to have something to look forward to!

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Houston's a great city. No matter what you're looking for or need it can be found here. There are plenty of local stores that have their specialties. Some are known for having amazing coral selections others are more for the veriety of fish and other live stock. There are places that offer in home services as well. The community here from what I have found so far is very knowledgeable and helpful.

For me I need a heater in my tank as I keep my house at 69 at night. During the day I have the A/C set to 76 so it never gets too hot to need a chiller. The need for a chiller all depends on your lighting and what you will keep your thermostat at and how quickly the temp climbs if the A/C or power goes out and stays out for 4-5 hours during the heat of the day. With plenty of electric company options available you can likely find a good rate and one that gives a price brake or discount if you use over a certain amount. For me my summer light bills are around $65-75 a month, but are actually higher in the winter due to my dropping below their specific discount threshold. If you find that you need a chiller the monthly cost will all depend on the the size you are running and how it will vent the hot air. Ideally you want it venting to the outside or into the attic so you're not putting an added strain on the house unit, but you can factor an annual cost of $50-80 if needed.

The only restrictions I can think of with running an aquarium would be if you move into a town home or apartment be aware that they may have a size limit because of the weight than the type or contents.

Houston water is crap, but then that's the way it is in most cities. If moving in to a house I would highly recommend a 4 or 5 stage RO/DI unit and a pair of storage tanks, one for fresh and one for mixed. This will be the ideal way to go in the long run especially if you run a larger tank as it will pay for itself in no time, and allow you total control over your water. Until then, there are plenty of LFS here that sell RO/DI in premixed and fresh at reasonable prices. If you do move here here and are not sure just ask so we can assist in pointing you to trusted locations near you.

 

[reefling]

You can probably get away without a heater or chiller.

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[PSXerholic]

[video=youtube;rdFJDCBeKR4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdFJDCBeKR4[/video]

We have a great community here and some H-Town tanks became EPIC ;-)
Concerning the heat, I run my tank on 4 x 12VDC Computer case fans only..................

Hit me up if you need some frags one day.

-Andre

 

[reefling]

[video=youtube;rdFJDCBeKR4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdFJDCBeKR4[/video]

We have a great community here and some H-Town tanks became EPIC ;-)
Concerning the heat, I run my tank on 4 x 12VDC Computer case fans only..................

Hit me up if you need some frags one day.

-Andre

Yeah, fans are good if you need them. Heaters and chillers are just more fail points.

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[PSXerholic]

[video=youtube;rdFJDCBeKR4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdFJDCBeKR4[/video]

We have a great community here and some H-Town tanks became EPIC ;-)
Concerning the heat, I run my tank on 4 x 12VDC Computer case fans only..................

Hit me up if you need some frags one day.

-Andre

Correct, fans are great and as long the transformer does not fail, which is less likely, only single fans may fail.
Happens every 2 years on one.

So if that is going to happen you only loose 10% or 15% on your total cooling capacity and the other fans keep running.
People won't believe how efficient this method of cooling is.

It is called Evaporation cooling, and is on this application very efficient, and since in Houston every house has an AC, humidity is a no brainer.

-Andre

 

[smootie]

With plenty of electric company options available you can likely find a good rate and one that gives a price brake or discount if you use over a certain amount.

Wait, you have multiple electric companies? And a discount if you use a lot? We have one company, and the more you use the more expensive it is per kwh!

 

[Luman01]

Yea there's a bunch! Good thing I don't have to worry about cuz I'm only 15! lol but my dad said our bill has only gone up 5$ since we had our tanks. Not that bad. But for my 65 and my 13 I'm going to put CPU fans on them !

 

[Luman01]

The summer gets real hot! Looks like I'm going to make some rodi ice cubes!!

 

[PSXerholic]

I went a few months ago with GEXA in my area and cut my Electric bill by about 150 a month, by using more ;-)

-Andre

 

[aggiejames]

Wait, you have multiple electric companies? And a discount if you use a lot? We have one company, and the more you use the more expensive it is per kwh!

Welcome to the energy capital of the world!

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Wait, you have multiple electric companies? And a discount if you use a lot? We have one company, and the more you use the more expensive it is per kwh!

Yep.

Electricity in Texas is deregulated so there are a crap ton of individual providers who resell electricity from Centerpoint (The electricity supplier in Harris County). The trick is when shopping for a provider is to find one that offers some sort of rebate or price brake that negates the Centerpoint delivery charge. You can peruse them at Power To Choose | Home and put in the zipc code 77010. Currently there are some 330 different plans to choose from so finding the one that best suits your needs is easy. Just make sure that if you choose a short term plan like 3-6 months that their out of contract rate won't skyrocket on you. You can also set up to switch on a set date automatically to avoid the rate from jumping from say $.05/KWh to say $.14+ when your contract expires.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Welcome to our MARSHian Community! Hawaii is a beautiful place for sure. My sister-in-law lives there and has shared some of the challenges with keeping a reef tank. You will find Houston has alot of great LFS, knowledgable hobbists, and a terrific online community.

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[smootie]

I had the opportunity to visit some Houston LFSs today and was just blown away by the kinds of things you can buy here and WOW. You guys are so lucky!

I went to four stores: OceanLife Aquariums, Fish Gallery, FJW Aquarium, and Aquarium World.

Spending tomorrow looking at houses and hoping that I'll be able to check out a few more shops before we head back to Hawaii next week. I'm not getting my hopes up, though, since it's a holiday weekend.


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[PorpoiseHork]

Fish Gallery is nice, but the Houston location has a very limited selection on SW livestock and corals. (they may transfer from other locations though)
FJW is hands down, the place to go for frags. If there is something you want, chances are he has it.
Aquarium world, a bit higher priced on some items, but great place to go for livestock, inexpensive RO/DI fresh and mixed water and advice.
Haven't been to OceanLife so I cant say how they are.

There are plenty of great neighborhoods tucked away, and depending on traffic you can get almost anywhere in about 20 min.