New to the hobby, and to NW Iowa

Hello everoyone!


After a few hours of lurking on here, I decided it was a good idea to join and share my story and look for members up here! I am originally from southwest Iowa and after finishing up my electrical engineering degree this May, moved up to the Okoboji area for work.


I have been mainting a 30 gallon freshwater tank for the past 4 years, and finally needed to scratch the itch to start building a real reef tank. After about 3 months of research, I felt I was ready to being building. I really wanted to make this a DIY build as much as possible. The build is half the fun, right?


After converting my freshwater tank to sump, I had a local glass shop cut me some baffles and completed my bubble trap for the sump. I picked up a 75g tank and after about 30 minutes of constant drilling, finished my overflow. Last weekend I finished my drilling and plumbing for my sump. I've got my RO/DI unit installed and ready to start pumping, but I'm waiting to find some good rock that I like.


Are there many members from this area of the state? If so, what is the closest store that you guys recommend? I've been to "mini-critters" in Sioux Falls, but that's about a 2 hour drive. BRS has been my friend as of late, and because they have a distribution center in Minneapolis, can get items here in a day. It can be a godsend!


Anyway, excited to be a part of the community. Really like reading stories from people that have done this before. I have been trying to take a very patient and careful approach because I am so new to this world. (and to minimize loss, since this the cheapest hobby I've ever entered /saracasm) Any and all advice is welcome! If there is any interest, I can upload my build pictures to critique.