So I just jumped right in

[MatUSCG]

So im a new guy with a few questions that have probably been covered a hundred times.  I have only smoked Hookah once about 2 years ago at a party and loved it.  I am newly married and the mentioned trying to find something to do together to relax, we both have stressful jobs.  For some reason buying a hookah seemed like a good idea.  I ordered one yesterday and can't wait for it to get here. 

[Corona]

Hey man, My first hookah was from those guys too... you pretty much get everything you need. the coals they send are really popular, plus you get 2 boxes of 50g (which is the smallest amount ive seen available to buy) For your first time smoking with you wife (congrats on just getting married) im going to suggest putting COLD water in the base then put in some ice cubes.... this will make the smoke very cool, and very thick (my wife enjoys the smoke more when i do this) Good Luck with your new hookah and welcome to the forum!!
Heres a great post to help you set up your hookah if you have any questions... he did a great job.
[url="http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1046&PN=3"] [url="http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1046&PN"]http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.a...asp?TID=1046&PN[/url][/url] =3

[[LB]]

nice to have you- and nice choice for a starter hookah. When you start
out you prob just wanna use some instant light charcoals, most people
like 3 kings personally im a fan of golden charcoals. Then you can
start getting big tobbacco, start out with nakhala or al waha then move
up to al fakher, havana etc..

btw- this belongs in the introductions section hahahaa

[mushrat]

You made a fine choice. You'll eventually want to replace the cobra hoses with washable Mya hoses but other than that...Oh yes, you will want a cork to plug up the second hose if only one of you is smoking. That hookah doesn't have outseal.
The Ma'asell (tobacco) that comes with thoseis VERY good. You can go to [url="http://www.hookahculture.com"]www.hookahculture.com[/url] for a list of merchants and just have fun exploring their selections. There are also some good threads here on the forum. Try "online" in the search engine.
Watch out when lighting those goldens, do it outside and way from your face...they occasionally go BOOM. Try "golden" in the search engine as awell.
I like real live bulk charcaol, its more work bet a superior smoke in my humble opinion.
Welcome to the forum!

[tjt486]

Im new to the hookah scene too, but ive already come to find golden
coals are not bad at all, compared to some other crappy knock off that
came with mine.  Its not a bad idea to go right into al fakher, I
have a variety of stuff here and I always reach for AF when I really
want to enjoy it.  I have a bunch of stuff I am going to review
once I get everything together.
Congrats on the marriage, I almost had to shove the hose into my
girlfriends mouth the first time she tried it and now she wants to
smoke every chance we get.

[jmexx]

Well, I'm going to start off saying congrats on the wedding and the new hookah :-). The coals that come with it are decent but I find I get more heat management with 3kings. I suggest you try them next time you order some ma'assel (tobacco). Now, Romman, which is what comes with your hookah, is a very good tobacco. If you want great tobacco, there are companies like Al Amir (my personal favourite), I just tried some Havana (very wet), and the list goes on. To enjoy your smoke, you want to be very precise about the way you set it up. 1 inch off the bottom of the pipe (that goes in the water) should be submerged, the colder the water the better the smoke, adding mint ma'assel into a mix of whatever you're smoking is a great way to clear any nasal congestion, etc. Also, when packing your bowl, make sure that the ma'assel is broken up and that you do not over pack the bowl. If the bowl is over-packed and touching the tinfoil, the top of the ma'assel will burn and your smoke will become harsh. The way I prepare my hookah, I smoke for 3 coals, or the equivalent to an hour and a half, with 100% flavour throughout the session. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!Jon

[MatUSCG]

Thanks,
So how long do the coals last????  Do you have to re heat them or just add new ones.  Start with 1 or 2?

[MatUSCG]

Also the end of the stem should be submerged one inch or one inch from
the water?  How about if you add ice wont that make the water rise?

[yashman19]

[quote name='MatUSCG']Also the end of the stem should be submerged one inch or one inch from
the water?  How about if you add ice wont that make the water rise?[/quote]

The bottom of the stem must be submerged 1" in the water or else the
water won't have any effect and the smoke will be a bit more harsh.

Also, the coals will last differently depending on what brand you use.
Typically the quicklight disks will last shorter than natural coals.
When I use Nour Fingers (natural coals), I break them into pieces that
are about 2" long, put two of them on the bowl spread out from each
other, ash them once or twice, then put a third nour finger on top of
the two that are already lit to get the third one ready for when the
original two get too small.

I just keep doing this until the bowl is fried, and a session will
typically last about 1hr to 1hr 20-30 minutes. During that time, I use
somewhere around 4x-5x 2" nour sections.