psilentchild
New member
I writing a paper on the common mistakes that are made in the salt water hobby. If anybody has any books or comments to be made, I would appreciate it.
Common mistakes made in the saltwater hobby.
- Thread starter psilentchild
- Start date
Kitsune_Gem
New member
Rushing it (adding stock before the tanks cycled), not using a Qt tank, putting fish in to small of a tank, ie Tangs in a 20 gallon, ect.
CedzAquAddictio
New member
Set up a QT at the same time you set up a DT. While the DT cycles, you can have your livestock proving themselves true in QT. I've tried looking at an empty DT, and it didn't work. I ended up with a tank crash due to ich very quickly. Thought I'd save money by not bothering to set up a QT, and ended up killing livestock and wasting money. The QT allowed me to buy livestock without risking my DT.
Don't rush things. These environments need time to adjust to a change in bio-load.
Test water often...
No impulse or sympathy buys. (Not worth risking your family and home over a one-night-stand.)
Most importantly: Don't rush things. Take the time to do things right the first time, so you won't have to repeat and waste time re-doing rushed efforts...
Research compatibility and tank size recommendations. One wrong fish in the wrong environment can turn your utopia into hell...
Introduce fish with the lights off...
I consider my tank to be a journey instead of a trip or destination now... Just a better way to look at it IMO...
Don't rush things. These environments need time to adjust to a change in bio-load.
Test water often...
No impulse or sympathy buys. (Not worth risking your family and home over a one-night-stand.)
Most importantly: Don't rush things. Take the time to do things right the first time, so you won't have to repeat and waste time re-doing rushed efforts...
Research compatibility and tank size recommendations. One wrong fish in the wrong environment can turn your utopia into hell...
Introduce fish with the lights off...
I consider my tank to be a journey instead of a trip or destination now... Just a better way to look at it IMO...
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davesolo29
New member
plan properly. if you know you are wanting to go bigger, dont waste your money starting small. save yourself some money and just buy once.
i probably made at least half a dozen upgrades in two years. never had time to let a tank stabalize. and bigger more expensive equipment each time.
resale value sucks.
i probably made at least half a dozen upgrades in two years. never had time to let a tank stabalize. and bigger more expensive equipment each time.
resale value sucks.
Fish Bowl
New member
-Buying anything without having a QT
-Buying a fish and "intending" to upgrade in the future to accommodate its full size in the future (I'm willing to say as little as 15% of all hobbyist truly upgrade for their now oversized fish in an undersized aquarium)
-Not doing your research (95% of these instances lead to $-$$$$ down the drain!)
-Trying to cut corners at vital parts of your aquarium life (CYCLE THAT TANK! and yes the equipment that can make or break your fish keeping enjoyment should always be BRAND NEW IMO, it's not worth it to save a few bucks only for it to fail and cause extreme distress later) < of course there's plenty of exceptions which is what research is for!
-Thinking you beat the odds because that Clown Tang/Trigger/ Sohal Tang is such an angel right now!...Just you wait! You may have won the battle, but the war is far from over.
-Buying something because it's recommended. Now this one is a really controversial one.
On one hand most everyone here isn't trying to sell you something, however not every piece of equipment is right for everyone. I personally would never use anything other than a Ranco Controller for my heaters since I've had so many failures with everything else that was recommended. At that same note, someone else could very well have the opposite experience with Ranco being the worst and "insert brand here" being AMAZING.
-Buying a fish and "intending" to upgrade in the future to accommodate its full size in the future (I'm willing to say as little as 15% of all hobbyist truly upgrade for their now oversized fish in an undersized aquarium)
-Not doing your research (95% of these instances lead to $-$$$$ down the drain!)
-Trying to cut corners at vital parts of your aquarium life (CYCLE THAT TANK! and yes the equipment that can make or break your fish keeping enjoyment should always be BRAND NEW IMO, it's not worth it to save a few bucks only for it to fail and cause extreme distress later) < of course there's plenty of exceptions which is what research is for!
-Thinking you beat the odds because that Clown Tang/Trigger/ Sohal Tang is such an angel right now!...Just you wait! You may have won the battle, but the war is far from over.
-Buying something because it's recommended. Now this one is a really controversial one.
On one hand most everyone here isn't trying to sell you something, however not every piece of equipment is right for everyone. I personally would never use anything other than a Ranco Controller for my heaters since I've had so many failures with everything else that was recommended. At that same note, someone else could very well have the opposite experience with Ranco being the worst and "insert brand here" being AMAZING.
CenterConsole
New member
Overstocking tanks.
JohnniG
New member
bingo
Voxboy
Premium Member
LF stores more interested in selling an animal than giving the customer proper advise.
LF stores bringing in fish and inverts that are considered expert only/or next to impossible to keep.
Overstocking without proper filtration
Inadequate lighting,skimmer,water flow in tank
LF stores bringing in fish and inverts that are considered expert only/or next to impossible to keep.
Overstocking without proper filtration
Inadequate lighting,skimmer,water flow in tank
geaux xman
New member
letting the ro/di water container overflow when making water.
jjk_reef00
New member
lol, definitely have done that one a few times :lmao:
Another one of my favorites is spilling way to much water while doing a water change.
psilentchild
New member
This is why I fill up outside now. I got tired of mopping the kitchen. I actually went to work one time and left mine running.
Reef264
Where's The Reef?
rachenbrazil
Member
Being over...
Over confident that fish don't need qt
Overstocking
Overfeeding
Over confident that fish don't need qt
Overstocking
Overfeeding
ilikefish34
New member
Title for the paper... Nothing Good Happens Fast
Patience is definitely a virtue in this hobby as many have already touched upon.
Homework before purchasing not after.
As for something a bit more tangible... i see many aquarist that use DI/RO water for top off without buffering it. this can cause major pH swings depending on the size of the system vs how much fresh water is being added at a time.
Good luck with the paper and spreading the good word.
Patience is definitely a virtue in this hobby as many have already touched upon.
Homework before purchasing not after.
As for something a bit more tangible... i see many aquarist that use DI/RO water for top off without buffering it. this can cause major pH swings depending on the size of the system vs how much fresh water is being added at a time.
Good luck with the paper and spreading the good word.
hkarmy25
New member
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
Sadly, a lot of LFS will tell you what you want to hear to make a quick sale. I think the worst one i heard was when one of my LFS tried to sell me a bluespot ray stating that "it'll be just fine in this 40g breeder" that they happened to have on sale. Walked out and haven't gone back since.
