I'm really considering getting out.

[rickyb]

I feel frustrated, boxed in, and without any nice toughts about this hobby which I tought I loved. After seen my last few colonies and frags dying I'm really considering getting out.
Some of you may know that I recently upgradred to a 200 and all seem well until a few weeks ago, acros started melting one by one, then some of the monties started to go down hill, now the clams are not looking to good but the fish, ricordias and zoo's are ok. The topper of all this is that I'm loosing my last acro colony which I started from a frag from Menards and this one by all means is/was my favorite, which I almost lost in the other move.
Too many things going on as well in my life and don't be surprise if I just call it quits.

Water RO/DI
Salinity 1.026 Refractometer RHS-10ATC
Temperature 77-81
PH 8.4 currently today but usually around 8.1 (PH600 PH Pen)
CA 400 Salifert
CA 432 Tropic Marin
DHK 8.6 Salifert
NH4 Undetectable Salifert (Ammonia)
NO2 Undetectable Salifert (Nitrite)
NO3 1.0-2.5 Salifert (Nitrate)
PO4 Undetectable Salifert (Phosphate)
Ligths 3 250W MH running on Lumenarc's minis, I ran 2 - 400W XM's for a few days until I noticed the decay and changed them out.

I hope you all have a better night then I.

I want to thank all of you that have been involved in my reefing days.

RickyB

 

[mhurley]

Ricky,

I hear ya man...Take it from a guy who had his share of big tank problems and almost walked away completely...For me, the solution was walking away from corals, I'm leaving the SPS and halides behind for a few years.

It got to be too much hassle, maintenance, worrying about all the bugs, nasties, critters, temp swings, being out of town, reactors...etc..etc..

I had to find a middle groung or else I was going to end up hating the hobby I loved. I've got small children too and they can't appreciate the pretty colored sticks anyway, so FOWLR was my solution.

I tell ya...at first it was depressing to sell off all my acro's....then it became totally exciting to actually be able to start over again with a much simplier life ahead of me. I will get to keep lots of big pretty fish that I never could with SPS and clams in the tank.

If it's not fun for you, it's not a hobby...find some way to enjoy it.

 

[Pufferpunk]

The more I read these, the mor I'm really happy I'm keeping it simple--softies & LPS for me!

 

[FISHMAN350]

sorry about the problems.

sorry about the problems.

hey i know sps is cool and great lookin but ive seen some softie/zoa tanks that really are awesome with alot less bs. just relax awhile and if you need anything i and im shure everyone else is willing to help as much as we can. the posts are really getting depressing lately. please dont quit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pull your boot straps up and have another go. well lmk if theres anything you need. john

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

little sticks! lol

ive talked to "expert" sps guys, in the hobby for 10plus years, than one day , they lose everything!, with no plausible reason.

hurly has a good point, you have to find a way to enjoy the hobby somehow, otherwise its not worth being in it.

thats why ive set up a few small tanks. if something goes wrong with one coral, i simply move it to the next. ive have saved half my collection this way. also i can keep alot of diff things, that one system could not handle.

also, there easy to take down if i need to setup again.

i wish you the best in your decision.

 

[mhurley]

Hey, if you're gonna quote me, get it right...I said "pretty colored sticks".

 

[Pufferpunk]

if something goes wrong with one coral, i simply move it to the next.

Ya know, I've been having a big problem w/some of my zoa colonies for some time now. They just close up & then disappear. I've tried setting up a whole other tank & it happens in there too!

 

[mbunaman]

I used to be big on SPS before I upgraded my tank last summer. That is why I keep more exotic LPS and zoos. Some montis and a little bit of SPS. Maybe look at that route. If you need anything let me know.

 

[Edward Smith]

A friend asked me about seting up a saltwater tank tonight. My advice: choose FOWLR or just a coral tank. The combo is a PIA.

 

[menard]

Ricky
The thing w/ Acros is , If you move them too sudden to the new tank, this will happen, it will delaminates on you ," Water Chemistry shock"
If the tank is the same volume as the old one it wont be too much of a shock , either used half of the old tank water and half new water.
This is what I always do w/ the tanks containing Acros.before I transfer them to a new tank.
Water change, and dump the old water into the new tank,keep on doing this until the new tank is almost full w/ the old water . This may take a few weeks , but the results is fantastic. Make sure the temp. and PH is pretty close between the 2 tanks then transfer.

Dont quit !!..............Let the system stabilize, age a bit, then U can add them back later.

 

[hansnfrans]

Come on man, don't give up totally. I agree w/ FISHMAN350. After my recent problems w/ my water chemistry I don't think that I'll be buying any more acros. Gonna keep the acros that I have already and just work on collecting zoas and monti's.

It's awfully strange that you'd be having problems with your monti's w/ water parameters like that. All appears to be good enough for the monti's. Even though my Acros were melting (Ca+ = 330 and Alk= 11dKH) my monti cap managed to grow onto the wall of my aquarium in 5-7days since I moved it against the glass.

Please post pics of the problem colonies/frags. Maybe we could atleast remedy the problem with the monti's and give some hope for the SPS category.

Have you inspected the monti's for predators? Any new monti additions to the tank recently?

 

[hansnfrans]

BTW: Keep in mind that this isn't an "all or nothing" hobby. You don't have to totally give up. Maybe just give up on those friggin' frustrating acros.

 

[FiberLux]

RickyB..............

I know where you are coming from Ricky! I've killed more beautiful acros in the last year because of my swamp water conditions! I'm now working on getting my water quality up to snuff before I try to add anything else. I'll work out my frustration by fixing the conditions.........

Take a step back from the acros until you see everything else doing well, then slowly get back into it.

Keep on Reefing Ricky!

Boyd