lessons learned in this hobby

[rogerwilco357]

well first time i lost all my fish to ich years ago when i started and then lost the tank to a blown seam lost all my corals and fish ..now i setup a new tank new sps and fish had a tank to qt the fish so when ich hit i was ready but when a local reefer was selling his corals and getting out of the hobby well i think he knew he had aefw and didn't tell me told me he was bug free and i believed him with the economy and all ..well i didn't have a qt tank for the corals and learned again the hard way now i may loose all my sps corals my show pieces and frags due to not catching this in time and not finding the eggs..my mistake in not putting them in a qt tank for 2 months now i have learned another expensive lesson between all my lessons from ich, used tanks and leaks , and sps that are bugg free i have lost about 15 thousand over the 6 to 8 years i have been in this hobby ..not to mention the stress ..so please
learn from my mistakes and QT everything or you may be in my world of hurt.

 

[ali1]

Although you may have experienced a rough decade, there are many users who QT all their fish/corals and still end up in your situation in the end.

 

[mike_cmu04]

I agree even with QT you are bound to still have problems eventually. Also there are thousands of other things that can go wrong it just goes with the hobby. As relaxing as reefing is it seems like i am stressed about problems just as much. Good Luck

 

[BonsaiNut]

The first rule of this hobby: PATIENCE! Anything that happens quickly is probably a mistake.

The second rule of this hobby: STABILITY! Set up a stable system and dial it in until it requires very little management to maintain. If you are constantly ping-ponging with chemicals, additives, water changes, etc, your system is NOT stable.

The third rule of this hobby: QT EVERYTHING! Your tank is a captive environment. Over time it will develop its own unique flora and fauna. Every time you add something new to your system it is like Columbus landing in the New World - maybe the contact will be benign, and maybe not.

The fourth rule of this hobby: NO SHORTCUTS! The path to system crashes is paved with good intentions. Find someone who has an awesome tank, and do EXACTLY what they do... and you will get the same results. Change even ONE major thing - and you are on your own. If you see a bad tank, it is the result of bad decisions - NOT BAD LUCK.

We all make mistakes and have had bad experiences. What will keep you enjoying this hobby is to ask "what did I do wrong" and "how can I make sure it will never happen again". Then be faithful to your new vision.

 

[xlotus123x]

agreed, hard though. this hobby is an addiction.

 

[porky]

Don't sweat the small stuff!
Only bad things happen fast in this hobby.
A little bit of luck goes a long way.