Lessons Learned... please post YOURS.

[Allmost]

Learn about what you are putting in you tank. Dont put big fish in a small tank. Read up on the fish or whatever you plan on putting in their. Learn its habits likes and dislikes.

meh ... too much wrong info on the net on this one

I was breeding motoro stingrays for years and years in a 150 ! they say no less than an indoor pool lol


I am breeding seahorses now in a 24G ! they say no les than 65G for seahorse LOL

most of the FW stingray pups u saw in city, came from me !

 

[mistacheese]

1)Don't top up with salt water! I haven't done this, but I am surprised how many post on here are related to people having done this.

2)Money doesn't make the hobby any easier. Unless it is spent on scuba gear and a boat and you just enjoy the tank mother nature keeps...

3)Don't believe the minimum wage LFS employee. There are great LFS's out there, but you must know what you are looking for first! Read, read, read, and then read some more. Then you will at least not put fish in a 2 day old tank, or buy aptasia as coral... I have heard some scary stories.

4)All reefers know what they are doing. Just try and suggest one try something different to prove this to yourself... (Guilty as charged... and I just started, lol.)

5)If you have access to NSW use it. I believe from reading that if you use it you love it, and if you don't you question it. Please read Paul B's sig for details.

 

[Zebodog]

1. Just because someone works at an LFS it doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're talking about.

2. Saltwater and hardwood floors/carpet don't mix together well. Keep them separated for best results. The same applies to electricity.

3. When you're calculating how much a project will cost you - double it and you'll be much closer to the actual figure.

4. Only bad things happen quickly in this hobby. The faster it happens, the worse it is. The quicker you lose your patience, the quicker you lose your money - they are directly proportional.

5. Murphy was a reef keeper.

 

[SDMichaelRyan]

Get a controller...nuff said

 

[Liu14]

2) +1 on controllers with heaters and controllers in general. Making my life much easier.
3) No matter what your estimated budget is for a tank, it's wrong. You will spend more than you hope to.

+1 for both.

2) Not long after starting the hobby I had a heater that cooked everything. Took 5 years before I decided to get back into it.

3) Entire budget for my 113 pretty much doubled and thats just for equipment.

 

[phenom5]

Get 8' or so of 1/4" blue tubing, and fill your RO/DI jugs in the shower. Learned that lesson after I don't know how many floods in the bathroom.

 

[snarkes]

Get 8' or so of 1/4" blue tubing, and fill your RO/DI jugs in the shower. Learned that lesson after I don't know how many floods in the bathroom.

I actually fill my RO/DI jugs on top of the washing machine. Any water that overflows (cuz that happens to me at least twice a month), just goes over the lip of the machine door and into the drum where it gets drained away.

 

[dcombs44]

+1 for both.

2) Not long after starting the hobby I had a heater that cooked everything. Took 5 years before I decided to get back into it.

3) Entire budget for my 113 pretty much doubled and thats just for equipment.

No doubt. I'm almost $500 into a 10 gallon tank that I "already had everything I needed for." Or so my story went to my wife before I started setting up a new tank......

 

[Pylon]

buy a refractometer

 

[Bigredmachine89]

Never lay your phone close to your tank............ 3 times in 2 months. :hmm4:

 

[ethank77]

never think that just becuase your test kit says so that is what it is every so often test the test kit by using a standard if avalible or any way you can.

reserch every action before making it

use the experiance of others as to prevent your own mistakes

 

[niftyjosh]

1. Again with the DONT use tap water and if buying RO/RODI from LFS ask to see the TDS count now and again....with a high turnover rate they might not care that much (wont buy from 2 LFS after I complained my way into seeing their meter)

2. Skimmer...Skimmer...Skimmer....went 3x larger than my total volume and pull enough junk in 3 days to make my girls gag...

3. If you think you dont need a sump or cannot run one (I fall into this sad no space section) and are going to run a canister DO RESEARCH there are people who have AWESOME tanks running on canisters and skimmers only. Some of these canisters and heavily modded to try and compete with a sump (as is mine). But in all honesty, after spending 20+ mins EVERY day and $30+ every month to keep it from becoming a nitrate factory, I am getting married in 3 weeks (medieval themed as not to kill anyone from bordom and because normals wedding are awful(( If your near RI and want to come, it is manditory era dress and you can bring me a frag if you want to eat)) and my morgage was just approved so I will be upgrading when I move, and to me, a sump is a must.

4. Turbo Snails eat the HECK out of unwanted algae...but poop alot

 

[Skiquatics]

I have noticed i very rarely go to a LFS and just "window shop"...that may have been my intent starting out, but inevitabley there is almost always something i just have to pick up. Bad place to go when you are bored...its like grocery shopping when you're hungry, they just dont make for a cheap ending.

Take it slow, and inspect/QT/treat/dip/etc everything before adding it to your display tank...eventually you will pay for not doing so.

 

[rayn]

Listen to people who know more and research.

 

[mal1099]

Remember to have a timer on your ro/di unit to turn off before it overflows your storage container. Flooded my bathroom 2 times this year lol

+1 on qt tank i learned this the hard way....

inspect your live rock extensively for unwanted animals.. 3 mantis shrimp and still clicking omg i hate those shrimp.

Wearing gloves while moving rocks.. bristle worms stings really hurt....

Dont get to close to your anemone.. had one wrap around my arm and really sting me bad

So many things to pass on lol

 

[GhostCon1]

When aquascaping, if you decide to arrange it on the floor first to work out structures...

TAKE PICS OF HOW YOU HAD IT ARRANGED!!!

Learned this the hard way today Had a beautiful arrangement that I could not figure out how to put it back the same way once in the tank. It looks good now, but not the grandeur it was.

Also, if you put your rocks in the sand, the structure wont come out the same as it did on a level floor.

 

[mutateddogbone]

^^^^^ put your rocks in before putting sand in

 

[jaygalindo]

Brass fittings and reef aquariums don't work

 

[Mmckibben]

1 get a phosphate reactor
2 don't buy used aquarium stands
3 don't uses the chemical method of aiptasia controll
4 dont ask advice from the evil old lady at the aquarium store
5 Don't buy a arrow crab for a 12 gallon
6 don't buy uncured live rock
7 never, ever, eeeeeever put to damsel fish in the same aquarium, even supposed mated pairs.
8 do more reasearch
9 spend the extra money for a pre drilled aquarium
10 Don't Panic You have your towel.
11 don't buy pistol shrimp/ goby from the evil lady mentioned before
12 don't leave you metal halide on when your cleaning of salt build up

I'd say the last 5 years have been interesting. You could say i'm the biggest mess up in aquariums. Now i know better, or i think i do, so i can now rest at peace....... or not.

 

[Mmckibben]

Don't go to public aquarium and tell the manager that he has to many aiptasia in his lion fish display, and he probably has a phosphate problem.... tooo mmmmuuuuch algeaaaaaaaaaaaaa.