Saying goodbye to my reef

[ACBlinky]

As some of you already know, I'm pregnant with our first baby (due in January) and have been stressing over caring for our 90g as well as three cats, a goldfish tank, an aging labrador retriever who needs to be walked every three hours, and, of course, a newborn baby.

I made the decision to let the reef go for now -- I'm certain I'll return to the hobby in a few years, but for now we're going to covert to either FO or FW. The fish tanks have always been my hobby and responsibility, and I couldn't live with myself if the reef was neglected or even crashed because I was too exhausted to care for it properly.

We're selling/trading all of the fish, corals, rock, sand & macroalgae this weekend. I just finished making arrangements, and reality is setting in -- in a few days, my reef will be gone. I'm sad, but I think it's the right decision. I'll hang onto the skimmer, lighting, sump and other assorted reef equipment, so when the time comes we'll just need to shop for rock, corals and fish and we'll be back up and running.

If anyone has any suggestions for making a FW tank (or FO, though that's less of a possibility) pretty enough to live with for the next few years, I'd love some suggestions. Funky fish, plants that LOVE light, aquascaping ideas, whatever. We're aiming for low maintenance, but not the typical fugly FW tank -- no divers, multi-coloured gravel, or platies allowed.

 

[dwd5813]

find a nice dimorphic cichlid and get a group of em. i like saulosi myself. kenyii are also nice.

 

[spleen93]

Sorry to hear that you're tearing down the tank but congrats on the baby! With your lighting, you'd think that doing a planted FW tank would be a natural but I'd urge you not to do one ... maintenance on a planted tank is as much as maintenance on a reef (more so, I think, because plants grow faster than corals). A few plants here and there would be nice though ... anubias are hardy and look very nice.

In a nice big tank like a 90G, I personally prefer large schools of FW fish - like 50 rummy nose tetras or something along that lines. Could also do congo tetras which would be bigger. A nice school of clown loaches would be nice as well (tetras midwater, clown loaches on the bottom) - resale on the clown loaches should be good as well as they get bigger and if you decide to convert the tank to a reef eventually.

Just some thoughts.

 

[ACBlinky]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I've toyed with the idea of African cichlids, it's the one are of FW I never ventured into. I've done 'Dutch style' planted tanks before, and Spleen you're right -- they're a LOT of work. With loads of light it's tempting to go with plants, but we're trying to cut down on maintenance so I have to keep myself reined in *grin*

There's something to be said for a well thought out community tank -- I'd like to have colour (as much as possible with FW) and some action in the tank, so it's interesting to watch and not just a boring box.

I think I'll put my novel away and pull out my old FW books for a little bedtime reading -- I'll see if anything really catches my eye

 

[A.T.T.R]

save your equiptment

unless you plan on going bigger next time thatis

 

[rampantmarine]

I love Tiger Barbs - Tons of personality - little work and they amuse themselves. I have about 16 in a 90 with Rummy nosed tetras, bala sharks, some neons and long fin rosey barbs.

We can't import them - but I saw some glow fish in cool colours (Genetically Modded Fish). They would pop under reef lighting!
--Edit (your a canuck too - no luck on the frankenfish for you as well!)

Congrats on the addition, with a change to the lighting timer you can watch something besides infomercials at 1, 3, & 5 AM!

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13460266#post13460266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ACBlinky
Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I've toyed with the idea of African cichlids, it's the one are of FW I never ventured into. I've done 'Dutch style' planted tanks before, and Spleen you're right -- they're a LOT of work. With loads of light it's tempting to go with plants, but we're trying to cut down on maintenance so I have to keep myself reined in *grin*

There's something to be said for a well thought out community tank -- I'd like to have colour (as much as possible with FW) and some action in the tank, so it's interesting to watch and not just a boring box.

I think I'll put my novel away and pull out my old FW books for a little bedtime reading -- I'll see if anything really catches my eye

There was a couple of years were I had my 75 as fresh ( still had a ten gallon salt ), and had a bunch of African cichlids, and still sort of miss them. Lots of color, and movement. And it was really neat seeing the few fry that didn't get eating grow larger and larger. If I ever get a big tank, might do that again with the 75. I remember having a couple of easy plants in there. Didn't do anything to help them, they grew, but pretty slowly, but added to the look of the tank.

 

[wayne in norway]

Why don't you just do a FOWLR tank? Most of the fun, without a lot of the hassle. You'll find planted tanks loads of work, and most african cichlids get old pretty quickly. Tropheus are nice and fun to keep, but no easier than a FOWLR, so it's self defeating.

 

[agreeive?fish]

ACBlinky,

I would get one center piece fish you could not have in a reef and a couple smaller active fish to round out the tank.

CONGRATS on the comming baby

 

[Albanets202]

Wait, why is reef more maintenance? Once it established, you pretty much just do 20% bi-weekly WC and weekly top-offs??? Feed 'em twice a day???
You would do the same for FW tank

 

[ang_99]

i hear you AC. Lets face it, reef tanks take a lot of work and time.

You'll probably feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

 

[superfirefly]

My recommendation is to keep the reef and spend the next few months making that tank as maintenance free as possible. I had the same worry about a year ago when my wife was pregnant. Determined not to loose the tank, I did everything I could to make the tank as low maintenance as possible. I still have some maintenance but it is totally worth it. Our 9 month old loves the tank and has since almost day one.

When he was too young to sit up on his own he would sit on my lap and would just be mesmerized by the tank. I think I spent more time watching him then I would the tank when we did that. Now that he sits up on his own we each have our own chair and we sit together watching the tank. He can't talk yet but he giggles and laughs like crazy when the fish swim by. He really gets a kick out of it when they stop to look at him or dart off real quick when he reaches for them. The tank has also been a life saver on days when nothing seems to calm him down. We Just sit down with him in front of the tank and it is like someone hit the mute button.

I know it is scary to think about al the work that you put into that tank and how will you do that with a child. It is so worth it though. Best of luck to you! Oh and if you do work on making the tank low maint. don't wait till the last minute. Our bundle of joy came a month early. Needless to say I did some scrambling in the end.

 

[spleen93]

It *is* possible to reduce the maintenance on a reef tank by automating many of the things that require daily input. Feeders to feed the fish regularly, automatic top off units to keep salinity constant, dosing units to dose two-part or whatever. Even to the point of being able to do automatic water changes with something like a ReefFiller or even two dosing pumps on a schedule with a SW reservoir. However, it does cost money and not sure if that's in abundance right now with a baby coming and the economy being what it is.

 

[barclayrl]

I would not convert to FW.. it will end up costing you more if you plan to go back to SW... I agree to make it a FOWLR.. Although i am not sure how much more "work" the corals would be...

The kids go nuts over SW tanks... They love those NEMOs!!

Plus you will need to wash everything out, buy substrate, and other FW supplies that you know you will get rid of.. take the money you would use for FW stuff and instead spend that money to make the current tank as maint free as possible... I took down my 65G when my 1st was born and it ended up costing 3-4X re-buying and setting up everything again, i am glad i didnt tear it down with my 2nd and 3rd babies.. All 3 love it. even my 4 month old..

They think it is great.. the life of the living room..

I cant stress enough.. dont convert to FW even if you have the slightest desire to go back to SW someday... It will COST YOU...


Hope this helps as I have been trhough it before... My wife agrees..

 

[bubbly]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13462880#post13462880 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by superfirefly
My recommendation is to keep the reef and spend the next few months making that tank as maintenance free as possible. I had the same worry about a year ago when my wife was pregnant. Determined not to loose the tank, I did everything I could to make the tank as low maintenance as possible. I still have some maintenance but it is totally worth it. Our 9 month old loves the tank and has since almost day one.

I have found that children really love the fish and the tanks. My question is what did you do to make the tank so simple to run.

That's my goal with the tanks -- some people want reactor-driven SPS farms. I just want to enjoy having the tank rather than having it be part-time job to maintain the thing.

The principles of SPS farms are pretty clear -- low nutrients, high light, and high flow. I would love to have a similar set of principles for low-maintenance tanks that look great.

 

[ACBlinky]

Wow, lots of feedback!

The tank is pretty self-sufficient - it's well established, has an ATO, the fish are easy to feed... I'm not saying it's a tremendous amount of work per se, but it IS a delicate balancing act. When it comes down to it, a reef is a lot more delicate than a simple FW tank. FW (or a FOWLR or FO if we go that route - it's not out of the question) doesn't require careful, frequent buffer, Mg and Ca additions. If a FW tank goes without a water change or two, nothing's worse for wear -- in a reef, just a little neglect can be disastrous. All it would take is a clogged pump, someone forgetting to fill up the ATO reservoir, or any number of tiny mistakes and my reef would crash. If I was in hospital or exhausted and bed-ridden after surgery and this happened, I couldn't forgive myself.

My pregnancy is high-risk; without getting into the gory details, I've been told I can expect certain complications both for me (hemorrhage & possible surgery) and the baby (breathing difficulties), and we'll both be in the hospital for about a week after he's born. It's actually pretty miraculous that we were able to get pregnant and that I've been doing as well as I have so far.

I need to keep stress at a minimum, and while I ADORE my reef, I just can't keep it for now. I have loads of equipment left over from my years and years of FW, and I'm running a small FW tank right now -- honestly, there's really nothing we'll need to buy other than some substrate, fish and maybe a few plants. We're not even considering getting rid of any of the reef-related goodies - skimmer, lighting, ATO, filter socks, sump, etc. will all either be put to good use, or put into storage.

I started selling stock off this evening. A lovely couple came over, selected a few corals, and took them home to their 90g. They may return for a few fish on Saturday when we tear the reef down -- whatever doesn't sell privately will be going to the LFS to be traded in. With the credit we receive we'll outfit the new tank with gravel, plants, fish and probably some nice driftwood (or rock if we go with cichlids/FO/FOWLR).

I'm considering a community tank with tetras, rasboras, maybe cherry barbs (one of my favourite little FW fish) and rainbowfish as a centerpiece shoal. I adore plecos, so we'll probably add a chocolate, gibby or panaque to the mix once the tank gets going. FW isn't as flashy as SW, but it can be beautiful too, and the best part is I'll be able to RELAX, and it'll be much simpler to teach someone how to care for it when I'm in hospital/recovering.

 

[spleen93]

Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. :thumbsup:

 

[Reefing102]

I agree it does sound like a good plan, the only thing is with the drift wood you might want to pre-soak it for about 24-48 hours because I have seen and heard many stories of drift wood discoloring the water when first added.

 

[Nanz]

I totally understand now that I have a 7 month old little boy. My husband does the reef work now, hehe..

Have you thought about possibly a Discus tank? They are very pretty fish and require minimal upkeep. I feed mine a blood worm cube morning and night

You could even decide to grow live plants with them also but its not required. Mine live with fake plants.

Here are some pics of mine in a 55gallon

 

[chaoscat]

I have a 90 gallon Cichlid tank that is very nice. My wife loves it. Some of the Cichlids can be almost as colorful as reef fish. In the tank is a georgeous peach peacock cichlid, a very nice yellow labidochromis, a white albino mbuna (and several other various colored mbuna) It a very busy tank, as their always chasing each other around. I put a nice background scene on the back of the tank. When you come down the stairs to my basement, it's very striking.

The tank requires minimal maintenance. No skimmers to mess with. No water testing. Any algae that grows, the fish eat it. The fish can be gotten for cheap compared to saltwater, you feed them once a day and change the water 3-4 times a month. Maybe I can post a photo later tonight