Seriously debating getting out of SPS!

[Lunchbucket]

yeah the title is correct :eek1:..i'm thinking of getting out of SPS for a while or for good. just lost interest since the whole AEFW thing. i don't have them (that i know of) but 75% or more of the fun in SPS corals was the trading and "window shopping". i have not traded in over 3-6months and haven't "window" or "net" shopped in that long also. lost interest in the tank because if it....i have not neglected it but lost a lot of interest. don't stare at the corals like i used to.

i don't want to ditch the tank completely. i would miss coming to RC and miss a lot of the great people i have met here. also i think i would go crazy w/out a tank of some sort. my wife is more into the fish aspect and has wanted a flame angel forever! i will not add one w/ my precious SPS just in case. so i figured if i decide to get out of SPS why not get a flame and concentrate more on fish and some LPS to satisfy the coral lover in me??? i think it is a good compromise to myself for wanting a tank w/ some corals and i might spark my wifes interest in the tank again.

i would sell my 2x400w MH's and possibly my iwaki 55rlt cl pump and possibly my OM 4-way unit. i would then get a 4x36" vho retro and use that as my lighting (2x10k and 2x actinics). my plan would be to see what i could get for all my sps at a local guy and get rid of my rock locally if possible. the rock needs to be dried out and then relivened up as it has hydroids and bryopsis on it then i should have enough money from seeling my corals and my LR to get new cooked LR w/ no algae and get the lights. if i sell the iwaki and the om 4-way i could prolly get a few corals w/ teh money. i would focus mostly on brains, frogspawns, hammers, torches, and candycanes. i ahve a few LPS already.

i would keep my skimmer a Deltec APF600 or a ER RC80 (i alternate them when i clean them), sump, return, my two tunzes for circulation.

thinking about selling the ca rx also. i don't think i would need it w/ LPS but i'm not sure. would be nice to have my alk and ca automated w/ the current ca rx.

any thoughts?? am i the only one that feels like this?
Lunchbucket

 

[ITR]

To be honest with you, I have contemplated this as well recently. Earlier this year, I lost many of my SPS due to treating AEFW.

I haven't purchased anything in about 6 monts myself. I have been to a number of local LFS's and have spotted signs of AEFW damage and I am petrified of buying any more SPS.

I am also having other difficulties in getting rid of a recent breakout of hair & cyano algae. This hobby is very humbling indeed.

I didn't expect this hobby to be easy and part of the reason I got into it was for the challange, but sometimes I just think to myself "what am I doing this for?"

On the other end of the spectrum, a fish only tank doesn't do anything for me. I have a 240 FOWLR tank and I spend 90% of my time tinkering with the reef tank.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ReeferMac]

I understand your pain dude (levamisole still on the shelf in the next room).
Personally, I don't like giving in. Ever. I know it's kookey, but I'd climb back on top of that mountain first, then step down off of it. Psycologists would likely have a field day w/ that kind of a statement, but it's not really what most would think I mean (you have to know what I mean).
I think you do.

- Mac

 

[turtlespd]

im alittle fed up my self! down with sps!lol

 

[Kip]

imagine if 10yrs ago hobbyists said to heck with stonies because they couldnt keep them from being brown

imagine if nobody had worked for a red bug cure a coupla years ago

i say keep fighting the fight.... stonies can be challenging and personally, i like the challenge (luckily some of the 'stony pioneers' liked the challenge as well)

 

[LBCBJ]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is AEFW...never heard that term before

Anyway, I say if the tank's giving you grief and keeping you down, just put the livestock in good hands and start over fresh. Sometimes that's all you can do. I've been forced to do it before, and the majority of other reef keepers I know have too. It's all just a long process of give and take, learning, and most of all enjoying the hobby...keeping such delicate creatures will always have its ups and downs. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

Acro Eating Flat Worms

 

[UFreefer]

acro eating flatworms

 

[LBCBJ]

ahh, I see...I'm constantly being stumped by these never ending abbreveations

 

[Mchava]

Lunchbucket, comming from some one who lost a lot of the nicest sps that I ever had to the AEFW. I would say stick with it. I know sometimes you get down cuase you want to get some new sps, but id say dont. There are people right now tring to see what will take care of this things. I know but all in due time. Stick with it but the biggest thing I would recommend is QT everything you get. I know I have and its paid off so far.

 

[amuruges]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7750252#post7750252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LBCBJ
ahh, I see...I'm constantly being stumped by these never ending abbreveations

I know what you mean.... IIRC gets me everytime...

 

[jdieck]

Lunchbucket, some of the interest is lost after looking at the same aquascape for a long time.
Trim as needed, rearrange the rock for a totally different look and you will see what I mean.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

IIRC?

 

[Znut Reefer]

I vote to hang in there Lunch. I have a SPS tank, and a lps, softie tank. I really like them both. But I do find myself, looking more at the sps tank than the other. The other tank is nice with not as many pests to deal with. But the sps tank is more of a challange. And more captivating. So many diffent colors.

You can still trade and buy new sps, but just be sure to look everything over and dip, and if possible quarantine all new arrivals. It is pretty depressing with all these pests thats involved with having sps, but still worth the risks. It's always rewarding to watch your garden of acros grow. So don't give up yet, you have alot invested and I'm sure your tank is beautiful.

 

[kevensquint]

Hmm, your plan is detailed and seems to have passed some time floating around in your head. I think that you are convinced that its time for a change and looking for some good reasons not to follow through. I can understand the frustration of loosing frags to one thing then another and ending up totally fed-up. But you seem to be fed-up by a problem that you don't even have. Strange. I hav'nt seen you tank, but from your experience it must be quite nice, if you still need more frags to complete it, you could do exchanges with a few trusted reefers ( I do the same idea to avoid getting aids). Obviously, if you can start with tiny frags, you would be able to inspect them thoroughly for parasites..but then it will take a long time for the frag to fill in its spot. Hard to win.

 

[G-money]

If space isn't a big issue, you could set up a coral quarantine tank. All you'd need is light, heat and some water movement. If you don't feed, you wouldn't need a skimmer or any real large investment. Most hobby veterans have enough crap around the house to get a QT going pretty cheap and easy.

Keep the new guys in there for a few months for observation. I'd think any respectable reefer would offer some type of "restitution" if you found a bunch of parasites on their supposedly clean corals. Problem being you'd have to be sure where you got them - there would be trust involved, which is often hard with strangers.

 

[jay24k]

You are a fool Lunch! Keep going on with it man. What you need to do is trade with good people here. After I ship a few corals and if they do well, we can do a swap. I'll get you some nice rare pieces that will spike that interest up.

IMO, I like LPS but I am not big on just that. They are always missing something to me.

However, do what makes you happy. What makes me happy is trading in pieces for colors that I'm looking for. I have one brown/purple digi left that will be the last brown I have once I get rid of it.

 

[melev]

Let me get this straight:

You took the <b>red</b> pill, knowing what you were getting into, and now you suddenly want to take the <b>blue</b> pill? :twitch:

No, you may not change your plans. You may not play the Nancy Boy card. You must buck up, take the bull by the horns and resolve the current tank issues. And quit being scared of other corals.

Be observant, and practice safe husbandry. A Q-tank would be crucial if you are that worried.

And yes, I did vote for Option #3. There was no other choice.

 

[Wiskey]

Another vote for a Q tank, and Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure (kills AEFW)! That will stem your worries and alow you to keep trading.

Whiskey

 

[Malolo]

Levamisole works. Nothing goes in my tank without it. AEFWs just sound like an excuse to bail out, to me. Whoever said sps were gonna be easy.

Buck-up man!

Melev: you crack me up. :lol: