starting over or getting out...

ryanhayes96

New member
well, around 3 weeks ago my 75 gallon tank began to crash. The levels spiked and i tried to fix it by doing water changes and adding amquel. The fish also caught ick during this period of time. It had been like around 1.5 weeks and i had no fish loss, but the levels were still there just not a lot. But no corals would really open, but all the is were looking fine. Well then this week came. so far i have lost

powder blue tang- show size
Kole tang
Pistol shrimp
Pair of perc clowns
2 peppermint shrimp

i am still treating the water with mediation bt the bes part is that i leave for a 3 week vacation on thursday. Im pretty much expecting to come home to nothing, but im keeping my hopes up, lol. I a trying to find a place for my surviving corals to be held, but i cannot catch the pygmy angel or the 2 yellow watchmen, hopefully they will be okay.

so when i get back i have a big decision to make, wheter to sell everything and get out or to start all over. If i start all over i would take all the rock out andscrub it down, as i have a problem with hair algae, get rid of all the sand and use starboard instead and them buy more rock to add to the rock i already have, change 100% of the water and recycle everything. I would them probably make it an SPS dominated tank, but i dont know if i want to go that route. Please help me decide lol, as i really have no clue on what to do. /dance, lol
 
Man it must be nice to take a 3 week long vacation. I say find someone to hold your fish for you, do a water change right before you leave, and make sure your timers are working. You should be fine, then.
 
If it were me, Id start all over. But when the time comes to restock it, let your tank really mature before adding the tangs and SPS.
 
Seriously though, Dan you don't seem very interested in keeping a reef tank, so I would seriously consider to yourself whether you really want to keep doing it. You come on here asking peoples opinion whether you should keep doing reefkeeping or get out. This is not a something you should let other people decide.

So many people have offered to help you with your recent crisis lately, and you didn't take anyone up on there offers. You didn't seem to go out of your way to do anything people suggested, and your livestock is dieing off more and more.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if you really don't want to put the effort into caring for a reef tank, then maybe you should consider getting out of the hobby.
 
He is Using Kick-Ich, and i think Melafix, both of which are safe for inverts and corals... that is all i think he is using, but it didnt seem to work, IDK why...???
 
Not "ganging up on" anyone...some people just don't know or are misinformed. Kick-ich does'nt work and can lower PH to dangerous levels. Melafix will do nothing for ich, it will remedy abrasions & open wounds, but again it can deplete oxygen to dangerous levels so...this is why meds should only be used in a QT tank.
If you understand the life cycle of ich, it is easy to see why some believe that meds like kick ich are in fact working when in reality it is just the life stage of the parasite to fall off the fish. The ich is just regrouping for round two which can be worse. Stresses cause a fish to lose it's slime coat, this is when ich reproduces to levels that can kill a fish. Otherwise, it can & does live in most of our tanks unnoticed.
 
i understand - wasnt saying that anyways - i just informing you that i informed him so you didnt have to reiterate something i already told him - thus making him feel as if we are "ganging up" on him
 
na u guys are good, i thank you for all the advice, i do want to keep a tank its just that when you see something that you have poured in over 5000 dollars just dying before your eyes while ur trying to save it, just brings ur spirit down. i also wrote this right after everything had died. when we get back my dad wants me to start all over.
 
Unless you have someone to take care of all of your animals when you leave for college or move away for work etc... I would get out now and start back up when life settles down a bit. I still think you are too young for such a responsibility. It's not a personal judgment, it's a matter of opinion. I wish I didn't start when I was 16. I would have saved a lot of time, money and heartache over the years. Here I am now, with the same fish I started with, my clown and LTA, 13 years later, sometimes I still wish I had gotten out of it. It can be quite the anchor while growing up.

just my two cents....

lue.
 
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