the temptation to move a rock and look...
to find a fish you know is in there...
to mess with an invert...
to try to fix something...
Don't do that. You can trap a fish and kill it by moving rock. Your hands do no favors to corals and bristleworms---they're too rough and tear them [use latex gloves]...
And sometimes, as a novice, you forget you used handcream this morning, or that you washed your hands with perfumed soap that has an oil component...
Or when moving something you can knock something else down.
I know, I know, just one little adjustment. But in general, don't. If you do, wear gloves to protect the water and the tank. Don't move rock around with fish in there. Set it and forget it. And apply the six hour rule to most every temptation to put your hands in your tank. Has the problem solved itself, or is it still a necessity? Can you possibly fix it from outside?
The hair algae phase is one time when you and an old toothbrush may have honest work to do in there, but try to shorten that with gfo---changed monthly. And use a reactor.
Know this for a certainty: if there's one thing besides water quality and bad light that will slow or stop coral growth, it's being moved, nudged, fussed with. Glue it down and let it alone. Corals don't like to wobble in the current and they don't like to be lifted up and fussed with. FIsh aren't that happy with intervention either. And if you have to right a stupid snail, try a clean new chopstick. Less chance of damage. A chopstick, occasionally a pair of new kitchen tongs to reach into a delicate area. Sometimes a very tiny net can do a job delicately. But as a general rule---let it be. And never move rock to search for a fish. Either they turn up (sometimes months later) or they never will.
to find a fish you know is in there...
to mess with an invert...
to try to fix something...
Don't do that. You can trap a fish and kill it by moving rock. Your hands do no favors to corals and bristleworms---they're too rough and tear them [use latex gloves]...
And sometimes, as a novice, you forget you used handcream this morning, or that you washed your hands with perfumed soap that has an oil component...
Or when moving something you can knock something else down.
I know, I know, just one little adjustment. But in general, don't. If you do, wear gloves to protect the water and the tank. Don't move rock around with fish in there. Set it and forget it. And apply the six hour rule to most every temptation to put your hands in your tank. Has the problem solved itself, or is it still a necessity? Can you possibly fix it from outside?
The hair algae phase is one time when you and an old toothbrush may have honest work to do in there, but try to shorten that with gfo---changed monthly. And use a reactor.
Know this for a certainty: if there's one thing besides water quality and bad light that will slow or stop coral growth, it's being moved, nudged, fussed with. Glue it down and let it alone. Corals don't like to wobble in the current and they don't like to be lifted up and fussed with. FIsh aren't that happy with intervention either. And if you have to right a stupid snail, try a clean new chopstick. Less chance of damage. A chopstick, occasionally a pair of new kitchen tongs to reach into a delicate area. Sometimes a very tiny net can do a job delicately. But as a general rule---let it be. And never move rock to search for a fish. Either they turn up (sometimes months later) or they never will.
