Things I have learned in this hobby...

[reeferhead33]

lmao thanks for this thread im cracking up over here. LOVING the plastic sink story, reminds me of my dad -.- LISTEN TO YOUR WIVES!!!!

 

[Mrs. Music]

:lmao:

 

[asylumdown]

- You will always remember the hand towel you use to stop from dripping all over the floor is on the counter in another room after you've plunged your arm in to the tank.

 

[Paul B]

I can't keep firefish because they keep jumping out, so to save time, when I buy them, I just take them out of the bag and throw them on the floor.

 

[FuzzyZipperbaum]

Great list!!!!

To add a few:

Telling your wife that you have spent less than half on your reef tank then the shoes she has in her closet means you will be sleeping on the couch.

Let someone else do the "new and improved"....wait till it is old news and then adopt it for your tank.

Never ever underestimate the damage that water and humidity will do over time...plan for it way in advance.

 

[thabizness]

I can't keep firefish because they keep jumping out, so to save time, when I buy them, I just take them out of the bag and throw them on the floor.

I almost just spit my drink over my keyboard and monitor.

 

[asylumdown]

The first time you think "I really don't have time to make a dipping solution, I'm sure it will be fine to put this gorgeous Acro frag straight in to the tank just this once" Will be the one time you bought a frag covered in coral eating flatworms.

Then the first time you think "man, I don't have any other elegance corals, and this is an SPS tank so there's no reason to subject this beautiful piece to a caustic dip" will be the time you picked up an elegance with a small colony of montipora eating nudibranch's taking a mid-day snooze under the mantle while they moved from one meal to the next.

 

[asylumdown]

I can't keep firefish because they keep jumping out, so to save time, when I buy them, I just take them out of the bag and throw them on the floor.

I keep having R/O float switch malfunctions, so to save time sometimes I just take a hose down to my utility room and pour 20 gallons of water on to the floor.

 

[CIGARSC351W]

Clams dont frag well

That's fun!

 

[Paul B]

I keep having R/O float switch malfunctions, so to save time sometimes I just take a hose down to my utility room and pour 20 gallons of water on to the floor.

Thats cool.

 

[LouH]

Great list! I'd add that if you change more than one action/factor to your system at a time you will never know what caused the reaction and makes learning more difficult. And automate everything you can usually the time spent is a big factor in people leaving the hobby. The coral will appreciate the stability too.

I agree with this to a point. I run an Apex controller on my tank, and while it is a wonderful device that allows me to manage my system with precision and consistency, it is a single point of failure time bomb IMO. Over time I've actually moved back towards hardware with it's own on-board controls to prevent a total system malfunction. The apex is still there monitoring the system and letting me know if something is out of range, but I no longer use it to control ATO, and I run a second standalone heater/chiller controller.

My $0.02

 

[LouH]

Actually, let me take another stab at it. I didn't go back to manually doing ANYTHING that the Apex was doing automatically. I just chose different hardware to do it. So your are correct. Automate everything, but be careful how you do it. Redundancy is expensive, but less than the cost of your livestock and the time you've put in getting your life forms to grow and thrive. I always look for opportunities to upgrade equipment when I see a need. In my mind it is money well spent.

 

[IANick]

Wow, I'm a newbie planning my first build, but I nearly split a gasket laughing at some of this. I've done my best to research, research, and research (and am still doing so), yet I know screw ups are still going to happen. But I love the fact that you "old timers" are making me feel better even before I screw up any more! Sadly, I don't even have salt water flowing yet, and I've already screwed up... should have built a fish room when we built the house.

 

[power boat jim]

Wow, I'm a newbie planning my first build, but I nearly split a gasket laughing at some of this. I've done my best to research, research, and research (and am still doing so), yet I know screw ups are still going to happen. But I love the fact that you "old timers" are making me feel better even before I screw up any more! Sadly, I don't even have salt water flowing yet, and I've already screwed up... should have built a fish room when we built the house.

Yea, but you probably would have built it too small!!

 

[shamus]

Awesome post. I am taking notes for my future tank. Thanks

 

[Throttle]

Great list especially the vacation part !

 

[beanbrrd]

I spent 3 years as a professional aquarist & learned these tips the hard way:

-Cell phones & electronics should be placed far, far away from work areas. A few feet? Farther.
-Never stick your hand blindly into a tank housing a lion fish. OUCH.
-Go around the pond, not over (in).
-Always have a supply of DI/RO water on hand for middle-of-the-night emergencies

Love your tip about not standing on a plastic sink to reach the tank - I learned that at a client's restaurant tank - the bar table is not a ladder either.

 

[behlke]

Buy quality products the first time, otherwise you will buy the cheap product first, and then, need to purchase the quality product when it does not work.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

I spent 3 years as a professional aquarist

the bar table is not a ladder either.

What is a professional aquarist?

 

[Paul B]

What is a professional aquarist?

I think that is a person who has a fish tank in their dorm room