Things I wish I knew when I started...
- Thread starter MHG
- Start date
MileHiReefR
New member
I wish I had done more research on Trigger fish before I got one which I really like now but is a major headache...
Aquatron
Refugium pat.#D414,242
I didn't have forums when i started so i read books by Albert J. Theil" Advance Reef Keeping" John H. Tullock" The Reef Tank Owner's Manual" Martin A. Moe,jr."The Marine Aquarium Reference" just to name a few. This gave me a great base from which to learn and to have successful reef's.
Reading/learning first then buying and QT corals and fish will put you way ahead with our hobby")
Reading/learning first then buying and QT corals and fish will put you way ahead with our hobby")
jaynigz
New member
NEVER EVER COMPROMISE ON QUALITY
If you had to buy a pump rated at that limit, get the one up that's bigger. If you have to get a skimmer rated at that size, get one up bigger.
Buy a Controller. RK, APEX, Profilux. GET ONE. It'll save you the hassle of not knowing what's going in your tank. A simple heat thermostat could malfunction and you wouldn't know it until it's too late. Get a controller. You can shut off that malfunctioning thermostat on your phone or have an automatic fan turned on if temperature reached above the normal. If you're at work, check on it. Make sure the temperature, pH, salinity are all within the norm.
Can't put a price on peace of mind.
If you had to buy a pump rated at that limit, get the one up that's bigger. If you have to get a skimmer rated at that size, get one up bigger.
Buy a Controller. RK, APEX, Profilux. GET ONE. It'll save you the hassle of not knowing what's going in your tank. A simple heat thermostat could malfunction and you wouldn't know it until it's too late. Get a controller. You can shut off that malfunctioning thermostat on your phone or have an automatic fan turned on if temperature reached above the normal. If you're at work, check on it. Make sure the temperature, pH, salinity are all within the norm.
Can't put a price on peace of mind.
McMillin5
New member
Dont be cheap and buy the 15$ float valve for your RODI storage water, just over flowed my 46G Brute storage can and im limited on space so i convinced my wife to let me put it in are walk in closet and ummmm yeah woke up this morning with a wet walk in closet and she is NOT happy at all lol oops:headwally:
Reef Frog
New member
Do not keep filter feeding sea cucumbers like the yellow & pink spiny cucumber. They tend to decline even with dedicated target feeding & will kill fish (not shrimp, snails & corals IME) when removed.
Remove original frag plugs & replace with new during the dipping process. This is where my Bryopsis algae came from. It's also an ideal surface for pests & their eggs. Hit the frags with some moving water when dipping too. For colonies on live rock, diligently dip, QT, observe, dip again observe, repeat as needed in cycles that would allow pest eggs to hatch & be killed.
Nip algae infestations, out of control species like GSP & animal pests in the bud. Get on it & stay on it. Implement algae fighting tools like GFO, bio pellets, ATSs etc sooner rather than later. Don't wait. Procrastination turns a 1 pound problem into a 100 pound problem real fast.
The new generation low iron glasses scratch very easily. Consider not using a mag float & if you do, treat it like you would a dangerous tool & watch what you're doing. Razor blades can scratch too if not careful. I now use rough finer pads & credit cards mostly.
I wish I more fully understood the pros & cons of dry rock vs live rock and sand bed vs BB.before I got started.
Remove original frag plugs & replace with new during the dipping process. This is where my Bryopsis algae came from. It's also an ideal surface for pests & their eggs. Hit the frags with some moving water when dipping too. For colonies on live rock, diligently dip, QT, observe, dip again observe, repeat as needed in cycles that would allow pest eggs to hatch & be killed.
Nip algae infestations, out of control species like GSP & animal pests in the bud. Get on it & stay on it. Implement algae fighting tools like GFO, bio pellets, ATSs etc sooner rather than later. Don't wait. Procrastination turns a 1 pound problem into a 100 pound problem real fast.
The new generation low iron glasses scratch very easily. Consider not using a mag float & if you do, treat it like you would a dangerous tool & watch what you're doing. Razor blades can scratch too if not careful. I now use rough finer pads & credit cards mostly.
I wish I more fully understood the pros & cons of dry rock vs live rock and sand bed vs BB.before I got started.
Dolmo5000
New member
Things I wish I would have known:
- When you think there is something wrong in your tank that requires drastic action, wait a night and sleep on it. Then wait about 5 more nights before even considering taking action... Bad things happen when you act rashly.
- Protect your tanks boundaries like they are your daughters underpants. The only guilty party when you look at your tank and see bubble algae, bryopsis, ich, red bugs etc. IS YOU. After you have invested what is almost always thousands of dollars and more time than any of us want to count on your display the last thing you want to see is a pest or parasite. Get a quarantine tank!! GET ONE. DO IT. Keep it running at all times and your display will always look great. (The hardest lesson I have learned)
- This is MUCH MUCH more expensive than you could possibly anticipate. Literally figure on spending 2-5 times what your budget is. If you don't have the money, don't get into the hobby. No one wants to see animals being neglected.
- DO YOUR RESEARCH! There is no excuse for negligence. There are more people on this single web site that have been in your exact place than you have fingers and toes combined.
- Lastly, and probably most importantly. Look at your tank everyday. Take a sec, minute, even 30. Just take some time to enjoy it for what it is. Remember, this is why you spend all the time and money on it.
- When you think there is something wrong in your tank that requires drastic action, wait a night and sleep on it. Then wait about 5 more nights before even considering taking action... Bad things happen when you act rashly.
- Protect your tanks boundaries like they are your daughters underpants. The only guilty party when you look at your tank and see bubble algae, bryopsis, ich, red bugs etc. IS YOU. After you have invested what is almost always thousands of dollars and more time than any of us want to count on your display the last thing you want to see is a pest or parasite. Get a quarantine tank!! GET ONE. DO IT. Keep it running at all times and your display will always look great. (The hardest lesson I have learned)
- This is MUCH MUCH more expensive than you could possibly anticipate. Literally figure on spending 2-5 times what your budget is. If you don't have the money, don't get into the hobby. No one wants to see animals being neglected.
- DO YOUR RESEARCH! There is no excuse for negligence. There are more people on this single web site that have been in your exact place than you have fingers and toes combined.
- Lastly, and probably most importantly. Look at your tank everyday. Take a sec, minute, even 30. Just take some time to enjoy it for what it is. Remember, this is why you spend all the time and money on it.
biodegraded
New member
What I would have liked to have known from the outset.
- Everything should be presumed diseased and/or pest ridden until proved otherwise. Quarantine everything 'wet' before it goes in or gets connected to the display system. EVERYTHING: live rock, sand, plants, inverts, corals and of course fish. Look at the staggering number of posts on RC about pests and diseases in display tanks: ich, crabs, Valonia, red bugs, AEFW, etc, etc, etc. ALL are preventable by quarantine, patience and careful observation.
- Properly set up the boring and expensive 'infrastructure' FIRST. Including/especially quarantine. Installing ad hoc tends to make for klunky, finicky or poor performing subsystems.
- The power WILL go out, sometime for days. Frequently in harsh winters. What is the protocol for that eventuality?
- Parts WILL fail. Pumps and heaters are especially problematic. Have spares of all critical parts before putting water in the tank.
- No matter how comprehensively you try to account and budget, how ever much money you think it will cost, it will cost MUCH more.
- Everything should be presumed diseased and/or pest ridden until proved otherwise. Quarantine everything 'wet' before it goes in or gets connected to the display system. EVERYTHING: live rock, sand, plants, inverts, corals and of course fish. Look at the staggering number of posts on RC about pests and diseases in display tanks: ich, crabs, Valonia, red bugs, AEFW, etc, etc, etc. ALL are preventable by quarantine, patience and careful observation.
- Properly set up the boring and expensive 'infrastructure' FIRST. Including/especially quarantine. Installing ad hoc tends to make for klunky, finicky or poor performing subsystems.
- The power WILL go out, sometime for days. Frequently in harsh winters. What is the protocol for that eventuality?
- Parts WILL fail. Pumps and heaters are especially problematic. Have spares of all critical parts before putting water in the tank.
- No matter how comprehensively you try to account and budget, how ever much money you think it will cost, it will cost MUCH more.
biodegraded
New member
Wow, having replied before reading much in the thread, I did not know how similar my content was to Richard's post right above.
Gonna add a few more...
Pre drill all your rock with frag plug locations before putting it in the water...
Spend a couple of bucks on reef glue accelerater. Your glue ups will work better...
Know your lights and buy coral from people who know their lights. It makes acclimation much faster and less costly... When someone argues that PAR numbers have no value, he probably does not have access to a meter... Not knowing my lights in the beginning, I destroyed and killed alot. After borrowing a PAR meter I found out I had 1000 par at the top of my rock work...
Dont follow the 1-2 pound of rock per gallon... you will wind up with a wet brick and no room for coral or fish.... Dry rock is lighter so buy less....
Pre drill all your rock with frag plug locations before putting it in the water...
Spend a couple of bucks on reef glue accelerater. Your glue ups will work better...
Know your lights and buy coral from people who know their lights. It makes acclimation much faster and less costly... When someone argues that PAR numbers have no value, he probably does not have access to a meter... Not knowing my lights in the beginning, I destroyed and killed alot. After borrowing a PAR meter I found out I had 1000 par at the top of my rock work...
Dont follow the 1-2 pound of rock per gallon... you will wind up with a wet brick and no room for coral or fish.... Dry rock is lighter so buy less....
Cstaricansrfer1
New member
One of my big mistakes was not making my stand tall enough. There is not enough room between the top of the sump and bottom of the stand to get my skimmer cup in and out for cleanings. Big PIA.
dan_mudder
New member
1) Start with a bigger tank, because you will upgrade it anyway.
2) Build/Buy a larger stand than you think you need, because it will make life easier trying to maintain the sump and equipment.
3) Install an ATO.
4) Put a float valve on your RO/DI reservoir
I learned the hard way on each of these
2) Build/Buy a larger stand than you think you need, because it will make life easier trying to maintain the sump and equipment.
3) Install an ATO.
4) Put a float valve on your RO/DI reservoir
I learned the hard way on each of these
eyesinthedrk
New member
That i was going to go reef.
im sure most started out like me. "oh, i just want some fish, i dont want the hassle of corals".
that lasted about as long as the cycle, but the damage was already done.
im sure most started out like me. "oh, i just want some fish, i dont want the hassle of corals".
that lasted about as long as the cycle, but the damage was already done.
borderreef
New member
That I would not be satisfied until I had my 6' tank and T5 lighting. Now I'm content.
borderreef
New member
That I would have spent enough to buy a nice car over the years.
Also that at times during sex I'd actually glance up at the tank...at least my girlfriend loves my tank too, or else it be trouble
Better than glancing up at the football game.
No she'd probably watch that herself. Especially if it's the chargers.
