Bad advice only please!!!

[wtac]

Two issues that I encounter frequently:

1) Unlevel aquarium hence water line. Just push the sand over to the low side and it will push the water up .

2) Water smells bad. Use water from the swimming pool, it always smells good!

 

[Lanamonster]

If you can grow algae, you can grow anything.

Hilarious!!!

 

[Reef Obsession]

Cancel your weekly garbage disposal and throw it into you sump. It works just like the ocean and you will love the results! Try it!

 

[Jose A Venereo]

Add a few copper coins to your reef aquarium for good luck and to prevent ich.

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

If you suspect your tank has ich, add a powder blue tang, so you will know for sure

 

[mcshams]

You don't need to quarantine..

Wish I had learned this lesson sooner. A smart man learns from his mistakes...and I have two QT tanks.

But seriously... you can't use Morton's salt? Who knew!? /s

 

[Fishmania]

Don’t be a reefer

 

[JCOLE]

Dont worry, it is very cheap!

 

[Sagepath]

Pee in ur tank to cycle!!!

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Pee in ur tank to cycle!!!

That is exactly what I did! Great minds think alike!

 

[Skydvr]

1. No... cycling is a freshwater aquarium holdover thing. That was disproven years ago on one of the forums. Seriously, look at those ATM guys. How many of those massive tanks did they stock immediately? They couldn't do that on TV if it wasn't safe for the fish. Come on, PETA would be all over them for that.
2. A good initial stocking density is 1-1.5 pounds of fish per gallon. Take it slow at first, they all need to establish their own territory before you start fully stocking. Somewhere around 3 pounds of fish per gallon is a nicely stocked tank. Lost of movement and activity. Oh, make sure that if you are getting some of the more aggressive species, that you want them to be one of the first to go in. You want them to be able to establish their own territory, that way they feel more comfortable and less stressed. They will be less likely to harass other fish if they have the opportunity to get themselves established first. They don't feel the need to chase everyone off because they feel comfortable that the rest of the fish knows who owns that space.
3. No more than 1 inch of rock per gallon. The tank will get too crowded and the fish will be too stressed if there is a lot of rockwork for them to get trapped in. Plus there is way less swimming room and they start hiding all day. You aren't setting up an aquarium to stare at rocks. You can sit in the back yard and do that.
4. You're ready for corals once the cloudiness in the tank clears and the salt is fully dissolved. Just make sure you don't forget to mix up the salt that initially settles out in the corners of the tank first. You can usually bring them home the same day you pick up the tank. As long as you are quick about getting it set up you should be good. If you really want to play it safe, you can wait until the next day or the weekend if you are setting it up on a Thursday or something. But, I mean.. it really isn't necessary. Some people are just overly precocious and think their way is the only way.
5. SPS don't do well with typical coral dips, you need to use a 50/50 solution of tap water and 32% hydrogen peroxide. It will really clean them off and make sure you don't bring anything into your tank.
6. Don't waste your money on test kits. Those things are so inaccurate. You can see when things are doing well and when they aren't. You'll get a feel for, it is all part of the learning process.
7. Some people get intimidated by the high cost named frags when they first start. Most of the higher priced really bright ones are quick growers, you want to get those early, before the market gets saturated with cheap frags so you can recoup your money and pay for the hobby. I've also find that dropping a few grand of coral into the tank right away really helps to keep you excited and focused on the tank. You are a lot more engaged and less likely to get a case of [air quotes] "old tank syndrome" during the first few weeks.
8. I don't know man... I'm not really sure if the LED things are really going to take off. Everybody claiming that they are having good growth... I mean.... it's all anecdotal evidence. I've never even seen a good LED lit tank in person. You don't see any of the big coral shops using LED lighting.
9. You have to be really careful about over sizing your skimmer. If you run too large of a skimmer, you will supersaturate the water with oxygen and end up driving off too much CO2 leading to pH crashes and instability. The fish will get lethargig and start swimming near the surface with their heads pointing up trying to get to the lower levels of oxygen that are typically found in surface waters. The other issue is that most manufacturers understate the capacity of their skimmers, which makes it so much more difficult to figure out what to run. I play it safe and run about a quarter undersized and only run it for a few hours here and there when I think of it or notice that the water is starting to smell a little fishy. No, a fishy smell is normal after a week or two. I mean, fish are living in the water, of course t will get a little fishy smelling after a while.
10. If your municipality runs chloramines and you have high TDS tap water, you are set dude! You don't need to deal with those RO/ReIonizer mineralization units. You will save a ton on media. Your water will be perfect for topping off and making new tank water. If the TDS is really high, you might need to watch out for salt creep and do a partial DI water change to rebalance the water chemistries once or twice a year. You can get the DI water pretty cheap at the grocery store or auto parts shop if you live near a good one. You'll be amazed at how everything seems to come to life when you do these.

 

[Louiemiller9]

Let’s have some fun and see how good your imagination is at the same time! This is for fun only!

What’s the best advice you could give someone for setting up a saltwater reef aquarium? (BAD ADVICE ONLY)

You can’t “OVER FEED” ......

 

[Skydvr]

That is exactly what I did! Great minds think alike!

But the ammonia in urine breaks down pretty rapidly in a salt water environment, you need some solids in there to help sustain the levels throughout the day.

 

[joe0813]

Buy a cleaner shrimp per gallon, cleaner wrasse per 20 gallons and some extra garlic. This way your tank will NEVER have ich.

 

[Charles4400]

Use Dawn instead of Palmolive when cleaning your pumps and powerheads.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

If your eurobrace breaks in the middle of the night, and your tank bows out drastically, no need to panic! just leave it be, maybe if you are a huge worrywort you can put a clamp on it of something.

The thing is, someone actually told me that once! I ended up losing $2900.

 

[mkwarner77]

relax, dont worry about testing. Those kits are a rip off anyway and those sharks will fit in any size tank

 

[Dburr1014]

The salt part is not necessary

Yes you do, morton salt is the best to use!

 

[Dburr1014]

Pennies can be used instead of sand its considered good luck.
Once your pumps are broken in, you never have to clean them again.

 

[Skydvr]

Don't worry about contaminating your tank after working on your car. You obviously want to get the bulk of the grease and oil off your hands, but whatever gets into the tank will just help lubricate your pumps and keep maintenance to a minimum.