Does Anyone Ever Set Up A Tank And NOT Have Problems?

[Nopy117]

I bet 90% of fish and coral fatalities result from not being quarantined. If everyone quarantined, the only problem remaining is nuisance algae.

Quarantine creates large problems simply because you quarantine. If you buy a fish and it’s sick, it’s a problem whether it’s in your main reef or not, the only difference is investment protection. You can minimize the damage sure, but there’s nothing fun about bringing home a fish, sticking it in qt, finding out it’s sick and nuking it with treatments, if anythings a problem in the hobby it’s the garbage fish that are available from 90% of sources currently.

 

[Dom]

I've yet to set up my tank..hoping for September. I've read and read and read everything on here and think I'm ready to get going. But....I see thread after thread of members setting up tanks, months go by, they look great and then BLAM...everything goes to hell. Is this par for the course in our hobby or is there a way to side step those events? You would think with careful planning and knowledge you might be able to sneak past it.
Thoughts?

You, my friend, are on the right track already! You have not even begun to set up your tank, and yet, you have "read and read everything".

It is in my opinion that failures in this hobby are related more to impatience than anything else.

Sometimes, even when you do everything correctly, s**t happens. It is unavoidable. You can have a tank running perfectly for years, but you can't prevent the hitchhikers in the rock that your beautiful bubble tip was attached to when you purchased it.

So much has to do with luck.

Good luck to you and keep reading!

 

[brandon429]

Also, let’s prove the tank and fish quarantine measures

Someone here who is contemplating a brand new reef, if you want the bulletproof method then holler out and we’ll start it right here and track your entire reef’s life span in this thread, theory threads are no fun, let’s find a proofer. We will name before it happens all the invasions you’ll see + the rectification moves long before the invader takes over. We don’t need to know your phosphate and nitrate readings here, nutrients don’t control whether the deliberate have invaded tanks.

For added bonus, run two new systems, make one a totally hands off parameter chasing one for compare and contrast.

It would be great to make this an action vs theory thread, let’s make two contrasting systems to test and someone write a huge article after eight months on the two.

 

[40B Knasty]

Personally I always had problems. I wish bryopsis would just go away. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Same goes for a few other things unless you use a treatment. For the most part take the veteran advice or some noobs advice that have talked to veterans of the hobby. Find stability for your tank. Let it pan out. If you want to achieve different goals. They will most likely require some extra care like a dragonet or SPS. It's not technically a problem if you have the right ecosystem for it. I 100% agree and with experience also having gone through diatoms, algaes, and cyanobacteria to just let them work their way out of the system. When it is something that kills your reefs inhabitants. Then take action. Ya can't sit around on ich, velvet, brook, aiptasia, fluke, intestinal parasites, majano, bryopsis, and dinos for the common issues. Do research. Don't buy everything people say to use. Make sure your tank is level. Have a good export of nutrients. Add live stock monthly. If you can't resist that one buy that was a must for you. Go for it. See what happens. Throw the receipt out after a few months and start a new one haha. Your tank itself will speak in volumes if there is an issue. The smaller the tank. The faster it becomes apparent. Good luck and enjoy the hobby. Best part of it is going to the stores and looking around for your next coral, clean up crew, or fish. Go to frag shows. They are fun for sure and stressful at the same time, because there is so much you want to take home. Just watch out for an aardvark when driving to them.

 

[Genomecop]

Great information here. Now that I'm much older than I was when I first set up a tank I have more than enough patience to see it through. I'm going to keep it very, very simple. Basic equipment (though 'high end') and pick a dosing product and stick with my choice. Patience and observation seem to be the key here.

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

To keep an aquarium is akin to herding cats. Things will not go smoothly or without occasional bumps in the road. If you to set up a perfect aquarium and it just be that way all the time, then frame a picture and be done. That's not really what this hobby is about.

I used to maintain tanks for a living - about 10 years ago. Mostly freshwater - but many ponds and saltwater including reef tanks, and one reef aquarium that I had to snorkel in to clean. I'm just getting back into the hobby and the amount of advancement is tremendous. Many of the problems that used to exist are really pretty much resolved. However, some of the technology that resolves problems can go badly wrong when it, too, is not properly maintained. (ATO floods, dosing pump failures, trace elements swings etc etc.) Many (but not all) problems I see on forums are traceable to failure to maintain technology that is maintaining your tank.

Working with around 40-60 tanks per month gives you real experience quickly. My earned advice: success is a ladder & there is always another rung, fixing problems is good - preventing them with a plan is better, nature never leaves a problem alone - but resolves them methodically: mimic this methodology with intention, and have lots of money. Oh, and don't go into the pond/aquarium maintenance business in a failing economy.

Aquariums are a very, "wax on, wax off" kind of a thing. That drives most people nuts.

 

[BestMomEver]

I had the good fortune of growing up on the Gulf of Mexico. If you’ve ever spent time in the water, you’ll know that it is an extraordinarily complex ecosystem. There is no way we can take that little bite of mother nature’s beauty and contain it in a small glass box (of any size). So, you have to do your best to replicate what’s there to the best of your ability, keeping the end goal in mind. Saltwater aquariums can be a cruel obsession and many just throw in the towel after many (or few) disappointments. Fortunately, you have many, many knowledge people here that can guide you. Go slow, consider nature’s path, and try your best to copy it. Wild reefs take yeeeeeaaaars to grow. Yours will too. Good luck and remember that we’ve all been there. I’m still learning every day!