Frustrated with the hobby.

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Does anyone else get frustrated almost depressed some days in this hobby? I'm 3 years in on my 210Gal and do the best I can 20% water change every Sunday religiously. Water parameters as stable as I can possibly get them and still corals die. Polyps retract. Some thrive. But still. Is it normal? Can't keep a goniapora to save my life so far lost 3 large ones maybe 1-2 months after purchase. Trachys dying shortly after purchase. Hammers dying shortly after purchase. Torches happy. Frogspawn happy. Nems happy. Bubbles happy. Blastomussas happy.

It's depressing and sad spending so much money on corals and seeing them die weeks after being in the tank. Drip Acclimating and dipping prior to insertion. Countless hours online researching where to place these corals on the tank doing what I'm told and still dead corals.
Salinity 33-35
Alk 9-10
Mag 1425-1450
Calc 440-460
Nitrate 8-12
Phosphate .1-.2
PH 8-8.3
78F deg
90-250PAR
Running 15-25ml NOPOX daily
GFO carbon changed weekly BRS dual reactor.
4 stage RODI water supply filters changed at 1TDS.
Substrate vacuumed every water change.
Filter socks changed 2-3 days religiously.
Skimmer is tuned.
Cheato fuge 24/7 photoperiod
Fritz Pro Mix
Red Sea AB+ daily per bottle
LRS reef frenzy daily

Is it normal to lose 25-50% of purchased frags purchased in a system like this?

I’m sorry about your experineces. I own a 20 gallon nano and honestly, with a few months of experience, and weekly water changes, they can be stressful, I can’t imagine a tank that big. I believe you could destress yourself a bit if you’re able to do less water changes. I know there are some people that add protein skimmers, algae scrubbers in order to always keep the Params low and add dosing pumps to make the tank automated for the most part. I don’t know much about that but I know there are tanks that get water changes every 6 months. Maybe doing less would help with a tank that big or maybe purchasing a smaller tank ! Best of luck !

 

[Matt Winstead]

L

That Nopox carbon dose seemed a bit on the high side at 25ml per day. I assume you need that dose to maintain your nitrates.
I have the same volume and maturity but my dose is 7ml per day. Even Redsea calculates your dose of Nopox at 9-10ml day.

I am always Leary of some predator, like a crab, when some corals die, and the others thrive.

Love your PBT!
very nice, tank looks fine, stick with corals that work in your system, there’s tons.

RED SEA says 3ml per 25 gal if your nitrates are 10 plus would put me at 25ml per day. How did you get it's too high?

 

[Matt Winstead]

Stop dosing junk and stop using gfo and nopox. Bet your tank gets better within an month.

Why stop the things that BRStv says to do?

 

[Matt Winstead]

Wait a minute? You say your torches are doing very well?

My experience tells me they are one of the most difficult corals to keep. Slightest parameter change and they bail!

You have to be something right to successfully be keeping torches!

Yep my oldest torch is thriving and always has.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

If nutrient are too high why stop the NOPOX and why slow the chaeto growth if those are export methods ?

Either take my 15 year aquarium industry professional advice, or don’t. Don’t care. at least I tried to help you. brs tv is an advert designed to sell products from a business. They Say all sorts of junk. They are not the only authority. Look how many tank crashes they habe had over the years. I have had none.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Looking at you're tank I'm saddened I have to leave the hobby it looks so great dude and super colourful. YOu also have like 4 species of tangs XD

 

[Matt Winstead]

Either take my 15 year aquarium industry professional advice, or don’t. Don’t care. at least I tried to help you. brs tv is an advert designed to sell products from a business. They Say all sorts of junk. They are not the only authority. Look how many tank crashes they habe had over the years. I have had none.

Lol good points. Listening now !

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I've tried but still don't know how to keep the phosphates stable. The GFO will drop them drastically and then they rebound right back again and the cycle repeats. The skimmer and water changes and NOPOX aren't enough to keep them down

I’m in the same boat, once I stopped using gfo I started to increase my nopox. I was up to about 25ml a day on nopox for my 120g. Then when my nutrients started to bottom out, I started dosing phytoplankton to raise po4 and used less nopox. Now it’s a balancing act of phyto and nopox.

 

[Matt Winstead]

I’m in the same boat, once I stopped using gfo I started to increase my nopox. I was up to about 25ml a day on nopox for my 120g. Then when my nutrients started to bottom out, I started dosing phytoplankton to raise po4 and used less nopox. Now it’s a balancing act of phyto and nopox.

 

[BiggestE222]

With only about a week of caring for an empty bit of water and three days of fish experience I can tell you Iv been frustrated. My one clown died from what I believe to be a swimblader disease. Two days into owning a fish and I had my first casualty. A totally defeating. Sorry I can’t be much help other than It’s for sure a difficult hobby.

I started my tank in March and I just got everything where I want as far as automation water chemistry and livestock on a 200 liter system and over 12k spent. It takes time. Effort and patience.

 

[Cell]

Either take my 15 year aquarium industry professional advice, or don’t. Don’t care. at least I tried to help you. brs tv is an advert designed to sell products from a business. They Say all sorts of junk. They are not the only authority. Look how many tank crashes they habe had over the years. I have had none.

I thought his follow up question was reasonable. Lots of successful reefers use GFO and Nopox. This response is cringy.

 

[WVNed]

Every time I decrease my NoPox I get cyano. It's like whatever competes with the cyano lives on the Nopox.

I use GFO and NoPox and LaCL and Biopellets. I am hoping to convert over to just a sulfur denitrator and Lacl
with a tiny bit of GFO. Yes, I have a fuge with ulva, I guess it isn't big enough at 29 gallons.

 

[Cell]

If you are getting big swings you are using too much gfo/Nopox. Go slower and test daily. Pick one, determine optimal dosage for your tank by testing, and then decide if an additional method is necessary.

 

[BiggestE222]

Does anyone else get frustrated almost depressed some days in this hobby? I'm 3 years in on my 210Gal and do the best I can 20% water change every Sunday religiously. Water parameters as stable as I can possibly get them and still corals die. Polyps retract. Some thrive. But still. Is it normal? Can't keep a goniapora to save my life so far lost 3 large ones maybe 1-2 months after purchase. Trachys dying shortly after purchase. Hammers dying shortly after purchase. Torches happy. Frogspawn happy. Nems happy. Bubbles happy. Blastomussas happy.

It's depressing and sad spending so much money on corals and seeing them die weeks after being in the tank. Drip Acclimating and dipping prior to insertion. Countless hours online researching where to place these corals on the tank doing what I'm told and still dead corals.
Salinity 33-35
Alk 9-10
Mag 1425-1450
Calc 440-460
Nitrate 8-12
Phosphate .1-.2
PH 8-8.3
78F deg
90-250PAR
Running 15-25ml NOPOX daily
GFO carbon changed weekly BRS dual reactor.
4 stage RODI water supply filters changed at 1TDS.
Substrate vacuumed every water change.
Filter socks changed 2-3 days religiously.
Skimmer is tuned.
Cheato fuge 24/7 photoperiod
Fritz Pro Mix
Red Sea AB+ daily per bottle
LRS reef frenzy daily

Is it normal to lose 25-50% of purchased frags purchased in a system like this?

Maybe too much chemical filtration. That stuff mixed together can make it hard on a lagoons coral like goniopora. My only filtration is filter sock. Oversized skimmer and algae reactor. Never felt knowledgeable enough about all these different chemical filtrations

 

[BiggestE222]

Why stop the things that BRStv says to do?

When did BRS say to dose gfo and another phosphate binder with it?

 

[BiggestE222]

Do you have temperature and PH probes to check if the levels are moving around during the day for any reason? The issue could really be doing too much on your tank. 20% per week is really a lot. I keep a nano with everything from a goni garden to acropora colonies and have found that very light feeding and small weekly water changes of about only 10% is best. Was having very little success until I just started depending more on dosing everything and keeping my hands out of the tank as much as possible. Also making sure PH always stays above 8 makes a huge difference. I'd recommend letting the tank stay at it's current levels but be less diligent about removing the filter socks, changing GFO and carbon etc and just feed very light and do small weekly water changes around 10%. Have even had a few corals come back from what I thought was the dead doing this method, crossing my fingers. Also may want to use chemipure blue to lower your phosphate. And i'd stop dosing NOPOX, much more natural to just feed less then use chemicals to keep levels low, that could be the main issue.

Would also add amino acids. Did wonders for my monti corals. Even one with burnt ends started growing almost exponentially and flesh corvered burnt ends.

 

[Goaway]

It's depressing and sad spending so much money on corals and seeing them die weeks after being in the tank.

This is how torch corals make me feel. Once this indo torch dies, I am never buying another torch again. It's a heartbreaking battle. My hammers are thriving, I guess I just need to focus on who is doing well. My palys don't grow well either. Birdsnest is very happy. But would probably be happier if I didn't break it once a month.

 

[CrunchyBananas]

Why stop the things that BRStv says to do?

oof yeah, best thing for your tank and wallet is unsubbing from BRS. Keep in mind, their videos are advertisements to sell products, and have lead a lot of new hobbyists to situations like yours: doing and spending way too much building up a house of cards tank that can never get fully stable. Definitely strip back the maintenance and additives, all that stuff isn't necessary. Stick with the basics of just water changes, and only carbon or gfo when absolutely necessary. Avoid things like vibrant, nopox, and whatever products BRS is pushing, they sell items for their benefit, not yours.

 

[Cell]

People need to calm down with the BRS video bashing. They are incredibly useful tools for reefers. Vibrant, Nopox, GFO etc all have their place in this hobby and many use them with great success. The hard part is determining if or when to use them, but that's what we are here for.

 

[Frizzy reefnewb]

Does anyone else get frustrated almost depressed some days in this hobby? I'm 3 years in on my 210Gal and do the best I can 20% water change every Sunday religiously. Water parameters as stable as I can possibly get them and still corals die. Polyps retract. Some thrive. But still. Is it normal? Can't keep a goniapora to save my life so far lost 3 large ones maybe 1-2 months after purchase. Trachys dying shortly after purchase. Hammers dying shortly after purchase. Torches happy. Frogspawn happy. Nems happy. Bubbles happy. Blastomussas happy.

It's depressing and sad spending so much money on corals and seeing them die weeks after being in the tank. Drip Acclimating and dipping prior to insertion. Countless hours online researching where to place these corals on the tank doing what I'm told and still dead corals.
Salinity 33-35
Alk 9-10
Mag 1425-1450
Calc 440-460
Nitrate 8-12
Phosphate .1-.2
PH 8-8.3
78F deg
90-250PAR
Running 15-25ml NOPOX daily
GFO carbon changed weekly BRS dual reactor.
4 stage RODI water supply filters changed at 1TDS.
Substrate vacuumed every water change.
Filter socks changed 2-3 days religiously.
Skimmer is tuned.
Cheato fuge 24/7 photoperiod
Fritz Pro Mix
Red Sea AB+ daily per bottle
LRS reef frenzy daily

Is it normal to lose 25-50% of purchased frags purchased in a system like this?

Same pain here ....except the opposite I cannot keep torch corals my montis I’ve had for years just died it’s the most frustrating/relaxing hobby it’s just annoying to pay hundreds of dollars for a coral that dies I feel ya man