Game Changing Aquarium Advice! It's a fact jack!

[BestMomEver]

I think that comment is both literal and figurative. Figuratively, it means to just leave stuff alone. Literally, it means to not try to rearrange too much, move the sand around too much, clean too much, etc. my tank is 24” deep. In order to reach the bottom I have to stand on a chair and reach all the way down to my armpit. I not only wash my hands/arms before reaching in, I also have to wash off my deodorant.

 

[Scurvy]

When people say “keep your hands out of the tank”, is that literal - like “use tools not your hands to place coral etc.”. Or is that figurative, like “don’t mess with your tank and placement of stuff too much”?

If the former, how do you place and move coral? I have not had success with tools - I just always drop everything and then have to stick my whole arm in...

Its more figurative but you want to keep your hands out as much as possible. That should include the sump. Tools are better but sometimes ineffective.
Try limiting hands in the tank to once per week or less, much less if possible. Keep a list of things you need/want to do so that when your hands do go in the tank you accomplish as much as possible. If a frag falls but it’s safe then leave it be until you have other things to do. If it falls on top of another coral or anemone grab it ASAP or kiss it good bye. Better if you have a tool to use but do what you gotta do.

My biggest lesson was as others have already said. “Leave it alone” Understanding when you actually CAN leave it alone is another story but generally the less you tinker the better off you’ll be.

 

[Adele]

Get an ATO.

Never realized how convenient this little gadget is and no more Salinity swings from a missed top off.

 

[Rispa]

@Battlecorals telling me to not put my ro membranes in series and getting rid of GFO and complicated things and just going simple

@Paul B for blackworms and LRS for feeding

Can you link to the Battlecorals conversation?

 

[Rispa]

Mine are don't fix what isn't broken and stability is they key to success.

 

[Brew12]

Can you link to the Battlecorals conversation?

Adam put this together, which I find an interesting read.
https://battlecorals.com/blogs/blog/185869191-phosphate-ramblings

 

[OriginalUserName]

I really can't stress how great these are for mounting things like controllers. They stick way better than double sided tape and you can easily move things around or pull something off to adjust programming etc.

 

[Scurvy]

I really can't stress how great these are for mounting things like controllers. They stick way better than double sided tape and you can easily move things around or pull something off to adjust programming etc.

These work wonders too! Holds pretty much anything within reason. Stolen idea from a friend that uses for almost everything on his boat.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

-water changes consisently
-super low nutrients are bad
-nothing good happens fast
-keep hands out of tank
-dont ignore problems
-dont buy cheap equipment
-dose hydrogen peroxide for many benefits besides algae control
-dont love your tanks more than your wife

Besides algae control, what are you dosing hydrogen peroxide for?

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Best fish to start a tank with are damsels ‍[emoji79]

 

[andrewkw]

One that comes to mind that hasn't been mentioned yet was 10+ years ago when a friend was looking at my tank, he mentioned how I had so many nice micromussa colonies but they had no way to grow the way I mounted them. Sure enough I had pieces that just grew around the rock. Since then I've always ramped any kind of LPS to give them the easiest path to grow. It sounds simple but still I see people place colonies either on the sand or just glue them to a rock sticking out. By ramping it gives them a path to grow onto the main rock and not end up on the bottom where they receive no light, flow, feeding or attention.

The above crappy pic demonstrates this. This was a couple of polyps when I initially got it, you can see how I got it to grow to the right and there is just a bit of epoxy showing and the plug but only when you look from the side. Still took years to grow out but from the front it looks great.

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

Why no on the skimmer? I’m a newbie and everything I’ve seen includes one?

To me its just an unnecessary accessory, you can do without it. Many of the guys who run my local lfs don't use one on their systems and they have a lot of luck, just double down on biomedia and keep up with your water changes.

 

[OriginalUserName]

To me its just an unnecessary accessory, you can do without it. Many of the guys who run my local lfs don't use one on their systems and they have a lot of luck, just double down on biomedia and keep up with your water changes.

That's technically correct but I think this is one of those approaches that work best for advanced reefers or those with nanos that can do a lot of WC very easily.

 

[mattgsa]

Do a lot of research before buying anything.

 

[Brew12]

To me its just an unnecessary accessory, you can do without it. Many of the guys who run my local lfs don't use one on their systems and they have a lot of luck, just double down on biomedia and keep up with your water changes.

A R2R member had an amazing SPS tank. Not only did it not use a skimmer, but the only equipment it used were powerheads and a heater. The tank was a 40B so not huge, but not exactly small either. There are so many ways to be successful in this hobby.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

Best advice I was given was to use biological filtration in the form of an algae turf scrubber. I've gotten my setup running with an ATS, refugium, and protein skimmer. Between the above I do not do water changes. I have kept SPS but they really don't excite me. I am a big fan of LPS and zoas, and all are thriving. I know a lot of people can run a system successfully without a skimmer, but I am not one of them. The goal for me is to limit how much hands on work I am doing to the tank, and the skimmer is a huge part of that for me.

 

[jluspo]

I bought and read this: https://andremueller.e-junkie.com/product/1538148/Andre’s-Reef-Guide---Coral-Colorization-Part#1

 

[Dragon52]

Make sure you know what Fish are really Reef Safe

 

[KTTX]

Best advice for me came through a conversation with Adam at Battlecorals. Simplify your system, no GFO, No crazy additives. Raise NO3 and PO4, way higher than I would have otherwise, Big skimmer and water changes. Simple, simple, simple. It has made this hobby much more enjoyable.

So what did you raise NO3 and PO4 to?

 

[ALRUI]

Besides algae control, what are you dosing hydrogen peroxide for?

I second the question. Is this something everybody should be doing as a routine or only in certain cases?