Taxus812
Destroyer of corals
What do you typically do when you start over?
I started my aquarium in early 2019. I never got anything to grow (outside of GHA). I mean nothing, GSP, mushrooms coral, Zoas, Toadstool Leather Coral, Kenya not even a flake of Coraline algae for more than a month. Anything I introduce with Coraline algae on it, the algae eventually died. It wasn't through a lack of care. I was testing and managing my tank closely weekly at a minimum. I kept logs and attempted to keep all the parameters within the green zone for growing coral. I did this for a few years. Something should have grown. We suspect we have something in our well water (filtered through the RODI system) like PFAS since they are now testing aquifers near our home for it (proximity to the airport).
Eventually, after 2-2.5 years of failure and expenses, I lost confidence and then interest. I stopped testing and even stopped water changes. Wave pumps started to fail, and I was trying to rehome the remaining fish (clowns were hosting GHA oddly). I planned on selling the whole system and perhaps returning to cichlids. They seem to thrive here.
My daughter urged me to try again. I am taking a deep breath and I am considering it. It would be a shame since I have a decent tank (Redsea E170), good test equipment, and good lighting. I also have 4 fish who have been here and oddly happy for quite some time.
If you guys were to do a scorched earth approach and start over what would do?
A few items I have on my list so far are:
Move the tank to a room with less ambient lighting.
Buy my water from the local shop eliminating water from the equation.
New wave pump.
I started my aquarium in early 2019. I never got anything to grow (outside of GHA). I mean nothing, GSP, mushrooms coral, Zoas, Toadstool Leather Coral, Kenya not even a flake of Coraline algae for more than a month. Anything I introduce with Coraline algae on it, the algae eventually died. It wasn't through a lack of care. I was testing and managing my tank closely weekly at a minimum. I kept logs and attempted to keep all the parameters within the green zone for growing coral. I did this for a few years. Something should have grown. We suspect we have something in our well water (filtered through the RODI system) like PFAS since they are now testing aquifers near our home for it (proximity to the airport).
Eventually, after 2-2.5 years of failure and expenses, I lost confidence and then interest. I stopped testing and even stopped water changes. Wave pumps started to fail, and I was trying to rehome the remaining fish (clowns were hosting GHA oddly). I planned on selling the whole system and perhaps returning to cichlids. They seem to thrive here.
My daughter urged me to try again. I am taking a deep breath and I am considering it. It would be a shame since I have a decent tank (Redsea E170), good test equipment, and good lighting. I also have 4 fish who have been here and oddly happy for quite some time.
If you guys were to do a scorched earth approach and start over what would do?
A few items I have on my list so far are:
Move the tank to a room with less ambient lighting.
Buy my water from the local shop eliminating water from the equation.
New wave pump.
