How sad do you get about your aquarium?

[salttanklife]

My saddest time, the Ice storm of 2000 that hit the south. I had a 150 gallon soft coral tank that had been running about 7 years with a yellow tang and and naso that I loved and lost them both. I wasnt prepaired for something like that. All electric house and no generator, lost them all. I was so sad I got out of the hobby but started back about a year and a half ago. I am more prepaired now though.

I got lucky during the ice storm because my wife's brother had power back the next day and he let me use his generator. I had a gas fireplace that kept the tank warm but I still wrapped it in blankets. I kept stirring the water about every 30 minutes to keep the oxygen levels up. I ended up not losing anything and I didn't have power on the house for 5 days. Generator ran the fridge, 1 light and the tank

 

[salttanklife]

I would say that I get mad more than sad. I was woke up by my wife at 6:00am around a month and a half ago saying that the living room floor was wet. My skimmer overflowed and ran 5 gallons of freshwater through my ATO while we was sleeping. Her second response to me before I could even the the covers off was " I guess you're going to be a @$$hole for the rest of the day" (2nd time this happened with the skimmer) lol

 

[billrob71]

I was sad when my 14 year old purple tang died

 

[LDH]

For me it's not finding this site and all its good advice until after I started my first tank. It's so beautiful except I did not know a few things ( let's be honest a lot of things ) which has me staring at my now year and a half old tank with about 3 billion vermatids snails. Im pretty happy with it especially for my first go around but the punishment of not knowing proper dipping and qt procedures stares me in the face every time I look at it.

 

[jasonrusso]

I would say that I get mad more than sad. I was woke up by my wife at 6:00am around a month and a half ago saying that the living room floor was wet. My skimmer overflowed and ran 5 gallons of freshwater through my ATO while we was sleeping. Her second response to me before I could even the the covers off was " I guess you're going to be a @$$hole for the rest of the day" (2nd time this happened with the skimmer) lol

This happened to me twice before I put a "ato" shutoff in the skimmer cup. It shuts the skimmer down if it fills up. It has saved me countless times.

I always feel bad when I lose a fish. I have 3 dogs and 2 cats so I am an animal lover of all kinds so I take it seriously when I am entrusted to keep an animal alive. The worst was probably my wartskin angler who I got when he was about 1/2 an inch. I raised him in his own tank until he was ready for the primetime. He got to about 4 inches which is full grown. After a year and a half I came downstairs and found him suddenly dead. He was fine and eating the day before. I was heartbroken. Then 2 weeks later my beloved Mombasa lion died (maybe they both are tainted food as they were eating the same food). I would have given up if it wasn't for the other fish in the tank.

My porcupine puffer is by far my favorite. He is still the first fish I bought (4 years ago) and still the boss. (I also have a 4 year old dwarf Moray) If he goes, I am not going to work!

I give all my fish a proper burial in a small towel in a certain area in my yard. It makes me feel better.

So yes, I get very upset over the tank st times. Frustrated, upset, proud, etc. That's why we do it. It's a challenge. It keeps you interested. Unfortunately in this hobby, mistakes equal dead animals, but that's how you learn.

 

[Jewels2484]

I dont even want to read these all because it will scare me off of re-starting my tank. I just sold my house and have a 4 week layover at my parents until we close on our new home. I was contemplating moving my tank to my parents basement, which would involve a complete break down and drain of the tank, putting all the fish/coral in 5 gallon buckets and holding them there while I did the break down, move, and re-assembly of my tank 15 minutes away.

I made the decision that was best for the fish/coral and sold them to my reef store for store credit. Rocks, coral, fish, and all went to them for a few hundred dollars. I "lost" about half a dozen fish and just as many corals. But in the end it was for the best to do that and ensure they all survived as just the break down of the tank itself and removing all the equipment and what not took several hours. So there's no way they could have survived sitting in those buckets that long.

I'm excited though that I ran the tank for two years with minimal loses and never suffering anything approaching a major crash. I'll be picking up a 2nd hand 120g reef ready tank next month and re-booting with that and my 60g thereafter. So I see it all more as a half step down to take 2 big steps up in my hobby! But if I had a major crash I think I'd have to hang it up for a few months before I could emotionally come back to it, nonetheless the re-investment required.

When we were building a house 3 years ago, we sold our old house before the new house was done, so we had to live with my in laws for 5 months. We have a Red Sea Max 650 (about 200 gallons), at that time it had been up and running for about a year and was very healthy, with fish, coral, inverts, anemones, etc. I was TERRIFIED to move it, TWICE in 5 months, once to my in laws house and once back into our new house. If you can believe it I didn't lose one single living thing. It was a literal miracle. I think what helped is we hired the guys at our LFS to move it for us. And they didn't charge a lot, I think it was $150 each move, and that's for a large tank, so it would be less for a smaller tank. They are a lot more experienced, had a lot of equipment to help during the transport, etc. I will never move a large tank without their help now.

 

[salttanklife]

This happened to me twice before I put a "ato" shutoff in the skimmer cup. It shuts the skimmer down if it fills up. It has saved me countless times.

I removed the skimmer the last time it happened and haven't even considered putting it back in. My tank is actually doing better without it. I believe that I was keeping the tank to clean because I change 5 gallons a week religiously in a 30 jbj. I figure after rock, I've got around 25 gallons of water and 5 gallons would be a 20% water change. My zoas/palys are looking better than ever and all my sps/LPS are doing great. I have to clean my glass about every 3 days instead of once a week now but I've got no algae growth anywhere else. I think on a small tank, a skimmer is pretty much useless other than keeping the ph more stable and adding oxygen to the tank. I have my WaveMaker breaking the surface to accomplish this task. If I do decide to go back with one, it'll be a in the tank tunze instead of a hob. I've learned my lesson with a hob but thanks for the advice.

 

[HRBP]

When we were building a house 3 years ago, we sold our old house before the new house was done, so we had to live with my in laws for 5 months. We have a Red Sea Max 650 (about 200 gallons), at that time it had been up and running for about a year and was very healthy, with fish, coral, inverts, anemones, etc. I was TERRIFIED to move it, TWICE in 5 months, once to my in laws house and once back into our new house. If you can believe it I didn't lose one single living thing. It was a literal miracle. I think what helped is we hired the guys at our LFS to move it for us. And they didn't charge a lot, I think it was $150 each move, and that's for a large tank, so it would be less for a smaller tank. They are a lot more experienced, had a lot of equipment to help during the transport, etc. I will never move a large tank without their help now.

Ya originally I was going to close on my home and my new home same day, so perhaps I would have asked if they could help. But then a bad inspection on the home I was going to buy happened and now I'm delayed a month at least. So in the end it's one less thing to stress over and let's me build a bigger and better tank.

 

[jasonrusso]

I figure after rock, I've got around 25 gallons of water and 5 gallons would be a 20% water change.

I have a 150 predator tank (messy eaters) with a sump. My skimmer pulls out ALOT of gunk.

 

[Jewels2484]

For SURE I cry over my tank. It's been awhile since I've had any deaths but I definitely do. I believe my last one was a juvenile Ignitus Anthias that was bullied by his 3 other siblings and jumped out a few months ago. That was especially hard cuz it was a baby and I had invested a month in it already since it had been in quarantine.

My other big one is I've discovered my clownfish are spawning and I'm looking into and getting set up to grow Rotifers and grow out tanks, etc etc to raise them, but what bothers me is until I'm actually already for the babies I've had to watch 2 batches (and will probably be a couple more before I'm ready) be laid, grow, hatch, and then be eaten or killed by my power heads and there's nothing I can do about it. I know it happens a million times every day in nature but I guess I feel worse because it's happening in MY tank you know, I feel like I'm responsible for them.

 

[Jewels2484]

Ya originally I was going to close on my home and my new home same day, so perhaps I would have asked if they could help. But then a bad inspection on the home I was going to buy happened and now I'm delayed a month at least. So in the end it's one less thing to stress over and let's me build a bigger and better tank.

Yeah you definitely have to do what works best for you. I'm sure what happened with my tank NEVER happens so it's probably a good thing you sold your coral and all that because I think me not losing anything was a total fluke and extremely lucky.

 

[Jewels2484]

My saddest time, the Ice storm of 2000 that hit the south. I had a 150 gallon soft coral tank that had been running about 7 years with a yellow tang and and naso that I loved and lost them both. I wasnt prepaired for something like that. All electric house and no generator, lost them all. I was so sad I got out of the hobby but started back about a year and a half ago. I am more prepaired now though.

I feel you there. We live in a hurricane area. We got a converter type thing to hook up to our car for power outages. It doesn't run everything but it does run my power heads which helps a lot

 

[Flippers4pups]

I'm sad that I can't fill every square inch with coral right a way! Lol

Seriously, I've been in this hobby a long time, (since 1993 - not as long a PaulB!) and have had many, MANY disappointments. But never "sad"! But overtime there are many joys in seeing the reef thrive!

Things in this hobby can and will be tough at times, but these are times to learn and overcome! I see them as challenges and opportunities to be better at reef keeping.

Everyone says (including me) that you must be patient and go slow, but also determined to not give up when things go wrong. This is gospel to a reef keeper.

 

[Jewels2484]

I was sad when my 14 year old purple tang died

Wow that's brutal!! 14 years!!

 

[jasonrusso]

For SURE I cry over my tank. It's been awhile since I've had any deaths but I definitely do. I believe my last one was a juvenile Ignitus Anthias that was bullied by his 3 other siblings and jumped out a few months ago.(

A couple months ago, I bought a larger (about 1 1/2 inch) six line wrasse. I always heard how tough they were. Well, it took 1 1/2 days for my Harlequin Tusk to kill it. I felt awful that I bought this beautiful fish and put it in my tank only to be harassed and brutally killed by a bigger fish. I should have done more research (a Harlequin will kill any added wrasses), but I didn't.

 

[Tautog]

What else? I went on vacation. Came home to high No3's and high KH. That was May, and I'm still dealing with parameters. Lost $1,000.00 in corals, while others keep growing, go figure!
My biggest issue has always been simple: when we buy, why do we get all these things we didn't pay for, nor did we want.
Funny hobby!

 

[Jewels2484]

A couple months ago, I bought a larger (about 1 1/2 inch) six line wrasse. I always heard how tough they were. Well, it took 1 1/2 days for my Harlequin Tusk to kill it. I felt awful that I bought this beautiful fish and put it in my tank only to be harassed and brutally killed by a bigger fish. I should have done more research (a Harlequin will kill any added wrasses), but I didn't.

Oh bummer. I won't have a wrasse again because the only one I ever had, also a six line, almost killed my mandarin goby by hogging all the copepods in the tank. Fortunately I caught it in time (because I noticed the goby was getting emancipated) and got rid of the wrasse. Nobody messes with my mandarin goby. She's my only original fish left from my first tank 5 years ago. She's nice and fat again

 

[jasonrusso]

Oh bummer. I won't have a wrasse again because the only one I ever had, also a six line, almost killed my mandarin goby by hogging all the copepods in the tank. Fortunately I caught it in time (because I noticed the goby was getting emancipated) and got rid of the wrasse. Nobody messes with my mandarin goby. She's my only original fish left from my first tank 5 years ago. She's nice and fat again

That's the problem I had, I only researched what the six line would do to my other fish, not what my Tusk (also a wrasse) would do to the wrasse.

 

[juanrmattos]

Is sad when your reef is thriving and financial difficulties strike you down... I built a 700G aquarium back in 2005 and set it up in a way that at the time it was considered by some (And titled in another forum) as "Mad Science Project"!!!... I had it until 2012 and due to circumstances outside my control, I had to break it apart and sell it for pennies on the dollar. Even today, is sad to think about it... Is almost like watching your kids leaving for college to a completely different country, or worse.

I'd probably never do such a gigantic investment ever again, but is undeniable, once we are involved in reefing, is impossible to stay away from it.

 

[Cory]

Imagine losing all your fish due to a heater cooking the tank. Happened to me about 20 years ago.

Didnt know heaters will overheat a small tank. 150 watt will cook a 10 gallon tank. Should have been 25-50 watt.

Even to this day i dont use heaters. Temp stays at 80f due to the pumps.