I own Reef2Reef and I am coming clean....

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

I've hidden it for far too long and today is the day I'm coming clean!

I'm supposed to know what I'm doing right? I am the owner of the GREATEST saltwater and reef aquarium forum in the world. I should have a great reef right? Well I don't and I don't know why!

I'm tried of dodging full tank shot requests and not posting photos of my tank. So today I'm coming clean.

I STINK AT THIS! I used to be a pretty good reef keeper but now I have no clue as to why I am having so much trouble keeping corals thriving in my tank. Back then I didn't have all the gadgets and all the knowledge but everything was so much easier. I shouldn't be having these problems.

1. I have one of the best skimmers.
2. I have one of the best lights.
3. I use one of the best salts.
4. I use RO/DI water.
5. I have an auto doser for ALK and CAL.
6. I have an Auto Top Off
7. I have great rock.
8. I have the best of Flow in my tank.
9. I have good heaters.
10. I have one of the best controllers.
11. I have one of the best reactors to run GFO.
12. I have one of the best sumps.
13. I have the best return pump.
14. I change water more frequently than in the past. (not that much still)
15. I have a forum and friends full of knowledge.

So why am I struggling to keep the easiest of corals alive? Please tell me. I'm ready to find out why!

Old tank in 2008 when I didn't have all the best stuff and could actually keep coral alive.

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

I hope you all admire honesty or I'm in trouble! HA!

Tank2379 · Dec 14, 2015

Good Looking Tank Rev.

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

My first real tank.

Brian Kim · Dec 14, 2015

Oh God.......You asked for it......LOL

Saltwaterwill · Dec 14, 2015

kschweer · Dec 14, 2015

Honesty is the best policy and you have tons of great people here to help you out. I think I would start simplifying things. In my opinion the simplest way to do something is often the best. I once told a friend "I think I'm going to get back to the basics" his simple answer was "why did you ever leave them?"

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

Started learning a little more and getting a taste for better corals.

Brian Kim · Dec 14, 2015

So, where's the picture of your tank today!

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

I could actually keep monti caps alive then as well.

ReefBuzz · Dec 14, 2015

When doing a water change do you syphon the sand? I've never had a tank with so much in the sand and always wanted to ask someone that does

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

Then I had these.

redfishbluefish · Dec 14, 2015

There's nothing wrong with a good confession!

So is that picture in post #4 your current tank? And if so, it doesn't look bad. My only comment was that now I know what they did with the Berlin Wall.......

....it looks a little heavy in rock for my liking...and for flow and detritus trapping. But that's just personal taste.

EDIT TO ADD: Oh wait....I now see you are doing a chronology. I wait for the whole story.

Pete polyp · Dec 14, 2015

Rev I am in the same boat. I have always had simple reefs with no sump, no skimmer and really nothing but flow, light and heat. So I decided to go all out and get that sump, skimmer, reactors, controller etc. And guess what? Biggest pain I have ever had to deal with! It just won't get right no matter how much I work with it. Without the sump and all the gadgets I can literally abuse a tank and it will THRIVE. Overfeeding and forgetting to do a water change for 3 months, no problem. But with this more complex system (which is supposed to make it easier) nothing will go right. I'm under the assumption to use the K.I.S.S. method from now on.

bsstover · Dec 14, 2015

I have fallen into this as well. The more I spend on my tank, time or money, the more that seems to go awry. I have just adopted the KISS (keep it simple stupid) and low and behold, my tank is doing almost as well as when I first started this 10 years ago!

revhtree · Dec 14, 2015

bsstover · Dec 14, 2015

Apparently Pete and I are in same page!

erk · Dec 14, 2015

I had to stop running GFO. Ran into way too many problems and it caused a couple crashes. Bacterial blooms and such. Also, I found out when I took down my tank to move that the float mags had been leaking and were rusted. I had been using one to hold a frag rack. Since I tossed the mag float and stopped GFO and carbon, I can keep any coral I want. Now I just need to finish designing my upgrade and move the corals into the 40B before they outgrow the 25 gal Rubbermaid tub. I dose vodka and run a diy air powered skimmer.