I suffer from tank anxiety

[SCReef'n]

Anyone else not able to stop worrying about every little thing in their reef? I obsess to an unhealthy level over every spot and polyp. I love this hobby but it may be killing me. Thinking of starting a support group

 

[ccombs]

I completely understand. I did a rebuild 6 months ago after a tank crash and it killed me.

Just remember that nature has done a great job at keeping itself healthy for a long time before you ever started a reef tank. Keep an eye on the overall health and that is all you can do. If you try to overcorrect for every little thing, you might cause more problems.

Best of luck to your anxiety and just try to focus on larger trends of the tank, not small day to day changes.

 

[Auquanut]

Anyone else not able to stop worrying about every little thing in their reef? I obsess to an unhealthy level over every spot and polyp. I love this hobby but it may be killing me. Thinking of starting a support group

Welcome to the reef life my friend! Seriously, I think if we didn't obsess a little with our tanks, we wouldn't be as diligent as we should probably be. For me, it seems to have gotten a little better with time, but there's always a certain anxiety that comes with reefing. Have you tried beer? Seems to help for me.

 

[Mical]

The longer you're in this hobby the easier it gets (in most instances). Once your tank matures you'll get accustomed to what's "normal" and what's not. One thing that catches up to folks is lack of maintenance. I'm not talking testing, glass cleaning, etc.. but cleaning return pumps, powerheads, skimmers. These things get taken for granted and will bite you when you least expect it. Imagine if your car ran for 24hrs a day 7 days a week - how long would it last without maintenance?

RE: Support Group - Welcome to R2R, we're all "reef-aholics"

 

[ccombs]

The longer you're in this hobby the easier it gets (in most instances). Once your tank matures you'll get accustomed to what's "normal" and what's not. One thing that catches up to folks is lack of maintenance. I'm not talking testing, glass cleaning, etc.. but cleaning return pumps, powerheads, skimmers. These things get taken for granted and will bite you when you least expect it. Imagine if your car ran for 24hrs a day 7 days a week - how long would it last without maintenance?

RE: Support Group - Welcome to R2R, we're all "reef-aholics"

Ah yes, Mical makes a very good point. I just did my every 6 month deep clean to my tank. You would not believe how gross my return pumps were, amongst other things.

 

[Auquanut]

Keep an eye on the overall health and that is all you can do. If you try to overcorrect for every little thing, you might cause more problems.

^^ And that!

 

[ZoWhat]

@SCReef'n

How much do you have invested in total?

I probably have at least $20k invested and I don't obsess about it.

I've gone on 3day weekends away from home and I didnt think about my tank once

I guess my Apex and how the alarms will text my phone takes a lot of worry out of it

 

[DJF]

Been there- doesn’t help that every time it starts to subside and I start to let it go on autopilot, something comes up that endorses my obsessing. I’ve never forgotten one of the first pieces of advice I got when I started. “The key to a successful reef is to never leave” -it came from a fresh water enthusiast. When I first got my controller, I was constantly looking at it for fluctuations. Nowadays, I’ve noticed that behavior has subsided and I have more faith in it just working. Keeping my hands out of the tank is one of the hardest lessons I keep learning

 

[HB AL]

Anyone else not able to stop worrying about every little thing in their reef? I obsess to an unhealthy level over every spot and polyp. I love this hobby but it may be killing me. Thinking of starting a support group

If your serious I would seek professional help or just get rid of the tank.

 

[SCReef'n]

If your serious I would seek professional help or just get rid of the tank.

No I have plenty of actual anxiety the reef is actually a relaxing way to de-stress. I do have to remind myself to just control what I can and let the rest happen on its own

 

[stanleo]

I obsess over this forum as much as I do about the tank, especially if I just posted a question in a new thread. I will run to my computer when I here the notification go off. It's kind of sad actually and I might need professional help.

 

[Tft12]

This is one of the reasons that I like watching YouTube videos with some of the longtime reefers like Sanjay and Mike. They talk about major issues like AEFW and tank crashes like it’s just part of the hobby. Their systems look great so it’s a general reminder to me to relax and enjoy the ups and downs.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Anxiety, no but be careful with that anxiety. Often leads to chasing numbers and making changes and you know the result.
We should worry about our systems But to a degree.

 

[Chewbacca]

My wife cured me with dulcax and xanex

 

[Waters]

I am the same way.....I have a hard time just looking at my tank.....always looking for problems lol.

 

[KrisReef]

Everytime I start to stress I remember that I am not the creator, just a part of the creation. I am now old enough to have learned that I can't precisely control the timing and discharge of my bowel movements or my "autonomic" breathing after I close my eyes at night.

I can choose to stop stressing about stuff when I think about it.

SO I think about not stressing a lot and take a battery of pills to relax and remind myself that I really can't control as much as people think their Apex can> I laugh at this situation and hope that someday my SPS come back to life, the phosphates and nitrates stay in check, the Alk is steady, on and on until I recognize that I'm once again rolling down that stupid mental path and I stop myself, again.

Just don't stress. Have your friends remind you to stop if they see you trying to control the planet.
If you must stress, let me send you a free frag of mine. I'm trying to get rid of it from my tank.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Every morning when I first look at the tank I worry I’m going to find everything dead, but then I see all these vibrant corals and I’m relieved. It’s just mild paranoia on my part.

 

[DannyBCorals]

I don’t know why, but when a fish has ich or a disease and I’m at work, I literally can sense they’ve died on that day, I come home and I’m right. I have that anxiety of a fish’s death, especially one I’ve loved.