I want to leave reefkeeping

[AnnaG]

Hi guys,

I’ve had a marine aquarium for about 9 months now. I bought a pair of clowns in July, a torch coral around the same time. Also bought a cleanup crew, then a soft coral and cleaner shrimp in November. Lastly i bought a collector urchin in January. In September i lost the pair of clownfish to ammonia poisoning in a hospital tank. Very sad that day and haven’t had fish since. This week my urchin lost a bunch of his spines and realised he was starving- he’s making a good recovery thankfully. Now my torch coral that i’ve had for so long is dying. i was thinking recently to upgrade the aquarium to a larger one, with a skimmer, refugium and dosing pump. But that’s a whole $4k . Even then it seems reefers with these great setups still have issues or corals dying or fish dying, then what is the point? i don’t want to shut my tank down but i’m tempted to. i did so much research but still have these problems.

 

[jrill]

when it stops being fun it's time to get out.

 

[mindme]

Hi guys,

I’ve had a marine aquarium for about 9 months now. I bought a pair of clowns in July, a torch coral around the same time. Also bought a cleanup crew, then a soft coral and cleaner shrimp in November. Lastly i bought a collector urchin in January. In September i lost the pair of clownfish to ammonia poisoning in a hospital tank. Very sad that day and haven’t had fish since. This week my urchin lost a bunch of his spines and realised he was starving- he’s making a good recovery thankfully. Now my torch coral that i’ve had for so long is dying. i was thinking recently to upgrade the aquarium to a larger one, with a skimmer, refugium and dosing pump. But that’s a whole $4k . Even then it seems reefers with these great setups still have issues or corals dying or fish dying, then what is the point? i don’t want to shut my tank down but i’m tempted to. i did so much research but still have these problems.

Live and learn. Try not to make the same mistakes over and over is the bigger deal.

I've quit reefing a few times over the years due to moving, finances etc.

 

[AnnaG]

Live and learn. Try not to make the same mistakes over and over is the bigger deal.

I've quit reefing a few times over the years due to moving, finances etc.

so it’s normal for issues to happen? and then eventually your tank will just “click” ?

 

[Hermie]

when it stops being fun it's time to get out.

I really don't think that applies to reefkeeping in my experience.

For me, the challenges and heartache and obstacles have put me in a journey that's more valuable than the sum of it's parts.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Hi guys,

I’ve had a marine aquarium for about 9 months now. I bought a pair of clowns in July, a torch coral around the same time. Also bought a cleanup crew, then a soft coral and cleaner shrimp in November. Lastly i bought a collector urchin in January. In September i lost the pair of clownfish to ammonia poisoning in a hospital tank. Very sad that day and haven’t had fish since. This week my urchin lost a bunch of his spines and realised he was starving- he’s making a good recovery thankfully. Now my torch coral that i’ve had for so long is dying. i was thinking recently to upgrade the aquarium to a larger one, with a skimmer, refugium and dosing pump. But that’s a whole $4k . Even then it seems reefers with these great setups still have issues or corals dying or fish dying, then what is the point? i don’t want to shut my tank down but i’m tempted to. i did so much research but still have these problems.

Odds are like most new people to reefing your issue is with tank nutrients levels and or maturity of tank.

 

[damsels are not mean]

so it’s normal for issues to happen? and then eventually your tank will just “click” ?

Absolutely. New tanks are hard. But even the best and most experienced gurus, the people who literally wrote the books on reefkeeping, sometimes just can't keep certain corals. Very few people make it past this new tank hump. In the end it is just a hobby and don't beat yourself up or feel guilty for quitting. But it is important to be patient. The only coral I have left from when I started in my still running first system is mushrooms. Everything else died and became really pretty live rock.

Yet today, I can put whatever I want in there and due to the maturity of the system, the way it processes and recycles nutrients, the way the microbiome has reached an equilibrium, I don't worry or stress anymore about nothin. What happened was a 4 year period where I was too busy to do anything but feed the fish. When I came back and started looking at the rocks with a magnifying glass I was amazed at the activity on the rocks. Critters I didn't even know existed were all over the place. The biodiversity, the soft corals that became showpiece sized and flourished, the sudden lack of nuissance algae growth. The longer you keep a system up the easier it gets. If it helps, I think it's mostly uphill from this point based on the age of the system.

Don't stay with it if you don't feel any passion, but consider keeping the system up and somewhat neglected until you have the energy to come back. Maybe just put a couple of easy fish in and keep them fed and healthy. Take a break from stressing about reef chemistry and fussing over everything, and when you come back with the energy for corals again, your tank will have bloomed with life and become an ecosystem ready to handle whatever you throw at it. Imagine if you had started with a tank that had been doing nothing but getting mature for months before you started. And realize you have a chance to do that for your future self.

 

[AnnaG]

Absolutely. New tanks are hard. But even the best and most experienced gurus, the people who literally wrote the books on reefkeeping, sometimes just can't keep certain corals. Very few people make it past this new tank hump. In the end it is just a hobby and don't beat yourself up or feel guilty for quitting. But it is important to be patient. The only coral I have left from when I started in my still running first system is mushrooms. Everything else died and became really pretty live rock.

Yet today, I can put whatever I want in there and due to the maturity of the system, the way it processes and recycles nutrients, the way the microbiome has reached an equilibrium, I don't worry or stress anymore about nothin. What happened was a 4 year period where I was too busy to do anything but feed the fish. When I came back and started looking at the rocks with a magnifying glass I was amazed at the activity on the rocks. Critters I didn't even know existed were all over the place. The biodiversity, the soft corals that became showpiece sized and flourished, the sudden lack of nuissance algae growth. The longer you keep a system up the easier it gets. If it helps, I think it's mostly uphill from this point based on the age of the system.

Don't stay with it if you don't feel any passion, but consider keeping the system up and somewhat neglected until you have the energy to come back. Maybe just put a couple of easy fish in and keep them fed and healthy. Take a break from stressing about reef chemistry and fussing over everything, and when you come back with the energy for corals again, your tank will have bloomed with life and become an ecosystem ready to handle whatever you throw at it. Imagine if you had started with a tank that had been doing nothing but getting mature for months before you started. And realize you have a chance to do that for your future self.

Thanks, I really appreciate this motivation. I think I will upgrade in a couple months to a larger tank with more advanced equipment, and move all my rocks and biological filtration (all my effort basically) into the new one. I definitely feel passion but just sucks now that I am losing a coral that I had for so long My weakness is impatience so this will be good for me lol

 

[fishmonkey]

Hi guys,

I’ve had a marine aquarium for about 9 months now. I bought a pair of clowns in July, a torch coral around the same time. Also bought a cleanup crew, then a soft coral and cleaner shrimp in November. Lastly i bought a collector urchin in January. In September i lost the pair of clownfish to ammonia poisoning in a hospital tank. Very sad that day and haven’t had fish since. This week my urchin lost a bunch of his spines and realised he was starving- he’s making a good recovery thankfully. Now my torch coral that i’ve had for so long is dying. i was thinking recently to upgrade the aquarium to a larger one, with a skimmer, refugium and dosing pump. But that’s a whole $4k . Even then it seems reefers with these great setups still have issues or corals dying or fish dying, then what is the point? i don’t want to shut my tank down but i’m tempted to. i did so much research but still have these problems.

The Other Way to Run a Reef Tank (no Quarantine)

The other way to run a reef tank (No Quarantine) I was asked by my friend Humblefish to start a thread on my practices of running a tank with no quarantine, hospital tanks, medications, dipping or almost anything else. It is "not" just to take a fish from a store and drop it in your reef...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I took a break but I'm back at it. Ull be back.
D

 

[AnnaG]

The Other Way to Run a Reef Tank (no Quarantine)

The other way to run a reef tank (No Quarantine) I was asked by my friend Humblefish to start a thread on my practices of running a tank with no quarantine, hospital tanks, medications, dipping or almost anything else. It is "not" just to take a fish from a store and drop it in your reef...

www.reef2reef.com

Yesssss i’ll be throwing out pellets this time round. I’m going to try a combination of frozen foods and live black worms. Thanks for that thread

 

[fishmonkey]

Yesssss i’ll be throwing out pellets this time round. I’m going to try a combination of frozen foods and live black worms. Thanks for that thread

im not totally against quarantine and hospitals. i understand where those people are coming from and what not but even the pros kill fish by doing it.

i also do white worms instead of black worms. i think they might be easier to keep but im not 100% sure

 

[Manose]

Hi guys,

I’ve had a marine aquarium for about 9 months now. I bought a pair of clowns in July, a torch coral around the same time. Also bought a cleanup crew, then a soft coral and cleaner shrimp in November. Lastly i bought a collector urchin in January. In September i lost the pair of clownfish to ammonia poisoning in a hospital tank. Very sad that day and haven’t had fish since. This week my urchin lost a bunch of his spines and realised he was starving- he’s making a good recovery thankfully. Now my torch coral that i’ve had for so long is dying. i was thinking recently to upgrade the aquarium to a larger one, with a skimmer, refugium and dosing pump. But that’s a whole $4k . Even then it seems reefers with these great setups still have issues or corals dying or fish dying, then what is the point? i don’t want to shut my tank down but i’m tempted to. i did so much research but still have these problems.

Embrace the hardships and disappointments that happen with this wonderful hobby, and that will make you have more success as time goes by.
Reach out when you have questions is the best thing you have at your disposal right here on r2r.
I am proof that things can get better

 

[AnnaG]

Embrace the hardships and disappointments that happen with this wonderful hobby, and that will make you have more success as time goes by.
Reach out when you have questions is the best thing you have at your disposal right here on r2r.
I am proof that things can get better

Yes haha i’m always asking questions on here. Unfortunately sometimes we just don’t know the answer and you have to let nature take its course. I think with time, I can push past this obstacle in my journey and end up with a successful reef tank

 

[Dcloser12]

If you have lost the passion then its time to throw in the towel. As you grow unconcerned and more unaware, your tank becomes more undesirable. Get out before you kill everything

 

[Rmckoy]

Yes haha i’m always asking questions on here. Unfortunately sometimes we just don’t know the answer and you have to let nature take its course. I think with time, I can push past this obstacle in my journey and end up with a successful reef tank

As I’ve learned over the years . Everything can go well and all of a sudden it’s gone . I somewhat believe frequent water changes to maintain levels are the highest priority . as soon as I become lazy and or begin to put routine maintenance off that’s when things turn for the worse .

there are many of us here willing to offer help and advise based on experience
Hope this helped ..,

happy reefing

 

[mindme]

so it’s normal for issues to happen? and then eventually your tank will just “click” ?

Yes. I lost multiple fish to ammonia in QT just a year ago.

There are so many different ways to do things and some are more difficult than others. For example, the guy above me is someone who does many water changes, and I'm someone who doesn't do any. Both ways can work, but they each have different things you have to deal with. I for example have to replenish all the elements in the water. I was using a method where all the trace elements got put in with a mixture, but I just switched to another method this past week where I dose each element individually. It's not really about right or wrong, it's about what works for you.

And it can be confusing, as you don't want to mix methods. Some people use skimmers, some don't. Are they required? No, but if you don't use one then you will have to use other methods of nutrient export or may need to do something else more heavily. I have a tank with one, and one without.

Plus the hobby itself is constantly changing. I got into this hobby about 12 years ago and wow is it so much different now. It has advanced so much.

If you are having troubles, I suggest going straight softie. They are cheap, they grow like crazy and they are easy. You won't need to dose a bunch of stuff, and they even help with nutrients. Fish you will do better with next time.

 

[fishmonkey]

Yes. I lost multiple fish to ammonia in QT just a year ago.

There are so many different ways to do things and some are more difficult than others. For example, the guy above me is someone who does many water changes, and I'm someone who doesn't do any. Both ways can work, but they each have different things you have to deal with. I for example have to replenish all the elements in the water. I was using a method where all the trace elements got put in with a mixture, but I just switched to another method this past week where I dose each element individually. It's not really about right or wrong, it's about what works for you.

And it can be confusing, as you don't want to mix methods. Some people use skimmers, some don't. Are they required? No, but if you don't use one then you will have to use other methods of nutrient export or may need to do something else more heavily. I have a tank with one, and one without.

Plus the hobby itself is constantly changing. I got into this hobby about 12 years ago and wow is it so much different now. It has advanced so much.

If you are having troubles, I suggest going straight softie. They are cheap, they grow like crazy and they are easy. You won't need to dose a bunch of stuff, and they even help with nutrients. Fish you will do better with next time.

if i could go back i would probably go softie and easy lps only.

 

[Fishingandreefing]

I am at about 5 years and there’s still a lot of stuffs just die or don’t do good for no reasons let along you’re in less than a year. If that becomes frustration, you better off just out for a bit. But then on the bright side, that’s just part of life and part of reefing, they’re all live animals not plastic decors. Good luck!