I want to leave reefkeeping

[New&no clue]

Welcome! Yeah I do post a lot, I love asking questions haha

PS. A conch snail is my best friend for clean sand

lol, I have 6-8 conches, my sand is still a mess.

 

[AnnaG]

Where are you getting 4k from that's nonsense! Don't let companies like red sea and water box with their overpriced tanks fool you it doesn't have to be that expensive!

Well here's a table of my costs - comes to 4k nearly. Im hoping to get some stuff secondhand on my reef Facebook group.

 

[AnnaG]

lol, I have 6-8 conches, my sand is still a mess.

well having no fish probably helps my case too actually no poops anywhere

 

[Captain Redbeard]

This hobby can be discouraging for sure. Like any hobby I believe. The real key here is how you choose to respond to these and any setbacks.
If you truly are not happy with it, and don’t see yourself overcoming that, identify it now and don’t waste your time. Life is short, do what makes you happy.
I personally think maybe a nice break, a little time to tidy up studying and learning etc can refresh your mindset and desire. But at the end of the day, it’s your time, your money, your life. Do what you enjoy! I hate to see a passionate reefer leave due to frustration etc. so if you need to vent, support, fresh ideas etc this community is an amazing place to help. Good luck and I hope you change your mind

 

[AnnaG]

This hobby can be discouraging for sure. Like any hobby I believe. The real key here is how you choose to respond to these and any setbacks.
If you truly are not happy with it, and don’t see yourself overcoming that, identify it now and don’t waste your time. Life is short, do what makes you happy.
I personally think maybe a nice break, a little time to tidy up studying and learning etc can refresh your mindset and desire. But at the end of the day, it’s your time, your money, your life. Do what you enjoy! I hate to see a passionate reefer leave due to frustration etc. so if you need to vent, support, fresh ideas etc this community is an amazing place to help. Good luck and I hope you change your mind

Yeah this was the best place to come. Lots of support and help on this thread

 

[Lyss]

Well here's a table of my costs - comes to 4k nearly. Im hoping to get some stuff secondhand on my reef Facebook group.

I agree that I would not upgrade the tank now. I would focus on correcting some of the simple mistakes first and get things going well in the tank you currently have. You need to be testing for alk, cal, mag, and QT fish first or purchase them from a place that has done a full QT. If you don't have a skimmer, you could get a hang on skimmer, on a hang on refugium to help with nutrients. What are your typical parameters? Are the nutrients high?

 

[AnnaG]

I agree that I would not upgrade the tank now. I would focus on correcting some of the simple mistakes first and get things going well in the tank you currently have. You need to be testing for alk, cal, mag, and QT fish first or purchase them from a place that has done a full QT. If you don't have a skimmer, you could get a hang on skimmer, on a hang on refugium to help with nutrients. What are your typical parameters? Are the nutrients high?

well that was the plan, to upgrade and also get those testing kits too from Red Sea. My nutrients are always very low- about 0-1ppm id say using the API test kit. I only purchase fish from another fish store that does TTM and treats for worms etc.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Well here's a table of my costs - comes to 4k nearly. Im hoping to get some stuff secondhand on my reef Facebook group.

You can baby step that upgrade over time without breaking the bank. Go fish only for a while with inverts and let the tank run for a year. You don't need expensive lights or a doser for that. Let the tank go through all of its ugly stages and learn how to monitor/maintain your water parameters. Even when you start to add corals you won't need a doser until they start growing large enough that water changes aren't enough to replenish Ca, Alk, and Mag. Start with easy to keep corals like mushrooms, gsp, and leathers. You can save a lot of money on a tank if you buy one that isn't drilled with an overflow. My 75 gallon cost me 80 dollars. I used HOB filters until I had money for a sump and then I added one with a HOB overflow. My system is over two years old and I'm still slowly upgrading stuff.

 

[Nano sapiens]

There is no reason why a 20g can't be successful (I have a 12g that's been running for nearly 14 years), but it takes time and patience to become a seasoned reefer. And yes, animals die sometimes (just like they do in nature), but this should become less and less frequent as you become more experienced.

 

[Unitylover]

my 10 gal tank only cost me like $90- $130. im gonna spend some more on lights, and I dont know how you're spending $90 bucks on aragonite sand unless your upgrade will be 90 gallons, but thats not reccomended as you aren't that experienced.

 

[Lyss]

my 10 gal tank only cost me like $90- $130. im gonna spend some more on lights, and I dont know how you're spending $90 bucks on aragonite sand unless your upgrade will be 90 gallons, but thats not reccomended as you aren't that experienced.

Looks like AUD, not USD That $4k total is about $2,900 USD

 

[Unitylover]

Looks like AUD, not USD That's about $2,900 USD

ah, but 2.9k on a reef tank is insane for someone newer to the hobby like me or him, as a nice comfy size is 20-40 gal. he should at most spend $40 on sand, as 90 is bit too much for a beginner

 

[Lyss]

ah, but 2.9k on a reef tank is insane for someone newer to the hobby like me or him, as a nice comfy size is 20-40 gal. he should at most spend $40 on sand, as 90 is bit too much for a beginner

I bought a Max Nano new to the hobby and probably easily spent that much. Some people like to have a nicer tank like that right out of the gate -- I know having mine look like a show tank keeps me motivated, and the AIO package definitely helped me to be successful. So the tradeoff for me was success, and I'm in the hobby for keeps.

 

[Tamberav]

lol, I have 6-8 conches, my sand is still a mess.

even with a diamond goby, keeping sand clean is difficult. I have a lot of fish though... many sand sleepers or I would just go bare bottom.

 

[Unitylover]

I bought a Max Nano new to the hobby and probably easily spent that much. Some people like to have a nicer tank like that right out of the gate -- I know having mine look like a show tank keeps me motivated, and the AIO package definitely helped me to be successful. So the tradeoff for me was success, and I'm in the hobby for keeps.

I was planning to stay with freshwater, until my dad found a 10 gallon tank with a cover for 5 dollars. Then I decided I should do saltwater.

 

[Lyss]

I was planning to stay with freshwater, until my dad found a 10 gallon tank with a cover for 5 dollars. Then I decided I should do saltwater.

I mean, that's great. But it doesn't cancel out folks who want a nice fancy tank, and there is no law that says if you're starting out you're not allowed to spend $2K on the setup.

 

[Unitylover]

I mean, that's great. But it doesn't cancel out folks who want a nice fancy tank, and there is no law that says if you're starting out you're not allowed to spend $2K on the setup.

yes, but he was talking about how it cost too much, people can spend big money so they can have less money, but this guy didnt really know you could do it cheaper

 

[Lyss]

yes, but he was talking about how it cost too much, people can spend big money so they can have less money, but this guy didnt really know you could do it cheaper

Well, for one, how do you know if the OP is a guy or not? For two, the OP stated they want to move on from their cheaper setup they've had running for 9 months to the bigger, more expensive one.

 

[Mschmidt]

Thanks for sharing you struggles. I'm about as new to this side as you are, I've got 2 years in fw though. In that time I've had more deaths in salt water than all my fresh. Every time I try to learn what I did wrong. The most recent and hardest loss yet was my pipe fish. Probably happened in a big tank maintenance day. Had a watchman goby hop out the tank too. And a lawnmower blenny died in the other tank. That was a rough weekend.

 

[Unitylover]

Well, for one, how do you know if the OP is a guy or not? For two, the OP stated they want to move on from their cheaper setup they've had running for 9 months to the bigger, more expensive one.

I think by more expensive they didnt know you could do a larger setup cheaper.