Not sure if this hobby is for me.

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Yup. We all ago through this.
With a tank that size, I would clean up the gravel as best I could and then make sure to hit the tank with very regular 20-30% weekly water changes. If you are not using RO/DI water, bite the bullet and get a system. Another good thing to get if you don't have one is an automatic water top-off. Unfortunately, part of the secret of this hobby is becoming militant about routine maintenance. I usually fall on my face when I let my guard down.

I feel like I've been pretty good I'm most of those areas. Regular water changes, rodi water. I'm getting an ato. But I'll keep it up. Can't wait until i have room for a bigger tank. Thanks!

 

[Rick.45cal]

Thanks. I needed to hear that. It's just super frustrating at times.

You’re not alone. I’ve been involved in reef keeping for 30 years or more and the passion still waxes and wanes for me as well. This is most definitely work and self discipline at times and those tend to be not the most fun things in the world no matter what they are attached to.

 

[CrazyCarlitos]

I get ur frustration

this hobby is constant uphill battle because we are trying to recreate a natural environment in a box... and sustain it.

we put in all the hard work for moments of success. Lol

there are not many equipments u need imho.

Two things I feel are musts (besides the obvious lights, pump, power head) are 1) skimmer and 2) uv sterilizer.

skimmer, to remove harmful waste.
Uv sterilizer, to fight the microscopic battles.

these two items are necessary for overall health of the tank.
Fish and invertebrates will be happier.
Uv really helps with most algae, too.

don’t get a cheap uv sterilizer.
get one powerful enough with ur pump gph
For reference, I am using aqua uv classic 25w for my 50 gallon DT plus sump @ around 500gph.
It really turned around my tank.

good luck!

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

I get ur frustration

this hobby is constant uphill battle because we are trying to recreate a natural environment in a box.

we put in all the hard work for moments of success. Lol

there are not many equipments u need imho.

Two things I feel are must (besides the obviously lights, pump, power head) are 1) skimmer and 2) uv sterilizer.

these two items are necessary for overall healthy environment of the tank.
Fish and in
Uv really helps with most algae, too.

don’t get a cheap uv sterilizer.
get one powerful enough with ur pump gph
For reference, I am using aqua uv classic 25w for my 50 gallon DT plus sump @ around 500gph.

good luck!

Thanks. I'm using a uv sterilizer. It's a cheaper one but definitely helped with water clarity. I'll probably invest in a better one eventually.

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

That is why my 60g is a fish-only setup. Doing a full-blown reef would bankrupt me, especially if I had problems with it and had to replace stuff !

 

[Greg Gdowski]

I feel like I've been pretty good I'm most of those areas. Regular water changes, rodi water. I'm getting an ato. But I'll keep it up. Can't wait until i have room for a bigger tank. Thanks!

Funny... It took me a long time before I got brave enough to dive into my latest and current build (220G). I've done freshwater for nearly 30yrs. I started my first reef tank (45G) around 2007. I doubled that in 2017.... and have finally decided to go bigger. Bigger tanks have their own difficulties. Smaller tanks -- like the 45 I had were very susceptible to parameter swings. Do you happen to know what your phosphate levels are?

 

[iamacat]

Yeah I'm not sure I feel confident enough to do that. If I'm sticking with it I'd rather figure out what's going on and how to beat it. I don't have the confidence that I would be able to get it right the second time since I don't know what I've done right or wrong this time lol. I mean I have some idea but seems like no one really has any answers on what to do and not to do. Everyone does something different and different things work for different people. People that have been in the hobby for years still deal with uglies etc... So idk.

I’m 31 and have been doing this since 2010. I didn’t become successful, about 5 years, until I stopped looking at what people did to fix a problem I was having. What worked and allowed me to have success was learning about what was happening in my tank and why. Once I understood why I was having the problems I was able to work out whatever issue it was to my tanks filtration. You can learn by trial and error, common and what I did, or you can look deep into your issues and become the problem solver yourself.
I eventually did the later and finally found success. It is way more fun understanding this hobby than to react and guess. That being said I still know nothing

 

[josephxsxn]

Would love to try and help with any specific issues your running into, and the r2r crowd here has lots of good advice. I think year #1 is really the hardest my tank never looked great and had plenty of deaths; alot reading becoming applied knowledge.

Do you havea photo of your tank you could share?

 

[CrazyCarlitos]

Thanks. I'm using a uv sterilizer. It's a cheaper one but definitely helped with water clarity. I'll probably invest in a better one eventually.

Yeah, the cheaper one will only clear ur water.
U want one that is rated higher to fight the microscopic battle vs all harmful organisms.

this would be the first and only change I would make on ur tank.

once u add it, leave things alone except to clean and change water.

don’t focus on other equipments for ur biocube. U don’t need it.

btw, if u r really close to giving up, I can also suggest using Fluconazole to help with algae. It will help. But all algae will come back unless u deal with the cause.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Yeah, the cheaper one will only clear ur water.
U want one that is rated higher to fight the microscopic battle vs all harmful organisms.

this would be the first and only change I would make on ur tank.

once u add it, leave things alone except to clean and change water.

don’t focus on other equipments for ur biocube. U don’t need it.

btw, if u r really close to giving up, I can also suggest using Fluconazole to help with algae. It will help. But all algae will come back unless u deal with the cause.

Yeah right now I'm just trying to figure out whats causing it. I know my tank is still young. Only been up since May. At one point i was getting zero readings for nitrates and phosphates which could explain why I'm dealing with dinos (still not sure if its dinos). But I've had readings for the last month or so, so im not sure. It could just be diatoms since i recently started ramping up my whites again. I just want to figure out whats going on first then maybe add some more equipment. I would like an ato just to make sure i can keep all parameters including salinity as stable as possible.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Would love to try and help with any specific issues your running into, and the r2r crowd here has lots of good advice. I think year #1 is really the hardest my tank never looked great and had plenty of deaths; alot reading becoming applied knowledge.

Do you havea photo of your tank you could share

I'm about to leave but when i get home I"ll take a photo. The whites are off right now but when they are on it is obviously way uglier.

 

[schuby]

Our reef tanks are full of life competing to survive, including bacteria, algae, corals, fish, crabs, and snails. Everything has a right to survive, just not to dominate. There are problems when things get out-of-balance: too much or too little. If you start with live rock then you start with the advantage of a lot of biodiversity right out of the gate. Starting with dry rock (like I did) brings with it a much longer journey to stability.

If we starve our tanks trying to get rid of algae, then all the things we want die and only algae and bacteria survive. Why? Because some of them are extremely efficient and can survive in ultra-low nutrient levels. How do we control them? We do it with healthy competition: balance. Fish and snails eat algae. Too much bacteria robs the oxygen supply and can kill fish. It all part of the food-chain. Remove/kill the competition and something will go wildly out-of-control.

I propose that a mature, stable tank is the result of the reef-keeper supplying what is needed without overdoing: the reef-keeper (me & you) becomes mature (aka wise and experienced). Most of those with amazing, thriving tanks are graduates of the School of Hard-Knocks.

 

[G Santana]

My first tank nearly 25 yrs ago was a roller coaster of bad to worse episodes, but at the 1 year mark the tank turned a corner and then it looked pristine.

I know what you are going through, hang tough and go slow with your adjustments. Your tank will turn the corner on it's own timeline.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

My first tank nearly 25 yrs ago was a roller coaster of bad to worse episodes, but at the 1 year mark the tank turned a corner and then it looked pristine.

I know what you are going through, hang tough and go slow with your adjustments. Your tank will turn the corner on it's own timeline.

Thanks. I was just frustrated. I'll stick with it.

 

[Kfactor]

my tank has been running for almost 2 years now and at about the year and a half mark i got some pretty bad gha it almost made me shut it down. it took me alomst 3 months of everyday attacking it and finelly beat it . my corals have never really done to good but i think with time and checking my water every day things will come. take your time and go back to basics dont over think things and keep it simple.

 

[salt2salt]

Hey. I'm just frustrated. My tank hasnt really been nice to look at since I started it in May. It's a 32 gallon Biocube. I had the typical diatoms bloom, algae bloom, gha. All the uglies. Corals are struggling. They will look good some days and other days they seem unhappy. Now I'm dealing with what seems like dinos. I understand this is a hobby of patience but all I seem to be doing is throwing money down the drain. Sorry for being negative. Just needed to vent.

IMO...Slow and steady wins the race. The algae uglies last a year. Skip the corals till your tank is stable.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

IMO...Slow and steady wins the race. The algae uglies last a year. Skip the corals till your tank is stable.

Thanks. Yeah i havent added anything new since the original gsp, xenia, and zoas. I was excited and added them too early. It seems like some people can get away with it but i was not lucky. Luckily the gsp and xenia are hardy and should last through the uglies even if they aren't thriving.

 

[salt2salt]

Thanks. Yeah i havent added anything new since the original gsp, xenia, and zoas. I was excited and added them too early. It seems like some people can get away with it but i was not lucky. Luckily the gsp and xenia are hardy and should last through the uglies even if they aren't thriving.

Keep with it, everyone has gone through what you're dealing with at one point or another. Add a sump, if you don't have one and play with that while you're waiting for the uglies to go away.

 

[Big_Mclargehuge]

Keep with it, everyone has gone through what you're dealing with at one point or another. Add a sump, if you don't have one and play with that while you're waiting for the uglies to go away.

It's an AIO so i'd have to drill etc..but thanks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you test water regularly ?
Are you using RODI or tap water from faucet ?
Is your tank at or near a window
Do you have clean up crew (snails, etc) ?
What is your filtration ?