Rant time

[crazyfishmom]

My big tank has a roller mat and I do have a trident hooked up with the apex. I’m probably going to take the trident off line soon. The other three tanks are super low tech. I dose manually in all of them. Mostly for information and to make small adjustment over time. I would say that the tanks with less monitoring are doing just as well if not better than the big tank.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

I have my hands in at least one of my tanks everyday. The difference is I’m doing maintenance, not moving coral around, etc. The “hands off” advice is usually for those who have to constantly fidget with the livestock and parameters of the tank. Stability is key to a successful reef tank, hands in or out.

 

[apb03]

I don't think keep your hands out of the tank is to be interpreted literally. Literally leaving your tank alone and doing nothing is a very bad idea.

It's a metaphor to suggest that the key early on is to tinker less and allow the tank to mature in due time.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

This hobby doesn't need to be expensive.



This 75 gallon reef break down

Tank, stand, return pump All of the rock and reef octopus skimmer 100.00 offer up.

Lights T5 6 bulb fixture from Amazon used for growing indoor plants, today's cost 140.00. bulbs ATI 25.00 apiece 290.00 total cost for a 4ft fool proof lighting. You can get 80 pounds of ocean direct live sand from Bulk Reef Supply delivered to the door for less than 70.00. I used 6 power heads from Amazon 2 for 18.00 for a long time. I still have them running in two salt water tanks going on three years. One cheap doser less than 90.00 dosing All For Reef powder form and hand dose three part Bulk Reef Supply. My sump is a 40 breeder from Petco half off sale with just a plate of glass in the back corner for a return. The rest is just a refugium. All plumbing done myself. Cheaper would have been all soft plumbing. My big ticket item is a ATO.

 

[NanoNana]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

I’d suggest not ranting until you clarify what people are telling you. It’s pointless and doesn’t win friends and influence people.

I have a 24 gallon nano. I leave it alone (keep my hands out of it) except for water changes/cleaning. I don’t even have auto top off. I only test when I do water changes and unless something is deadly high, don’t dose or do squat to bring parameters back in line except maybe a larger water change. It usually corrects itself without my help. This is what quit tinkering with your tank, keep your hands out of your tank, slow down, be patient and leave it alone all mean.

 

[littlefoxx]

“All you people” were probably just trying to help you. While Ive got no idea what the F youre even ranting about (nor do I care) I will just say is not a good way to join a community of hobbyists that care for and help each other out. Just saying…

 

[PharmrJohn]

Yep. I'll have no automation on mine except an ATO. I'll do my best not to get in my own way. Took a few months for me to figure that out with my last iteration. Once I let go, things went smoooooth.

 

[PharmrJohn]

“All you people” were probably just trying to help you. While Ive got no idea what the F youre even ranting about (nor do I care) I will just say is not a good way to join a community of hobbyists that care for and help each other out. Just saying…

Pretty much sums it up. We act as a team here. Some have more overall knowledge than others, but everyone has their specialty, either based on experience or study. Ya really can't lose by keeping an open mind and listening to others. I would encourage listening more and reacting less.

 

[littlefoxx]

Pretty much sums it up. We act as a team here. Some have more overall knowledge than others, but everyone has their specialty, either based on experience or study. Ya really can't lose by keeping an open mind and listening to others. I would encourage listening more and reacting less.

Yeah its a team and a community that brings everyone together over the love of their fish and corals. This is a close-knit community that has so much knowledge and experience from all walks of life. So starting out having joined just under 6 months ago and posting an “all you people” post attacking those who just were trying to help is not classy. At all. Oh and PS I literally am no where near rich lol most on the site are working class and those on here with a ton of money worked for it and earned it

 

[KQuillan]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

I would love to know where you get your information from. I'm $10's of thousands in debt considering I still owe on my house (17 $10's of 1000 to be exact), car, and credit card. I wish I had $10's of thousands of dollars to spend on my tank. LOL. The money and equipment I have in my tank didn't come overnight. I have met a ton of wonderful people here who have even helped me along the way. I have learned a lot and have a lot of respect for members here.
Even with all this being said, not all equipment is key to success. Stuff breaks, stuff may not be reliable.
My hands are always in the tank but for different reasons, than you may think.
Not cool for you to post a 'rant' and assume you know people here and their (financial) situation. Calling out people on this forum like you did is offensive IMO.

I do also believe you misunderstand the meaning of, "keep your hands out of the tank". Do some more research and reading. Make friends, be nice, and learn before you throw out an inappropriate rant.

 

[Lavey29]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

Sounds more like you are trying to look for excuses for failure rather then learning from your mistakes and persevering. Most reefers have just the basics for equipment. We have had our ups and downs and it really is trial and error. I think this is what makes this hobby challenging and exciting. You have to really work at it to be successful.

 

[MoshJosh]

Someone already said it, but when people say to keep your hands out of the tank I think they mean don’t make frequent changes. . . not that you need an automated system.

Regardless of how expensive or complex a system you are running, stability is the goal. . . That is hard to achieve when you make changes often. . . which new reefer MIGHT be prone to doing.

Start with the best equipment you can afford, take it slow, and let the tank do its thing for a bit. Only make changes when you need to. And if you make changes you don’t need to make, don’t be surprised if the tank gets a bit mad haha

 

[i cant think]

it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”

Honestly, when you work in an LFS you learn a lot and one of the most depressing things to watch is a ton of SPS just withering away because of them hitting a tank that isn’t mature.
Sometimes you get lucky but most of the time you get hit with a wipeout.

 

[VintageReefer]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

I only read this first post. Bullsh*t

^^^ this 75g tank is run by a $300 algae scrubber and a sump of live rock. No computer anything. No skimmer. No fleece roller, no mechanical filtration, no dosers, no reactors. nothing. No water changes in the last 3 years. I don’t even have my lights timer programmed. I manually turn on and off the lights each day. There’s no app. I have a remote control. I don’t even have an ato. I manually add water weekly. I do have a heater controller. It was 45$

^^^ this 1.1 g pico tank was setup in February. There’s no floss, no skimmer, not one water change. It’s completely hands off. Designed to self maintain almost entirely by itself.

For both these tanks I add freshwater top off with all for reef added in. I clean glass when needed. I change chemipure packs roughly every 3 months


If people are telling you to keep your hands out the tank, that’s their way of saying, you’re doing too much too fast. Take a look at the actions you took or others take that make them say that. It’s not blurted out for no reason. And they aren’t saying go buy a 1500$ dosing system and a $2000 controller. They are literally saying stop and let things mature.

 

[tbaum101]

All you people that say “ keeps your hands out the tank, leave it do its thing” , it needs to mature for sps , nems etc”
You’ve all got $10s of thousands spent on equipment to run it for you .

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

Rant over

I always took that saying to means that we're dirty and we irritate the corals with skin contaminates. While leaving my hands out of the tank doesn't work for me, I did take it to heart and scrub up like a surgeon before I put my hands in there. Actually seems to make the tank happier since I started doing that.

 

[VintageReefer]

I always took that saying to means that we're dirty and we irritate the corals with skin contaminates. While leaving my hands out of the tank doesn't work for me, I did take it to heart and scrub up like a surgeon before I put my hands in there. Actually seems to make the tank happier since I started doing that.

I don’t wash my hands before tank work. Soap can take out a tank

Maybe I’m over cautious / paranoid

The expression means let things settle, have patience, slow down with additions and changes, and stop reacting to every little thing.

 

[Doctorgori]

Please bear in mind that for some of us with smaller tanks and less money to spend need to be that bit more hands on

I get it but when I see tons of automation on a 20g nano when a 5gallon water change would be simpler I can’t help but think they got themselves into that mess…

I also thing the ole “stability is the key” mantra is overused/misapplied … I think by “stable” it means a gentle trend slope, not fast changes ….

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

Mind if I ask if you run any chemical filtration (GFO, carbon, etc.)

I did for a while because of my nitrate issues, but I haven't in the last six or seven weeks. I went through a very ugly stage with my tank, and I eventually gave up. That was the best decision I could have made! I dose AFR 1-2 times a week (I've done that since the beginning). Besides that, I don't do anything for my system, and the coral seems to prefer it that way.

 

[DanyL]

I literally keep acros in a storage box with a 20$ light and a tiny power head for QT and make them grow.

All they really need is good husbandry, and that comes from experience and lots of prior reading and understanding of the subject, not from pouring 10s of $$.

Just stop messing with the tank unless you *really know what you’re doing*, any action you make can lead to a chain of events that you might not consider. That’s the difference between someone that does a thorough research beforehand (or comes with prior experience) to someone that (as an example) decides to drop LC into their tank because their phosphates were just slightly elevated and then wakes up to crashed system.

 

[Stigigemla]

It is a common question i get from my customers.
I say once a day is a nono for a well working tank.
One time a week is too much.
One time every month can be to much or to little.
It mostly depends on what you do. If you move a coral it will take 1 or 2 months for it to adjust to the changes in light and circulation. But you can glue a new frag every day. If you have missed addition of something lika calcium or kH you can go up to natural levels in a day. But if you want higher levels than 400 and 7 you have to creep to the elevated levels. Never change Ca more than 10 mg/l or kH more than 0,5 in a day. But that you do without having the hands in the tank.
Just remember: Some hand lotions are very poisonous so clean your hands before you put them in the tank.
All corals are poisonous. Otherwise they would be overgrown of algae. Some are very poisonous even to you.
So clean the hands and a bit more after you have had them in the tank.