Risky moves.

[i cant think]

We all know this hobby is mainly about Trial and Error. And not everything it set in stone for what will and won’t work. So, obviously this results in many of our moves being risky. I thought this thread would be a good way to reflect on mistakes or successes we’ve all had

1. What moves have you done that were risky?
2. How did they work out for you?
3. Why do you think they failed or were successful?

 

[Garf]

We all know this hobby is mainly about Trial and Error. And not everything it set in stone for what will and won’t work. So, obviously this results in many of our moves being risky. I thought this thread would be a good way to reflect on mistakes or successes we’ve all had

1. What moves have you done that were risky?
2. How did they work out for you?
3. Why do you think they failed or were successful?

Added CO2 to an algae turf scrubber to maximize growth. Contrary to the popular belief that it wouldn’t do anything, it increased the mass, a lot. It also dissolved everything else in the sump near the scrubber. I was glad when my experiment ended to be honest, I didn’t get a lot of sleep for a fortnight, lol

 

[mtraylor]

Completely took down aquarium and replaced all rock and sand to get rid of blue star polpys. Sterilized tank. Then put in new sand and dry rock that had been seeded with rock and bacteria from my frag tank for 4 months into new aquarium with 19 new fish and bottles of ATM bacteria at same time. Then put my existing fish that was originally in tank 6 days later as parms looked good.

Everything turned out ok. Still in process. This was really risky removing 25 year old fish and staging them while redoing tank and doing an immediate turn up with new fish and untested dry rock that had been fed extra food for Ammonia tests. I never tested the dry rock parm bath tub as it was a s going for 4 months.

 

[ZoWhat]

I'm 17yrs in... if you test for and ACTIVELY manage both your NO3 and PO4..... 90% of potential problems disappear

problem is ppl dont actively look for swings and make corrective actions.

They stay lazy until things look bad and then post an EMERGENCY thread.

 

[EricR]

For tank transfer (11 months ago) I was planning to use existing sand and as much existing water as possible thinking that would be best source of beneficial bacteria.

Found massive threads here relating to sand rinsing and RIP clean so was convinced enough to go with:
-- New sand, fully rinsed
-- Rinse (saltwater) the heck out of my rocks to remove detritus and other gunk
-- New water but I think that's irrelevant

Success = no mini cycle or any type of ammonia spike after transfer

My mini-fail was adding a dry rock structure. Not horrid but, personally, I think I'll stick with some type of live rock if I ever do another tank upgrade.

 

[EricR]

One more since I already (temporarily) hijacked this thread...

Rock structure break down in tank (couple/few months ago).
I was afraid I'd cause massive calamity, which I did, somewhat, but nothing long-term or catastrophic.

Started rearranging all of the rocks on one of my two structures, inside the tank.
Pulled out and broke up a couple of the rocks for more useable piece sizes.

Success = I now have much more horizontal space for coral mounting.

 

[X-37B]

We all know this hobby is mainly about Trial and Error. And not everything it set in stone for what will and won’t work. So, obviously this results in many of our moves being risky. I thought this thread would be a good way to reflect on mistakes or successes we’ve all had

1. What moves have you done that were risky?
2. How did they work out for you?
3. Why do you think they failed or were successful?

I have to disagree on the blanket statement that this hobby is trial and error. This is why so many fail, imo.
IMO, reefers would be more successful if they had a plan and stuck to it.
Keeping a system is pretty straight forward and does not need to be hard if you follow a plan.

 

[EricR]

I have to disagree on the blanket statement that this hobby is trial and error. This is why so many fail, imo.
IMO, reefers would be more successful if they had a plan and stuck to it.
Keeping a system is pretty straight forward and does not need to be hard if you follow a plan.

As a newbie(ish), my perspective is:
Planning is always good but when you don't have a ton of experience, inevitably the plan and implementation has to evolve based on trial and error (for me, anyway).

*I get that's a way general sentiment and doesn't apply to everything

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Similar to @mtraylor. Back in February 2022, Super Bowl Sunday to be exact. I finally got up the nerve to dose 4 grams of Fenbendazole to my tank to rid it of an infestation of Blue Clove Polyps. A lot of experience and information on the subject gave me the confidence to dose “dog dewormer” for heaven’s sake into my reef. Today things are rebounding nicely. Great topic!

 

[X-37B]

As a newbie(ish), my perspective is:
Planning is always good but when you don't have a ton of experience, inevitably the plan and implementation has to evolve based on trial and error (for me, anyway).

*I get that's a way general sentiment and doesn't apply to everything

Yea thats expected from someone new to the hobby, imo. New reefers have nonthing to base a perspective on. Far to often they start a system and they adjust as they go, hence the high failure rate.
Best new reefer advice I can give is pick someone who has documented success and form your plan around thier success.
Again alot of reefers make it harder than it needs to be.