Share your NOOB experience and WIN a TUNZE Reefpack 250!

[walkerbrody]

I added a three stripe damsel to my reef tank because my 6 year old thought it was cute. It quickly became a terror and I had to remove over 100 lbs of carefully stacked live rock to get the thing out.

 

[sstanle4]

When we started with our 14 gallon biocube, we were dosing with powder buffer every day to raise the pH. Our fish kept dying, and we'd go buy more, and we had no idea why it was happening. We took a water sample to the lfs to test and see what was wrong with our water. He said "have you checked your alkalinity?" We didn't even know what that was! He tested it... after 37 he stopped.

 

[ebushrow]

I think the most noob thing I have done has to be adding things to the tank I wasn't testing for, calcium , mg, etc. we all tend to learn the hard way sometimes I guess

 

[Flyride95]

I think the most noob thing I have done has to be adding things to the tank I wasn't testing for, calcium , mg, etc. we all tend to learn the hard way sometimes I guess

I've learned that same thing here. Sucks when you find out your that far off on cal or alk.

 

[peterthegamer]

When I got my first aneome and it feel off the rock and then I freaked out and thought it was dead.

 

[Veganbrian]

Lost around 700$ in rare Euphyllia because i didnt know how important Alk, Cal, and mag were! HAHA. Live and you learn!

 

[NaClWater72756]

Still a noob (only 4 months in on my 29g tank).
First dingdong moment: Put a whole sheet of seaweed in and left it. My daughter comes home from school the next day and shrieks "MOMMA!!! EVERYTHING IS GREEN!!!" Indeed it was....everything for weeks! The snails ate good.
Second dingdong moment was last week. Let a whole cube of frozen food fall in the tank...still fighting nitrates!

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[chrisalmand]

Spent $350 for a Coralife power compact light with moonlights!

 

[TonsOfun]

I would have to say my worst noob moment came after actually a couple years oddly enough. Many tanks ago, I had a 29g mixed reef that was well established, and pretty nice in my opinion. I always liked diy projects and figured I could make a chiller out of an old mini fridge that I wasn't really using anyways. I had maxi jets laying around, so I hooked up some .5in tubing to it and got to drilling the fridge. Put a couple holes in it, ran my lines, siliconed, done, cool. That's where I should have stopped. Granted, up to this point I never had problems with temperatures, I just wanted to see if I could do it and lose the fan that I had blowing on the lights. Got this wild idea a week later that instead of coiled plastic tubing inside the fridge I could use metal tubing instead. Installed new tubing, day later everything was dead except a fish. Worst ah ha moment I've ever had because at that point I realized I used copper tubing to plumb in a reef tank. I felt like such an idiot, like I betrayed my tank....

 

[james30ct]

Not only did I fill my first tank with hose water but I also decided to build my own overflow which constatntly failed. One night I came home and went in the room and stepped in a puddle of water which also consisted of a surge strip. I got zapped really good but luckily the surge tripped. Lots of lessons learned throughout the years.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I would have to say my worst noob moment came after actually a couple years oddly enough. Many tanks ago, I had a 29g mixed reef that was well established, and pretty nice in my opinion. I always liked diy projects and figured I could make a chiller out of an old mini fridge that I wasn't really using anyways. I had maxi jets laying around, so I hooked up some .5in tubing to it and got to drilling the fridge. Put a couple holes in it, ran my lines, siliconed, done, cool. That's where I should have stopped. Granted, up to this point I never had problems with temperatures, I just wanted to see if I could do it and lose the fan that I had blowing on the lights. Got this wild idea a week later that instead of coiled plastic tubing inside the fridge I could use metal tubing instead. Installed new tubing, day later everything was dead except a fish. Worst ah ha moment I've ever had because at that point I realized I used copper tubing to plumb in a reef tank. I felt like such an idiot, like I betrayed my tank....

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[CrazyKonen05]

I actually just recently made a noob mistake that I new better than to do...not paying attention to my tank during routine maintenance. I was doing a water change and was at the point of adding the fresh saltwater. I had a pump adding the new 30 gallons directly to the display tank. In dumping one of the buckets of old water into the utility sink in the back room, I noticed that the sink was a bit clogged. Thinking it would only take a moment to investigate, I started to disconnect the trap. Well, the water still wasn't draining from the sink so I started using a hangar to try to snake out the drain from the bottom. It wasn't until I heard the pump running dry in the other room that I realized how much time had passed. I walked into the room to see an amazing waterfall flowing from my tank to the carpet. I had pumped the 20 extra gallons into the display that was supposed to flow into the sump. Turns out, I left the ball valve closed on the drain to the sump. The worst of all of it was when I noticed the smoke. Somehow water had splashed into all of my surge protectors, including my PC-4.

With the amount of damage endured, I got frustrated and downsized to a 29gal biocube. I will eventually upgrade, but for now I am happy with a small tank in the living room. I could never leave the hobby entirely.


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[Kworker]

While filling a bucket with fresh ro water, once flooded my bathroom and once I moved the unit into the basement I forgot about the unit. Went to bed and woke up the next morning to entire basement of water.. Thankfully I have a wetdry vac.

 

[typicaltony]

I had a yellow tang, blue tang, a pair of clown, a fuzzy dwarf lionfish, and a fairy wrasse.... all in a 25 gallon!

 

[atp0726]

Scooping a DSB from one sump to another, hooking the sump up and turning it on. To date the most costly experience I have had! Wiped out my entire collection SPS some over a year old.

 

[Swine]

The worst noob mistake I've done in terms of livestock was when I was first starting to cylce my tank (only 4 months ago). The water cycled to the point where there was no amonia and nitrites but nitrates were still way too high. Regardless the 5 damsels were doing well..

Two weeks later all of the stuff for my sump arrived and I put it together. Not really thinking that a kitchen safe silicon was going to leak bad chemicals I only let it dry for a little less than a day.

Hooked my sump up that evening and everything looked awesome. I made a really really small return section (another noob mistake) which requires very fine tuning.

The next morning 5 healthy damsels became 0.... Most likely my silicon leaked amonia but the amonia reading was that high. I didnt test the water because I said "fine! ill try and use my patience!" Waited a month then put a goby in. Everything is all ok now.

 

[JHiestand]

I turned my return pump on with out it returning into the tank... Needless to say the water I was hearing was a fountain of sump water.

 

[bairdimusprime]

My Lfs sold me a gigantea carpet anemone the same day they sold me the equipment to set up the tank... Needless to say it was a disaster

 

[MKOTAR]

in my first reef tank I mixed a portion of kalk in a small cup and dumped it right in the display
tank turned into a fowlr in a matter of hours

 

[indyjaco]

Some of my worst:

- Not QTing any of my fish
- No screen on a tank with a firefish (RIP Alvin)
- Buying a used tank without doing a leak test

Fun thread!