Waving the white flag - giving up.

[bReefedBaker]

After a year and 6mo. I’m waving the white flag and surrendering to the hobby. It’s defeated me and I admit to my lost. My biggest challenge I face now is “How do I go about doing a tank breakdown” especially when I have no friends in the saltwater hobby?

All my fish are doing well and are very active, but all the corals are just dissipating. Nothing is growing, nothing looks any different from the first day I bought them from the LFS. If anything, everything looks worse!! Zoas are fading away and losing heads, BTA hasn’t grown a cm since receiving it just splits constantly. Brown algae covers my rock and eventually suffocates whatever coral it encounters.

I’m over the fact that I feel like I’m killing everything I put in the aquarium slowly. I haven’t purchased any new coral in months because of this and as said, just frustrated.

Back to my main question; How do I do a tank breakdown when I don’t know anyone else in the saltwater hobby.

Thank you all,
Sincerely yours,
The frustrated reefer

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

After a year and 6mo. I’m waving the white flag and surrendering to the hobby. It’s defeated me and I admit to my lost. My biggest challenge I face now is “How do I go about doing a tank breakdown” especially when I have no friends in the saltwater hobby?

All my fish are doing well and are very active, but all the corals are just dissipating. Nothing is growing, nothing looks any different from the first day I bought them from the LFS. If anything, everything looks worse!! Zoas are fading away and losing heads, BTA hasn’t grown a cm since receiving it just splits constantly. Brown algae covers my rock and eventually suffocates whatever coral it encounters.

I’m over the fact that I feel like I’m killing everything I put in the aquarium slowly. I haven’t purchased any new coral in months because of this and as said, just frustrated.

Back to my main question; How do I do a tank breakdown when I don’t know anyone else in the saltwater hobby.

Thank you all,
Sincerely yours,
The frustrated reefer

Pictures! How big is this tank? Is it all going in the trash?

Just curious why not go fish only?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I'm sorry to hear that it's gotten the best of you. I'm going to refrain from digging for the root causes as it doesn't sound like you want to explore that any further.

For tank breakdown, you've got a couple of considerations. Getting the livestock out then selling off any pieces that could help recoup some of the money you've put into it.

For the livestock you can either sell or surrender them. Do you have a LFS nearby? Most that I know of will allow you to bring in and surrender your livestock. Don't expect to sell them to them. They won't give you money for them.

Facebook marketplace would be a good place to post your live rock tank and gear for sale.

After the fish are out, Keep the tank running until somebody comes to get it.

 

[bReefedBaker]

Pictures! How big is this tank? Is it all going in the trash?

Just curious why not go fish only?

I wouldn’t mind doing that. It still doesn’t help with the corals that remain. LFS doesn’t want anything to do with them now, they look like crap compared to when I purchased them.

Also, one of my first experiences in the hobby was being sold a $70 piece of live rock and it hasn’t done **** since I’ve introduced it to the aquarium.

I’m hurting everything it seems.

 

[mtdaly85]

I've been there, man. What are your parameters? Lighting? Flow? What type of corals? What type of fish?

 

[bReefedBaker]

I'm sorry to hear that it's gotten the best of you. I'm going to refrain from digging for the root causes as it doesn't sound like you want to explore that any further.

For tank breakdown, you've got a couple of considerations. Getting the livestock out then selling off any pieces that could help recoup some of the money you've put into it.

For the livestock you can either sell or surrender them. Do you have a LFS nearby? Most that I know of will allow you to bring in and surrender your livestock. Don't expect to sell them to them. They won't give you money for them.

Facebook marketplace would be a good place to post your live rock tank and gear for sale.

After the fish are out, Keep the tank running until somebody comes to get it.

Can I ask why keep the tank running?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I wouldn’t mind doing that. It still doesn’t help with the corals that remain. LFS doesn’t want anything to do with them now, they look like crap compared to when I purchased them.

Also, one of my first experiences in the hobby was being sold a $70 piece of live rock and it hasn’t done **** since I’ve introduced it to the aquarium.

I’m hurting everything it seems.

Hey I've thrown gobbs of things from this hobby away and killed plenty too, its all a learning experience, I remember when you got that acan, my acan just died this month ill try to get a picture of its skeleton, but it happens several times I've reverted my tank back to fish only when I have gotten to busy or it slipped away from me, I've also had tanks at my parents house and they just had fish and mushrooms and they would basically put water in and feed them and I'd do a water change whenever, but sometimes simplifying something for a little bit to give yourself more time to not be so busy with it can help.


But if you do decide to break it down, drain it first and start breaking stuff!!!!!

Here's the acan it had 3 heads its down to 3/4 of one its just slowly dying.... I tried to save it, I think I blasted it with light and it just will not recover...acans have always been a little difficult for me

 

[bReefedBaker]

I've been there, man. What are your parameters? Lighting? Flow? What type of corals? What type of fish?

Aquarium: (Sold to me as a 40g) Actual True Size is a 29g

Livestock:
2 clownfish
1 Pygmy Angel
1 Mandarin
1 Yellow Watchman
1 Cardinalfish

CUC is a mixture of snails that don’t do anything. 2 blue legged hermit crabs




Most recent parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Temp. 76.6
Nitrate: 5-10ppm
Phosphate: 0
Calcium and Magnesium: Both of these tests are a headache for me. If I even test them correctly.

Lighting: SmatFarm 90w LED

Flow: Honestly don’t know how to answer that? Are you asking what I’m using for flow? If so, I’m using two FluvalSea powerheads.

 

[FoolishWizard]

I sold my previous entire tank set up on OfferUp when I moved out of state... The guy came, broke everything down, loaded it up and that was that... If you are looking for convenience price it right and someone will buy it all. If you are looking to get back as much as possible, breaking it down and piecing it out is best way to go.

I vote for Fish only... Give it some time, stay on these forums and dive back into coral in the future.

 

[bReefedBaker]

I've been there, man. What are your parameters? Lighting? Flow? What type of corals? What type of fish?

Mixed Reef
2 Favias
1 Acan
1 Mushroom
1 Goni
Multiple Rock Flowers (14) most recently spawning with a bunch of little ones.
1 Alveopora
7 Zoas (none have an abundance of Zoa heads though)
1 BTA (split three times in a year)

 

[ZoWhat]

 

[Lavey29]

Since the fish are doing well why not just keep it a fowler?

 

[bReefedBaker]

I wouldn’t mind doing that. It still doesn’t help with the corals that remain. LFS doesn’t want anything to do with them now, they look like crap compared to when I purchased them.

Also, one of my first experiences in the hobby was being sold a $70 piece of live rock and it hasn’t done **** since I’ve introduced it to the aquarium.

I’m hurting everything it seems.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Can I ask why keep the tank running?

People like me that may come take it over, don't want it to turn into a sesspool.

Your live rock has value as long as it is still alive. Killing the flow and heat will turn the tank pretty nasty, pretty fast.

 

[Lavey29]

It's always darkest before the dawn. Maybe just try and salvage or remove the corals that are dying but the fish seem fine so you are certainly doing something right there.

 

[bReefedBaker]

Since the fish are doing well why not just keep it a fowler?

It’s a possibility, but my concern is what to do with the corals that remain. LFS doesn’t want them and I just can’t come to terms of “throwing them out” especially with some life left to them.

 

[bReefedBaker]

People like me that may come take it over, don't want it to turn into a sesspool.

Your live rock has value as long as it is still alive. Killing the flow and heat will turn the tank pretty nasty, pretty fast.

Ohhh, yes I see. That’s understandable.

 

[Lavey29]

It’s a possibility, but my concern is what to do with the corals that remain. LFS doesn’t want them and I just can’t come to terms of “throwing them out” especially with some life left to them.

Then put your white flag away. Your fish need you.

 

[bReefedBaker]

It's always darkest before the dawn. Maybe just try and salvage or remove the corals that are dying but the fish seem fine so you are certainly doing something right there.

Do people really just toss out coral like it’s nothing? (I’m NOT implying you do or anything) I’m just wondering. It just doesn’t seem ethical to me to give them a flush or a toss into the trash can.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Do people really just toss out coral like it’s nothing? (I’m NOT implying you do or anything) I’m just wondering. It just doesn’t seem ethical to me to give them a flush or a toss into the trash can.

Yes... They really do. I've got some UGLY pignose looking toadstool that I can't give away.

It goes into the waste bin.