What is Your Biggest Mistake in the Hobby?

[tharbin]

what white stuff are you talking about?

The Montipora Eating Nudibranchs and their eggs. I could see they were nudis but had no idea as to their dietary preferences, or how to get rid of them.

 

[olonmv]

At least that was her reaction. That might've made the gutting you were feeling a bit easier to deal with. ;-)

I mean, She could have consoled me hahahaha.

 

[BrianAnthony]

VIBRANT... And underestimating the power of NoPox.

 

[BaghdadBean]

Not opting for a 72” x 36” x 22” tank build back when acrylic prices were 1/3 of what they are today.

 

[DennisBarr]

My biggest mistake is getting involved in this beautiful overwhelming saltwater piece of the ocean hobby,, for it is worse than any drug you have ever done,,talk about addiction!!

 

[Triggreef]

Spend more and go crazy big. In a nut shell. Instead I have a ton of under 200g systems. Mistake.

 

[Jedi1199]

Just read through this thread... Am I the only one who recognizes the trend? Nearly every post relates in some way to "rushing". As much as the "patience is key" is repeated in advice, the overwhelming issue most people have is going too fast.

For myself, my main regret is trying to do things on the cheap. I have gone through 3 different cheap light setups before I ended up buying what I should have gotten from the start. Spent a hundred bucks on a cheap HoB skimmer that I replaced. Spent a couple hundred bucks on other equipment I have replaced.

Ultimately, my tank has cost at least $1200 more than it would have had I just gotten the stuff I knew from the start, I should have.

 

[adromero]

Put a chalk bass in my seahorse tank. LFS said it would be safe and they are suppose to be peaceful. After the bass killed three seahorses I put him in my 70 gallon where he took out a flame cardinal. After that he disappeared, I think he tried to take out the tang and the huge six line. I regret not keeping my seahorse tank species specific.

 

[A Young Reefer]

Not buying the right equipment the 1st time around.... Total double whammy. You end up buying it anyway but hate that you wasted money to cheap out in the 1st place.

This^

 

[HB AL]

Thinking that I could keep four triggers in a mixed reef.

What happened, I've got 8 in a mixed reef!

 

[elysics]

My mistake was the opposite of rushing. I had a problem with a DIY doser. I knew what the problem was. I knew how to fix it. I just thought I'll do it another day, and never did. Not after the first, second, or third time it emptied a dosing reservoir and caused a snowstorm.

Didn't really lose many corals over that, but a few, and i bet half a year of growth at least.

Now it's fixed

 

[Hans-Werner]

- Thinking, phosphate should be the limiting nutrient for corals

- Premature thinking I have understood the gross interrelationships in reef tanks

I can't decide which one was the bigger one yet.

 

[Pearse73]

Over thinking. Which led to me obsessing over nutrients and being too cautious. Then the levels crashed and I ended up with Lyngbya. I tried everything to remove it. And I do mean everything!
Finally I had to admit defeat and I’m now working with a couple of very experienced people to restart my tank almost from scratch. Fish are safe and well and in temporary storage but my corals are gone.
This time I will let my tank “get dirty” so to speak.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Not buying the barracuda when I saw one...
D

 

[Derrick0580]

Getting back into the hobby all together and not being able to remember what having a surplus of cash in my savings account!

 

[BurtG]

I concur. In my defense…..my stuff doesn’t die once a year when it freezes over lol.

She could do what my father does.... bring all the tropics in the house during the winter.... his basement looks like a legit jungle every year filled with 8ft tall palms and hibiscus... grow lights everywhere.... he even put grow lights in the regular ceiling recessed lights. Between those plants and the tanks... it feels like a jungle...

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

So thankful my wife buys corals with me. Didn’t even flinch when I bought a homewrecker

Well..better that homewrecker than going the traditional route!!

 

[olonmv]

She could do what my father does.... bring all the tropics in the house during the winter.... his basement looks like a legit jungle every year filled with 8ft tall palms and hibiscus... grow lights everywhere.... he even put grow lights in the regular ceiling recessed lights. Between those plants and the tanks... it feels like a jungle...

Totally, I’ve made the suggestion before of leaving the plants that can’t take a freeze in pots but she likes planting them in the ground instead. I’m starting to think she just likes watching them die. I’ve offered to help her but she never seems interested. This just makes it easier to make my case when I buy new corals.

 

[mattd017]

For me, which has only been about 5 months. is starting a reef tank in the winter with no LFS that stocked the fish I want, and the livestock they have is stupid expensive (astrea snails at $6/each???). Should have bought all the equipment and waited til May when temps were above 50 routinely. Wound up buying 3 fish and losing 2, lost half the inverts from reefcleaners (after it was pushed back 4 weeks due to low temps and algae wound up taking over; still fighting that a month later). Luckily every coral I bought lived...

 

[Guy317]

Buying coral without doing research