What not to do from experience
- Thread starter Dalmatia
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Eienna
5000 Club Member
Powerhead or turkey baster. Removes trapped detritus.
preston469
Active Member
Got 5g of fresh and 5g of salt water from the lfs to do a water change, checked the jugs for the salt one and ended up adding the whole 5g of fresh water to my 29.G lost 2 of my favorite BTA'S. This is when i bought my own RODI system.
81Shaun
Active Member
well the biggest mistake I made was added fish to the display tank about 4 years ago. I didnt have any problem with my lfs fish although they should of been quarantined. I had the problem when I picked up a royal gramma basslet and introduced directly with my other fish and well long story short it wasnt long until everything floated up. I guess a lesson learned the hard way but frustration made me leave the salt water side of things for a long time. plus having to pack jugs of ro water from walmart to home in jugs :neutral:
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prsnlty
Jackie
My biggest mistakes were similar to many already listed as these seem to be the most common. TAKE the advice of those in the know!
My top 5 in order of importance!
1) Use RO/DI water only and if you get it from a LFS test the tds cuz they aren't always on their game. If you don't a few months from now you'll be here crying for hair algae help at a minimum.
2) Get a refractometer and Red Sea or better test kits. (Do not use API for testing mg, ca, kh) And use them!
3) Check, dip and QT EVERYTHING before it goes in your tank.
4) Be religious about water changes. Don't be a slacker it really matters!
5) Don't over feed anything. Very small amounts a few times a day is much better than 1 big feeding.
Um ok,
6....) Research and buy quality instead of cheap equipment. For example, stay away from maxijets for flow unless needed for reactors. They all eventually run in reverse, ugh! There are some quality better priced items out there though that won't break the bank like Jabao and Two Little Fishes products. Research is the key.
Jackie
125g mixed reef peninsula
My top 5 in order of importance!
1) Use RO/DI water only and if you get it from a LFS test the tds cuz they aren't always on their game. If you don't a few months from now you'll be here crying for hair algae help at a minimum.
2) Get a refractometer and Red Sea or better test kits. (Do not use API for testing mg, ca, kh) And use them!
3) Check, dip and QT EVERYTHING before it goes in your tank.
4) Be religious about water changes. Don't be a slacker it really matters!
5) Don't over feed anything. Very small amounts a few times a day is much better than 1 big feeding.
Um ok,
6....) Research and buy quality instead of cheap equipment. For example, stay away from maxijets for flow unless needed for reactors. They all eventually run in reverse, ugh! There are some quality better priced items out there though that won't break the bank like Jabao and Two Little Fishes products. Research is the key.
Jackie
125g mixed reef peninsula
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Dumbest and very first thing I ever did....oh man...luckily It turned out to be an accidental treatment procedure.
My first purchase in the hobby was from a pet store that sold saltwater, not specialized in. They gave me gravel, a hang on filter, a fluorescent light, salt, a 10g, and a bubbling volcano, tap water conditioner...and a snowflake eel and a pajama cardinal...no instructions. See where this is going?
My 2 day process of ugh
Step 1: set the tank on the stand
Step 2: assemble accessories, light, filter, add gravel, etc
Step 3: put the fish in the tank, using their water
Step 4: fill the aquarium with tap water
Step 5: add the salt
Step 6: wait, what?
Step 7: Google the heck out of this hobby
Step 8: get stuck wasting brain power at another forum, and another, and another...
Step 9: found R2R
Step 10: went back to complain to the pet store and buy what i really needed.
Ok so it seems this was not as dangerous as I first assumed. In a way it was like I just gave the fish a freshwater dip, though mixing salt in their water had to be displeasing. These two fish lived longer than any other fish in my learning curve and are currently living in someone else's tank now! The gravel turned out to be silica based and made diatoms. The hang on filter was ok, but needed changed regularly. The bubbling volcano was the worst part about it. It was essentially a protein skimmer action chamber with no collection cup! Constantly blasting micro bubbles to the surface led to massive salt build up and stinky over spill. Oh and the light was designed for fish only freshwater and had no photosynthetic capabilities.
Lesson learned:
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING WITHOUT CONSULTING SUCCESSFUL HOBBYISTS FIRST! YOU WILL REGRET IT!
My first purchase in the hobby was from a pet store that sold saltwater, not specialized in. They gave me gravel, a hang on filter, a fluorescent light, salt, a 10g, and a bubbling volcano, tap water conditioner...and a snowflake eel and a pajama cardinal...no instructions. See where this is going?
My 2 day process of ugh
Step 1: set the tank on the stand
Step 2: assemble accessories, light, filter, add gravel, etc
Step 3: put the fish in the tank, using their water
Step 4: fill the aquarium with tap water
Step 5: add the salt
Step 6: wait, what?
Step 7: Google the heck out of this hobby
Step 8: get stuck wasting brain power at another forum, and another, and another...
Step 9: found R2R
Step 10: went back to complain to the pet store and buy what i really needed.
Ok so it seems this was not as dangerous as I first assumed. In a way it was like I just gave the fish a freshwater dip, though mixing salt in their water had to be displeasing. These two fish lived longer than any other fish in my learning curve and are currently living in someone else's tank now! The gravel turned out to be silica based and made diatoms. The hang on filter was ok, but needed changed regularly. The bubbling volcano was the worst part about it. It was essentially a protein skimmer action chamber with no collection cup! Constantly blasting micro bubbles to the surface led to massive salt build up and stinky over spill. Oh and the light was designed for fish only freshwater and had no photosynthetic capabilities.
Lesson learned:
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING WITHOUT CONSULTING SUCCESSFUL HOBBYISTS FIRST! YOU WILL REGRET IT!
Never add new equipment like heaters, dosing pumps, ATO, timers, lights... to a tank the same week you leave for vacation. Do not make changes or do water changes, add livestock prior to taking off for vacation. Plan a head and make sure you have adequate time to test new equipment prior to leaving for extended absences. Make sure you double check both the house heater and cooling system before leaving the house on vacation.
When addressing a problem to a system make one change at a time and wait an adequate time to judge an intervention's success.
When addressing a problem to a system make one change at a time and wait an adequate time to judge an intervention's success.
StikHedRon
Well-Known Member
Dumbest thing I've done was switch out tubing on my alk doser and turned the pump on to get the line filled with solution and walked away from the tank and forgot it was running. Dumped 1/2 gal of 2 part in the tank and wiped out 3/4 of my acros. Real bummer. OH and added a six line to my tank, never again!
OP
OP
Dalmatia
Valuable Member
If I was only there on time!!! If I saw it happen he'd still be swimming around 
My poor mandarin jumped out while cleaning my tank!!! Noticed later,, he was already dry
Look around after cleaning
My poor mandarin jumped out while cleaning my tank!!! Noticed later,, he was already dry
Look around after cleaning
Eienna
5000 Club Member
If I was only there on time!!! If I saw it happen he'd still be swimming around
My poor mandarin jumped out while cleaning my tank!!! Noticed later,, he was already dry
Look around after cleaning
*hugs*
Don't buy cheap equipment, you'll end up replacing it later on and have a closet full of cheap equipment you can't get rid of.
Don't believe everything you read on the forums.
