What's something you wish you knew sooner?

[Webslinger]

Quarantine quarantine quarantine! Keep aiptasia, vermetid snails, bubble algae out of your tank at all costs. The time/effort/money you spend trying to fix the issue will significantly outweigh the effort you put into quarantining. AND you may never get rid of it completely once introduced!

unless your PaulB or me

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

Research, research, research... also watch all the BRS videos

 

[FraggleReef]

1. There is no single solution to most of the problems you may have. You need to understand the diversity of the organisms in your tank before applying solutions.
2. Don't trust your LFS RO/DI water
3. You can overdo nutrient export

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

Verify any advice given at your LFS with other sources.

 

[jheidenthal]

Research, research, research... also watch all the BRS videos

Already watched the 52 weeks twice, going to give it one more go around.

 

[Mical]

Saving $$$ to buy BRS' Black Friday Sales

 

[sawdonkey]

Two things:
1. The no water change gravel vacuum technique. Learned this after many years, and it’s so obvious!
2. That a skim locker is worth it’s weight in gold. Went without for 15 years...total game changer!

 

[Oregon Grown Reef]

Planted tanks are 100% more difficult than reef. My Reef is auto pilot. My planted tank is so difficult and takes daily tweaking to maintain. Because things move so fast, little mistakes cascade very quickly. In reef you have time to adjust.

I haven't done a water change on my "high tech" planted tank in 2 months. I top off with rodi, dose ferts once every week or 2, and have maybe 2 bubbles per second going through the diffuser and call it good. You shouldn't be doing daily tweaking...

 

[Scorpius]

1. Feed heavily. Export heavily.
2. Algae is not bad, it means your system can support life. Let it ride itself out.
3. Keep your hands out of the water at all costs.
4. Less light is better than too much light.
5. Take your time.
6. Buy the best skimmer you can afford. No need to buy a skimmer several times.
7. Buy the best return pump you can afford if you run a sump.
8. You don't have to spend a fortune on lighting.

 

[cidermaster]

Patience , quarantine is hands down the most important thing you can learn in this hobby . I hope I’ve learned it this time !!

 

[nkyreef]

After going bare bottom to sand - that those little grains of sand will scratch the heck out of glass if not careful.

 

[Jcr's Reef]

That you don't need all the best high tech gadgets to be successful at keeping healthy reef tanks I've seen bare bone reef tanks that look amazing. With that said I just like to spend money and tinker. It keeps me busy and my ADHD happy!

 

[Scorpius]

After going bare bottom to sand - that those little grains of sand will scratch the heck out of glass if not careful.

Sand, the bane of my existence. Never again. Bare bottom for life.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Plan your livestock, then build your system around it. My first tank was all wrong because I set it up first, then thought about what I wanted.

Flow, flow, flow. Everyone talks about water quality and lighting, but don't forget about flow, it's just as important.

Make a medicine kit. If you need it and don't have it, it's already too late.

 

[nkyreef]

I like the look and it seems my parameters are more stable with sand but sometimes it can be a pain. If I started over I'd probably be 50/50 on using sand versus not having it.

 

[gotmesalty77]

An ounce of research is worth a pound of money! Wow! That's profound. I might just copyright it.

If reefing had a holy book i think this would be a key tenant. I catch a lot of flack for the amount of research i do but but ive had a disaster that i could have totally avoided if i had done more research. That was years ago and pretty much why i took some years off. This is gold!

 

[2Wheelsonly]

You can’t calibrate a refractometer with RODI water

when testing you read and measure from the plunger line not the water line

You have to mix your salt before adding to water

you don’t need to heat water to mix salt. Heating water to much cause the salt to precipitate.

Rocks soak up a bunch of stuff and then leech it back out, so your parameters will Yo-Yo when you try to change them.

epoxy can cause O2 drops so agitate the water surface when using and afterwards.

Such a well said response! So many things you mentioned hit home!

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I like the look and it seems my parameters are more stable with sand but sometimes it can be a pain. If I started over I'd probably be 50/50 on using sand versus not having it.

Came here to say this but i'll just quote you since you said it better than I would have.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

On the big tank > small tanks. Had a very experienced reef keeper decode that popular saying for me (saving me a lot of time and money). He said, "Yes, you're more likely to be successful with a bigger tank, but it's also much more work and much, much more expensive."

and fixing big problems quickly becomes the real challenge.

 

[tony'stank]

The virtue of patience. Do not make su