FarmerTy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Thought this would be a fun thread for everyone to post their "lessons learned" to help future reefers avoid the same pitfalls we found ourselves in at one point in time. Lessons Learned: 1) Buy a refractometer! Don't even allow a hydrometer in the house! Cost me some of my large SPS colonies! 2) Dip everything! I mean everything! You have no idea how many plagues I have fought over the years due to poor dipping procedures. 3) QT is your best friend! Your whole tank population is at risk otherwise. 4) Don't leave things and say you'll get to it eventually... like a frag that fell down, or not removing that one aiptasia, or that one piece of bubble algae. You could have stopped a plague! 5) Stock slowly! Let your system adjust to each livestock addition. All other roads lead to algae, cyano, dinos, and diatoms. 6) Reap the rewards of a stable system. Aim to have everything stable. Hitting target numbers are less important than stability. 7) Good test kits are worth it! 8) If you can keep alk stable, you are a reef master! 9) Always have a towel within reaching distance. 10) A skimmer and a controller are my two best friends when it comes to my tank. Get technology to help, its readily available to lend you a hand. 11) Always have a backup plan when the power goes out I think that's a good start. I'm sure everyone else has a ton of other "lessons learned" that they can share! -Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Turn off your ATO during a water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Turn off your ATO during a water change. And skimmer if your sump level goes up. You most likely don't need to feed as much as you think you do. (Some fish are exceptions though) Make an actual schedule for recurring tasks, maintenance, and water changes and stick to it. Log everything. You wont remember your measurements day after day and week after week. A historic record can tell you a lot about what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ask lots of questions! The more knowledgable you are the better the end result will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Get a pair of grabbers. Fish and corals don't think your Aqua Fresh scented deorderant is as awesome as you do. Make sure your rockwork is stable or you might break a colony, sometimes twice, and once three times..ahem *cough* If you epoxy corals to your live rock, one drop of super gel before attaching it to the plug and one before touching the rock will keep it in place while it cures underwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Damsels are evil personified. Never put them in your tank. Ever. Never leave a hose unattended when doing a water change. 5 gallons on the floor is a LOT more than 5 gallons in a bucket. Make sure you have siphon breaks on your returns, in case of power outage. No shop vac can handle 20 gallons of water on the floor. I know this for a fact. Controllers are a gift from above. Get one, use it, make reefing easier. That cute little crab you saw?..............he will eat all of your corals, and you will destroy your tank trying to get him out. should have gotten him when you had the chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizzy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Lessons Learned: 1) Buy a refractometer! Don't even allow a hydrometer in the house! Cost me some of my large SPS colonies! Ha! It's the very first thing I just told a friend to get who is setting up a new tank. I didn't get one until a few months into mine and when I did, found out my salinity was at 1.033 - amazingly nothing died, not even the clownfish up there next to my name. If I could start over, I'd start with dry rock...avoiding the polyclad flatworm and fireworm hell would've been nice. Rubber gloves - buy a box of the thick latex type and always put them on when you're working in your tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Put a small piece of styrofoam under your return pump and skimmer for a quiet operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Don't heed anybody's advice until you see their handywork. Everybody has an opinion, make sure you follow the correct one. That almost sound like something from a fortune cookie. Tankfucious says... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Don't heed anybody's advice until you see their handywork. Everybody has an opinion, make sure you follow the correct one. That almost sound like something from a fortune cookie. Tankfucious says... Do as I say, not as I do. That's something I learned long ago. Some people tell you one thing and do another or pretend to be an expert. I see it often. Me? Online I'm tall, handsome, and I sing well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Buy the best you can get at the beginning, If you buy cheap, you'll have to replace or upgrade eventually anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mlaw Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Tankfucious say......freakin love it Ty. We need a sticky thread similar to the cheap tricks thread just for this type of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Verify! I've seen hydrometers more accurate than refractometers. I've seen cheap test kits give consistent results when expensive ones varied Don't assume that something that worked in one tank will work in a second tank. What does the science say. Many Acropora species live in mutually exclusive habitats in nature but often are lumped together as "SPS" needing the same requirements. Water quality can be maintained without pumps or skimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphoric Eulogy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 If it isn't posted yet, float switch. A very important part if you have a rodi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTreef'er Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Such great advice Ty! Had someone new to the hobby come by to pick up some corals and he asked me "Whats the MOST important thing I monitor and do to maintain my tank" and I was honestly stumped for a second, haha. Will definitely have to send them this thread since you pretty much summed it up so perfectly!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Don't add anything new to your tank a week before going on vacation and definitely not 4 days before...cough ahem. If it dies while you're away, it might take a bunch 'o stuff with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Don't forget your rodi is filling.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Glue your corals keeping in mind their expected growth form and rate. Nothing like scraping anthelia or trying to kill off an encrusting monti that is on an unremovable base rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 Tankfucious says... keep your electronics/cables off the ground and if possible, with a drip loop. We play with boxes full of water and electricity, caution should be taken when possible. We wouldn't want to accidentally fry that expensive Apex you own or the controller to your LEDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Tankfucious says... keep your electronics/cables off the ground and if possible, with a drip loop. We play with boxes full of water and electricity, caution should be taken when possible. We wouldn't want to accidentally fry that expensive Apex you own or the controller to your LEDs. Or yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mlaw Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Tankfucious says.... keep a towel handy when you reach into the tank so you don't drip saltwater on the carpet on your way to find one. Wise Tankfucious says...make sure the towel in question isn't one of the "super frilly, not for actual use but for display in the guest bathroom only towels" so your significant other doesn't destroy you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Tankfucious says.... keep a towel handy when you reach into the tank so you don't drip saltwater on the carpet on your way to find one. Wise Tankfucious says...make sure the towel in question isn't one of the "super frilly, not for actual use but for display in the guest bathroom only towels" so your significant other doesn't destroy you. Don't add anything new to your tank a week before going on vacation and definitely not 4 days before...cough ahem. If it dies while you're away, it might take a bunch 'o stuff with it. Mlaw, I wonder how many of us have suffered our spouses wrath for using the good bath and hand towels for tank maintenance. Lord knows I have. Wade, agreed, and guilty. Nothing bad yet but I'm not pressing my luck any further Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Don't go outside to play with the dog while re-filling the mixing station (sideways glare to boyfriend ). On that note, upgrade your entire floor to tile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Don't assume all corals can be dipped. I just learned last week that gorgonians like sea whips should not be exposed to air. This is likely why the ones I added to my tank 4 days before going on vacation (they were back ordered and showed up without notification) died and took several SPS with them. BTW, thanks for the tip Mark Callahan:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Tankfucious says... when putting loose frags in the sand that you acquired from C4, give them more than an 1" of space apart or your frags will touch and you will cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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