Just venting

[NanCrab]

Attached is a portion of a post I saw on another forum. I’m just so sad and frustrated at this point. I’ve not made every right decision, not blaming anything on anyone but we’ve been working on our build since December. I think we finally got plumbing done sometime in February or maybe March. Idk time feels like it is flying by in some ways and crawling in other ways. Anyway read the attached highlighted area of the picture. This person has a 2 month old tank fully stocked with all the fish he wants and some corals. I have a tank that feels like I’ve had it for 90 years but I guess it’s only been up and running a few months. My husband broke his back in January I think so maybe February we filled it? Anyway, we only have 3 fish in there. Every other fish we have purchased has died or jumped out of the tank, even with multiple lids, screens, etc. We’ve spent hundreds of dollars on now dead fish. Corals are mostly all doing really well. Idk it’s just frustrating. If nothing good happens fast in this hobby then how is this person successful with a fully stocked tank after only 2 months? The post is about his diatom frustrations (personally sounds like dinos to me but anyway) and I’ve struggled with all of it, diatoms, dinos, green hair algae, cyano. I’ve lost most of my fish in quarantine (NO COPPER) and one was bullied to death within a week of being added to the DT and then the chromis I’ve had almost from the beginning disappeard, don’t even know what happened to it.
OK thanks for letting me vent, this post just made me feel defeated by fish.

 

[Shawn]

There’s a lot of unknowns here. Did he start with live rock or dry rock? Has it really only been 2 months for him? Did he have help? Is he just lying? You can’t let the words of others get you down. Especially if they don’t have pics.

We all have issues in this hobby. Every single one of us. Some in the beginning. Some have ten year old tanks crash and wipe out everything. That’s part of this hobby. It happens. I can’t get rid of diatoms in my frag tank. But I keep trying. That’s all you can do.

 

[sharis100]

We also don’t know how the tank will do long term. And the tank is already having issues. Remember, You can throw a bunch of corals and fish in a new tank and have it look great for a while, but you can also end up with a lot of problems down the road. Maybe this was not a new build and used material from other setups. We don’t know? Agree with Exactly what @aestheticlibra said above! Don’t let what folks say in forums get you down. I know lots of posts are true, but lots of posts do not spell out the entire story. And with fish, it depends on the species, the supplier, and the luck of the draw.

 

[hzheng33]

so here my story and that's why i'm somewhat believing that person:

last year i needed to revamp my system. so i put all the livestock in a 40B with a hang on the back Aqua remora skimmer and 1 single black led box, 1 carbon+gfo reactor, 1 heater, and 1 wavemaker. no way was this sufficient but i didn't have any choice because i was in a time-crunch. my wife went to NY for 2 weeks with 1 kid at the time so it's now or never.

i'm going to spare you the details of the plumbing but it was a nightmare and tons of work as i wanted matching plumbing to my sump. after all is said and done, i added new rock/sand with two bottles of biospira and dr tims. i think my tank was cycled in a week as i tested 0 nitrite and ammonia. again, i had to finish everything before my prego wife and kid come back.

Then i proceeded with adding of some of the livestock (fishes and corals) and i didn't notice any negative impact. some of the corals i added right off the bat was Walt Disney, orange passion, tangs, and etc. but also due to the chemicals i added for cycling my skimmer would go crazy. so for the next few weeks i essentially didn't have skimmer at all cuz i turned it off.

so...for a month or so, i was able to complete the cycle process with corals and fishes added and all without skimmer.

so maybe i was lucky but to certain extent i can corroborate some of the things that the OP in the original thread mentioned...but not the diatom craziness.

 

[Rainblood]

Um...I did almost the same thing this guy did and it somehow worked out for me as well. However I would never give advice to do such.
Some tanks work when they shouldn't and others don't work when they should. I think my blissful ignorance just got me through most it

 

[kullas]

It wasn't many years ago the thing to do was cycle a new tank with a fish or 2 and I somewhat did. When the prams said things was safe I started adding coral. I went pretty fast with mine. Then the diatoms started, which I new the would. I kept them blowed off and within a week or so they started to go away. I ran a skimmer from day one. I never had a skimmer on my tanks along time ago. Took a couple months and my nutrients started to climb. I added chaeto to the sump and it grows like crazy. I'm still just having to clean the glass about once a week. I have been lucky in everything in my tank. My frag tank I didn't use biospira or additives I used a couple cups of skim mate from the skimmer in my dt, It works. All this being said it's hard to compare one person's tanks to another person's tanks. Even though the prams look the same the water is different. The water is it's own living creature the chemistry is different. Dont get discouraged when comparing tanks some tanks take longer than others to come in to there own. Just do the best you can and sit back and enjoy what you have, a beautiful saltwater aquarium.

 

[NanCrab]

Um...I did almost the same thing this guy did and it somehow worked out for me as well. However I would never give advice to do such.
Some tanks work when they shouldn't and others don't work when they should. I think my blissful ignorance just got me through most it

Lucky you. I’m not saying I’ve done everything right but we have been very thoughtful about each purchase yet nothing seems to be going right, except corals and inverts...they are blissfully happy and growing...oh and algae, algae loves my tank, it’s awesome (NOT)

 

[Reefchef]

I have watched your thread from the beginning as I do most on here, I'm not always the greatest at posting sometimes! But I feel you have been doing a great job with it, especially considering the challenge with your husbands injury.

As everyone has stated try not to measure or compare your progress or success based off of others. As stated he may have used bio spira which I love, cycled rock, live rock, or transferred a lot of items from another tank. In my opinion it can be done but more challenging for us newbies! I have probably been one of the slowest reefers none to man, because I like to go step by step and understand every step shall I say. I have been planning my build since Feb. 2019 and added water in August I believe and now still just started adding corals, and I'm still looking over everything nervously everyday! I understand fully where your coming from, because even for me sometimes I look at my tank almost empty and see some newer tanks on here fuller then mine! It makes me want to cry sometimes, but I know I'm trying to work a long term plan that works for me. I would love to be in this hobby for many years to come, even if my wife kills me!

All I would say is continue to follow your path that you have set, and make changes as you see fit. You have a great build going, just have to stick in there. As the old saying goes make your plan and work your plan! To be honest I think the fish are the hardest equation in this hobby, because you don't know how their going to act or react in your set environment. My wrasse for example I loved him but the other fish didn't so he had to go. He has been an idea resident for @Rainblood.

Good luck and take care!

 

[NanCrab]

Thanks Chef!!

 

[Dmac]

I agree with all the above. My tank has been up and running for 5 months and so far all of my coil are doing well except for a green slimer that I just bleached ( my bad). But I also lost eight fish to brookynella and I'm also having a diatom issue I can't get rid of even with low nutrients. One thing I keep reminding myself is that this hobby requires a lot of patience ( I AM NOT A PATIENT PERSON!) But I agree with one thing that I keep hearing from different people, pick a course of action and stick with it. if you're anything like me you see something is out of whack and want to fix it immediately but this hobby doesn't usually work like that. Keep your head up.

 

[NanCrab]

I thought I was patient t but I’m such a perfectionist that all the failure is getting to me. I need to just chill lol

 

[Dmac]

You gotta take the wins and focus on that. To me coral are harder than fish. If the coral are good, that's saying something

 

[snarky shark]

Look at the thread "What can't you keep?". There are several experienced reefers with difficulty in keeping some corals and I'm sure would admit various other things. I have only been doing this myself for a couple years and would hate to reveal to the wife the dollars lost along the way in coral and fish for various reasons.

I will say this, the losses have given me valuable experience along the way to be more diligent in my focus moving forward. Experience is the greatest teacher and a good backup like the ARC helps.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[Ira January]

Hang in there. I’ve been to the point where I was scared to buy fish. In my first tank I only had a Domino damsel for months. I learned a lot through fish and coral dying. I commend you on taking steps that a lot of people skip including me. I also have been following your thread. I sat back one day thought fish come to store, acclimated for awhile, then we buy, and acclimate again. I believe it causes stress to fish with changes. Also certain fish are compatible in others tank. It’s the chances we take .

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Base your success on your progress and knowledge. Keep in mind we are keeping a box of ocean in our house , it's not that easy . I had some rough months with my tank but just like anything else tweek it ,tune it , test it ...soon you will have a fine tuned machine and the know how to operate it . Like a race car

 

[Collink91]

take it from me, we all have issues in this hobby.................................

 

[Billldg]

Don't be discouraged, I agree with others, some are lucky while others are not. I can't explain it, it just happens that way. I do believe that those of us that have had troubles in the beginning greatly appreciate it when our tanks finally achieve what we envisioned. I am only 2 hours away, if you need help just ask me. I enjoy helping others in any way I can. I am sure others on this forum feel the same way.

 

[NanCrab]

Thanks everyone for your kind and encouraging word, I really appreciate it.