“Keep you hands out of the tank”— literally or figuratively?

[JumboShrimp]

I’ve noticed that when someone complains that their reef tank is all out-of-wack, and that they have made this tweek, and that adjustment, and basically it seems as if they are wildly ‘chasing numbers,’ advice often includes the phrase, “... and keep your hands out of the tank.” I am sure that literally, dirt and oils and ‘whatnot’ from the arms and hands are not great for a tank, but are people speaking more figuratively when they say “... and keep your hands out of the tank”— as in, ‘stop trying to monkey with it every 10 minutes’ and just let it stabilize? Just curious. Thanks

 

[Old Fritz]

its a bit of both. For one who knows whats on your hands even after washing them thoroughly, for instance say you got cologne on your hand somehow, that isn't exactly safe for the fish. However, yes constantly messing with the tank isn't good for it. When I worked at a lfs so many people would keep adding chemicals and doing water changes to their tank and it would never properly cycle, or the concoction of chemicals actually ends up killing fish. But also constant water changes that throw up waste and sand or moving stuff around constantly causes unneeded stress for the fish in the tank. So there is so much truth in that statement

 

[143MPCo]

Speaking from personal experience only I can tell you that, in some circumstances it can mean both. In a never ending attempt to mimic what someone has seen on YouTube or in this very forum they attempt to replicate those conditions as precisely as possible and a lot of times because of their lack of experience tinker around a little too much. I wish someone was around when I had first gotten into the hobby to tell me leave it alone it will work it’s way to where it needs to be. That’s not to say you shouldn’t monitor your system and check it’s parameters but speaks more to the fact that as you progress with your tank you will come to realize when your tank need your intervention and more importantly when to doesn’t.

 

[Old Fritz]

Story time. There was a guy who used to call our store everyday and we would spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes on the phone with him and he would listen to how to cycle tanks and what to keep in them and all that fun stuff, but he would always worry about his water parameters and he would buy four different types of detoxifier for like ammonia or stuff that added beneficial bacteria. We keep telling him to chill out and he did this for 6 months and his tank would have so much ammonia in it it was crazy. He would call because his fish were swimming in a lower part of the tank but showed no other symptoms and he would constantly worry but they wouldn't die unless his ammonia was literally off the chart for the test kit. The guy means well but it is fairly annoying when he would constantly call and would never actually take your advice on a fish tank. It drove us nuts, but he eventually got the message and he finally got it under control and now he comes in just to buy food and water conditioner.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Hee, hee, hee. Gotcha’.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’ve noticed that when someone complains that their reef tank is all out-of-wack, and that they have made this tweek, and that adjustment, and basically is seems as if they are wildly ‘chasing numbers,’ advice often includes the phrase, “... and keep your hands out of the tank.” I am sure that literally, dirt and oils and ‘whatnot’ from the arms and hands are not great for a tank, but are people speaking more figuratively when they say “... and keep your hands out of the tank”— as in, ‘stop trying to monkey with it every 10 minutes’ and just let it stabilize? Just curious. Thanks

All of the above. Agreed.

 

[reefer wanna be]

Speaking from personal experience only I can tell you that, in some circumstances it can mean both. In a never ending attempt to mimic what someone has seen on YouTube or in this very forum they attempt to replicate those conditions as precisely as possible and a lot of times because of their lack of experience tinker around a little too much. I can tell you this much, I wish someone was around when I had first gotten into the hobby to tell me leave it alone it will work it’s way to where it needs to be. That’s not to say you shouldn’t monitor your system and check it’s parameters but speaks more to the fact that as you progress with your tank you will come to realize when your tank need your intervention and more importantly when to doesn’t.

I am so experiencing this right now so true

 

[Old Fritz]

You sometimes just have to let the tank do its own thing. However I can understand when you first start in the hobby especially in saltwater with everything being so expensive the anxiety of starting your first tank. Sometimes I even get a little spooked when I think I see one of my fish flash and immediately want to reach for the cupramine lol.

 

[cracker]

I think it means both . I'm guilty of tinkering too much but learning . Sometimes Ya don't have a choice .

 

[reefer wanna be]

Been fighting what i think is cyano done crazy waterchange changed flow left it alone its just now coming out of it was hard not to wanna do this or that to it

 

[Old Fritz]

Been fighting what i think is cyano done crazy waterchange changed flow left it alone its just now coming out of it was hard not to wanna do this or that to it

if you're still having problems chemiclean works miracles, and it is safe for fish and inverts. I highly recommend it

 

[norfolkgarden]

if you're still having problems chemiclean works miracles, and it is safe for fish and inverts. I highly recommend it

Lolol "Keep your hands out of the tank. "

[emoji23]

 

[Old Fritz]

Lolol "Keep your hands out of the tank. "

[emoji23]

I know its ironic but remember kids dont put a cocktail of chemicals in the tank

 

[Old Fritz]

actually technically your hands aren't in the tank lol

 

[norfolkgarden]

actually technically your hands aren't in the tank lol

[emoji23]

 

[RMS18]

The struggle was real for me. I was always tweaking something, whether it be lights or placement of a coal. I touched way to many things way to often when i first started out. I finally listened and kept my hands out and stopped all the tweaking and it became enjoyable, there was growth and progress. I think that was the best lesson i learned in this hobby.

 

[AquamanE]

if you're still having problems chemiclean works miracles, and it is safe for fish and inverts. I highly recommend it

I agree with @norfolkgarden . This treats the symptom not the cause.

Keep you hands out still applies. Nothing quick happens in this hobby. Lots of patience is necessary.

 

[Old Fritz]

I agree with @norfolkgarden . This treats the symptom not the cause.

Keep you hands out still applies. Nothing quick happens in this hobby. Lots of patience is necessary.

Fixing the issue doesn’t make the cyano just go away and some people prefer the ease. Doing things one way that gets the same result otherwise isn’t the wrong thing to do. However I still prefer other methods as I don’t like adding anything to the tank that could mess with the little ecosystem we have going on

 

[TangoTang]

if you're still having problems chemiclean works miracles, and it is safe for fish and inverts. I highly recommend it

Second on the chemiclean! I had a really bad outbreak and didn’t want to go down the “chemical road” because of my slimmer going nuts and all but after I used it twice. (My slime was bad) and set up an algae reactor, everything has been good so far. Biggest thing is I’ve let the tank just do what it was and dose accordingly
Good luck!

 

[CaptainOver]

Use caution with Chemiclean. I'm 2 for 2 in getting dinos after using Chemiclean to get rid of cyano. Make sure you have a plan to rebuild your bacterial population.