JoeSchmo45
Community Member
The first time I had a reef tank, I didn’t know what I was doing. That tank lasted for a couple of years and had far more downs than it ever had ups. I wanted the kind of tank I saw in pictures, the kind of tank that could grace the cover of just about any reefing magazine. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? That first aquarium of mine spent all its time as nothing more than an infuriating “before picture.” I never got to the after. I had the time, but I didn’t have the patience. The few corals I dared place into that tank did nothing more than slowly shrivel away.
The second time I had a reef tank, the tank that has been sitting patiently in my living room for the past 7 months, I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t know, and that is the first and best lesson I’ve learned in this hobby. If you always keep in mind how little you know, you’ll sometimes remember to take it slow.
I decided to read a little more this time and to study a little more this time and to watch the Youtube videos that either didn’t exist back when my first tank did, or I just never took the time to look for them. I joined this forum because the people here seemed nicer than normal people (you know - the kind of people who don’t attempt to keep the ocean in their house). This place is like the Fort Knox of reefing information except and all that shiny, golden information is not only free but people are just giving it away. You can take as much as you want. That’s another lesson I’ve learned. Take the gold, and maybe one day you’ll be able to give some of it back.
In the several years I spent away from the hobby, lots of things changed. Back in the old days you were supposed to keep nitrate and phosphate at zero. “Don’t you dare let those numbers creep up,” they said. Well, I guess things have changed. If you had told me back then that I’d be buying phosphate in a bottle, I would have laughed at you. During my hiatus, these things called dinoflagellates were invented by some awful person. Not one time did I hear of them before, not that I was looking very hard, but still! Now these “dinos”, as they’re called, haunt my dreams. I’ve learned that things in this hobby change, and they change fast. You’ve got to go with the flow.
Speaking of flow, I’ve learned that it’s darn near impossible to make every coral happy. I’m okay with that now. I moved my powerheads so many times at the beginning that my clownfish started rolling their eyes. Then I remembered the lesson – take it slow. Leave it alone, Joe! I’ve learned that coral have personalities and they don’t respond quickly like a person does. Slap a person and they’ll slap you right back. Slap a coral and they’ll sit there and think about how to respond for the next month or so.
I’ve learned that you can’t ever give up on a coral until it’s gone. I’ve had a frag of zoas shrink to near nothing. They were so mad at me and I have no idea why, but after several months they’re making a comeback. Nothing in my tank has shriveled away and died this time. My zoas are growing ever so slowly, my disco mushroom has a few babies, my duncan is growing a bunch of new heads, my rics are growing new mouths, and my blasto (a freebie) has two new heads. The lesson I’ve learned isn’t that success comes the second time, it’s that failure isn’t so frightening this time. I know with 100% certainty that major problems are going to arise. I know I’m going to lose coral that seem so happy right now. What I’ve learned is to realize that fact, to take it slow, and to do my best to figure out what I can do to make things better. And when I figure it out, I’m going to go slowly.
My reef tank is a baby, barely 6 months cycled. It can be ugly as sin and I’m constantly scraping the glass. I test so often that I could do it blindfolded with an arm tied behind my back. I monitor everything I can monitor. I dose the little bits I need to dose, and I strive as hard as I can to not chase numbers but to provide stability. Right now, I’ve got that stability and the little successes I have now are a great big victory. My tank may still be nothing more than a before picture and tragedy may be just around the corner, but I’ve never had more fun than helping this little slice of the ocean find success however I can help it find it. And I have more confidence than ever that I’ll get to the after picture someday.
I’ve learned that this hobby teaches you things that are true in all aspects in life. Slow down..take your time…take the time to smell the roses, or the saltwater. The hobby had me hooked with my first tank. I just didn’t now how hooked I was until attempt number two.
I’ve learned so much, but will never stop repeating the sobering phrase to myself – you don’t know a thing. So take it slow, learn, study, and give it time. The after picture will be there eventually if you just have the patience to let it come on its own time.
These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned. Thank you Reef2Reef for being a big part of those lessons. I wish you all the happiest of reefing!
Happy reefing!
Joe
The second time I had a reef tank, the tank that has been sitting patiently in my living room for the past 7 months, I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t know, and that is the first and best lesson I’ve learned in this hobby. If you always keep in mind how little you know, you’ll sometimes remember to take it slow.
I decided to read a little more this time and to study a little more this time and to watch the Youtube videos that either didn’t exist back when my first tank did, or I just never took the time to look for them. I joined this forum because the people here seemed nicer than normal people (you know - the kind of people who don’t attempt to keep the ocean in their house). This place is like the Fort Knox of reefing information except and all that shiny, golden information is not only free but people are just giving it away. You can take as much as you want. That’s another lesson I’ve learned. Take the gold, and maybe one day you’ll be able to give some of it back.
In the several years I spent away from the hobby, lots of things changed. Back in the old days you were supposed to keep nitrate and phosphate at zero. “Don’t you dare let those numbers creep up,” they said. Well, I guess things have changed. If you had told me back then that I’d be buying phosphate in a bottle, I would have laughed at you. During my hiatus, these things called dinoflagellates were invented by some awful person. Not one time did I hear of them before, not that I was looking very hard, but still! Now these “dinos”, as they’re called, haunt my dreams. I’ve learned that things in this hobby change, and they change fast. You’ve got to go with the flow.
Speaking of flow, I’ve learned that it’s darn near impossible to make every coral happy. I’m okay with that now. I moved my powerheads so many times at the beginning that my clownfish started rolling their eyes. Then I remembered the lesson – take it slow. Leave it alone, Joe! I’ve learned that coral have personalities and they don’t respond quickly like a person does. Slap a person and they’ll slap you right back. Slap a coral and they’ll sit there and think about how to respond for the next month or so.
I’ve learned that you can’t ever give up on a coral until it’s gone. I’ve had a frag of zoas shrink to near nothing. They were so mad at me and I have no idea why, but after several months they’re making a comeback. Nothing in my tank has shriveled away and died this time. My zoas are growing ever so slowly, my disco mushroom has a few babies, my duncan is growing a bunch of new heads, my rics are growing new mouths, and my blasto (a freebie) has two new heads. The lesson I’ve learned isn’t that success comes the second time, it’s that failure isn’t so frightening this time. I know with 100% certainty that major problems are going to arise. I know I’m going to lose coral that seem so happy right now. What I’ve learned is to realize that fact, to take it slow, and to do my best to figure out what I can do to make things better. And when I figure it out, I’m going to go slowly.
My reef tank is a baby, barely 6 months cycled. It can be ugly as sin and I’m constantly scraping the glass. I test so often that I could do it blindfolded with an arm tied behind my back. I monitor everything I can monitor. I dose the little bits I need to dose, and I strive as hard as I can to not chase numbers but to provide stability. Right now, I’ve got that stability and the little successes I have now are a great big victory. My tank may still be nothing more than a before picture and tragedy may be just around the corner, but I’ve never had more fun than helping this little slice of the ocean find success however I can help it find it. And I have more confidence than ever that I’ll get to the after picture someday.
I’ve learned that this hobby teaches you things that are true in all aspects in life. Slow down..take your time…take the time to smell the roses, or the saltwater. The hobby had me hooked with my first tank. I just didn’t now how hooked I was until attempt number two.
I’ve learned so much, but will never stop repeating the sobering phrase to myself – you don’t know a thing. So take it slow, learn, study, and give it time. The after picture will be there eventually if you just have the patience to let it come on its own time.
These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned. Thank you Reef2Reef for being a big part of those lessons. I wish you all the happiest of reefing!
Happy reefing!
Joe
