Dealing with setbacks and frustration

ggNoRe · Sep 15, 2021

You really need to find a way to get some if not too late. Doing more research I found this gem:

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

Lavey29 · Sep 16, 2021

ggNoRe said:
You really need to find a way to get some if not too late. Doing more research I found this gem:

Experimenting with in-tank antibiotic treatments for Brown Jelly Disease

Brown Jelly Disease (BJD) is an issue many reefers have run into. Like most coral diseases, the pathogen causing BJD has not been conclusively determined. Here I will share some observations and test results supporting the idea that its caused by a bacterial pathogen, and so may be treatable...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks. I have already read this post previously. Yes, I wish I had a pill or 2 to try.

torombolo · Sep 16, 2021

Im sorry to hear about your losses, this hobby is so amazing but when it deides to kick our butt does it without mercy,.
Dont give up R2R is and excellent source of knowledgeable people always some option will pop up.

Lavey29 · Sep 17, 2021

Well here is an update. I have lost 6 corals total but the good news is that I see nothing wrong with the remaining corals now. I am running a heavy load of carbon and I think the chemiclean may have helped a little also. Maybe I am about to get over this hurdle and then run into the next set back? If I had to guess, I think running heavy carbon has helped the most now to filter the bacteria in the water. I have stuck to my normal water change schedule which is 15% every 2 weeks now.

ggNoRe · Sep 17, 2021

Tank still looking pretty dang good!

Lavey29 · Sep 17, 2021

ggNoRe said:
Tank still looking pretty dang good!

I've got 3 more fish in QT maybe ready next week. Gonna hold off on corals for a month and see if everything gets back to normal.

LDH · Sep 17, 2021

Lavey29 said:
Hi Everyone, I am still new to the reefing hobby but totally fascinated and in love (I thought) with this beautiful hobby. My tank has been up and running 6 months so it is far from mature and I have been taking my time trying to learn the ins and outs and adding fish and corals slowly. Basic easy care fish and good easy starter corals also. I routinely check my water and keep up diligently on my tank maintenance. Several months back I had a brook outbreak in the tank which was surprising because I paid a premium for extensive QT fish. This wiped out pretty much everything. Now recently, I appear to have a major BJD outbreak among my corals. I only buy from well established vendors here and always dip prior to adding them in so not sure how this disease got into the tank.

Anyways, I am so bummed out now and am wondering how you deal with the frustration of this hobby and the setbacks you encounter? I see a gazillion posts where people are having troubles such as algae, corals dying, fish disease, etc... Doesn't it just really bother you and make you want to give up sometimes? I see people who tear down their tanks and start over. How do you know it will be better the second time around? At what point do the setbacks just outweigh the positives? I am so bummed now as corals are withering away. Yes, I have pulled some because they were to far gone and have tried the various BJD dips that are listed on here to see if some can be saved. Everything about my water is in perfect parameter range now and with the exception of some minor patches of hair algae, the tank is perfectly clear and functioning properly yet I am about to have another big setback. I don't have a lot of corals so it is not like my wallet is getting wiped out to to it is so frustrating. I just can't seem to catch a break.

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Here’s my first thought and what got me through two heartbreaking setbacks… if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth it. I lost three rounds of coral on my dream build and could not figure out why until I sent an icp test out and found out my uv sterilizer was rusting from the inside. I finally got it dialed in (not easy to do on 700 gallons) and haven’t lost anything since (feb 2021) I send in icp tests regularly now.
The joy of an amazing reef tank in my opinion outweighs the devastation of losing a few battles.

Lavey29 · Sep 18, 2021

LDH said:
Here’s my first thought and what got me through two heartbreaking setbacks… if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth it. I lost three rounds of coral on my dream build and could not figure out why until I sent an icp test out and found out my uv sterilizer was rusting from the inside. I finally got it dialed in (not easy to do on 700 gallons) and haven’t lost anything since (feb 2021) I send in icp tests regularly now.
The joy of an amazing reef tank in my opinion outweighs the devastation of losing a few battles.

I cant see your video but 700g is not a tank it's a pool with fish. I am sure it is awesome to. Post some pics ind give some livestock details and filtration management systems. That certainly is a once in a lifetime dream build. I was really bummed at getting the brown jelly but if I can manage it with only 6 coral losses then I will be more optimistic to push on. I'm getting some new fish next week so that will help also. I really enjoy watching the fish interact with the reef. I just hope I can reach that point of tank maturity where everything finally balances and flourishes.

-XENOMORPH- · Sep 21, 2021

Been there. I had a seam bust at 3am. That was a MESS. But. I started over. Keep on chugging...

Lavey29 · Sep 24, 2021

-XENOMORPH- said:
Been there. I had a seam bust at 3am. That was a MESS. But. I started over. Keep on chugging...

I can't even imagine what I would do at 300am if that happened. I am going to buy some quik drying rubber sealant just to have just in case.

Lavey29 · Sep 24, 2021

Well my optimistic side kicked in today. Got 3 new fish, a gramma, romhboid wrasse and a sqare tail tang. Water numbers are perfect. 8.7 nitrate .07 phosphate now and the tank looks about as perfect as I have ever seen it. Little algae here and there but that's fine for the crew and the tank. Was thinking about a starfish to maybe help clean the sand a bit to.

Lavey29 · Sep 25, 2021

Going to wait at least a month to see if I have fully gotten over the jelly disease before starting back some new corals. Although it was an expensive loss of some nice corals overall kind of a good learning experience. Tank imbalance, parameters off, etc...really seemed to trigger the BJD in my opinion. The corals were struggling even though it did not appear that way externally from viewing them until it was to late and the jelly took over. I think as long as everything is in balance then BJD may not be a significant problem in your tank. Something as basic as nitrate and phosphate caused a major imbalance in my tank and not just from an algae problem. So I'm going to be checking those frequently now. 8.2 nitrate today and .07 phosphate. The other stuff is good also. On to the next hurdle now. One day I'll be ready for SPS.