Debating leaving the hobby. Thoughts and experiences? Pics..

[jack5746]

Hlle is connect to electricity, activated carbon and possibly ozone. Look into those.

Have read where people who had tanks and their fish had HLLE started using Miracle Mud and the HLLE cured up and their corals started opening up and looking fuller.

 

[Colin Fowler]

Beautiful tank. On the nitrates, I installed a small Simz biopellet reactor and after about 6 weeks of run time, nitrates went to undetectable and I could feed all day long and I never have a trace of nitrates. (I might be too low now)

Part of the joy of reefing is fighting the battle and overcoming the obstacles. We’ve all lost fish and corals. It feels horrible and is stressful. At one point my wife has asked me why I created a second job for myself that makes me unhappy, but when you cure the Ich, or cure a fish with Popeye, and watch corals do well, having overcome all the challenges, it is very rewarding.

I also tell myself it may be going good now (and I say this as all my fish are in QT while my DT is fallow - again!) something else is just waiting to go wrong.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

I don’t really know why I like it. It is just so darn cool to do all the reading, learning, and implementing and then watching this little world you created, and all the little life forms that show up without you even adding them, that live with the ones you added. Geez, I am a reef geek.

 

[Kremis]

I am not sure about HLLE, My blue tang that I raised from a baby has had it for 5 years. It healed up completely a year ago in a week for no reason (didnt change anything) and then just came right back slowly. I also have 2 pyramid butterflyfish, one has HLLE and one does not. 2 of the same species, same tank, same food, and 1 has it and 1 doesnt. There is no really known cause for it

 

[falconut]

Like the others have said, beautiful tank. I had my 90 gallon reef for over 14 years with lots if success & really bad lows. I considered taking it down several times, but just couldn't do it. Recently I got a 180 and went fowlr & am enjoying it without worrying if the corals or clams look okay took. I liked the reef, just not wondering what was going wrong. If your passion is there, like the others said, simplify things a little. Success is a big boost in this hobby. Good luck.

 

[dede]

It is perfectly normal to feel the way that you do. I have been in the hobby a little over a year and felt the same way you do right now every time I had a big loss. I could not even look at my display tank after losing my purple tang in January for 2 months without feeling sick.

My interest in reef keeping waned and I just did the bare minimum to keep the tank going. It survived and my interest is back full swing.

Right now what you need is help. There are plenty of experienced reefers on this site that are more then willing to help you figure out what is going on with your system. I would start a separate thread each for corals and fish so you can get specific help from the experts in those areas.

 

[ZoWhat]

Time out on the field here.....

What salt mix?

....and how much total water volume and what % of WCs and how often?

 

[Picesduh]

There is always something to learn in this hobby and your story sounds like there is a lot there too. This might sound dumb but subscribe to a reef magazine to get your excitement up. And YES come to RAP!!

 

[Rispa]

I saw your other thread and looks like a couple of people beat me to my response. I would go back to the basics if in your position. First off I would retroactively quarentine all fish. I would get two rubbermaid tubs and two filters and alternate between them, so everything has time to go fallow and essentially get started over again. I would also treat with an broadspectrum antibiotic and wormer (pulling this from bird experience not, fish) and perhaps an anti-fungal during this time. After a month I would put them back in the DT and do the same generally with the coral.

I also am of the opinion that macro algae is a wonderful addition that can help stabalize a tank. If there is one that you find pretty I would get some, soak it in freshwater for a bit, then put it in the main tank (depending on where you got it from and if you know what it came into contact with.

Best of luck!!

 

[Genomecop]

I actually don't quarentine. I still to this day have no idea what I did wrong for it to crash that often. But once I got out of that large hump it was a relief. I still to this day don't quarentine. In my opinion I just don't believe in it. But this is a different topic than the OP. I don't want to derail his thread Again GL man just kepe a positive mindset. And remember we are all here to help!

I was addressing the question to the OP.

 

[FiveGallonSea]

Time out on the field here.....

What salt mix?

....and how much total water volume and what % of WCs and how often?

Red Sea Coral Pro. 10% about every 10 days, recently been doing a little over 20% to control nitrates.

 

[FiveGallonSea]

Feel like this thread derailed. I am not battling any kind of ich, parasite, etc. I have fish that have been fine in my tank since the beginning. I also have corals that are doing pretty well for quite a while now. I'm just saying like many others I've had quite a few unfortunate things happen and it's weighing me down. I bought Reefapalooza tickets for this weekend to see if that can cheer me up a bit. I'll go, listen to the speakers, window shop, maybe only pick up a coral or 2. You know, those that you 'have to have'. I'll keep pushing through this. Will definitely update this thread.

 

[Dilan Patel]

gl man. Awesome you can make it to reefapalooza.

 

[PSXerholic]

Hey reefers,

Been in the reef hobby a couple years. Freshwater lifelong. Started reefing with a nano and soon after planned for many months an upgrade. An unimaginable amount of money later had a Red Sea Reefer 350 running with all mid level-high end equipment up and running. Then came the fish, then came the coral. I think I had beginners luck. My coral were doing amazing and so were my fish. Despite maintenance it's almost like this tank thrived effortlessly.

Over the past 5-6 months there's been so many downs that it's taken everything I had in me. I still keep up with maintenance and my tank is always showroom clean, but because of all the heartbreak I'm looking at the hobby as more of a chore than anything else. Here's a list of things I've dealt with...

-Unexplainable demise of all my euphyllia despite no change in parameters.
-Unexplainable deaths from fish who looked perfectly healthy one morning and were dead in the evening including 2 Potter's Angels, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Blue Mandarin, several Green Chromis and some inverts.
- A beautiful newly acquired Naso Tang that just never acclimated well and starved to death despite all my efforts.
-Recent hair algae on one rock that I fought for one month and looks like I got under control.
-HLLE appearing on my Blue Tang that I raised as a baby the size of a quarter despite always providing nori, spirulina, with a mix of meaty foods with garlic and vitamins.
-I suspect my Flame Angel is getting ill.
-And I feel like I can do water changes every single day and I cannot lower my nitrates lower than 20 when I NEVER had nitrate issues.

My corals never grow, they all start out great for weeks/months and no matter what shrink back and die.

I'm at a loss and I'm getting to the point that I look at my tank with disgust. It gives me anxiety and makes me mentally sick. I love everything about this hobby, but I feel I'm losing the ability to cope with these losses any longer. Reefapalooza is this weekend and I've been excited all year to go. I'm even debating not going.

What do you vets think. Is this means to throw in the towel? Will I get passed this?

Any advice, please.

Hi there, just noticed this thread when @xaflatoonx mentioned my name here ;-)

Really nice tank. Looks great.
I do not see sufficient info here on the details other than you struggle with corals after a while. Well, there is no magic juice that will resolve all the issues of a high complex biological system instantly.

However here are a few tips from what I guess from experience, of what may did happen.

Tank is far too clean!!!! That is obvious. If you have a serious OCD that's fine, but leave enough dirt in the tank! This dirt and accumulations are actually bacteria, good or bad, that is a different story and subject.
If you can't manage Nitrates to get lower, that is many times because of insufficient bacteria growth or missing substrate for the good bacteria. Also the balance in the biology is important to have for most cases (not meant for ULNS, but you won't like the efforts and risks on these) to have detectable nutrients, including No3 and Po4. Don't miss out on any of those for an easy reef life.
That will help to avoid starving the tank.

The next thing is temperature. If you have sudden issues with dying fish and other things, that can be of pathogenic bacteria. I recommend the usual reefer to run not higher than 78 Fahrenheit. Above that, potential pathogens spread much faster, easier to stay below or max at 78F.

Most important is to have the big 3 in shape all the time!!! All the time. And ideally a continuous method of supplementing the big 3 (ALK,CA,MG).
I also recommend to do once in a while when SPS stop thriving, to perform a ICP test to see if there is any lack of specific Trace elements. To keep it easy in the beginning you should watch out for the big 3 as mentioned before as well for Strontium, Potassium, Barium, Iodine, Fluoride, Boron, Molybdenum, Bromine at least.
Those can be low, but make sure they are not depleted into the extreme low ranges. A lot of others are having influence but these you should keep occasional an eye on.
Also a ICP will get clarity if there is undesired elements in the tank that may cause issues from bad salts, equipment etc.

When it comes to supplement elements, slow and easy is the way to go, doesn't matter if parameter need to up or down.

 

[jtl]

I keep a very clean tank and sump and noticed my corals were losing color and not growing. Some were also bleaching. I adjusted my lighting to to 20000K and learned that zero P and N was not good. I think they were probably a little more than zero because I had small traces of HA and my chaeto was surviving, but not growing. I raised my N and P and now after a few weeks things are looking much better. I am still getting a little HA but it is manageable. I did dose some Vibrant but so far (only 2 weeks) I see no results. Vibrant apparently works for some and not for others. I raised my N by dosing with NeoNitro and raised the P by feed a little more. I may dose P and stop over feeding or perhaps feed more coral food.

My previous tank and great coral growth including SPS using my home made leds ( this was 6 years ago) I had some algae but not to the point of being unsightly and I never checked anything, only did weekly water changes.

 

[RtomKinMad]

Have read where people who had tanks and their fish had HLLE started using Miracle Mud and the HLLE cured up and their corals started opening up and looking fuller.

What is miracle mud?

 

[Forsaken77]

Obviously everyone will tell you not to give up. But I'm a realist and understand this hobby isn't for everyone, especially if it's causing you anxiety and feels more like a chore. We've all been there though. That's part of it.

I would go back to basics and try what someone else suggested before giving up... Go back to just a saltwater fish-only/invert tank. No corals at all.

It's less demanding and more like your freshwater setups. You already have all of the equipment.

If you think you're fish is sick, maybe move him to a different tank for observation so he doesn't infect the others. Hopefully these fish were quarantined before being added (I didn't read the whole thread), because that could cause tank problems itself.

If after trying a simpler approach, you feel you still dislike it, then take some time away.

Personally, I wouldn't sell the equipment because if you ever decide to set up another tank then you already have everything. But like I said... It's not for everybody.

 

[ZoWhat]

I don't want to come off jerky....so plz forgive me.

If you've lost interest then you've lost interest....only YOU can decide to sell and get out or stay.

No one can formulate any words to prove to you to stay in the hobby or to go....

Again, much like quoting smoking, or chosing where to go on vacation, or what car or house to buy, or what your career/job is, or if you want to stay married or to even get married......only you can decide. Only you can change you.

Hth

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hey reefers,

Been in the reef hobby a couple years. Freshwater lifelong. Started reefing with a nano and soon after planned for many months an upgrade. An unimaginable amount of money later had a Red Sea Reefer 350 running with all mid level-high end equipment up and running. Then came the fish, then came the coral. I think I had beginners luck. My coral were doing amazing and so were my fish. Despite maintenance it's almost like this tank thrived effortlessly.

Over the past 5-6 months there's been so many downs that it's taken everything I had in me. I still keep up with maintenance and my tank is always showroom clean, but because of all the heartbreak I'm looking at the hobby as more of a chore than anything else. Here's a list of things I've dealt with...

-Unexplainable demise of all my euphyllia despite no change in parameters.
-Unexplainable deaths from fish who looked perfectly healthy one morning and were dead in the evening including 2 Potter's Angels, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Blue Mandarin, several Green Chromis and some inverts.
- A beautiful newly acquired Naso Tang that just never acclimated well and starved to death despite all my efforts.
-Recent hair algae on one rock that I fought for one month and looks like I got under control.
-HLLE appearing on my Blue Tang that I raised as a baby the size of a quarter despite always providing nori, spirulina, with a mix of meaty foods with garlic and vitamins.
-I suspect my Flame Angel is getting ill.
-And I feel like I can do water changes every single day and I cannot lower my nitrates lower than 20 when I NEVER had nitrate issues.

My corals never grow, they all start out great for weeks/months and no matter what shrink back and die.

I'm at a loss and I'm getting to the point that I look at my tank with disgust. It gives me anxiety and makes me mentally sick. I love everything about this hobby, but I feel I'm losing the ability to cope with these losses any longer. Reefapalooza is this weekend and I've been excited all year to go. I'm even debating not going.

What do you vets think. Is this means to throw in the towel? Will I get passed this?

Any advice, please.

I've been trying to get out since 1983, just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. Once your in, it's for life. Heehee

 

[Rispa]

I've been trying to get out since 1983, just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in. Once your in, it's for life. Heehee

Haha this. I not anyways full in and active, but I can't seem to fully stop lol

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I think my best one. Search n this Web site. Chihuahua corals