How discouraged do you get?

[Rayzback]

throttle it back and just relax and enjoy what I have

+1 Going to take that advise for a few months

 

[Uninja]

it doesnt seem like people here have too much troubles considering how nice peoples tank shots look. the tank i have never seems to be doing over average good maybe corals are getting better for a little then worse and my bf is always sad that our tank isnt flourishing like others >.< though knowing that everyone has troubles makes me hopeful of having a professional looking tank

though nothing has ever been too bad that we have considered scrapping. so maybe our limited successes arent too bad.

 

[drainbamage]

it doesnt seem like people here have too much troubles considering how nice peoples tank shots look. the tank i have never seems to be doing over average good maybe corals are getting better for a little then worse and my bf is always sad that our tank isnt flourishing like others >.< though knowing that everyone has troubles makes me hopeful of having a professional looking tank

though nothing has ever been too bad that we have considered scrapping. so maybe our limited successes arent too bad.

That's actually one of the few bad things about forums- a lot of people don't post when they have problems, typically only when things are perfect. This is especially true of some posters who only post advice and answers, and only show their tanks when they're sparkling clean. Not to begrudge these folks anything, but I think a lot of people beleive what they see and compare themselves against these seemingly perfect and pristine tanks that are seemingly effortlessly maintained and have no issues ever. I always try and encourage locals to post up their "average" tanks, as it helps all appreciate a much wider diversity of what a tank can look like. Same time I never hesitate to post up when I have things go wrong, or need advice, even though it's frustrating at times to share failures.

 

[Paul B]

That's actually one of the few bad things about forums- a lot of people don't post when they have problems, typically only when things are perfect.

Here is my tank about 15 years ago with a huge hair algae bloom. This has happened a few times but never after I installed an algae trough.

 

[Captain Nemo]

I will be honest about this, I have a awful time with SPS. I dont know why? My seem to be beautiful whe I get them then slowly start to go down hill. I have some nasty algae bloom on my sand every couple months, dont know why? It just get s discouraging looking on here and seeing beautiful tanks, and looking at mine with what little coral I have and the algae and it really discourages me...... I just have to keep plugging along and it slowly turns around..... I am working on the algae problem now, then the SPS is next..... anyways dont give up, it will all work out in the end, just be thankful for what you have and keep working at it!

 

[reefervet]

Usually it's equipment reliability issues that make me want to give up.

 

[cherokee_dude]

Especially now that my tanks are broken down :(

 

[RogerWilco357]

at the crossroads yet again lol, seems the year starts off nicely then bamm something happens, bad salt, alk swings , po4 and no3 out of control , aefw,and finally aiptasia uncontrollable . This is my third attempt in 13 years to go all out and get my water in check , make sure all pest have been eliminated then after all that is in control I will start with the sps slowly this time tank has been void of any coral for most of the year and going to try ulns type of setup with bio-pellets or zeo-vit setup next month and hope its all good by Feb.2014 maybe this will be the year for me as this truly wasn't a good year ..
Roger

 

[Railcar79]

If I hadn't spent so much, and my kids didn't love the tank so much, it would be in pieces now. Cyno that just won't die, livestock dying, it is getting too much for me.

 

[Nano sapiens]

The OP forgot a 'Never' button :)

Things happen and that's to be expected. Whatever it is, view it as an event that you can learn from. If one keeps at it long enough, due to the experienced gained, it should all come together :)

 

[eliramos]

Yes!!
I woke up today everything was fine im running late to school as soon as I sit down I get a call saying half the tank is empty!!!!!
Hurry and get home! Of course the new ato I just hooked up reverse siphoned the water out of the tank and overflowed the reservoir. But the way I see it is now I had an impromptu water change, and it gave me the opportunity to replug and rearrange all of my electrical chords and cables. Thankfully all my fish corals and everyone are fine and I was ****** but with this hobby you really do have the ocean in your home it can be calm for a long time and next thing you know it hits you like a tsunami but its the true reefers that get back up and rebuild and itll be better than before! And for those that don't get back up, theres craigslist ")

 

[Eienna]

I have been heartbroken on more than one occasion...but I'm stubborn, lol.

 

[socal619]

its discouraging loosing 100$ polyps when they melt, or you order a polyp and it never opens. some of my expensive polyps are taking off so i guess its + and -.also been battling ich lately. killed my bicolor blenny, and 1 of my fancy snow clowns. very discouraging loved those fish, but im gonna wait it out get new ones, never get another tang

 

[mskurdah]

Great thread.

I've quit the hobby three different times. I was shocked when a family member said, "I miss the aquarium" thinking it was only me who even cared. In came the 20G nano. For me, less was more. Now when there's a disaster it's so small scale that I can deal with it quickly.

What bugs me the most are the "mystery" deaths. When the water tests fine and you feel like you did everything right. It's actually (sadly) comforting to hear about other people's unexplained losses.

I told a bunch of people when I started my last system, "I know everything that can go wrong....it's time to use that knowledge." It sounds stupid, but I think that the mistakes do actually make things easier in the long run.

Just yesterday I was thinking that this new system is my favorite to date. Sure it's got a couple of years to go before I'm personally wowed by it ("Why don't you buy full sized corals" people ask, "Because that's cheating I answer.")

I still love each morning looking for new polyps, branch nubs on the SPS and thinking about how long I've had my fish :)

 

[ShawnSaucier]

This happens every couple of months or weeks for me..some times it's a loss, sometimes it's the way things grow or lack there of.. I think it's just the passion of the hobby.

 

[Paul B]

Especially now that my tanks are broken down :(

I hate breaking tanks down'

 

[beaslbob]

With this hobby not often.

With family and co workers quite often. LOL

ps don't currently have a tank setup.

 

[Som1else]

Ive been beaten down in the past with pests. You name it, I've had it at one point or another and it always sucks. However I've also beaten them all too, so in the end i have a sense of confidence that no matter what stupid pest i get I will be able to deal with it and win.

 

[Paul B]

Ive been beaten down in the past with pests. You name it, I've had it at one point or another

Did you ever find any of these in there?

 

[Railcar79]

Pest? I feed it butter, garlic, and white wine...yummy