If you could start over with your tank, would you?

Assume money and time are not a factor: If you could start over with your tank, would you?

  • Yes. I would love a fresh start.

    Votes: 62 38.5%
  • Maybe. At times I wish I could start fresh, while other times I'm happy where I'm at.

    Votes: 49 30.4%
  • No. I'm happy with where I'm at in my reefing journey.

    Votes: 39 24.2%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 11 6.8%

  • Total voters
    161

PharmrJohn

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While I do not have a tank quite yet, I'm not the kind of person to restart. IMO, there isn't a problem that isn't fixable with patience and good husbandry. THAT being said, I've never been in a position where I've had to consider it in the past.
 

exnisstech

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yeah, I like afr too, but not in such a small tank lol
I dosed the other day cause I didn't do a water change in around 2 weeks, and I thought I needed too
CYANOOO TIIIMMMEEEE
I just turkey baster blasted the sand yesterday and it all went away :D
and did a wc on saturday
AFR is great for small tanks. You do have test and dose the appropriate amount tho ;) Its a bit different than dosing 2 part or kalk
 

rhitee93

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If money and time were no object, I would go with a 6 or 8 foot tank. My 120 feels restrictive at times. A 120 felt large based on prior experiences with tanks, but I didn't realize how small it is relative to room required for some of the critters I would like to keep.

I would also do some things differently with the aquascape and layout of the equipment to make things more efficient.
 

Reef_Freak720

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I voted yes, because while I kinda like my stand I don't have enough headroom for my skimmer.

I've been thinking about building a new stand but the act of swapping sounds so terrible lol
 

vlangel

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I checked that I am happy where I am at in my reefing journey and that is true. However that is not to say that I never get restless and never think about how I would like to try something different. But after 25 years of reef keeping I have learned that trying something different doesn't tend to stop the restlessness for good and the best/cheapest remedy to that is tidy up my tank and maybe buy a new fish or coral. For me that works because I am basically very satisfied with my tank.
 

BristleWormHater

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Where is the no, save the money and buy a car(or a house for some) option?
"Hmm a reef tank seems pretty cool"
1729016250453.gif
 

Tamberav

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I would because unlimited time and money means I could have a huge tank with a personal vet and biologist. Something like Andrews tank.

If we want to be realistic, I would have made a few design changes on my current tank. The next one I will do a little different.
 

Jasonak

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Oh yes would totally love to have another tank next to mine and redo my rock scape and my sand which is a mix of crushed coral and sand. Ive seen so many cool rock scapes now. Mine is old school pretty much rock piled against the back glass. Wish I had went with solid sand instead of a mix etc. I will probably end up redoing the rock work eventually if only just to get rid red cap monti and spongodes.
 

KrisReef

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It's a western hognose snake aka "drama cobra"
I figured it wasn't useful else you could slide it in her bed and get that new tank after the insurance came through.

Trick or Treat, Crabs! :star-struck:

Glad you are still posting now and again.:cool:
 

Crabs McJones

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I figured it wasn't useful else you could slide it in her bed and get that new tank after the insurance came through.

Trick or Treat, Crabs! :star-struck:

Glad you are still posting now and again.:cool:
I'm like a bad cough, you just can't get rid of me
 
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atnet360

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Haha, if money and time were no object then heck yes Id’d start over and it would be EPIC! (Think Polo Reef epic )

If I could start over with the budget and time I had when I started, or even a little bit more, there are some things I would do differently.

These would pretty much require a complete restart:

  1. I would have gotten a different tank, even if it meant waiting a little longer/spending a little more.
  2. I would want an external overflow vs the big internal box I have now
  3. I would have placed my returns differently
  4. I would have quarantined better (especially corals), some pests now in the tanks that I have to manage unless I restart
These I could probably work into my current setup in the future
  1. I would have gone with a lower aquascape with more caves and hiding places.
  2. I might have gone bare bottom.
  3. I would have focused more on sps from the start
  4. I would have gotten the fish I wanted instead of the fish that were available
  5. I would have thought more about maintenance needs while doing cable management
  6. I would have planned better for a satellite frag tank
  7. I would have installed a filter roller
There’s probably more I would do differently knowing what I know now. Biggest thing is the actual tank. It’s not exactly what I want and fixing that would be a major ordeal.
 

KrisReef

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Happy Hell Yeah GIF by Cappa Video Productions
Haha, if money and time were no object then heck yes Id’d start over and it would be EPIC! (Think Polo Reef epic )

If I could start over with the budget and time I had when I started, or even a little bit more, there are some things I would do differently.

These would pretty much require a complete restart:

  1. I would have gotten a different tank, even if it meant waiting a little longer/spending a little more.
  2. I would want an external overflow vs the big internal box I have now
  3. I would have placed my returns differently
  4. I would have quarantined better (especially corals), some pests now in the tanks that I have to manage unless I restart
These I could probably work into my current setup in the future
  1. I would have gone with a lower aquascape with more caves and hiding places.
  2. I might have gone bare bottom.
  3. I would have focused more on sps from the start
  4. I would have gotten the fish I wanted instead of the fish that were available
  5. I would have thought more about maintenance needs while doing cable management
  6. I would have planned better for a satellite frag tank
  7. I would have installed a filter roller
There’s probably more I would do differently knowing what I know now. Biggest thing is the actual tank. It’s not exactly what I want and fixing that would be a major ordeal.
This is possibly one of the best posts that one could have a noob read and memorize as they start their journey. It’s almost as good as the original 10 Commandments and better because there’s no mention about adultery.
 

EricR

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I have a 40 breeder w/HOB equipment shoved into an otherwise useless nook which is, unfortunately, the ideal location for me, so I'd love to replace it with:
IM SR 60 AIO that would fit the same (width) and get equipment out of view.
*of course, then I'd be griping that I didn't gain anything in the actual display so wish I'd found a way to go bigger
 

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