If You Knew What You Know Now, What Would You Have Done Differently?

Totlxtc

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1. Got a personal loan and bought everything at one time rather than buy bits and pieces over time.
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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I know people are joking about it, but I'd be much more financially stable if I wasn't in this hobby. I'll never not have a tank now, but I kind of wish I didn't get into it in the first place. I mean, I won't even think about buying a home unless it has an open basement and a thick foundation now for the eventual 1,000+ gallon system I'll have. If I can't find that, I'll have to get it built. Around where I'm at, I'm looking at $500k-$750k for about an acre or two and a house.

But if I knew everything that I knew now, I would have started out with a custom build and not messed around with 3 other tanks before getting there. It took me a few years, but I know exactly now what I want/need in terms of equipment for a long term success tank. I spent so much money on equipment and other tanks. I would have saved several thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars if I would have started out with my newest build.
 

steven325

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Dip everything an scrub it clean or use a new plug before placing it in the tank. I lost a 7 head Aussie torch To flat worms. Had a 4 month battle with bryo and bubble algae, still have vermited snails I can’t eradicate.
 

Timfish

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Based on what I read and learned from my own experiences in the late '80s and '90s I'm still doing things the same way I did 2 decades ago. Water changes, live rock (from the ocean), Alk & calcium & magnesium, proper lighting, moderate flow, don't worry about numbers and don't trust equipment (less is better except for redundancy). Oh yeah, and do water changes.

What all the science I've read the last 2 decades has done is helped me understand why water changes help (gets rid of hydrophilic DOC not removed by GAC or skimming which also skews the microbial stuff). Explained how the cryptic sponges on maricultured or wild live rock cycle DOC a lot faster than other means (~1000X faster than bacterioplankton). Explained why I was never happy messing with algae in refugiums. Explained how microbes are what's most important and why lots of equipment is a waste. Most importantly it has given me a much better appreciation of just how complex reef systems are.
 
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David B. Smith

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Now that i'm retired i have tons of time to really fiqure out the do's and dont's on my new reef tank. Coming from a Red Sea 750XXL to 3XL 900, If one thing that comes to mind would be the 1st thing on my list to change or do would be current. 2nd would be lighting. 3rd would be balancing your system, water parameters etc., which really should come 1st.
Learning & understanding what current does is amazing which also involves your rock setup, live sand etc. Power heads and how many you have on your tank can really change your system depending on tank size etc. LFS will sell you on anything if they can, and if you dont know better you'll start spending more money on equipment you might not really need. Always have extra patience when it comes to a successful reef tank. They take lots of work and sometimes years to achieve those reef goals.
1) Current-depending on tank size.
2) Lighting-understanding par and what lights you really need. LED's / T-5's
3) Buying equipment you really need.

Below is a image of my 3XL900 almost 3 months old.
20210612_165033.jpg
 
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X-37B

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Three things.

1. Turned my standard 120 corner overflow so it was peninsula style.

2. Went with a larger custom tank first. I would then not be planning a longer and wider system.

3. Make my stand lower, current 36", and reduce the height of tank tank from 24" to 20", so I do not need a step stool.
 

DocPalmer

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Yes, live rock from the ocean will give your tank tremendous diversity that will cause it to mature at a much faster rate.
We meet again Schuby! Sounds like I’m going to purchase some live rock this weekend.
 

Gup

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I'll never use dry rock again.
I used Marco Rock for my Aquascape six months ago and it has aged well. I have nice algea and coloring. What I am missing is coralline algae. So days ago I ordered 10 pounds of live rock, to add, hopefully to create some action
 

DocPalmer

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Can also add live sand instead of live rock.
Ya I am using live sand and honestly didn't even consider dry sand. It sounds like mixing in some live rock with dry rock is the way to go. I have no issue waiting for the dry rock to mature but I've read too many articles on the biodiversity live rock offers to not have it in my tank.
 
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