Is it typical to feel overwhelmed?

[RtomKinMad]

Hell yes it is.

I recently set up a 220g in my basement with a dedicated fish room, and a 75g sump attached to that.

I came from a 45g.

At several points in the build I sat back and asked myself, "what the heck am I doing!?"

But hey, I just transferred the last of my fish over to their new home last night. Feeling pretty good now. :)

Please post picture! Yah

 

[DarkSky]

Please post picture! Yah

This was before the sand and fish were added. I'm in the process of hanging the light right now (8 bulb ATI power module).

 

[Punchanello]

I'm 6 months in after nearly 2 years planning and researching. Other than the occasional goldfish I haven't had a tank of any description except this one. The anxiety for me really kicked in just after the tank had cycled. Missing fish, algae blooms including a plankton bloom that has lated over a month, the great RODI spillover of 2018, quarantine fails and stray voltage. I feel like I've had it all.

The tank is a constant visual reminder of regrets and failures punctuated by gold plated moment of pure joy and wonder. I have to keep reminding myself that apart from being a lifelong dream I can now afford, I did this because it was a challenge, not easy. I'm well and truly hooked now so I remind myself that even if it's causing me to feel overwhelmed, it won't make me give it up so I may as well harden up and get on with it.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I will say this, when I was younger, single and living in apartments in Long Island and Manhattan, I had no worries at all with a 55 gallon reef aquarium. I probably never even checked if it was level.

Now, in my own home, I think more about the cost of disaster with “only” a 45 gallon. My wife is absolutely supportive, but we know, if the house floods, the tank was my bright idea.

 

[RtomKinMad]

This was before the sand and fish were added. I'm in the process of hanging the light right now (8 bulb ATI power module).

Wow! Looks great! Hope you do a build thread! Good luck and have fun. Quarantine if you.

 

[RtomKinMad]

I'm 6 months in after nearly 2 years planning and researching. Other than the occasional goldfish I haven't had a tank of any description except this one. The anxiety for me really kicked in just after the tank had cycled. Missing fish, algae blooms including a plankton bloom that has lated over a month, the great RODI spillover of 2018, quarantine fails and stray voltage. I feel like I've had it all.

The tank is a constant visual reminder of regrets and failures punctuated by gold plated moment of pure joy and wonder. I have to keep reminding myself that apart from being a lifelong dream I can now afford, I did this because it was a challenge, not easy. I'm well and truly hooked now so I remind myself that even if it's causing me to feel overwhelmed, it won't make me give it up so I may as well harden up and get on with it.

Feel the same way. All the planning and all the money. Just heart broken when our fish die and we can’t help them. But love the ones we have and surely don’t want to stop!

 

[DarkSky]

Wow! Looks great! Hope you do a build thread! Good luck and have fun. Quarantine if you.

I have one on my local reefing forum that I'll probably end up duplicating here. For QT I have a 40g tank for long term medication /observation and two 20g for ttm.

 

[WannaBSpaghetti]

This was before the sand and fish were added. I'm in the process of hanging the light right now (8 bulb ATI power module).

Thats a nice looking box of water

 

[DBUK]

i know were you are coming from, im starting my 1st tank in the curing phase at the moment. but a week ago i felt the same. breath and take your time.

 

[Mavric]

I think a lot of the overwhelming stuff comes from people that help you into the hobby as well as overthinking the chemistry of everything. A good example would be someone that works at a local LFS. They will write you a list longer than a CVS receipt of what you absolutely need, which for me was extremely overwhelming until I found R2R. Key thing is patience and lots of reading by reputable reefers. Good luck!