Hello everyone!
I'm starting this thread because I'm trying to talk myself into pulling the trigger on my first coral purchase. I understand the importance of patience in this hobby. My first saltwater tank has been years in the making through a combination of diligent research and youtube spirals and 11 or so months ago I started acquiring gear and methodically planning my tank. I set that tank up in December and have been maintaining and learning from my tank. I decided to set up my tank following key concepts from the BRS/WWC hybrid method adapted for a smaller Softy/LPS tank. The hybrid method calls for waiting 3 months before adding corals to the system and I am now nearing 10 months into my three month wait.
My obsession with corals has not dwindled in that time, things have gotten to the point where I open google to do something productive and only 30 minutes later do I realize I have gone to a coral vendors website subconsciously and simply been glued to the fantastic colours and beauty of various softies and LPS. There are many moving parts that have caused this delay but I believe I've narrowed it down to the following:
My insecurities as a reefer. Saltwater is a new frontier for me and the learning curve for it has been far steeper than that of any of the other animals I keep and although I've invested 9 months into caring for my setup I still don't feel like I have that pulse on this environment the way I do for my freshwater tanks.
Green hair algae. My 2 hermit crabs keep it quite short on the rock work where they can reach it and I assist with it on the glass on bimonthly basis. it hasn't really gotten worse in the 9 months the tank has been running but I feel like its presence means that I haven't figured out this system well enough to venture into corals even if I'm only selecting hardier species (I've got a frag of yellow hornets, blasto and electric green nepthea in my cart).
Not having my Battery Backup installed A) because I'm still working with ecotech about getting my mp10 working B) Not sure if the tank is in it's final place, may be switching rooms in the next few months and although its only a 13.5 gallon tank I know moving tanks is a big production regardless.
Chronic overthinking. Example, this thread...
So I've figured instead of loosing more sleep over this I'm just going to put it to a poll and leave it open for discussion, not sure how far it will go since two of three corals are wysiwyg! Photo of the tank in its current state other than the glass and back have all recently been scrubbed, thanks in advance!
I'm starting this thread because I'm trying to talk myself into pulling the trigger on my first coral purchase. I understand the importance of patience in this hobby. My first saltwater tank has been years in the making through a combination of diligent research and youtube spirals and 11 or so months ago I started acquiring gear and methodically planning my tank. I set that tank up in December and have been maintaining and learning from my tank. I decided to set up my tank following key concepts from the BRS/WWC hybrid method adapted for a smaller Softy/LPS tank. The hybrid method calls for waiting 3 months before adding corals to the system and I am now nearing 10 months into my three month wait.
My obsession with corals has not dwindled in that time, things have gotten to the point where I open google to do something productive and only 30 minutes later do I realize I have gone to a coral vendors website subconsciously and simply been glued to the fantastic colours and beauty of various softies and LPS. There are many moving parts that have caused this delay but I believe I've narrowed it down to the following:
My insecurities as a reefer. Saltwater is a new frontier for me and the learning curve for it has been far steeper than that of any of the other animals I keep and although I've invested 9 months into caring for my setup I still don't feel like I have that pulse on this environment the way I do for my freshwater tanks.
Green hair algae. My 2 hermit crabs keep it quite short on the rock work where they can reach it and I assist with it on the glass on bimonthly basis. it hasn't really gotten worse in the 9 months the tank has been running but I feel like its presence means that I haven't figured out this system well enough to venture into corals even if I'm only selecting hardier species (I've got a frag of yellow hornets, blasto and electric green nepthea in my cart).
Not having my Battery Backup installed A) because I'm still working with ecotech about getting my mp10 working B) Not sure if the tank is in it's final place, may be switching rooms in the next few months and although its only a 13.5 gallon tank I know moving tanks is a big production regardless.
Chronic overthinking. Example, this thread...
So I've figured instead of loosing more sleep over this I'm just going to put it to a poll and leave it open for discussion, not sure how far it will go since two of three corals are wysiwyg! Photo of the tank in its current state other than the glass and back have all recently been scrubbed, thanks in advance!