Journal of my nano reef 3 months in

[youclowntoomuch]

I started my 15 gallon nano with minimal equipment , which wasnt a problem at first because I wanted to learn on the way. I had no idea of what filtration my tank needed and definitely overdid it in the beginning. Some things I learned along the way are as follows:
- Black sea sand ABSOLUTELY SUCKS! it constantly sticks in my algae scraper and looks ugly once even small amounts of algae settle.
- Buying live rocks used from a local reefer was a scam. Paid 60$ for some rocks with dead bristleworns that looked like boogers.Didnt fully realize until I got home what a mistake I'd made.
-Bite the bullet and get hanna checkers! My tank has thanked me for it
-Bite the bullet again and get an RODI system! My tank was loaded with phos and nitrate until I made the switch
-Never listen to the guy from the LFS who says that you never need to quarantine fish..... my tank crashed and the inhabitants were all killed of infected by ick
-A protein skimmer works!

All in all Ive really enjoyed my tank , but am disappointed in the bad advice Ive recieved from people along the way. Im now looking to essentially restart the tank and use marco rock and special grade sand to make it exactly like I want. No more skimping.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I started my 15 gallon nano with minimal equipment , which wasnt a problem at first because I wanted to learn on the way. I had no idea of what filtration my tank needed and definitely overdid it in the beginning. Some things I learned along the way are as follows:
- Black sea sand ABSOLUTELY SUCKS! it constantly sticks in my algae scraper and looks ugly once even small amounts of algae settle.
- Buying live rocks used from a local reefer was a scam. Paid 60$ for some rocks with dead bristleworns that looked like boogers.Didnt fully realize until I got home what a mistake I'd made.
-Bite the bullet and get hanna checkers! My tank has thanked me for it
-Bite the bullet again and get an RODI system! My tank was loaded with phos and nitrate until I made the switch
-Never listen to the guy from the LFS who says that you never need to quarantine fish..... my tank crashed and the inhabitants were all killed of infected by ick
-A protein skimmer works!

All in all Ive really enjoyed my tank , but am disappointed in the bad advice Ive recieved from people along the way. Im now looking to essentially restart the tank and use marco rock and special grade sand to make it exactly like I want. No more skimping.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I fully agree that an RODI system is one of the most important equipments you can buy for your tank. It truly helps with making sure your water is the most clean it can possibly be