Need to rant/encouragement

[Griff]

I'm almost at my wits end! I knew there would be ups and downs but the last several months have been issue after issue. I've only been in the salt life for a short two years and just invested roughly 7000 in my new Red Sea reefer 525 upgrade from my IM 30L.

The negatives just keep on coming. Is it me? I spend roughly 1 hour a day on my system avg and my most recent battle with hair algea is driving me crazy. Everyone here has been extremely helpful with all the husbandry, disease, and chemical questions. I just don't know when the issues are going to slow down.

My most recent concern is my green/ghost torch. Today while picking out some hair algea I noticed some stringy stuff caught in the tenticals. At first I thought it was the hair algea and upon closer inspection I'm thinking brown jelly! It has two heads and both mouths were open about half the size of a pencil eraser. My only hope is that it truly was hair algea but from th looks of it I don't think it is.

This is after I recently lost a mal nourished mandarin that I spent 200 trying to save. A Midas Blenny that just disappeared and probably the cause of all the hair algea. Several issues with shipping to get my reefer which delayed my build several weeks. The disappointment in Neptune and feeling like I was scammed. Also had a minor crash around the beginning of the year, lost fire fish and multiple corals.

I put the time in but my results are not there. I spend hours a day watching YouTube videos on reefing, on reef2reef probably 20 times a day just reading trying to learn more and more. I keep aquarium logs for calc, Alk, Mg, PO4. I test weekly do weekly water changes.

I quarentine I dip corals using methods here and with advice from well respected members of this forum. 50% of the stress is not so much based on my existing system but on trying to get the new system up and running.

I'm not looking for advice with this post as its extremely broad, but let me hear when you went through reefing depression, and how things turned around for you. Would also be nice if you could post a pic of your system now as encouragement.

I took out a second mortgage on the house to do this new build and with the way things are going I'm sick about the whole thing.

 

[TwelveL16]

its a hobby man not a job, you are suppose to enjoy it. If you aren't I would take a break or give it up. Good thing about this hobby is there's always someone there to buy your stuff haha.

Hang in there man with the effort you are putting into it you will get it.

 

[Reefpharmer]

Hang in and know that everyone has ups and downs. Since you don't want advice I'm gonna give some anyway.

Hair algae will slowly get starved out of you lower your po4 by decreasing feeding and manual removal. I had some in my 300 and that's what worked for me. Keep pulling clumps out every time you can for about 5 mins or whatever you can handle and get a grip on the feeding. I also had chaeto which helps and after a while it stopped growing back.

As far as the mandarin, unless you are related to it via your mothers side, set up a qt and if he doesn't make it, he doesn't make it. It's harsh but for $200 you could have bought many other mandarins so set a limit on the qt / hospital costs

 

[reef_junkie]

I very nearly got out after an alk crash. I was spending an hour or more a day dosing, testing, manipulating wires. I was doing too much. A reefer much wiser than myself calmly told me one day "just leave it alone" did that and ive been happier ever since. We try to baby our tanks and that leads to outside contaminates or disturbing an already good thing. I'm not sure if that apply to you at all but alot of us have been there. We put the time in an expect success only to find another hurdle. I hope you don't give up on it, the tank you have comes with alot of envy and I'm sure there are lots of us here that would like to see it progress.

 

[hybridazn]

This hobby is full of ups and downs. With any new system I always tell people get thru the first year, it tends to get easier then. The system is mature and can handle a lot at that point.

Last year I ran thru an incredibly rough time with my 180, about 95% of all my SPS colonies and frags were lost and I thought about giving up. I kept going and my tank is on the up and up and trending in the right direction.

I say keep it up and knock out one problem at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day you know ;)

 

[Griff]

I very nearly got out after an alk crash. I was spending an hour or more a day dosing, testing, manipulating wires. I was doing too much. A reefer much wiser than myself calmly told me one day "just leave it alone" did that and ive been happier ever since. We try to baby our tanks and that leads to outside contaminates or disturbing an already good thing. I'm not sure if that apply to you at all but alot of us have been there. We put the time in an expect success only to find another hurdle. I hope you don't give up on it, the tank you have comes with alot of envy and I'm sure there are lots of us here that would like to see it progress.

That is probably great advice! Maybe I just need to sit back and let things take its course. Obviously outside weekly water changes. The best thing may be to just focus all my extra time on getting the new system tweaked the way I want it so I can transfer everything and breakdown the old one. I'm currently managing the IM Nuvo 30L, setting up the reefer 525, a 20g freshwater and breeding guppies, and the 40 breeder quarantine. It's all becoming to much. Might be time to part with the fresh water system too.

 

[L.A.]

About a year and a half ago I had a major tank crash AND marine velvet. I literally wanted to take a sledgehammer to the entire operation because I was so frustrated and felt so defeated. I lost every coral except for the ones that I didn't want and I lost every fish with the exception of the very first fish I purchased in this hobby; my Goby. I did the research and though I was doing everything right. I caught every fish and quarantined, treated, and left the tank fallow for almost 2 months. I watched every fish die one by one in the tank and thought probably every negative thought that you can possibly think, including what you're thinking now and I wanted to give up. Thousands of dollars were literally just flushed down the drain. After a few days of sulking and being bummed in general about the whole situation we continued on. Over the next few weeks we added a new pair of clowns and like 3 additional corals to what had survived to test the waters and they all died. The worst part was all the parameters were testing "normal" in the tank and made it even more frustrating but at least everything was cheap(er) and it wasn't as big of a blow as the original disaster. Honestly after a couple more tries and patience (and a little more frustration) everything started to get better and it really comes down to exactly what @reef_junkie said by just leaving everything alone and letting everything be. I feel like I basically just blacked out that entire time and was messing with the tank entirely too much that it never got a chance to balance itself out after everything it had just went through. Again, the parameters we're reading normal, but between my boyfriend and I, I just think we became the problem. Fast forward to now, and we still have issues with nitrates sometimes and an on-going battle with bryopsis but like @Reefpharmer said, 5 minutes a day pulling off clumps of algae will makes a world of difference (especially with stress levels) with the overall aesthetic of the tank. But anyways, I literally just posted this in another thread (and sorry if you guys have seen this already) but here's some pics of a couple months after the crash and the rescape I did to make myself feel a little better after the entire ordeal exactly a year ago in June of 2015 when hair was being ripped out of my head and then today:

The tank still isn't perfect but it's definitely a vast improvement and I can say that i'm so proud for enduring it because i've learned so much from all of the loss and inevitable research that came along with it. So I guess in short what i'm trying to say is although it sucks and it's overwhelming to say the least, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it will get better. You got this, dude!

 

[Diesel]

Sorry to hear this.
It's easy to say for many that there's light at the end of the tunnel but you're not seeing it.
I suggest to go back to basics, don't buy any fish or corals for a few months I know it's hard and ain't easy but stick with it.
Get your tank balanced out first and progress from there.
When you have time explain your system a bit more as in what you have all running as reactors, dosers, skimmer, pumps.
Did you dose anything in your tank as in elements, coral food etc.
What kind of livestock do you have in your tank as we speak, inverts, corals, fish?
Back to basics is just water changes and control the feedings.

 

[Davek]

I'm new to salt, but through my whole life ( and it's been longer than a lot ), the best advice I have gotten is to enjoy the journey, slow down, go back to basics, enjoy the small stuff, if this for you, conquer and enjoy problem solving!!!

 

[Davek]

Add on- you are going from a nano to a mid size- of course there are going to be challenges. Nothing happens overnite in reef system.

 

[Sabellafella]

I'm almost at my wits end! I knew there would be ups and downs but the last several months have been issue after issue. I've only been in the salt life for a short two years and just invested roughly 7000 in my new Red Sea reefer 525 upgrade from my IM 30L.

The negatives just keep on coming. Is it me? I spend roughly 1 hour a day on my system avg and my most recent battle with hair algea is driving me crazy. Everyone here has been extremely helpful with all the husbandry, disease, and chemical questions. I just don't know when the issues are going to slow down.

My most recent concern is my green/ghost torch. Today while picking out some hair algea I noticed some stringy stuff caught in the tenticals. At first I thought it was the hair algea and upon closer inspection I'm thinking brown jelly! It has two heads and both mouths were open about half the size of a pencil eraser. My only hope is that it truly was hair algea but from th looks of it I don't think it is.

This is after I recently lost a mal nourished mandarin that I spent 200 trying to save. A Midas Blenny that just disappeared and probably the cause of all the hair algea. Several issues with shipping to get my reefer which delayed my build several weeks. The disappointment in Neptune and feeling like I was scammed. Also had a minor crash around the beginning of the year, lost fire fish and multiple corals.

I put the time in but my results are not there. I spend hours a day watching YouTube videos on reefing, on reef2reef probably 20 times a day just reading trying to learn more and more. I keep aquarium logs for calc, Alk, Mg, PO4. I test weekly do weekly water changes.

I quarentine I dip corals using methods here and with advice from well respected members of this forum. 50% of the stress is not so much based on my existing system but on trying to get the new system up and running.

I'm not looking for advice with this post as its extremely broad, but let me hear when you went through reefing depression, and how things turned around for you. Would also be nice if you could post a pic of your system now as encouragement.

I took out a second mortgage on the house to do this new build and with the way things are going I'm sick about the whole thing.

Sometimes things do get frustrating, i myself have a rediculas amount of bubble algae that got to the point that i dont even care, my tangs ben eating it and the tank is just comming up to being a year old. I never cured my rock, so in the beginning i had some turf algae bother me but the snails/hermits will keep it in check. Like i said my system is still young, what ive learned was no matter how hard i tryed to get things straight, things just seemed to get worse. I just wound up letting it be, gave it some time, went along with normal husbandry(dosing,testing,cleaning skimmer Nd socks, changing carbon) and did my normal weekly 10% and thats it. Everything so far has ben great, ive had fish jump,disappear,die for no reason after qt. It bothers me and alot of others but id just give it some time. Your torch looks fine to me? The mouth issue majority of the time isnt a bad thing, it could be splitting,pooping,or just annoyed. If you could get a closer picture that would be great

 

[Griff]

Your pics are very encouraging! Thanks for the reply. I really do appreciate stories like this especially with such nice photos showing the recovery! Love your scape by the way. We have 1 year old twins and a 4 yr old and working on all this while taking care of the kids just all boils up at times. We both work and many times opposite shifts. I've invested so much time and money into this that when I'm feeling like I can't over come the issues I'm facing I've also let the family down as I've sacrificed time with them for my hobby. Thanks again

 

[Griff]

Sometimes things do get frustrating, i myself have a rediculas amount of bubble algae that got to the point that i dont even care, my tangs ben eating it and the tank is just comming up to being a year old. I never cured my rock, so in the beginning i had some turf algae bother me but the snails/hermits will keep it in check. Like i said my system is still young, what ive learned was no matter how hard i tryed to get things straight, things just seemed to get worse. I just wound up letting it be, gave it some time, went along with normal husbandry(dosing,testing,cleaning skimmer Nd socks, changing carbon) and did my normal weekly 10% and thats it. Everything so far has ben great, ive had fish jump,disappear,die for no reason after qt. It bothers me and alot of others but id just give it some time. Your torch looks fine to me? The mouth issue majority of the time isnt a bad thing, it could be splitting,pooping,or just annoyed. If you could get a closer picture that would be great

I've never seen any of my euphyllia poop in 2 years. Maybe I missed it in the past. I didn't know they did that?! If your right that would make my day! I have 3 euphyllia one hammer that has 4 or 5 heads that I've had since the begining and another that is a gold torch that id be devastated if I lost as its my favorite coral in the tank.

 

[Reeferfourlife]

One thing I learn in the 12 years is to keep my hands out of the tank during the week. Residues in your hands can create unknown issues. I spent about 10 minutes doing little things at a time during the week. Water change every week is about the only time I'm inside the tank with my hands. Just slow down and allow you tank takes its course. Oh I still get algae issues once in a while.

 

[Sabellafella]

I've never seen any of my euphyllia poop in 2 years. Maybe I missed it in the past. I didn't know they did that?! If your right that would make my day! I have 3 euphyllia one hammer that has 4 or 5 heads that I've had since the begining and another that is a gold torch that id be devastated if I lost as its my favorite coral in the tank.

Sometimes they just get a little upset, gotta check at the base of the skin to see if its receiding upward

 

[Griff]

Sometimes they just get a little upset, gotta check at the base of the skin to see if its receiding upward

I think I know what your talking about here. I haven't noticed any receding yet but I'll keep checking

 

[L.A.]

Sorry to hear this.
It's easy to say for many that there's light at the end of the tunnel but you're not seeing it.
I suggest to go back to basics, don't buy any fish or corals for a few months I know it's hard and ain't easy but stick with it.
Get your tank balanced out first and progress from there.
When you have time explain your system a bit more as in what you have all running as reactors, dosers, skimmer, pumps.
Did you dose anything in your tank as in elements, coral food etc.
What kind of livestock do you have in your tank as we speak, inverts, corals, fish?
Back to basics is just water changes and control the feedings.

This! This is so on point (for me at least), and I should have elaborated more but I'm a bad multi-tasker and bad at condensing stories.

I waited two months before I even attempted to put anything in my tank and it was still too soon which was apparent from the deaths I had after that. I should have at the very least waited one or two more months and ran it fallow with regular water changes, etc. It didn't really start taking off until about 6-7 months after the initial crash and I've only recently been seeing significant growth within the past 6 months.

Something that I find really helps me when i'm feeling like minimal progress is being made in the tank is taking regular pictures. Seeing even just a little bit of progress week to week or month to month and then being able to compare a picture to three months ago can be really encouraging sometimes even more so than hearing or seeing how other's tanks are progressing despite the invaluable information that you can get from speaking to people.

To some degree I know how frustrated you are as does i'm sure many others do. I really do hope you find your groove and everything starts looking up and working out for you. Things have a way of getting better without you even realizing it sometimes so *Positive thinking*

 

[Nik Buhl]

This is a challenging hobby on MANY levels, but a rewarding one! It may not be so easy, but try and get the family involved a little. I use it as a teaching tool for my little girl. Keep your head up. [emoji106]

Also I have had euphyllia that "poop". Though I feel that it is do to over feeding.

 

[Salty1962]

There is one constant about this hobby, change! I've been in it for over 20 yrs. now and it never gets easier. We tend to spend too much time in making our tanks look like what "We Think" it should be instead of what it can be. I'm the most guilty of this! The best recommendation I can give you is "Take Bay Steps"! It's never one thing that's causing our hearts to be heavy and wallets to be light. If we go slow and eliminate one thing at a time we wake up one day and look at our tanks with pleasure instead of dread. Even when things are going well, there are going to be issues with our tanks, I'm having a fit with a frag tank right now myself. Don't try to do too much too quick and educate yourself as you go along and you will come out on the other side of it with a system that you and your family will enjoy. Hang in there, it does get better, it just takes time!

 

[Paul B]

This was my tank many years ago during a particularly bad hair algae cycle. I could have opened up a produce stand. Don't give up.