New and struggling to provide for my babies...

[Sean Clark]

Welcome. I love that shrimp photo.

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Welcome to R2R. We sure are glad to have you.

 

[MaraRavenous]

Wow everyone I appreciate all the positive energy and enthusiastic greetings Definitely very nice to receive so much positive energy. I'll run a fresh set of tank tests, but I don't have all the tests I could use (lacking tests for magnesium and trace elements). I'll make a thread over in the other categories mentioned after I run some tests and post a link here.

Right now though I'm unpacking my new RODI system, super excited!! :O

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hello everyone~! Many of my friends in the hobby have told me I should join here, and I often wish I did sooner. But here I finally am!

After inheriting my friend's 15 gallon nano when he moved, I became engrossed in the hobby. I have a fairly small collection of coral, but I adore them, though I won't pretend I'm having amazing success with them. A lot of parameters chasing, recovery work from the state the tank was in when I got it, and struggle with lighting has left me frazzled. Some of my coral are happy, others are in a constant state of difficulty!

I love my pets and want to do better for my coral... I do weekly water changes, test the water, and have sunk so much money into this hobby. I just want them to be happy

I especially love zoas and see everyone else with beautiful zoas with lots of heads, but mine are often half open or otherwise unhappy. The struggle is real x.x

I have a wall frogspawn that mostly does well, a highlighter goni that was struggling but is slowly recovering it seems, a small hammer that is slowly receding further and further, a bunch of zoas that have struggled for a while, two large rocks of palys that are pretty happy, an acan that is generally happy and has feeders extended, a GSP and xenia that do well but don't grow as fast as people often say theirs do, and a tiny baby fungia. I also have a healthy pair of clowns, a cleaner shrimp, and lots of other critters (hitchhikers and others).

I've stabilized my water changing schedule, cleaned up and reduced my feeding, dealt with my nitrate and phosphate issues, but still have struggle... I'm just not sure what to do next really.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Hang in there! Success comes from stability, and it sounds like you've worked hard to get it under control, and likely now the 'magic' you are seeking may just be time (though you don't list your parameters, but they may be fine).

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Jeffcb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[MaraRavenous]

Definitely a good idea, and I think I will be making my build thread soon. I'm going to wait until Monday as that's my WC day and when I do my weekly testing, so I can do all my maintenance stuff at once and get some photos while I'm at it Hanna checker reagents can be a bit expensive so I try not to waste them x3

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[rmorris_14]

Welcome!!!

 

[MaraRavenous]

I finally made my build thread! ^^

Build Thread - Mara's Tiny Tank!

Hi everyone! I meant to get around to this sooner, but life has kept me busy, so now I'm finally making my build thread! I inherited this little 15-gallon (18 including the rear sump) from a friend on Halloween of last year, just under half a year ago. It was dirty with algae-infested rocks and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Adolfo]