OCD and Reef Hobby

[marcosnano]

Hello Reefers,

I realized I have OCD regarding my reef tank where everything has to be perfect inside, every little dot has to be cleaned, every mark, smallest algae from glass, smallest dirt etc, which is impossible, and it's not good for the system to have my hand inside all the time.

I realize sometimes I can not enjoy my tank because some of the things inside are driving me crazy. I was planning to upgrade to bigger tank but I'm not sure will my OCD allow it, with bigger tank there is more stuff that I will notice.

How do you deal with this?

 

[Timfish]

I've worked with clients that have CDO (CDO is similar to OCD but the letters are in the right order ;) ) and it seems very masochistic for individuals with that disorder to keep reef systems. I'd suggest either question your definition of a perfect tank shifting your focus not on standards for a clean house but on what's best for a healthy reef ecosystem or walk away.

 

[KrisReef]

The OCD is not an enemy of reefing but it does complicate matters significantly. Get a good pair of long gloves and ask god to help you to except the tank as it grows with algae and slime filters that war against your ability to enjoy your reef. The only thing to fear is the fact that the tank will never be clean enough for your liking. It cannot change but I believe that you can, and will.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

There’s always pot ha. Cbt might help, it’s a struggle. It’s a bit easier when you mix in adhd as you’re time limited and bounce back and forth, obsessing over something different every week.. sometimes daily… so your hands are only in the tank for a week and then off to another project like painting the house in the middle of the night, facing all the labels in your pantry and fridge, organizing your clothes by color so that your closet looks like a rainbow, moving all the furniture so you can properly vacuum and mop in the middle of the night and then notice a flaw in the grout on the tile floor and before you know it you’re staring at a bare concrete floor and a pile of broken up floor tile and when you go get the wheelbarrow to load up the tile you notice it has a flat tire and an hour later you’ve cleaned and greased the wheel bearings, tightened all the hardware, sanded and painted the handles and when you finish and go out the paint back you notice your garage shelf doesn’t look right so now it’s Sunday and your living room is torn up, the garage is in pieces, the dogs are thinking you’re nuts but you have a great looking wheelbarrow!

 

[fodsod]

While not OCD, it is tough for me to look at my tanks and not immediately start searching for something that needs to be addressed. I find myself looking at the inhabitants to judge if everything looks healthy and happy verses just enjoying the tank itself quite a bit.

Same goes for testing. I can go a day or two and not test certain parameters but I find that I'm very bothered by the thought of failing my tank's inhabitants by missing something that could have been easily corrected and all hell breaks loose.

My remedy for that is to throw myself into other projects to create mental space for myself to relax on the tanks assessment so I can come back to them and enjoy this awesome hobby.

 

[Matt L]

Most of the ocd people I know have about 10-20 tanks to keep them fixing on different things all day. But to help with the hands in tank thing, use these...

Coral Gripper 83 (32.5 Inch)

Rearrange your tank while keeping your arms dry! Anti-corrosion construction Made from surgical grade 316L stainless steel Powerful grip lifts up to 3 lbs of rock Anti-slip silicone grip heads Maxcpect Coral Grippers are the perfect tool for rearranging live rocks or corals in your tank...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Enderg60]

It gets rough with big projects.....But once its done...ooooooohhhh yeah.

I'm fighting 1/4" tubes now.

Also auto testers and fleece rollers are a god sent.

 

[j.falk]

I have OCD and I used to obsess constantly over my tank. I was always tinkering with it, adjusting this, changing that, trying this new thing, trying this new way of doing that, switching this equipment for something newer/better...and I kept having problem after problem after problem. When I eventually came to the epiphany that the ocean is not "spotless" or "clean", it really helped me to relax so that I could enjoy the aquarium more instead of always fussing over every minute detail. That being said, I still fuss over it to a certain degree...there are certain things that I like to do to keep it looking a certain way...but I've learned to chill out on a lot of the little things that, in the end, don't really matter that much.

 

[marcosnano]

not only I want everything perfect inside tank, I want everything to be perfect outside and around tank too, that means not many pipes and cables visible.

I have an glass intake and outflow pipes, those can be pain in the butt and I don't recommend, they need to be clean a lot.

one of the reason why I'm hesitant about bigger tank upgrade is how I'm gonna handle a lot of "imperfections".

 

[j.falk]

The one thing I absolutely will not tolerate is scratched glass...if the tank gets scratched I'll buy a brand new tank. I'm super anal about that. :grinning-face-with-sweat:

 

[j.falk]

Photos like these changed my entire view of how a natural setting should look in a reef tank and I've had a lot more success because of that change in perception:

 

[GarrettT]

Repositioning rocks and corals is where I find my OCD gets tested.

 

[marcosnano]

Repositioning rocks and corals is where I find my OCD gets tested.

Once I had a perfect rock formation in my tank. I had to move them around so I can remove dead hermit, and I never managed to return rocks in same way. I was losing my mind for hours trying to place them back as they were, I never managed it.

 

[fish farmer]

It gets rough with big projects.....But once its done...ooooooohhhh yeah.

I'm fighting 1/4" tubes now.

Also auto testers and fleece rollers are a god sent.

Looks great....but what about those HOLES in the ceiling....gotta sheetrock over those HOLES. That would bug me and I'm not OCD.

 

[Enderg60]

Looks great....but what about those HOLES in the ceiling....gotta sheetrock over those HOLES. That would bug me and I'm not OCD.

It is bugging me! Drywall guy comes after the electrician is done making holes.

 

[Enderg60]

Repositioning rocks and corals is where I find my OCD gets tested.

Wise reefers know, if you just want to move that one rock a lil bit that way, youre gonna spend an afternoon redoing half the tank.

 

[woodyarmadillo]

It gets rough with big projects.....But once its done...ooooooohhhh yeah.

I'm fighting 1/4" tubes now.

Also auto testers and fleece rollers are a god sent.

Wow! All that for a 15 gallon display!

That safe is for your par meter isn’t it?

 

[twelvefive]

There’s always pot ha. Cbt might help, it’s a struggle. It’s a bit easier when you mix in adhd as you’re time limited and bounce back and forth, obsessing over something different every week.. sometimes daily… so your hands are only in the tank for a week and then off to another project like painting the house in the middle of the night, facing all the labels in your pantry and fridge, organizing your clothes by color so that your closet looks like a rainbow, moving all the furniture so you can properly vacuum and mop in the middle of the night and then notice a flaw in the grout on the tile floor and before you know it you’re staring at a bare concrete floor and a pile of broken up floor tile and when you go get the wheelbarrow to load up the tile you notice it has a flat tire and an hour later you’ve cleaned and greased the wheel bearings, tightened all the hardware, sanded and painted the handles and when you finish and go out the paint back you notice your garage shelf doesn’t look right so now it’s Sunday and your living room is torn up, the garage is in pieces, the dogs are thinking you’re nuts but you have a great looking wheelbarrow!

I feel attacked

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I feel attacked

I didn’t mean to single you out, ha Welcome to the club!

 

[taricha]

Photos like these changed my entire view of how a natural setting should look in a reef tank and I've had a lot more success because of that change in perception:

Yeah - look at photos of real reefs - not imagined places and doctored images. Rocks aren't supposed to be white. Algae is everywhere. (I have no idea if this helps at all with OCD in a tank setting.)