Reefing Fears: What are you afraid of most when it comes to reefing?

[blaxsun]

Sharks...



In all seriousness, the only thing that I worry about is which coral my fish and invertebrates have decided to frag while I was asleep.

 

[TL1]

I’ve overflowed my tanks several times over the years from stupid mistakes that I’ve made but never more than a few gallons. After seeing what 5 gallons of water looks like in my living room floor, I can’t image 60 gallons or more.

Yeah it was not a fun weekend. I think it was because the tank was not level.

I took extra precautions with my S-1000. I bought a machinist level. My tank is level to 1/4 in per 1000 ft.

 

[Dburr1014]

my biggest fear is leaks, or more specifically a crack. i can manage a leak by getting a new tank quick, but a crack...that will be a crazy immediate attention situation

I had a tank that had a crack in the bottom right front panel. It was less than a year old. I watched it grow from a 1/4" to about an inch over a few months. Then I said that's it, back to the LFS and they replaced the tank for free. Thank God no disaster.

 

[Chee-tomorpha]

Always fear power and equipment failures. And recently the fear of the floor giving out with the larger tank.

 

[Alexraptor]

My biggest worry is a batch batch of salt. My second biggest worry is dropping the ball on dosing and nutrient management.

 

[EricR]

Prolonged power outage while I’m away bothers me.
I have a generator (everyone should) but I have to be there to set it up.

Newbie(ish) -- definitely power outage while away on vacation.

No battery backup but,,, uhhh,,, been thinking about doing somethin' about somethin'

 

[Djordan719]

Well dang, I voted “Very minimal, if any”. Then I decided to read through the replies lol. I have redundancies for almost everything, but the worry of the tank itself failing is creeping up on me now. I don’t have a good contingency plan for the tank cracking/splitting.

I’m going to do my first build thread on here soon. I’m having a 120”x36”x24” being made right now. I really appreciate all the replies as it better informs me for different ways I should be prepared to take care of my new tank and it’s inhabitants. Thank you!

 

[Salty87]

This may be irrational but I still can't fathom how much we trust silicone to hold in hundreds of gallons of water and expect it to maintain that integrity over more than five years. In my mind these things should have an expiry date just like everything else. That's the one thing I worry about most. I might be over thinking though.

 

[shakacuz]

biggest fear are the seams breaking or glass breaking. everything else is easy to manage.

 

[Karen00]

Aside from things like a tank bursting its seams (which is rare I know) my two biggest concerns that tend to always be with me regarding any of my tanks are prolonged power outages and the loss of livestock even if it's from old age but worse if it's from disease or power outages.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

Well crap... now I'll start incorporating everyone else's worries into my anxiety attacks!

Yes, this. Me too.

 

[mijan]

No worries here.

Almost 30 years ago my wife accidentally shattered my 36 gallon hexagon FW tank. Fish and water everywhere. So no worries about a leaking tank. Been there done that.

As for equipment failure and losing the money I have in corals. Have you seen the stock market this year? Lost more money there then all my corals combined.

Nope, I sleep well at night.

 

[topjimmy]

It's not as fun to talk about or to consider bad things that can happen to our tanks or because of our tanks. But still if we can talk about them, maybe we can learn to be less afraid of them. Most fears or worse case scenarios will never come true. Maybe it will help to hear from others who have been in the hobby longer that your worst nightmare isn't probably going to happen. Let's talk about it!

What are some of your biggest concerns or fears when it comes to owning a saltwater reef aquarium?

What about you old salts, what have you been afraid of that has never happened?

Biggest concern is that my wife will figure out how much I spend on it.

 

[Patientman]

"Concerns" is a more appropriate word for me. I think, plan, re-think, theorize, imagine worse case scenario THEN work on minimizing any possible mishaps! I respect water & electricity. I also try to build in safeguards that will protect those living under the same roof as me as well as the living creatures residing in my tank. "Stuff happens!" … But you can't (shouldn't) worry about things that may … or may not happen... just plan the best you can to (possibly) avoid them and how you might need to react IF and unplanned event happens. With all that said … I DO worry about my tank while on vacation … even though I am very fortunate to have a very competent tank sitter … or maybe that's just separation anxiety?!?

 

[rtparty]

House fire first and foremost. Flood is second

 

[MichaelReefer]

I think my biggest fear has always been walking out and having 150 gallons on the floor of my living room.

 

[Casket_Case]

Things dying. Even ten dollar fish.

 

[Pale Morning1]

I don’t worry too much with any of my tanks. If something happens it would have to be something out of my control (power outage etc). I just think there is too many other things to worry about in life, kids job, to sweat a hobby. I enjoy all the maintenance that goes with this hobby and as long as I keep up with that I realize I can’t control every aspect. Tank burst would suck and I would feel horrible for the livestock but insurance will cover the damage.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Fire & leaks. Been through a tank/house fire some years ago.

Currently dealing with this... The past few weeks were a bit sleepless! Tank is drained now.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Mine already happened, but I hope it never happens again, or to you. I cut my hand underwater on some liverock. I got a bad blood infection that entered my lymph node system. I had a lot of swelling and went to the hospital. After two days on intravenous antibiotics, the infection subsided enough for me to go home. They told me had I not come in, and the infection entered my heart, I'd be dead. So I highly recommend proper gloves, etc! I still have some complications, two years later, but have a higher awareness of my hand placement when working on the tanks.