Stupid Things reefers DO at least once! PLEASE Read!

[AquaJunkie]

I didn't glue a coral to a rock once, thought it would be ok where I put it.

Ended up floating around the tank and got chopped up in my powerhead.

Also flooded my kitchen leaving rodi running all night.

 

[CaliO]

Been lucky on the floods, but I leave my ro/di on all the time. But I knew that would happen so it is just going down the drain, and yes I pay for water both incoming and outgoing...

But the best is moving lights and dropping them in the tank (cheap lights cheap legs x 3), reaching in before unplugging and that little tingle that lets u know they're live... Or playing in sump and running your wet hand across the power strip.


Hardest mistake this year... Moved in to a new house and set up the tank (level) then jacked the floor to level and braced. So jacked the floor which made the tank un-level.. Ended up using a 3.5ton car jack with a bent metal welded to it to lift and drop the tank back down, totally full and stocked.

 

[Eienna]

Oi....

As a first-time owner of a large tank with a sump (which turned out to be a lemon, more on that later.)
1. Left the return too far below the waterline and shut off the return pump. Darned thing backsiphoned, flooding the sump and three or four rooms with copious amounts of saltwater before I figured out what was wrong. Biggest cleanup I've ever had and both my mom and I have fibromyalgia. ..it was just the two of us cleaning up >.<

2. Got burned on a $400 used tank because I failed to check the middle brace up top and didn't know what causes crazing. At least I got my money's worth of rock and sand out of it...which leached a ton of phosphate even after soaking and rinsing in clean water...

3. When the bad tank was filled, it bowed badly, but I didn't want to waste all that saltwater, so (without testing it...bad move) I used it for a couple weeks to change the water in my 20g. Ended up with the worst greenwater bloom you've ever seen in your life.

4. Let me just put it this way - I wish someone had warned me about the incredible leaps an anthias can take before I brought one home. Both leapt at least a good two feet out of the bottom of their acclimation bucket and onto the floor. I was sick with worry for a good week after that. What? My dream fish had just hit the floor - hard.

5. I've overflowed my RO jugs more times that I can count...and this is me awake. >.<

6. Failed to include a thermometer in my quarantine, accidentally killing a gramma when the heater accidentally got set to 66F for two or three days.

7. Used lanthanum chloride without researching it (or dosing properly, as I learned later)...not sure if it killed my fish or the concurrent dosing of two denitrifying bacteria supplements, or both, but I woke up to all three of my beautiful babies dead.

8. Poorly packing corals for a move, resulting in the death of two of them.

9. Getting into this hobby in the first place. XD Mom calls me a fishy crackhead. I'm obsessed.

10. Putting three electric blue damsels in the same 29g tank.

11. Left my frozen fish food out at least three times...I hate doing that because it lowers the quality of the food and, on the case of one as poorly packaged as nutramar ova can be, makes quite a mess. Quick tip - if you buy the ova, put it in a plastic ziploc.

 

[specvjeff]

My biggest mistake made at home was forgetting to plug a heater back in. Woke up the next morning and the tank was at 69. Didn't lose a thing though. Amazing how resilient our little critters are :) I also drained about 75 gallons of water onto my parents bathroom floor when I was younger. It went through the floor and all over their garage door opener. In my defense, my brother admitted to accidentally knocking the hose out without realizing their was water coming out of it.

I have made some mistakes while working at a fish store too. I get distracted by customers fairly easily I guess, and that's not a good thing when you are filling a 200 gallon container with RO water to make saltwater. Especially when the RO container holds 300 gallons and they are elevated about 12 feet above the floor. Waterfall! Done that a few times. Fortunately water was included in the lease.

No matter how long we've been in this hobby or if you are an industry professional or not, you are going to make mistakes!

 

[tyler1503]

I forgot to close the lid on my tank once. My snowflake thought it would be a great idea to go carpet surfing!
Luckily I saw him jump out and managed to save him.
It was a big shock coz I knew I couldn't just grab him because of his big pointy teeth and I didn't wana damage his slime coat and I didn't have a clean net nearby. I had to race to the kitchen, find an unopened pack of washing up gloves, sanitise them with a very quick vinegar splash, rinse in RO, rinse in tank water and get grabbing!
I know they're known for being slimy, but I never expected them to be so slippery it was like holding water! The only good grip involved was his teeth and my hand. Ouch!!
I was really concerned coz he fell onto a patch of unmixed salt I had spilt and hadn't cleaned up yet, then onto the carpeted floor. He had a pretty nasty salt burn, but it cleared up quicker than my bite mark did!

 

[Lem]

I emptied my sump while doing a water change, but forgot to turn the heater off. Thankfully I could smell it cooking, before any damage was done.

I did this one today. Blew up my heater and almost electrocuted myself. Hand still tingly.

I have also flooded my kitchen and downstairs bathroom many times. And spilled a five gallon bucket on the carpet. Carpet on whole first floor needs to be replaced. Don't know how I'm going to move the tank to get that done though.

 

[specvjeff]

Oh I forgot one. I had a 10 gallon tank on a shelf I had reinforced with metal L brackets. One night it decided to jump off the shelf and onto the floor in the middle of the night.

 

[coloradoreef]

I bought a sweet new red planet frag, and floated it in the sump to start acclimating. I found it still in the bag in the sump when I was cleaning the skimmer 3 days later.

Or remembering you left the RO on right as you park at work.

 

[Eienna]

I forgot one XD I took the glass heater out of my quarantine while I changed a few things, but I accidentally left it plugged in. Realizing it was getting too hot and afraid I might set something on fire, I rather idiotically stuck it in the tank. I pulled back when the water sizzled, but it was too late. I then watched the heater slowly crack and fall apart.

Thankfully, there were no fish in the tank.

 

[Small triggers]

Bought a fish on impulse....
Gulf toad fish...didn't realize how wide they can open their mouths...the foxface found out about a week later...
Foxface I had for 5 years and was so big got stuck in the toadfish's mouth with spines out so the foxface died half swallowed..and the toadfish died of the poison or ?suffocation? Of the foxface being stuck halfway...
Either way..was really hard to pull the put of the tank..
:(

 

[stewie]

Putting fish in QT without checking the PH. Killed everything in the QT. They would have had a better chance of survival in the Display Tank.

 

[sexycorals]

I forgot to close the lid on my tank once. My snowflake thought it would be a great idea to go carpet surfing!
Luckily I saw him jump out and managed to save him.
It was a big shock coz I knew I couldn't just grab him because of his big pointy teeth and I didn't wana damage his slime coat and I didn't have a clean net nearby. I had to race to the kitchen, find an unopened pack of washing up gloves, sanitise them with a very quick vinegar splash, rinse in RO, rinse in tank water and get grabbing!
I know they're known for being slimy, but I never expected them to be so slippery it was like holding water! The only good grip involved was his teeth and my hand. Ouch!!
I was really concerned coz he fell onto a patch of unmixed salt I had spilt and hadn't cleaned up yet, then onto the carpeted floor. He had a pretty nasty salt burn, but it cleared up quicker than my bite mark did!

Sounds like someone I woukd like to got o war with.. quick thinker non panic personality... I had a buddy that would be doing the same as you but the whole time would be screaming like a little girl. Ahhhhhh steve.. my buddy that wouldnt survive 2 hours on" Naked and Afraid "

 

[Bucknutz]

I've done the same thing leaving a frag outside the tank after gluing it only to find it the next day.

 

[tyler1503]

Sounds like someone I woukd like to got o war with.. quick thinker non panic personality... I had a buddy that would be doing the same as you but the whole time would be screaming like a little girl. Ahhhhhh steve.. my buddy that wouldnt survive 2 hours on" Naked and Afraid "

Calm cool and collective :P
You can join me in my war on GHA if you like!
Your friend acts like me? He sounds like a top notch guy! Haha.

Another stupid thing all reefers do atleast once. Or in my case several times. Listen to the LFS!
I was only in the hobby for about 8 weeks or so. My tank had cycled and been left empty for a month and I was finally ready for my first ever marine fish! I fell in love with a longhorn cowfish. The LFS tried telling me he would not only survive, but thrive in my tiny little 5 gallon.
I ended up walking out (luckily without the cowfish) but with what I was told were "assorted zoas".
$5 for 10 polyps? I'll take that!
A bit of further research revealed I had just unleashed mojanos into my tank. Needless to say I've never bought anything from there again!

 

[Eienna]

I just trapped my poor gramma inside a rock....

I had to catch my two anthias to treat a gill issue, and catching them required ripping apart the aquascape. When I redid it I forgot to check the rocks - the royal gramma literally hides INSIDE the rock - and accidentally trapped her at the bottom of the pile, with the sandbed blocking her way out. I was afraid I might have trapped her somewhere when I didn't see her this morning...mom helped me find her and, thankfully, she appears no worse for the wear. I have to redo the scape again, but at least she's safe.

 

[reefish123]

Got too many incredibly none have been posted....



Ill keep them to my self. :crossedlips:

 

[glb]

Calm cool and collective :P
You can join me in my war on GHA if you like!
Your friend acts like me? He sounds like a top notch guy! Haha.

Another stupid thing all reefers do atleast once. Or in my case several times. Listen to the LFS!
I was only in the hobby for about 8 weeks or so. My tank had cycled and been left empty for a month and I was finally ready for my first ever marine fish! I fell in love with a longhorn cowfish. The LFS tried telling me he would not only survive, but thrive in my tiny little 5 gallon.
I ended up walking out (luckily without the cowfish) but with what I was told were "assorted zoas".
$5 for 10 polyps? I'll take that!
A bit of further research revealed I had just unleashed mojanos into my tank. Needless to say I've never bought anything from there again!

Boy is this one the truth.

 

[Tradewinds]

...Another stupid thing all reefers do atleast once. Or in my case several times. Listen to the LFS!
I was only in the hobby for about 8 weeks or so. My tank had cycled and been left empty for a month and I was finally ready for my first ever marine fish! I fell in love with a longhorn cowfish. The LFS tried telling me he would not only survive, but thrive in my tiny little 5 gallon.
I ended up walking out (luckily without the cowfish) but with what I was told were "assorted zoas".
$5 for 10 polyps? I'll take that!
A bit of further research revealed I had just unleashed mojanos into my tank. Needless to say I've never bought anything from there again!

+1000

 

[jokerman826]

When i first started with saltwater, I replaced evaporated water with saltwater. Not realizing that only the water evaporated and not the salt. Very dumb move. The SG got up to 1.035 before i realized. Luckily this was over a few month period and it was a FOWLR and i did not loose anything.

 

[danka-cedium]

Long time ago when you needed a dremel to frag. I decided to frag a chalice. Problem was i left my mouth open.