Summit Reefing: What's your biggest hurdle & what does the pinnacle look like?

[NashobaTek]

Have a big forced move coming up due to the sister-in-law not making house payments and I am concerned about the pinnatus batfish making the move safely, she also tries to poison the tank with chemicals and spraying stuff.
I have been trying to get rid of brown algae which I think is from the heavy feeding I do.
My summit is a gorgeous stable aquarium with the pinnatus batfish as the center show fish.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

1) My tank is a monument to a lack of knowledge. I could write for a long time on my mistakes and challenges. From pests to poor equipment choices, it's been a source of frustration.

2) I'm starting a new tank but it has me way more paranoid than I imagined (the list is big enough that I really need to start a build thread so I can think out loud a bit). The biggest concern is, I have inhabitants in the old tank that in spite of everything, seem healthy and happy so I'm very worried about the process of bringing them all to the new tank. Not only making sure that I cause them as little stress as possible (I know I'll have to tear things apart to catch some of them), but also being sure that the new tank is truly safe and healthy for them. I'd hate to lose any of them because I missed something. I can test for ammonia and nitrites and the usual parameters, but is there something else I can't see that might hurt them? How can I be sure without risking one of their lives?

3) The pinnacle of reef keeping would be the day that I can finally sit back and just enjoy my tank for a moment! To not look and see regrets and problems or potential problems everywhere.

 

[Jax15]

In my 3-4 years of reefing, I don't think I've ever been without a 'summit.' There's always a challenge I'm working on, it's just the hobby! This year it's been acros. I'm determined to have a stunning mix tank with lots of beautiful acropora... but it's been a challenge indeed. Getting closer to the top though!

 

[Charles Zinn]

1. Algae issues. My first go around with hair algae was a nightmare. I eventually learned to let it run it’s course with my second tank. My new and improved patience conquered it.

2. Alkalinity. My first issue was understanding it. I’m still in that beginner phase where I learn more about it all the time. Secondly, It seems like my tank consumes more and more each week as things grow and I have to constantly monitor it. Otherwise, I’ll get a big drop if I let things go for more than a couple days. I don’t have a trident or a dosing pump. Yet. So everything is done by hand.

3. Satisfaction with my system and the ability to be able to help others with problems. Part of the reason I never post is because I lack the expertise to provide input.

When I got a trident for my planet 310 gal system. That with a dosing system made things more stable once you get it dialed in. Think in terms of small increments. Still need to validate with bi-weekly manual checking til everything falls in line. You need a good clean up crew to work on algae. Shrimp snails crabs fish with utility and go slow with fish and corals til tank hits some maturity.

 

[reefwreck]

Want redo aquascape need to get rid of mushrooms

 

[Mr_Knightley]

The steep slope I'm dealing with right now is contamination and nutrient bottoming.
My aquariums are right next to the room where my brother carves and stains wood, and the fumes and dust from that get in to the tanks. Another huge issue I'm dealing with is getting my NO3 & PO4 back up to good levels, my NO3 is around 10 ppm )too low for me) and mu PO4 has been undetectable for the last month, causing heavy losses regarding my coral. I've lost at least 2 of my prized acro colonies, an ORA miami orchid and a no-name vibrant gold millie. It really sucks. My problem is, my filtration is too strong for the amount of fish I have (7), bottoming my nutrients faster than I'd like. My plan to reach the end is to add more fish. That's it. More fish = more bioload on the biological filter, which in turn means stronger populations of filter bacteria, which again equates to a more stable tank for me.
My end goal and vision as of now is an acro dominant scape with LTAs around every rock. I've already special ordered Pink skunk clowns and more LTAs from my reef shop, now comes the waiting game to see if I can pull through.

 

[Bpb]

Largest challenge im presently facing is finding a way to salvage many of my larger sps colonies that are somewhat “nicer”. We are building a house which will be ready in about 6 months and I am having trouble fragging off and selling certain acros quick enough. I don’t trust bringing mature colonies to a brand new tank for at least a few months. I have a buddy who has agreed to hold some for me but I can’t really dump full colonies on him as they won’t have anywhere to really go and would rather not take his valuable rock space up. I can only save what I can fit on a couple frag racks. So I have a lot of acros I need to find something to do with.

 

[Billldg]

I picked other. I am currently not dealing with any issues, but, I did recently and now I am in recovery mode. My tank was finally hitting the mature stage, and anyone who has hit the mature stage will understand what I am saying, corals were growing like crazy and starting to color up nicely. I would drop drop a frag in my tank and within a few weeks it would be growing. So like most perfectionist, I wanted more, I wanted the most growth and color, that was my mistake. I installed a Sulfer Denitrator and started it up as per the instructions. I tested it, as per the instructions, did everything as per the instructions. 3 weeks later I tested it and found that I was dumping nitrites straight into my tank. Well this caused a N03 spike, along with whatever else, and I lost several LPS and SPS corals. I also burnt the tips off of a few more SPS colonies. Now, after taking the Sulfer Denitraitor offline and doing several big water changes I am on the mend. My biggest regret was that I picked the denitrator over a more natural approach of a Algae Scrubber.

 

[Conrad Noto]

“Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” -Greg Child

Sometimes we make mountains out of mole hills and sometimes the mountain is just really big! When it comes to keeping saltwater reef aquariums what may be a mole hill to someone may be a mountain to someone else! Today I thought we could talk about those BIG HURDLES we have faced or are facing and maybe find a way to summit some of these mountains! Like a mountain climber we as reef aquarium hobbyists have a goal, a summit if you will, that we feel would be the pinnacle of our reef keeping journey. Those mountain tops may vary from person to person but each is a goal nonetheless. Like climbing a mountain there is generally not one straight path to the top but a journey of paths that must be traversed in order to reach the intended summit. From one point to the next there may be a new set of challenges. And in a community like this we have the advantage of knowing that someone has climbed this same route before you.

What makes reaching the summit of mountain so satisfying is knowing that you conquered the mountain and you reached your goal. The best view comes after the hardest climb!

1. What has been your biggest hurdle when it comes to reefing? How did you overcome it?

2. What big issue (mountain) are you facing right now and maybe we can help?

3. What does the pinnacle of reef keeping look like to you? Serious question.

Yes, my Koran took a bite out of my new Haddoni and it hasn't opened for few days. My clowns haven't gone near it. On the upside color good, foot still down and mouth not gapping.

 

[Drew Halliday]

I was having corals bleaching and receding so I pulled the affected ones and put them in the quarantine tank. Weird thing was it was only some of the corals, 6 kinds of montipora, 2 Birdsnest, And hydnophora were seriously not happy. But 14 acros were doing great.

I did have a last dragon RTN because it was in the shade and I was trying to lower lights to help the other guys, and we had a heat wave and the power went out for 9 hours.

The problem was I had a couple of expired test kits without knowing it and I was dosing too much. Redsea mag and cal. I got a ICP test done and my Calcium was at 630 mg/l and my Magnesium was at 1770 mg/l! So much for the thought that high magnesium slows hair algae!

 

[LRT]

I've had several hurdles. Faulty test kits and Bad Ro water I didnt catch for the longest time.
Still cant quite wrap my head around the chemistry of things.
Dealing with nuisance algae that's driving me crazy.
Hope to at least understand the basics of reef chemistry one day and get rid of this red nuisance algae.

Oh yeah patience is probably my biggest hurdle just cant seem to let things be.

 

[nukemdanno]

1. What has been your biggest hurdle when it comes to reefing? How did you overcome it?
Putting it all together and balancing everything as a whole. Remembering not to chase one aspect down but you have to maintain them all. No matter how many hours you work you still have an obligation to your tank to make sure things don't get out of whack. Overcoming it? My current chef gig came with 4 kitchens and a ton of travel. My family has been a huge help with keeping an eye on the tank while I am gone. I am super grateful to them for this.

2. What big issue (mountain) are you facing right now and maybe we can help?
Due to various reasons I took a 7 year break from the hobby. After jumping back in I found out there have been leaps and bounds with equipment tech (I run my kessils on my phone!! OMG) This forum is helping me out trying to figure out where my needs are going.

3. What does the pinnacle of reef keeping look like to you? Serious question.
Obviously having a beautiful display but with my previous reef every Halloween the kids like to come in and look at the tank. Then I'd be out front and from time to time you'd hear a kid say "Oh Yeah this is the house with that awesome fish tank!" Then lastly being able to regularly frag my tank to help pay for the addiction

 

[dhboiler]

1. My biggest issue hurdle was starting too fast with insufficient equipment and knowledge. I wouldn't really say I overcame this as much as I had a massive tank crash which made me choose to start fresh with better gear.
2. I can't seem to keep duncans alive anymore. At one time I had a colony that had gone from 3 heads to 10 and was the coral everyone noticed in the tank. Then one day it closed up, and never recovered. I have tried a frag or two along the way with similar results. Now after a tank upgrade and no coral losses in over a year, I got brave enough to try a colony, thinking maybe the frags were just too stressed from the cutting and being smaller, but nope. This one is coming apart, too. I can't figure it out. Other corals are doing fine.
Oh and I have vermetid snails. That's been a battle for quite some time now. Should have never gotten rid of the spotted puffer.
3. I really think my pinnacle tank would be a large Caribbean biotope. Something large enough to have a small school of Sgt Majors, a blue tang, and some of the mid size wrasses. I think it would be a nice reminder of my vacations.

 

[fishybizzness]

1. I can think of several big hurdles, living in Puerto Rico the biggest are hurricanes and the related power outages! Recently solved with my solar panels and a power generator. Another hurdle was a mayor water leek while traveling far from home. I am lucky to have good friends!
2. Right now my big issue is that with 64 years its hard to climb! Family members are not interested in learning even to feed my tanks, four of them.
3. After 30 years in reef keeping I am starting to go down from the summit!

If I lived closer I would definitely offer to help! I'm certain, by looking at your tank, that you have a wealth of knowledge and I would definitely learn alot from you! Keep up the good work!

 

[MightyMO]

My current issue is water quality...

 

[X-37B]

Biggest hurdle.
Taking a year to piece together my tank, stand, and all equipment needed to do it right from the start.

Issues.
None yet!
Many are expecting issues as I run a no scheduled water change system.

Pinnacle.
Having my tank completely grown out in another 2 years max as I plan my 3-4x bigger upgrade lol.

 

[725196]

I feel bad posting this my biggest issue/concern is getting my Apex installed. I ordered a custom made cabinet because my wife won’t let me put in where it can be seen. I have to wait another 5-7 weeks for it to be complete. Other than that things are good as far as I can tell.

 

[Breadman03]

My “until we move” tank started leaking, a tank search led to a 210 and 180. This meant a new location for the tank and a decision to replace the deteriorating carpet. Knowing there was hardwood underneath, I knew what was coming. I’m partially done restoring the floor and still have to begin prepping for electrical and plumbing. Once that is all done, I can actually start working on a stand.

 

[BadAsh]

Frustrations... GHA... and my attempts at eradication have caused low alk and loss of color... oh and I don't QT and I have monti nudibranch... so yea looks like I'm still in that learning phase. Cheers

 

[Quietman]

Trying to grow corals and keep fish alive after a year! First few months went great...then diatoms (lost a couple zoas and some SPS), then algae (lost all SPS), then and currently dinos (last 4 months). First dino outbreak took all my corals but 3 zoas (literally had 3 heads left of different species) and it took my Wrasse and Cardinal. Had dinos gone for several weeks, felt safe to restock and Boom! popped up again a couple weeks ago. Naturally just after the big purchase restocking corals and two fish.But still in the fight...UV unit is on its way and i know more now than before so...if I can beat them back without losing any livestock...it's a victory.