Things that you know now, but wish you knew before you started your reef tank?

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

1. Better to over than under feed. ULNS doesn't work.
2. Use T/Marin Part C w/2 part dosing. Keep your Salt balanced.
3. Only trust T/Marin Glass Hydrometers

Sorry for sounding like a T/Marin fanboy but these 2 products helped me. I don't use their Turkish Salt BTW...

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Don’t believe the hype. Had a very successful small mixed reef for over 10 years across three moves. Three years ago I bought a new house and started a new tank following all the hype thrown out there by a certain video series with the same setup xxl750. Well big mistake, there was a lot they didn’t tell you, until a year later with some “mistakes”. Bare bottom + Marco rock = an extremely rough start. I would never do that again, nor recommend it to anyone….unless I really didn’t like them, then maybe.

 

[Max93]

Do not buy a single fish from a fish store, unless guaranteed quarantined. If you do, quarantine the fish. Inverts and corals also need a 76 day follow period.

 

[MartinM]

- Not to toot my own horn, but if I had known this before I would probably have saved a massive and gorgeous orange Haddoni carpet anemone, and a small green one https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/p...reatment-of-s-haddoni-carpet-anemones.888426/

- Peroxide / UV treatment of ich (Humblefish protocol)

Thankfully I started the hobby nearly 30 years ago and definitely know not to use dry rock, but if you’ve recently started, use 100% live rock, not dry rock!

 

[reefah]

Why all the hate on dry rock? I’m starting a new tank (Reefer 350 G2) and have some macrorock sitting in a box in my garage. Is it just a timing thing? I’m prepared to be patient with my new tank to avoid some of the mistakes I made with my first so that doesn’t bother me.

dang im jelly you getting the g2.. REEFMAT READY UGH

 

[moz71]

“Things I wish I knew before I started”. Well I can’t say I didn’t know since I investigated a lot before I started BUT wish I didn’t ignore or hope I would be the one not affected. Basically a lot, certain livestock, rushing to chemical solutions , rushing. List goes on and on.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

I wish..

Hahhahahha. I wish I bought the biggest tank I could have afforded. Everything else...meh... Live and learn.

 

[CoralB]

Too many to list as they didn’t have the info back when I started as they do today not to mention online clubs like this one for hobbyists to help one another !

 

[CoralB]

THE ADDICTION !!!

This is true!!!

 

[CoralB]

This is key!!!
I took 25 years off and the one thing I noticed immediately on my return is how much better hobbyist knew water chemistry, and how superior the testing instruments were.

The only thing that was better back in the day was the availability of good quality live rock and that helped stabilize tanks when we didn't know as much about water chemistry.

And this !!!

 

[BanjoBandito]

"there's always an problem, there's always an issue"

 

[Dburr1014]

Wish I knew how expensive it would get in the 2020's. I would have got in the business in the 1990's.
And
I wish I knew how addicting it was before I got in.

 

[snorklr]

the realization that everything i want for the tank is either invasive, super agressive, toxic, not reef safe,incompatible, will get too large or requires parameters that are beyond my capabilities...there's no such thing as a good heater...oh and anything i mail order wont look anything like the photo but that's ok cause Fedex will kill it anyway

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

1: API test kits aren't always accurate
2: Start with real live rock
3: The cleaner shrimp isn't trying to eat the clownfish
4: Go with the biggest possible tank
5: Don't leave bubble algae on a frag plug

And those are just the ones off the top of my head. I made a lot of mistakes early on.

 

[CoralB]

1: API test kits aren't always accurate
2: Start with real live rock
3: The cleaner shrimp isn't trying to eat the clownfish
4: Go with the biggest possible tank
5: Don't leave bubble algae on a frag plug

And those are just the ones off the top of my head. I made a lot of mistakes early on.

I have to ask What did you do to the cleaner shrimp when you thought he was eating your clown fish lol!!!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I have to ask What did you do to the cleaner shrimp when you thought he was eating your clown fish lol!!!

I stared at it for like 3 hours. It eventually gave up on trying to clean them, and I could breathe a sigh of relief. Somehow, I didn't compute that my cleaner shrimp was trying to clean them. I specifically got it to see that behavior, and as soon as it does it, I forget that it's a cleaner, and assume the worst.

 

[i cant think]

This is flipping the question a bit (What i knew then and wish I knew now), I wish I knew how to grow coral like I once was. My first tank grew everything and my nanos have always done better than my larger tanks.

 

[jfoahs04]

Honestly, most of my issues in almost 20 years of being involved in this hobby stem from not using the good information I have rather than not knowing something in particular. Even 20 years ago, there was a wealth of good information online. My father, also a reefer, helped me get started and I had several LFS to assist. Most of my mistakes came from rushing things (adding too many fish too soon, making changes too quickly), cutting corners (skipping QT protocols, slacking on maintenance), or blatantly ignoring established info (fish size vs. tank, livestock compatibility, etc.). So if there's something I wish I "knew" when I got started, it would just be to do things the right way and understand that I don't know better than the millions of people who have done this before me.

 

[doubleshot00]

I wish i knew live rock was a thing and you could order it online.