You can't do that! But you did it anyway! What was it?

Have you accomplished something in reefing that someone else said wouldn't work?

  • Yes and it was... (tell us in the thread)

    Votes: 110 78.0%
  • I tried but they were right....(tell us in the thread)

    Votes: 13 9.2%
  • I didn't try it...(what was it?)

    Votes: 20 14.2%
  • Other (please explain in thread)

    Votes: 6 4.3%

  • Total voters
    141

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,602
Reaction score
85,990
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
There are things in this hobby that you shouldn't do. Like putting a tang in a nano or feeding your trigger live damselfish. That's not nice. :/ Heck some might even argue with me over that! But there are many things that people say you shouldn't do or can't do who get proven wrong all the time. Obviously there are things that are unethical when it comes to fish keeping so let's steer clear of that. So today let's talk about it!

1. What have you accomplished in reefing that someone else said you can't do or it won't work?

2. What is something that someone said you shouldn't do but you tried anyway and it didn't work?



cant do it.jpg
 

725196

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Messages
0
Reaction score
5
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
“You can’t keep a diamond goby and a mandarin in the same system. The DG will our compete the mandarin for food.”

I have had them in the same 70 gallon tank fora year. Both eat well and are fat. The DG eats everything, I mean everything. The mandarin eats the frozen pods I put in too but I get pods every month and add to the tank, a small price to pay for a happy, healthy fish imho.
 

Arabyps

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Messages
941
Reaction score
5,672
Location
Palm Springs, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
1. What have you accomplished in reefing that someone else said you can't do or it won't work? I have seen a number of posts recently along the lines that (a) Royal Gramma are rarely seen as they hide in the rock work, and (b) Royal Gramma fight with Clown fish. My experience is quite the contrary. I have one tank (54 gallon) with 2 Royal Gramma and 2 Clown fish. The RG are out and about all the time and no aggression between them and the CF. My second tank is a 130 DT with one RG and 2 CF. Again, no aggression and the RG swim about freely rarely hiding. I suspect it is because the anthias keep things moving.

2. What is something that someone said you shouldn't do but you tried anyway and it didn't work?
I attempted to use a canister filter in lieu of a sump. The canister was a hold-over from my freshwater days. I read that it would become a nitrate factory and boy was that ever true. Using it as a reactor would be OK but not a filter. Canister gone, sump in.
 

TriggerFinger

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
4,509
Reaction score
16,108
Location
St. Louis
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For two years, I’ve been running a 90g and a 30g without any type of filtration other than live rock; no socks, skimmers, reactors or fuge...just the rock. Both tanks are low bioload and I realize this is not going to work forever as I add more fish. It does work though, and is an option for people starting out who can’t afford a nice skimmer right off the bat (I’m one of those people, do have a skimmer now and it’s still in the box)
 

Sleeping Giant

Proud Canadian Reefer
View Badges
Joined
May 22, 2020
Messages
5,676
Reaction score
14,592
Location
Northern Ontario, Canada
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
1. What have you accomplished in reefing that someone else said you can't do or it won't work?

I have been and was told that I could not have a reef tank using a canister filter.
But I have never had issues in my aquarium based on my canister filter, more so my own aquarium husbandry than anything else...I'm a lazy guy, but now not so lazy with my aquarium. I'm a procrastinator extraordinaire, lol
 

Cstar_BC

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2019
Messages
724
Reaction score
1,290
Location
Vancouver BC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
what everyone said wouldn’t work

Having 2 successful tanks - no RODI , no SUMP
- now to clarify success to me means
- healthy fish
- corals that are growing
- no excessive algae

what I tried and failed at
tried to put a clown trigger in my reef tank
- killed 4 firefish
-rehomed him in less than 24hrs
 

The guppy guru

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 7, 2020
Messages
463
Reaction score
272
Location
DHS
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
what everyone said wouldn’t work

Having 2 successful tanks - no RODI , no SUMP
- now to clarify success to me means
- healthy fish
- corals that are growing
- no excessive algae

what I tried and failed at
tried to put a clown trigger in my reef tank
- killed 4 firefish
-rehomed him in less than 24hrs
yes clown triggers are complet bullies. i've never kept one thank the lords, and i just don't like their appearance to me their dead on ugly.
 

sp1187

bird flu antidote
View Badges
Joined
Aug 4, 2017
Messages
13,345
Reaction score
69,067
Location
the duck blind
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
WHAT'S WORKED:
DIY fabricated aquascape. no live rock in the system.
I'm not the first to do this type of scape, so I knew it could work, but there were a few nay sayers (not here) when I first suggested it.

No QT ever (14 years plus now)
No Skimmer ever (14 years plus now)
routinely shouted down here (well they try) by the "You have to do it this way or you won't be successful" crowd when commenting on a post from someone new asking for help.

WHAT AIN'T WORKED:
putting a Miniatus Grouper in to a "community" tank.
WHAT WORKED: a 1/8oz jig and a 5' ultra light fishing rod
:cool:
 

Sleeping Giant

Proud Canadian Reefer
View Badges
Joined
May 22, 2020
Messages
5,676
Reaction score
14,592
Location
Northern Ontario, Canada
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
WHAT'S WORKED:
DIY fabricated aquascape. no live rock in the system.
I'm not the first to do this type of scape, so I knew it could work, but there were a few nay sayers (not here) when I first suggested it.

No QT ever (14 years plus now)
No Skimmer ever (14 years plus now)
routinely shouted down here (well they try) by the "You have to do it this way or you won't be successful" crowd when commenting on a post from someone new asking for help.

WHAT AIN'T WORKED:
putting a Miniatus Grouper in to a "community" tank.
WHAT WORKED: a 1/8oz jig and a 5' ultra light fishing rod
:cool:
Love this one
 

Billdogg

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 3, 2017
Messages
2,091
Reaction score
3,108
Location
Grove City, Ohio
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
WHAT'S WORKED:

WHAT AIN'T WORKED:
putting a Miniatus Grouper in to a "community" tank.
WHAT WORKED: a 1/8oz jig and a 5' ultra light fishing rod
:cool:

Another that didn't work for me:
Green Coris Wrasse. Was fine for a year or so than started killing anything that got in it's way.
And What Worked? A #10 barbless flyfishing hook, monofilament and a short length of dowel rod. Anybody remember the Pocket Fisherman from late night TV? Little green monster spent the next year or so in the LFS's large predator tank - and held his own.
 
OP
OP
revhtree

revhtree

Owner Administrator
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
47,602
Reaction score
85,990
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Keep them coming!
 

sp1187

bird flu antidote
View Badges
Joined
Aug 4, 2017
Messages
13,345
Reaction score
69,067
Location
the duck blind
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Another that didn't work for me:
Green Coris Wrasse. Was fine for a year or so than started killing anything that got in it's way.
And What Worked? A #10 barbless flyfishing hook, monofilament and a short length of dowel rod. Anybody remember the Pocket Fisherman from late night TV? Little green monster spent the next year or so in the LFS's large predator tank - and held his own.
people think I'm kidding when I offer that solution for a problem fish.
 

Abhishek

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
3,173
Reaction score
4,876
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
not much other than keeping a pair of copperband butterflies for over 1.5 years . Lost them when moved to the new house due to my stupidity

Not sure if it’s considered rare but they were a bonded pair and I had so many plans to try and breed them . But alas !!!!

 

littlemacros

New Member
View Badges
Joined
May 24, 2020
Messages
19
Reaction score
45
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I do not do maintenance on my tanks excepts for fresh water top offs. Not only am I too lazy to do all the nonsense with the filters, sumps, tubes, ect. But at the end of the day I just believe in letting nature do its thing. All my tanks take months to set up but thats because I build a whole supporting ecosystem. Starting with mud and silt below a deep sand bed, the addition of many macros, and not adding fish or corals until i have so many pods and other micro critters that I know can sustain them. My tanks run themselfs. The only cords leading to my tank are for the lights and the pumps to create a healthy currant. I let nature do its thing and it works like a charm.
Side note: I never had many fish (they don't intrest me like the plants, algaes, corals and inverts do...maybe thats why I sucessfully keep my lazy "au natural" tanks
 
Back
Top