Your greatest reefing accomplishments in 2019 and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[vetteguy53081]

There he goes again rubbing that lovely new CaRx in my face AGAIN. That's it. I am buying a C8 like tomorrow. Or the next day.

LOL- Not to stall you but I have NOT seen any New Years sales from vendors BUT - I do know there will be Tax (income tax) refund sales in the coming weeks.

 

[ScottB]

LOL- Not to stall you but I have NOT seen any New Years sales from vendors BUT - I do know there will be Tax (income tax) refund sales in the coming weeks.

No refund heading my way this year but always keen for a bargain. I made a little extra spending money this year so still looking for the "best" CaRx for my needs. Problem is, my needs are all over the place. More research needed!

 

[FishyDP]

1. Greatest accomplishment is having my first reef tank up and running without a crash for a full year (this past August), and having most of my corals do well and even grow.

2. I have learned that stability is one of the most important aspects in reefing. I hear reefers preach this all the time, and now I see why. I do everything in my power to go as slow as possible, no big quick changes. My goals in 2020 are to get no3/po4 in check and stable with a new algae scrubber (and get off carbon dosing) which should be here tomorrow, and an SPS tank!

Happy Reefing

 

[damselindistress]

My tank had it's one year anniversary and some of the inhabitants had their 2nd birthday as they have been with me since my original tank in Oct 2017. I had so many ups and downs as my tank is just now finally reaching maturity and stability. Most of the "downs" were from me switching out equipment or tinkering with additives, looking for the magic formula to impatiently force a still maturing tank to function and look like a stable reef. (Spoiler: there is no magic formula and mother nature will win every time)

I was able to successfully coach my clown pair through an impending divorce and even kept the female from going down on a murder 1 rap. After spending a month apart in separate hospital tanks they both made a full recovery but they were both so injured and weak initially I wasn't sure they would make it. The female went over 12 days without eating a bite and she was all head, the rest of her was just a wisp. Their sides had been battered violently on both of them but their ability to heal is astounding. After careful reintroduction weeks later they were able to successfully establish some sort of quasi-relationship where they still sleep together every night but during the day they each do their own thing. Fish equivalent of friends with benefits I guess?

Lastly, I finally learned, from many R2R experienced reefers, to slow down and let my tank find it's own happy medium. I took my dosers offline about 3 months ago and now dose everything manually and only use Tropic Marin's all-in-one every day, reef plus twice a week, and vibrant or microbacter7 once or twice a month as needed. I also switched from mixing my own saltwater to using actual sea water. My tank is finally happy and I am seeing growth and color in everything, even a red goniopora that had died back to only skeleton. I've got a heavy mix of lps and softies with a few easy SPS (stylo, birdsnest, digi, pocillopora).

My plan for 2020 is to maintain my routine and just allow my reef to continue to grow and mature. I'm happy with my current mix of corals and livestock so no real plans for any changes to either this coming year.

Appreciate all the helpful advice and support from the R2R community this past year!

 

[Heart of Dixie]

Got rid of amphidinium dinoflagellates naturally thanks to all the great information on R2R. Now if someone can figure out how to annihilate the small vermetid snails, 2020 will be off to a great start.

 

[Sidius]

I beat dino's back into submission... that felt like a pretty great accomplishment. It was a huge outbreak covering every square inch in the tank and now my tank looks cleaner than ever before.

I plan to watch my nutrient levels a little more closely and get a Hanna Phosphate checker in 2020.

 

[Paul B]

Thanks R2R for all the info. (And PaulB for his incredible book, perfect for newbies like me)

As I said in the first chapter, Noobs shouldn't read my book as their head may explode. ;Wideyed

 

[boacvh]

As I said in the first chapter, Noobs shouldn't read my book as their head may explode. ;Wideyed

My head almost exploded when my wife found some duct taped stockings!