How often do you just want to quit or at least start over?

[Candi]

Just wondering how often something in your tank, or with your equipment makes you so frustrated you just want to give up or at the very least start over?

::vent warning::

I have a 24g aquapod reef, which for the most part I really enjoy; except when I decide to try and move something and the whole thing comes tumbling down and it's hours trying to put corals back in place. Or the mystery zoa killing creature/factor that keeps selectively picking off some of my favorites despite my testing, searching for preditors, dipping. Or the teal green palys who were so neat when I was new but now are bland and like to try to take over everything else, nothing ever eats/hurts them go figure. Sure the tank has a couple astrea stars I pull out whenever I see them (saw one eating coral first hand, to my FOWLR they go) or a few flatworms but nothing to bad and it's small enough and all in one enough to deal with.

Then there is my 50g, which I adored so much when it was a brackish tank for only now deceased Wasabi... it's acrylic and I babied it like you wouldn't believe, over a year not a single scratch. Then it went full marine.. still going fine, got some LR and didn't know enough to treat for critters, hello flatworms & aiptasia. With our move & subsequent rush to get it set back up came scratches... then algae and in trying to remove it more scratches. It still has crushed coral which is a mess and needs to be replaced with sand, between the algae and scratches seeing in isn't all that easy anymore and that's probably a good thing because you'd just be looking at bad aquascaping with rocks I don't like, the coral refuges from my pod that either didn't fit right, weren't colorful enough, etc. The tank of course isn't RR which just adds to the "fun"

Of course I'm a stay at home who's husband doesn't like tanks and understandably doesn't want me spending much money on them, plus I really should be saving for more important things like a fence so my 3yr old can play outside safely etc.

I think the loss of my puffer (who's purchase was what got me started in the hobby) is really pushing me over the edge but right now I want to just drain my 50g or at the very least pull everything out but my fish I bought some rock from marco rocks so that I could build some really neat towers and have a more open aquascape but it's just been sitting in the box it came in for the past month.

I know I need to drain the tank, set up my fish in a big rubbermaid for a few days, get all the CC out, treat all the existing rock with FWE, do my best to clean the tank and then buff out all the scratches, add new sand and figure out my aquascaping with the new rock... but truth be told I don't even think I want to put anything that is currently in there back except my fish and maybe one or two corals (unless I decide to just go FOWLR again?)... but that would mean a new cycle since I'd have removed all my substrate and LR.. UGH plus with my daughter helping I can just imagine how fun that day would be LOL

Well thanks for letting me vent, had to complain to some people who hopefully understand and can relate, my husband says either "just toss everything that's in there & start over" (as if that was so easy, he obviously doesn't understand how much I've already invested eh? : ) or says "just sell it all" when he should know full well that no matter how annoyed I get I still love having tanks.

Candi

 

[Baxreefs]

I don't think a day goes by where I don't want to pull something apart and redo it.

And ... I have had my share of cyano, algae, more algae, AEFWs, Red Bugs, un-explainable RTNs, ick ... did I say algae?

Hang in there

 

[mikem]

We've all been there. Seams like a daily thing some times. I've been there for the last 2 months. With both tanks. First ballast problems then bulb problems, get that taken care of then the samething happens to the other tank. Get that taken care of then 2 dual timers go at the same time. Did I ever want to give up? NO. I dealt with not having nice looking tanks for awhile (2 months) Their getting better every day now. Can't answer about starting over cause that's a normal trend for me. As everyone that knows me, I change most of my livestock monthly. When I have problems, I don't stress out over them, I take them as a learning experience.
Here's my suggestion: I picked up a 55gal. yesterday. (Thanks Ken) not RR. Was gonna use it as the sump for the 110. Take it and set it up(no stand) This way, you're in no hurry to buff out the 50.
Step 2: Drag Craig to the next meeting at St eves house. When he see's how gorgeous some peoples tanks are, it might get him interested enough in helping you setup yours the way you want it. St eves is a nice place for Craig to start.

 

[concept3]

Well, the thing is Candi, it's a constant learning process. No tanks are alike whether it be setup, parameters, equipment, livestock etc etc. We all learn from mistakes, even if the utmost precautions have been taken. Like your liverock landslides for instance, I've had my fair share of them and through trial and error, have found various ways of keeping them as stable as possible. Look to see what others have done, and take those new found techniques and apply or modify them to suit your taste. Key is to interlock the natural grooves of the rocks, and if they don't fit a certain way, I have a chisel and hammer ready. I also spent numreous trips to my LFS just to find that one FLAT piece of rock that I needed. WHen it wasn't available, I made a few DIY rocks to suit my taste (made a few for a friend a whiles back which he never used)

As far as re-setting it up, I know it's hard to try and visualize the tank with its final product. WHen I re-aquascaped and transferred my tank over, it took me from December to February to figure out exactly what I wanted. I drew out pictures and sketches, even made a mess on the dining room table using Live rock and DIY rock just to see how they would interlock to make a more stable structure. This went on for a few hours a day, every other day over a few weeks until I was happy with the results. And what do you know, I needed to turn the pillars a certain way once it was done while inside the tank anyways, so my original conceptual design changed as it evolved.

Now that you need to take the chore of removing all your CC. I would suggest siphoning out a little at a time so that you don't upset the natural balance your tank has now. I would suggest siphoning all the detritus out first that is trapped in the CC, and then replace the water you took out, just as in doing a water change. There will be a lot of dirt in it, but don't take out the CC yet. Let is stabilize for a few days, then slowly take out the CC via siphon as well, I would say about a cup or two's worth a day every other day (depending on what you're comfortable with). In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt setting up an auxillary rubbermaid container with your freshly rinsed sand and dumping what detritus you siphoned off in the beggining stages of your transfer. This should jump start the cycle of your fresh sand, as the detritus will contain Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacterias (aerobic+anaerobic) that will recolonize the new sand.

I would say take about a week to two in doing so until your CC is out, (dumping the siphoned water into that container with sand) and then all you would need is a few hours to rinse half your rock out. Obviously, I said half your rock, because you will want your fish and some rock housed somewhere in another container with some kind of filter and water circulation. As you re-aquascape the new tank with your new sand, soak them in some Flatworm exit to treat for the Planarian pests, a high dose shouldn't hurt anything because you wouldn't really have livestock in it at this point. Once that's setup, then you can add the fish in to make sure everything is in check, and then treat the remaining rocks with the Flatworm medication again, and then finally place them back in the tank.

If you are worried about your corals, I'm sure there is someone near you who wouldn't mind holding them until you are ready.

I hope I kind of put everything in perspective for you, and I hope to get to a meeting and do a demo on the Live rock pillars I made so everyone can see that they are easy to do. All you would need is a cordless drill, a few odds and ends around the house, some thorite or quick setting cement and a little bit of ingenuity.

Oh, because of what I've learned from trial and error, I am a major sucker for redundancies.

 

[Candi]

Thank you for the kind words everyone. I've regrouped my thoughs(helps that AO just told me they found some green spotted puffers for me and are even willing to drip acclimate one over to SW slowly for me so he'll be ready next week )

Mike as always I apprecaite your thoughtfulness so much but I won't need your 55, I can make due with rubbermaids etc and will likely follow Mervs advice and go slowly in stages. I do still have the sump issue though (if you saw that message, feel free to pm me as to if you think I should trade the one you gave me yesterday for that one you gave away before or if you think I'm better off getting a new 10g from petco or something)

Thanks again guys, feeling better.

 

[GregW]

I also spent numerous trips to my LFS just to find that one FLAT piece of rock that I needed.

Depending on how hard the rock is, you can flatten it by rubbing it on a sidewalk. I removed about half of a football-sized piece in about ten minutes. Seems to go easier if you keep it wet and make a slurry.

 

[mikem]

Depending on how hard the rock is, you can flatten it by rubbing it on a sidewalk. I removed about half of a football-sized piece in about ten minutes. Seems to go easier if you keep it wet and make a slurry.

Greg. The next time you need to do this, LMK, I can lend you a wetsaw which will take you 1 minute. LOL

 

[JohnS_323]

Just wondering how often something in your tank, or with your equipment makes you so frustrated you just want to give up or at the very least start over?

Only on days that end in "y" . . . .

 

[Candi]

I'd personally just like to be your neighbor and wonder what on earth you were doing rubbing a wet rock on the sidewalk for hehee

 

[GregW]

That's why I did it at night on my backyard patio.

 

[mikem]

I would have atleast tied it to the bottom of a skateboard or something.

 

[Candi]

I would have atleast tied it to the bottom of a skateboard or something.

::rolling on floor laughing out loud as she pictures Mike riding a skateboard with some LR strapped to the bottom sparking down the street:: (yes I assume you just meant to roll it back and forth, but my idea is far more assumsing to think about)

 

[mikem]

OH. You never seen how active I am with my kids.

 

[ham]

we got our first tank about 4 years ago it was used with hood and stand. we bought 50lbs of rock new lighting system vho. everything was going good for about 7 months when all our invertes started to die?? come to find out the pump i was using had a BRASS housing. tank was full with copper took everything down started with a new tank stand hood $$$$ another 100 lbs of rock.had tank running for about 2 years the wife wanted to CHANGE the look of the living room major break down of tank took about 8 hours to do.fast forward to last week bought a wrasses thought it was reef safe. turned every frag rock over looking for food couldnt get him in the fish trap soooo out came the totes another break down to get the fish wife put all the rocks back in looking good. well you get the piont NEVER ENDING STORE BUT WE LOVE IT hang in there it will get better