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Thinking of calling it quits

P

PaulM

I am starting to think that reefing is not for me. I usually pick things up pretty quickly but I am having trouble with this hobby. I have yet to have a tank I am proud of. I am having a difficult time keeping SPS alive and now in my attempts to keep more nutrients in the water my tank is starting to get cyano. My clam has some white on it now, Not sure what’s causing that. He is still growing and opening fully. It just seems like I am wasting money on this tank with no positive results. I tried going with all good equipment and not taking short cuts. So I am at the point now where I am trying to decide to sell everything and cut my losses or keep throwing money at it... :undecided:
 
qwik

qwik

Just take a step back and get it balanced for now. Once your there you can tweak and add. We have all had issues,still do always will it's reefing
 
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PaulM

4x4 cube @220 gallons total system volume.
2x MP40's
Orphek DIF100 and DIF30B
Reeflo Dart return pump
refugium with cheato
ProCal Ca Rx
Filter Socks
EV180 Skimmer
Carbon and Phos Ban Rx
Alk 9.6 dkH
Mag 1300
nitrate (not detecting)
Phosphate .02 (tested last month) dont have a tester
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

what happened? last i read you were turning the mp40s on constant to see how that goes. Also did you end up keeping or removing the carpet anemone?

At the end of the day though it's all about whether the hobby is stressful or you have a minute to enjoy it. You have a lot of cool and interesting fish. I also noted that you said the lps/zoas were doing fine.

Is it only SPS that you want that makes or breaks it for you? Have you tried any of the "easier" sps such as montipora caps - idaho grape is one that can be beautiful. The ORA Red Planet is also a relatively lenient SPS. Or a Undata.

It shouldn't cost you a lot to try any of the above corals. I'd be happy to give you a frag or i'm sure you could find someone closer that would be selling at relatively lower prices.

At least things have to be better than when we used the solaris leds no?
 
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PaulM

Hey paul what are your water levels at the moment?
See above

How many times do you do water changes in the tank?
about 20 gallons every other week.

Feeds times also?
in the evening around 6pm
 
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PaulM

It is so random. One day everything looks good, the next it looks like crap. I have a red planet that is hanging on for dear life and is brown and an undata with no polyp extension. I kept the carpet becuse that is one of the things that actually looks good in my tank. Right now the hobby is just adding stress. I would really love to have a beautiful tank that many have but I am just not sure I have the money or time to get that. I swear I enjoyed the hobby the most when I had my 24 gallon aquapod with the 150W sunpod.
 
Sunny

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
Paul

First and foremost, yes this hobby can be very frustrating. Been there done that. However, it is like golf, that one drive out of 20 keeps you coming back.

Golfers, help me here!

I honestly believe that with a 220G tank, plus whatever water volume is in sump and the skimmer, not sure is you have a fuge, a 20G WC every other week is just not enough.

What is your total water volume? How heavily is your tank stocked?

Hang in there, it gets better..

Sunny
 
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PaulM

monroereef said:
Paul

First and foremost, yes this hobby can be very frustrating. Been there done that. However, it is like golf, that one drive out of 20 keeps you coming back.

Golfers, help me here!

I honestly believe that with a 220G tank, plus whatever water volume is in sump and the skimmer, not sure is you have a fuge, a 20G WC every other week is just not enough.

What is your total water volume? How heavily is your tank stocked?

Hang in there, it gets better..

Sunny
Click to expand...

Speaking with austin, the old owner of this tank, he claimed to only do a 20 gal change every month. His tank was incredible. The total volume is about 220 gal. The main display is only 180..
 
Sunny

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
Ok so Austin had it going, fine. But you have to realize, every tank is different. I am sure someone else will chime in, but for a 220G tank, a 20G change every 2 weeks sounds inadequate.

What are your water parameters? How are you testing them? Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, alk, calcium?
 
Brando457

Brando457

20g every 2 weeks isn't horrible, on my 180 w/ a 75g sump I did 30g every 2 weeks and the tank did well. 9Supra here does a water change on his 180 every month, if that at all and his tank is fine.
 
qwik

qwik

Did you ask Austin if your missing anything in the way of maintenance that he was doing ? Also he had his system established and stable ,your tank is not there yet. If you can do some more water changes for now it can only help but what your doing now is not bad. Have you checked the tds from your ro unit. Hang in there,think of the reasons you started the tank and realize you will be there one day.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Paul we will come over next week on vacation now and will do a sit down. We will figure this out.
 
dnov99

dnov99

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
mnat said:
Paul we will come over next week on vacation now and will do a sit down. We will figure this out.
Click to expand...

Count me in. Paul, all I can say is be PATIENT! You just hooked up the new reactor a month ago. It takes time for the benefits of that to be visible. In addition establishing a great system takes time and patience. You will get there...
 
T

taz_12777

Forgive me for I'm new here, but how long has the tank been set up? Is it a mostly softie, mostly lps, softie lps with just a couple of sps, mixed reef? I know we all follow a compatibility chart to see what fish can go with what fish but sometime we overlook what corals can go with other corals. I have read and seen that a lot of times some sps do not mix well with certain softies and lps. This could just be a case of finding the corals that blend well with each other. One other thought is stray voltage, I had a heater sort of short out and the only reason I went looking for something was my anemone was looking bad.
 
Sunny

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
Brando457 said:
20g every 2 weeks isn't horrible, on my 180 w/ a 75g sump I did 30g every 2 weeks and the tank did well. 9Supra here does a water change on his 180 every month, if that at all and his tank is fine.
Click to expand...

I am not saying it is horrible. I am saying it might not be enough. Every tank is different. It can work for someone who has a established tank and may not work for others.
Just my $0.02.

Sunny
 
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