Newbie Mistakes Not To Make

[Takara]

i got one.
*aptasia SUCKS!!! so always have some aptasia-x on hand

I suggest 2 bottle if you think you have a problem, you'd be suprised how much you end up using!

 

[dcforester1]

Dont get into saltwater, go to the pet store,enjoy theirs, and go home , and enjoy your Sunday afternoon. If you really want to get into it, and get your "hands dirty", get a job doing tank maintenance. JK, Take the time to enjoy your tank. It is not a race, someone is always going to have a bigger, and better tank. No matter how big and bad your tank is.

 

[Behrmon]

Resist temptation - educate yourself 1st.

 

[somewhereinri]

Things can and will get bad at some point... don't bail out, reassess and overcome the adversity.

 

[SharkLover]

When plumbing your system avoid doing things like "Adding a valve to a power head" or "adding a valve to your drain". Always Tee off if your going to use a valve so that backpressure doesn't burst your pipes or break your power heads.


Don't start the hobby with a nano. The effects of waste build up are proportional to water volume. if your not on top of husbandry this can be a disaster for some.

Buy USED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless your talking cameras.

 

[Takara]

If you have to resort to using chemicals, or adding some for food, never mix 2 together!

 

[jackthestrat]

Keep a bit of kalk powder on hand at all times. Effective killer.

I know Dave touched on it earlier, but save for the quality equipment instead of buying something and intending to upgrade later. You'll save big bucks.

USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION ON THIS SITE.

Don't try anything new with your tank right before going on vacation.

Invest in an ATO.

Plan the tank set up carefully - you don't want to find out 4 months down the road that you have to tear down your tank to reach your sump.

Use carbon.

Don't go overboard with the frags. Leave room for things to grow.

Don't be afraid to talk tank with people who have been in this longer than you have. There's a lot of useful knowledge out there that you learn from talking with other reefers.

Cyclopeeze works miracles.

Murphy loves reefers. So always have a back up plan.

Sing to your tank. Right, Peter?

 

[afboundguy]

USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION ON THIS SITE.

Amen here... Also that made me think of something... When you ask people to diagnosis a problem or ask if something can be kept in a tank give us DETAILS; lighting, how old is the tank, what other corals do you have, filtration etc etc...

Sing to your tank. Right, Peter?

Oh come on he has two kids now he doesn't have time to sing anymore

 

[sillyfishy]

Just killed off 6 tulips yesterday! Saw it in someones tank, thought it was cute, he gave it to me and in 2 months had 6 and they were stinging things!

RESEARCH!!!

 

[Bhaub]

This thread is helpful to us beginners! Thanks!!

Bob

 

[nitrofish]

when setting up a new tank, always give yourself room to work. once its full, your not going to be able to move it again. I made this mistake twice.

 

[tommydeal]

This thread is helpful to us beginners! Thanks!!

Bob

It really is! My reef knowledge is growing by leaps and bounds. One thing that really helped me is getting a refractometer.

 

[Seask]

Instigating.

 

[bradig]

Water changes fix almost everything. Don't be afraid of water changes.

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

im not even a newbie yet but look before you leap.... (do your reaserch before going and making a reef changing decision)

 

[frank180reef]

Equalize the water temperature exactly of the new water

 

[stingythingy45]

Refrain from buying any creatures until you have thoroughly read up on them first.