tank neglect. who else is guilty

[Chris L]

i have been so busy the past couple of months i have not even had time to do a water change, the sump is filthy, the lights need to be changed, and i have barely even seen the tank .
please make me feel better and tell me i am not the only bad reefer here

how long was the longest period of neglect for you before you took care of things?

 

[JayM]

errrrrrrr.....hate to say it, but I JUST finished my first 45G water change in 5 weeks....on the big tank, mixing water for the 72 right now, but it has been 6 weeks. I'm asking for a pass, because I lost my dad, and spent weekdays for 4 weeks in Maryland. I had cyano, and lost a monti cap to bleaching, and a pocilapora (sp?) to I don't know what. I've got some zoas receeding too.....I need another powerhead to augment flow too.

I need to wait to do the WC on the 72 because 7 ugly aiptasia need to be nuked first

 

[Bobbofin]

I'm too obessive compulsive to neglect it. I probably put my hands in the tank too much.

 

[Kevin McG]

I'm guilty also, water changes are getting done every 2 weeks or so but thats about it

Haven't even added anything in like 3 months

 

[Synch]

* very guilty *

 

[smcnally]

I go through swings, but I am definitely guilty of neglecting my tank at times. IMO careful neglect is good for the tank. Its good to keep them hands out of the tank for awhile and just let everything do it's thing.

 

[JayM]

ugh. the aiptasia population is now 11, mixing up kalk to nuke it right now.

also, nearly 80PPM of NO3! Yikes! going to do a 40G water change on a 95 gallon system. Can't skip any more, at least not for this tank.

the big tank was <10PPM

 

[jebar777]

i am also guilty of super neglect. everything has slowed way down on growth. colors dont look so great....and i am in desperate need of a bulb change. but on a positive i added some peppermint shrimp and the devoured the aptasia in my soft tank..... thing of beauty....lol

 

[TomD]

I didn't change the water in 5 weeks. Now I have a few patches of bubble algae and I have never had any algae. Ro filters and bulbs all needed a change and I am just getting everything back together now.

 

[mloebl]

I got married in June and tank had been neglected for about a month prior thru the wedding. Finally just today I did the first good sized water change in a 2 mos. Salinity was a bit lower than I like, skimmer needs a good cleaning, kalk reactor low on kalk and terrified to know what the calcium level is (but guessing from how the sps look, not too high )

-Mike

 

[customclimates]

I think it is safe to say we all have had a few lackadaisical weeks in this hobby. Back in March I was loaded with work & went through a two week span of the skimmer not working correctly. I was just too busy to take care of it. Went through a pretty bad algae outbreak. After a long month getting things right again a valuable lesson had been learned. I now check physical appearances every day as far as water level, any leaks, polyp extension & the fish. Weekly parameter checks & bi-weekly water changes.

 

[Peter Fernandes]

I am fulfilling all of my reef tank duties in a prompt manner!

But I'm only 4 months in.

 

[MarkO]

guilty! In summer, it's just that much easier to let things slide.

 

[JohnK]

Guilty, yet innocent here. I probably hadn't run a test in at least 6 wks, did them tonight. Ca 425, alk 9.5, mg 1275.

Gee, maybe I should ignore my tank more often

 

[mlamphere]

I went 8 months, all i did was feed the fish and add topoff water! Nothing died but the colors on the coral suffered along with the growth. We are back on track now.

 

[nickyblase]

very guilty too.
so guilty, that i haven't been on the boards in like 2 months!
everything looks pretty good, but I think that's in part to all the macroalgae I grow. Been having to prune that back a LOT.
The only thing i've really been on top of is topoff, with water changes every 3-4 weeks.

oh well - i now have 2 whippersnappers instead of just one (youngest just turned 6 months, oldest just turned 3).

I always find that my tanks are less front-and-center in my mind during the summer.

 

[dz6t]

guilty here

I am so busy with my new camera and driving my new car around. I only do top off, two-part suppliment, Iodine dosing, scraping coraline, feeding, change light bulbs for months now. Water change is over due.

 

[this is me]

remember this?

 

[SteveDola]

can you say algea problem? corals look happy though

 

[RayD]

I go through swings, but I am definitely guilty of neglecting my tank at times. IMO careful neglect is good for the tank. Its good to keep them hands out of the tank for awhile and just let everything do it's thing.

Steve makes an excellent point. Hands out is definitely a wise approach.

I am totally guilty of water change neglect. I did a WC two weeks ago but hadn't done one before that for about 8 weeks. Water changes are one of the tasks I dread the most.

As far as the sump goes, all I do to that is top it off. My sump is disgusting!