Sad, and depressing times ;(

[Reefrookie220]

@Willz you make an excellent point.

This power head could be the ticket to more patience and learning, or like you say the opening of a flood gate Everytime a mistake is made.

In my experience, you only get one freebie from a reefer that knows your learning... Or a bail out as you put it. But it stops, and rather quickly, when it's evident that advice isn't heeded or the same mistake is repeated.

At that point it would be his mistake to own and learn from.

As a preacher one said to me "some come willingly from the fire, some refuse, but there are a few you gotta yank out" lol.

 

[Joey Marino]

Cut @Joshua Hurst some slack lol. Someone was kind enough to offer a free powerhead and thats great! Surely he does not expect handouts for the rest of his reefing career. I have been in his position before, and I'm sure compared to some of you guys I'm still a complete novice. We're all learning and Im sure he is absorbing the information given to him. He obviously cares about the hobby.

 

[Valkyrie]

I dunno, I think the only way I learn is through having to live with my poor choices. When folks bail me out and there are no consequences there is no real incentive to change or learn from my mistakes. Glad for the animals sake that someone gave him a hand-out. Worried that this is a pattern of behavior being established early that will be hard to break later. I'm not sure I have too much sympathy for someone who wants to participate in an expensive hobby, but treats the forum like a digital alms house.

That's not necessarily the best way to learn anything. We should be able to make our own decisions based on information that we get (be they books, videos, or forums) and critical thinking. That doesn't mean we'll be right and it may still result in a poor outcome. We can't see every possible result without experience. Experience is what we get when we don't get what we want. If it wasn't for other people willing to help me learn and give me feedback, I'd be missing a huge part of growth and change. We don't learn in a vacuum.

This isn't an elitist hobby, but yea, it's expensive. A person needs to learn their own limitations. If you can't afford the special needs for another living thing then that creature needs to be left alone. If you can afford it, but don't care enough to provide for those needs, then you're just a jerk. Sometimes you mess up and you over step your own limitations. Sadly, it's always someone else that pays the price.

Learning the hard way isn't the best way.
And that comes from my own experience.
I'll share that bit of advice for free.

 

[jenreefer]

So in the short term I have no money, and the only means I have of getting money is selling the power head; so I'm not going to use it more than I have to. If any coral looks even the slightest bit sad; I'll put the power head back in.

I actually get that. I am sorry you are having financial difficulties and I do appreciate that you came into the forum to get help understanding why you maxima died. The truth is, noone here can really know what is going on in your tank. We can only make suggestions based on what you have told us. I for one, and most others here, want to see you succeed at this hobby. We all learn as we go. I learn something every day that I keep a tank. My hope is when you get back on your feet you come back and let the many knowledgeable folks on here help you set up a saltwater tank that will make you smile every time you look at it. As that is the goal of this hobby. At this point taking the best care of the critters that you have and do lots and lots of water changes to compensate for other weaknesses in your system.

 

[Reefrookie220]

I have all the belief possible in Joshua, even though I don't know him. We must have faith in the younger crowd, because as I said before hes the future. This experience, no matter what he takes from all of it, will be a learning one.

He's obviously a dedicated and caring hobbyist, just a little green. We all were, and some of us compared to others still are.

Once he gets headed in the right direction, he'll likely become a force to be reckoned with. And in a year's time will be helping another rookie like we have helped him.

 

[BlueDevil]

@Joshua Hurst - I hope you don't take any of the advice given here as lecturing. No one means any harm or hostility towards you. Sometimes the truth is a bitter pill to swallow. I'd rather not mince words or sugar coat things because if I did, the true advice might get lost and only you and your pocketbook would be harmed in the process.

You yourself have said this multiple times which is why I bring it up - you say you are short on funds for a lot of the expensive equipment or livestock. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, you need to tailor your wants to your budget and get the absolutely essential things first before moving on to the more advanced things like clams or SPS. I would urge you to go FOWLR for a while. It is far more forgiving than a mixed reef. Go through build threads, and ask questions on what equipment you would need for it. Then gather that equipment and enjoy and learn the tank and its inhabitants. If you must have corals, get nothing more than softies (xenia, toadstools, etc...) or at most zoas. Over time, once you have successfully had those thrive in your tank, you can think about moving on to something more advanced. I cannot tell you how much I learned with my FOWLR setup! You can then use the time that you spend learning the FOWLOR setup to do some research on more advanced corals and their requirements. You can also use this time to save some money to buy the equipment upgrades that will be necessary for those things. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going FOWLR - I have seen some gorgeous tanks with no corals in them!

What you have going for you is age. You have PLENTY of time on your side to get into the more advanced things. Keep it simple for now and you will find the hobby more rewarding than the frustration you may experience with not being able to keep the more advanced things alive.

Cheers!

 

[Reefrookie220]

Well said @BlueDevil