What Has Been to You the Most Challenging Aspect of Maintaining a Reef Tank

[Gumbies R Us]

While owning a reef tank can be amazing at times, it comes with some challenges. Sometimes we have an algae outbreak or something in our tank breaks, leading us to figuring out how to fix it. I am wondering what has been challenging to you while owning a reef tank!!

 

[nereefpat]

Acquiring reasonably healthy livestock.

 

[MECOMI]

While owning a reef tank can be amazing at times, it comes with some challenges. Sometimes we have an algae outbreak or something in our tank breaks, leading us to figuring out how to fix it. I am wondering what has been challenging to you while owning a reef tank!!

The biggest challenge is myself overthinking. This overall i would consider a positive but it certainly presents a challenge when you're trying to enjoy the reef!

Any change done to the tank - overthinking, was it right?

Problem in the tank - overthinking the resolution

Glue down a coral - overthinking position, growth, health, permanence

add livestock - overthinking what it will do to the ecosystem...

ahhhhhhh

Happy Friday,

B-Kind

 

[KrisReef]

The biggest challenge for me is that there are so many different fish and coral that I would like to keep at home but my tank is only about 150 gallons total water.

Thats about the same amount of water that drifts past a cubic meter of ocean reef each second of the day. Over crowding is the biggest issue we face with our tanks, imo.

 

[Kongar]

Dinos, definitely dinos.

 

[fodsod]

The biggest challenge is myself overthinking. This overall i would consider a positive but it certainly presents a challenge when you're trying to enjoy the reef!

Any change done to the tank - overthinking, was it right?

Problem in the tank - overthinking the resolution

Glue down a coral - overthinking position, growth, health, permanence

add livestock - overthinking what it will do to the ecosystem...

ahhhhhhh

Happy Friday,

B-Kind

Couldn't agree more.

 

[DannoOMG]

The biggest challenge for me is myself.

I am the X factor right now for screwing up things in my tank. (Not knowing what aiptasia was 2 years ago before buying a coral frag at a local fish store that had lots of them in their tanks)
Not bothering to do research on how to dose 2 part Calc/Alk and making my return pumps fail.
Every single thing I have done to my tank incorrectly is because I am a half wit and probably shouldn't have gotten into the hobby. Things are starting to turn around in the tank but I am such a hack and unfortunately I learn lessons until things are almost too late.

Fish dying has not been fun.

 

[ManWithAClam]

getting rid of dinoflagellates, going on 1 year now

 

[ReefDreamz]

I would say trying to gauge how big of a problem a problem in my tank actually is. Is a given problem a serious issue that needs attention now or is it actually not really a problem at all? That and figuring out how to fix a given problem.

 

[ptrick21186]

Money

 

[nuxx]

Having a pristine tank for years and then having an tough algae outbreak show up.

Also QTing everything wet including coral and CUC.

I'd say when things weren't going the best I wasn't in a great mood which probably made my wife not want to be around me at the time lol

 

[JCATL]

Learning patience in all things. Nothing but bad things happen when you rush.

 

[revhtree]

Dinos, definitely dinos.

Preach!

 

[SueAbu]

Waiting for the baby frags to grow up...

 

[billyocean]

getting rid of dinoflagellates, going on 1 year now

Have you tried turkey basting at lights out and leave a piece of filter floss on a nori clip overnight? Clean the floss every morning with tap and set aside then repeat thereafter. I caught mine early and upped my nitrates from 6 to 18 and phos from .02 to .1, added uv, lightly dosed MB7. not sure what the catalyst was but it was gone in about 4/5 days. I did confirm ostreopsis with microscope. The filter floss/algae clip got LOADED with them every night and I think that it was a big factor in concentrating them in one spot for removal. Personally, I was prepared for a long fight..could have been the combo of catching quickly as well. It was fairly prevalent in a matter of first sight (are those dinos?) to..whoa...yeah..dinos.

 

[Stephen8169301]

Acquiring reasonably healthy livestock.

Couldn’t agree more

 

[Peter Houde]

While owning a reef tank can be amazing at times, it comes with some challenges. Sometimes we have an algae outbreak or something in our tank breaks, leading us to figuring out how to fix it. I am wondering what has been challenging to you while owning a reef tank!!

Oh sure, the predictable ephemeral outbreak of some new organism or ailment can be a real headache and cause for a lot of concern and effort. The silver lining is that in the process I learn a lot about weird life-forms and many come and go pretty much on their own. No, the biggest challenge based on effort-hours is just routine weekly maintenance: water changes, testing, changing out media, cleaning pumps van replacing filters, etc.

 

[Slocke]

Travel. When I started this hobby my job was boring with only the very occasional trip. Now I’m often on multi week deployments and sometimes with only a day or two in between. The last few months have had me very worried about my tanks.

 

[Propane]

Explaining why the fish does not need to be fed again. Trying to figure out why my water changes throughout the day.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

Learning to relax, if it's not broke, don't fix it!