If I had known then what I know now..

[Sheol]

I would never have added any device to my tank that used plastic suction cups! They are tools of the devil

Anyone else have one?

Matthew

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I agree. I used a Seio with suction cups and never again. I much prefer the magnet-mounted powerheads!

[HBtank]

Yeh, it makes for a great morning when you wake up need to make it to work but your tank has turned into a huge sandstorm.

Getting salty with a turkey baster and being a 1/2 hour late is not cool...

[Sheol]

You got that right!
Also, never add a hairy green Rhodactis to your tank!

Matthew
I'll be looking for magnets for my next tank..

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Hey! I have a big rock of hairy shrooms. I like 'em and they haven't caused any problems!

[TarheelFrag]

I have learned my lesson! After a couple of times walking in to find a powerhead laying on the bottom I "quick-fixed" mine!

I used black "zip-ties" to hang mine. Then after I suction cup them to the side they can't go anywhere.

(It was cheaper and faster then magnets.)

[McCrary]

If I had known then what I know now- I would probably have stayed away from saltwater, lol.

[InvertLover]

If I had known then what I know now, I'd have a lot more money lol

[PrivateJoker64]

... I would have been better off addicted to cocaine...

[Sheol]

Well, I'm glad yours haven't. One nearly killed my Pagoda cup coral a year ago. Up until that point I didn't really think any corallimorphan was toxic. Well, lesson learned. Not that they aren't pretty ( and the clownfish loves them) but they are bigger than I thought they'd be & the LFS will not give credit on them.
*****
Also, never mix hermit crabs & small uncemented frags of coral. Every mortality I ever had except for a Caulastrea, was the direct result of these little bulldozers!

Matthew

[HBtank]

I love my hairy mushrooms.

But they have their own rock and seperated from the main rock. To big and to good at spreading, and true, they will hurt many corals.

THey are tough too. THey take sweepers from my hammer and are never any worse from it. I love em

[mojoreason]

i have a seaweed suction holder that my tang knocked off and my watchman goby took in as his ... it sits just inside his cave - - along with a single blasto i picked up real cheap ... he's worse than the octopus i had!

[Travis L. Stevens]

While I learned my lesson a long time ago, I would have researched and knew how to combat Calcium and Alkalinity issues. Those can wreak havoc on any reef tank, and it takes time to sort it out.

[Snook65]

I would have never bought the spotted hawkfish which has killed all my shrimp and my purple firefish and is now attacking my mimic tang. Tomorrow, I will pull out all my live rock in order to catch this guy and give him back to my LFS. I have always been so careful to keep a peaceful tank, I'm not sure why I was under the impression this guy would be no trouble.

[drummereef]

Agree. Now, I just don't get why someone can't develop a heater that uses a magnet holder. Darn, I could have been a millionaire.....

[pledosophy]

That I needed a chemistry degree to keep a good tank.

[Jutta]

If I had known then what I know now.... i would have laughed at the former owner of my fish tank when he said "oh-it is very easy to look after a marine tank". All i got from him was an empty 180g, a skimmer which was too small,inadequate lightning and the advise that "if the water gets too warm, put some water bottles with frozen water in there". Right - try that in australian summer and the volume of water!!!

[on3ofak1nd]

I would have saved to buy MH or T5 the FIRST time around.

Instead I bought PC only to want to upgrade within 6 months.

[Sheol]

I would never have gone into this hobby under the illusion I could stay within a budget. What a laugh. oh a 36-46 gallon reef won't be that much to set up & maintain. You can all have a good laugh.

Matthew
Yes my heater also floats at a 45 degree angle. Please invent the durned thing!

[vessxpress1]

Originally posted by Sheol
I would never have gone into this hobby under the illusion I could stay within a budget. What a laugh. oh a 36-46 gallon reef won't be that much to set up & maintain. You can all have a good laugh.

lol I'm laughing with you. I've got a 38. I have just about 400 dollars worth of test kits in my cupboard.

I'll stop there.

[Sheol]

YEAH. Boy was I ever naive. Studied all the issues, but the cost of everything was still higher than I imagined. Worth it in the long run, but there is still sticker shock..
However, I previously had a LFS that did much of my water tests for me. I got by all the kits. At least back then, now I'm gonna have to get some of my own.

Matthew

[adtravels]

What a great way to spend your hard earned though.
Even when I think I have it all theres always the next additive, bagof salt, fancy powerhead, fish.........

[Goodwood]

Yeah, were all screwed

[roper512]

I wouldn't have cooked my live rock.. Granted it helped create a pristine clean environment at the start.. But the rock lost a lot of it's charm when many of the creatures that were on it probably died in the 3 month cooking process..

I'm not sure if cooking was just a fad or if people still do it.. But I personally wouldn't recommend it now.. Enjoy the little things (even if they're things you have to remove) because even with cooking live rock you will still run into problems without proper husbandry..

Maybe a "day in the spa" treatment for new live rock. Give it the good ol' dunk and swish in fresh salt water a bunch of times to get rid of majority of detritus. Leave the bad hitchikers, keep the good and pop it in the tank. That's what I'll do with my next one

[pledosophy]

Funny, after 5 years of tanks without cooking rock, now that I have a tank with cooked rock, I will never do it differently. JME Sorry yours was not so good.