Im not throwing my money away on.......am I ???

[gea0119]

I'm posting this thread after hearing horror stories about dead Tangs and clams and crappy pumps.Dude pictures of dead corals make me really want to take my time and make sure everything is right.I've been looking at my empty tank for an eternity(2weeks).I'm still cycling.Oh god i just pray everything I get goes well and lives long.I would be so upset to lose anything in my new tank. I loved my porcupine puffer puffy and was hurt when he passed.Those cute lil blue eyes followed me everywhere.UP DOWN RIGHT LEFT.That was 10 years ago and I still haven't forgotten him.
PLEASE keep the thread alive and post what you felt like you threw your money away on so us newbies can learn from your mistakes.

[ReefTECK]

Skilter 250, seaclone, cooling fans from ebay, anything Current USA, power compact lights, aquariums less than 50 gallons....i could go on is what I am saying...

Most recently I'm frustrated by the tunze nano 6045's, the design of the larger Tunze streams are much more durable, but the little plastic clip parts on the nano streams get brittle after only a year and snap, I am epoxying pieces together to get more life out of these 90 dollar pumps!

Although none of these items has led directly to the death of any of my live stock. In fact the only losses I've had in the last 5 years since I moved were two jumpers....btw egg crate lid, best 20 bucks ever spent!

ltz,
andy

[gea0119]

Thanks reef GURU

[ludnix]

I did tons of research before starting, but at the time of my first tank I tried to do it cheaply; That was my most expensive mistake I'd say. Other than that I'd say Coralife 96w Power Compact fixture.

[snorvich]

Boy does that resonate. Cheap in this hobby generally means you will be rebuying to upgrade quality. Items I feel are not useful are: UV since it does not really do anything positive for a single tank.

I tend to balance all life support equipment costs against the animal costs which almost always will be higher. Large tanks are better than small tanks from a stability perspective.

A good RO/DI will save you lots of grief. A great protein skimmer will save you even more grief.

I hope you enjoy this hobby Gea!!! :D

[xtm]

Rio 800 pump nuked my whole tank. I came home and my whole tank was literally black... 3 damsels stuck on the powerhead and 2 chromis stuck on the overflow.. all dead. this was back in the day when I was a noob and skimped on quality stuff :mad:

[ToeJam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12678407#post12678407 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludnix
I did tons of research before starting, but at the time of my first tank I tried to do it cheaply; That was my most expensive mistake I'd say.

Ditto. I bought a used 75 gallon setup that was pretty cheap. The equipment wasn't really good, but I didn't know what I was doing. In the end:

1. The tank was upgraded to a 120 since the 75 was bowing and scratched real bad.
2. The skimmer was a Berlin POS. I changed that to an ASM G3.
3. The lights were 4 110W VHO's. I am still using 2 actinics, but upgraded to halides.
4. The return was a Rio 3100. Sadly, I am still using this.
5. There was a 10g AGA sump, so I bought a nice new acrylic sump.

All in all, I should have just started with the better equipment, but I was just starting and wanted to do it on the cheap. Now I know better.

[useskaforevil]

normal output flourescents, UV light, many cheap quality skimmers, mandarins in a 20gal, haha and i'm hoping not my solaris, but we'll see......

[just dave]

I'm going to tell you the secret. the one thing you need to know to succeed. The one thing that takes some people years to learn and some never do. The secret is th......oops....sorry...I see by your occupation that you must already know.:p

[mrkalel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12678241#post12678241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefTECK
Skilter 250, seaclone, cooling fans from ebay, anything Current USA, power compact lights, aquariums less than 50 gallons....i could go on is what I am saying...

Most recently I'm frustrated by the tunze nano 6045's, the design of the larger Tunze streams are much more durable, but the little plastic clip parts on the nano streams get brittle after only a year and snap, I am epoxying pieces together to get more life out of these 90 dollar pumps!

Although none of these items has led directly to the death of any of my live stock. In fact the only losses I've had in the last 5 years since I moved were two jumpers....btw egg crate lid, best 20 bucks ever spent!

ltz,
andy

I am using current-usa sun-pods, as well as Nano's and I dont see any issues with these items, Its pretty hard to make a blanket statement about some products... (BTW the issue of the brittle holders are well documented from the first batch made... and Tunze issues free replacements, do a search)

As for anything, dont go by one opinion (unless its Melev
:D ) DO LOTS OF RESEARCH!!!

[gea0119]

FUNNY.If I wasnt smart I wouldnt be on RC posting this thread.

[Freed]

Forget all the above. The most important thing you can do first and foremost is QUARANTINE EVERYTHING you plan on putting in your main tank. Without QT, you are risking Puffy ll's life and all other fish, corals or inverts you plan on putting in. All kinds of parasites and diseases can be brought in on anything wet.

[widmer]

LOL I been so caught up with looking between halides and T5's that I always thought of power compacts as "that type of light that I ignore." So I totally forgot about the NO fluoros. But I gues drsfostersmith has a couple pages full of them in their magazine. Does anyone still use these???

Things I wasted money on: When I was ~13 years old I bought the Seaclone, and the Skilter, and I spent $180 on a two-bulb 55w powercompact retrofit kit from Hamilton, but hey it was brand new technology back then...

[jthao]

anything cheap you'll be throwing your money away on because you won't use it in a couple of months and then it's garbage.
things I've waisted money on: cheap lighting, cheap pumps, cheap powerheads, anything that has the word cheap in front of it!!!
I did do my research on skimmers and bought a euro reef rs-80 as my first skimmer. but still had to upgrade anyways because I went to a bigger tank, so that's garbage now too.

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12679585#post12679585 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
Forget all the above. The most important thing you can do first and foremost is QUARANTINE EVERYTHING you plan on putting in your main tank. Without QT, you are risking Puffy ll's life and all other fish, corals or inverts you plan on putting in. All kinds of parasites and diseases can be brought in on anything wet.

[Macimage]

1. Read and research all your equipment and livestock purchases on RC before you buy.

2. Purchase good equipment. It's better to take a bit more time to save up for good equipment than to purchase cheap equipment and have to upgrade. You can purchase good used equipment from the RC sale forum. A good quality used skimmer is better than a cheap new one!

3. Quarantine can save you lots of heartache and $$.

Joyce

[Freed]

tk, I assume you concur?

[cl2ysta1]

dont run a tank without a skimmer.
dont run a tank without doing regular water changes. *it will eventually bite you in the a***


never skimp on equiptment

QT everything

[Mykel Obvious]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12680434#post12680434 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Macimage
1. Read and research all your equipment and livestock purchases on RC before you buy.

2. Purchase good equipment. It's better to take a bit more time to save up for good equipment than to purchase cheap equipment and have to upgrade. You can purchase good used equipment from the RC sale forum. A good quality used skimmer is better than a cheap new one!

3. Quarantine can save you lots of heartache and $$.

Joyce

+1

[bobparker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12679585#post12679585 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Freed
Forget all the above. The most important thing you can do first and foremost is QUARANTINE EVERYTHING you plan on putting in your main tank. Without QT, you are risking Puffy ll's life and all other fish, corals or inverts you plan on putting in. All kinds of parasites and diseases can be brought in on anything wet.

I agree 100%
set yourself up with a second tank. 29 g can go south quickly. Quarantine everything for a week individually before putting into your display.

[Macimage]

QT should be for 4-6 weeks.

You can purchase a used 29-55 gallon setup from RC, craig's list or recycler for a qt tank.

Joyce

[Freed]

Agreed, QT should be no less than 4-6 weeks.

[gea0119]

SOLD on the QT Tank.I just fell in love with the shallow reef club so I'm gonna get me a shallow tank built.My 26G wil be my setup.

[joeycadre]

buy used stuff. but only top quality used. you will save hundreds of dollars. i have gotten a lot of good stuff here on rc through the used equipment forum. i haven't been burned yet.

[gea0119]

Found a 45g for $75.I hope it is still available.I can make the switch today.I stil have my heart set on a shallow tank.

[zacharytrimble]

Listen to all this wasted money...For my 75...when I was a newbie...

1. Bought (two) powerfilters...and later on, a canister filter...because the lfs said would be good
*later upgraded to a prizm skimmer
:)Finally a Euroreef RS-80!
2. Bought Power Compact lighting to start reef
:)Finally upgraded to T-5! (and MH/T-5 for my upcoming 125)
3. Bought an aquaclear 900gph "powerhead" as my sump pump
:)Finally upgraded to a dedicated, mag-drive pump
4. Bought Aquaclear "old style" powerheads
:)Finally got a couple Tunze Turbelles "new style, wide spread"
5. In the beginning, bought tons of water conditioner
:)And lastly and most importantly...I upgraded to an RO/DI...should have been first thing on my list.

[gea0119]

Thanks dude.You are so right about the RO/DI.

[Freed]

You can also automate your RO/DI system if you want to to make it simple and easy to do a water change in a few minutes.

[bsagecko]

QT everything first fish i got besides my true perc had ich

and i spent 3 hours trying to catch the bugger out of my 90g tank with 150lbs liverock not fun

also stay away from rio/viaqua pumps, seaclones, and powercomptacts, also stay away from all the dosing crap until you actually now what you doing, and stay away from poorly made stands (just trust me on this)