If I could do it all again

[cjk76]

Post here what you wish you did right the first time. This might help people who are starting out and be a good place to spot common mistakes. I'll give a few personal examples:

I wish I painted the back of my tank before I put water in it.
I wish I used black plastic to make my overflow.
I wish I passed on the anemone after only a month of cycling.
I wish I had checked the capacity of my overflow so I didn't have to drill again.
I wish I used Argonite instead of crushed coral.

[cjk76]

Bump

[softieatheart]

I wish I would have gone bigger.

I wish I would have put the tank upstairs.

I wish I would have gone with a system with a sump rather than a HOB refugium/skimmer, or a stand that would have accommodated adding a sump later.

[billwill]

Invest in a decent skimmer instead of trying to cheap out

Learn about adding the vent hole in the return line to keep from flooding the sump.

Definitely have the patience to start slow with both fish and corals

[nanito]

......I would have gone bigger.

[ezerasurfr]

Larger from the start, and good skimmer.

[SneakyPete]

I wish I would have went with a 120 instead of a 40.
I wish I would have purchased a good light from the beginning. The cheap man buys twice.

[Matt Dean]

I woudl do it all exactly the same! (I know, that's just annoying :blown:) The ONLY thing I may do differently is buy only expensive, nice, crazy colorful SPS right from the beginning, since everything grows well in my tank!

[Steve Wright2]

I wish I had not got it right the 1st time, because if you get it right the 1st time nobody fully appreciates how much effort you had to put into it to do so

I wish I had remembered that the HOB skimmer needs to be put on back of tank before you place the tank close to the wall and fill it with rocks and water etc

I wish I remembered the correct procedure for cleaning out a cannister filter is , turn power off, turn off taps, disconnect top from cannister
if you go from step 1 to step 3 you end up standing in a bit of saltwater

[anderson0196]

I wish I would have bought new instead of used from the start.

[kv2wr1]

I wish I had went with a bigger tank and one that was reef ready like a 125G minimum.

[sam75]

I wish I was little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a ...

oh sorry wrong thread.

[sandwi54]

- I wish I had known about the importance of QT as it's in my opinion the most important piece of equipment in this hobby.
- I wish I had gone with a 300g from the start.

[Psirex]

Drill plumbing to basement
Build a better refugium/sump
Remove Bio-Balls
Build bigger stand
Big Skimmer
Clean used sand better before using (remove particles of old shells/corals)

[jim.crunk]

I wish I had aquired all of my equipment prior to adding livestock.
I wish I had more info on frags prior to purchase.
I wish I had waited to add my kole tang, he's a bully.
I wish I had plumbed w/pvc instead of flex hose.
I wish I had leveled my stand instead of being constantly worried about tank failure.
I wish I had started with thousands of dollars rather than hundreds!!!

[gldnegle76]

I wish I had used ro/di from the start instead of fighting hair algae and diatoms for 6 mos.

[Reverend Reefer]

#1. i wish i had my tank DRILLED before i filled it

#2. i wish i hadn't listened to the LFS liar who told me the 650$ power compact lighting fixture is the best lighting for a reef i could find

#3. i wish i hadn't bought a 10$ tank from a garage sale to use for my sump/fuge. of course it leaked after 2 months! what a pain. i could have spent another 10-15$, bought one new, and saved myself the headache.

#4. i wish i made my sump with a larger skimmer section to allow for skimmer upgrades.

#5. i wish i didn't experiment with a deep sand bed in my display tank. it was a pain in the arse to take the sand out.

#6. as much as i love the lil guy, i wish i didn't impulse buy a dottyback who ate all my peppermint shrimp. now the aiptasia is back and now i have to manually kill the aips with chemicals. what a pain. and its impossible to catch the dottyback without having to tear everything apart.

[reefgeezer]

I wish I would have bought new instead of used from the start.

+1 on new... and if I could do it over again buying quality rather that doing it on the cheap.

[hvacman250]

I wish I had quarantined from the beginning.

I wish I had quarantined from the beginning.

I wish I had quarantined from the beginning.

Repeat 50 more times....

[cjk76]

No one sis they would go smaller, cheaper, or not QT. I think we have a trend! Also, I wish I had researched more about my problems so I knew what to avoid

[Reef264]

I'm glad I made my mistakes, And I am happy to make more.

Thomas Eddison figured out 99 ways not to make a light bulb, but only one way to make one that worked.Think about our hobby, with lighting, and how we use it, had Thomas Eddison given up because of his mistakes, or failures...well I don't think we would be Having this discussion...Mistakes are the blessing that gives us the humbling sense to realize when we are about to make one again.

[tibob32]

I wish I had gone bigger but also more shallow, 20" maximum, my 24" is too high for my liking during maintenance

[ZOKU]

Awesome thread... gives the n00b like myself a lot of great information.

Thus far, I don't have any regrets. Granted, my tank isn't up 'n running but I'm hoping to take my time and collect the best equipment I can afford.

[btarbert]

Went with a sump and internal pump at first. Wish I had gone with a refugium and protein skimmer from the start. Now using a larger overflow box with an external pump to match flow rate. And yes size does matter, bigger is better!

[am3gross]

I woudl do it all exactly the same! (I know, that's just annoying :blown:) The ONLY thing I may do differently is buy only expensive, nice, crazy colorful SPS right from the beginning, since everything grows well in my tank!

well lets see a pic!!

[Psirex]

Drill plumbing to basement
Build a better refugium/sump
Remove Bio-Balls
Build bigger stand
Big Skimmer
Clean used sand better before using (remove particles of old shells/corals)


I also wish I had drilled my tank...

[owen386]

Had not used old sand...
Had quarantined.....
Hadn't gone cheap on lights....
Went with a RR tank....
Let silicone cure fully......
Not used a 55 long dimensions suck.. 48x12x21
Chose LR more carefully....

Great thread! !

-Owen

[Psirex]

Had not used old sand...
Had quarantined.....
Hadn't gone cheap on lights....
Went with a RR tank....
Let silicone cure fully......
Not used a 55 long dimensions suck.. 48x12x21
Chose LR more carefully....

Great thread! !

-Owen

RR tank?

[infpalex]

RR tank?

I think he means Reef Ready...



To add to the discussion, I wish I had gone bigger from the beginning and gotten a sump as well.

I also wish I knew about Reef Central BEFORE buying a tank... haha

[FishTruck]

1. Bigger house for bigger tank!
2. Light reflectors that are easier to remove and service

Mistakes made and corrected.
1. Aquascaping too high did not leave room for corals to grow.
2. Inadequate understanding of RO / DI unit and Calcium reactor / Kalk reactor
3. Efficient flow plan
4. Too much coral too fast (at first)
5. Inadequate supply of magnesium, alkalinity, calcium supplements

Mistakes avoided: tank in basement where I will never see it, equipment under the tank stand (remote fish room away from hardwood floors is the best!), complicated lights, lack of ventilation in hood, unstable rock structure (all rocks attached to PVC and "floating" above substrate).

[lgray13]

I wish the show tank'd wasn't so misleading
I wish I had researched more before starting
I wish I had bought new and the best I could afford, as someone else said the cheap man buys twice.

That said, I'm glad I stuck with it I now have a great tank and learn something new everyday!

[Chuongj510]

Wish I never got into the hobby. Much easier on the pockets lol

[Curious George]

Bought a sump in the very beginning.

I did everything "Hang on the back" for a long time (20 years). Once I got a sump and relocated equipment below, my eyes were opened and I realized how valuable they are to have.

[Reef264]

Dosing Calcium...

[Caetano_Thiago]

Bigger is better :) but i know how to work with what i got ;)

[TheReeferer]

Awesome thread!

[ChrisAnator03]

Wish i would have waited a week before transferring corals to a new tank now they are all dead.
Wish i would have put a durso on my over flow now i have no mandarin goby.
wish i had a bigger tank
wish i could have dosed my tank from the start.
Wish i went with led lights.
Wish i researched my fish before buying.
Im only 16 so i got a lot of reefing years ahead of me so I'm glad i started early.

[Dendence]

I wish I put the money that I have spent over the years in a college fund

[Lofty]

I wish I would have not said "Those scratches on the front panel (of the used tank I bought) wont show up when theres water in there.

I wish I would have paid someone to stain my stain an ebony vs. painting it with black paint.

I wish I would have decided not to go ahead even after putting water in, turning the lights on and saying "those scatches are really bad"

I wish I would have waited and decided that a 110 tall would look way better on the 20 foot high wall than the 90.

[Jeffp]

I bought a portable generator before our last big storm, and the one before that. (Get one before it's too late!)

[jlylec]

I wish I had known to be careful with my magnet glass cleaner. Sand gets caught under it and it scratches the tank. About one month into setting up my brand new starfire tank I put a HUGE scratch right across the front. That scratch haunts me to this day. It's the first and last thing I see every time I stare into the tank! :(

[ZOKU]

[QUOTE=Lofty;19744625]I wish I would have paid someone to stain my stain an ebony vs. painting it with black paint.QUOTE]

I was initially thinking about painting my stand black... and now you've got me thinking.

[Reef264]

Jlylec, you have my condolences buddy.

[spamreefnew]

wish i went bigger and did not scratch my glass!!

[cjk76]

Another thing, I wish I joined my reef club before setting up my tank. Everyone is selling equipment for very cheap!!!

[CyclistMT]

I wish I had aquired all of my equipment prior to adding livestock.


This.

It's easy to get caught up in the thought,"I've got enough stuff to keep x alive. I'll get the other equipment down the road."

The problem is you end up spending the money you allocate on equipment on livestock and never get the equipment you need or end up losing livestock because you don't have the equipment you need.

[Reefing Newbie]

I wish I would have saved the money from my used 125 set up and spent it on piecing together a 180(I actually have figured it out to be only about $100 more to set up the 180 with what I know now than the 125). This is because this 125 had problems and I seem to be redoing everything on this thing and it ain't cheap.

[dh350twin]

Wish i would have put doors on the side of my stand,,,,,,easy access is a must!!!

Wish i would have not trusted only one brand of test kit!

[Reef264]

Wish i would have not trusted only one brand of test kit!


Been there.

[Danzig]

I wish i had not overpaid for a used tank.

[seanm001]

I, too, wish I had QT'd fish, corals, everything from the start.

Though I love my huge diy sump, I wish I hadn't fit it precisely to the space inside my stand. I should have made it a few inches shorter so I could remove it, clean it, rebuild it, etc.

I wish that I could undo whatever it was that caused my longhorn cowfish to die.

[ryancw01]

Three words...

'Green Star Polyps...'

Wish I had never bought them. I can't get rid of them now and they have spread everywhere.

[gmate]

Would NOT have chosen a corner bowfront tank, would have had a RR tank so that I could add a sump when I was ready, and would have skipped adding a friend's LR that had aiptasia on it.

[Hal]

Would NOT have chosen a corner bowfront tank, would have had a RR tank so that I could add a sump when I was ready, and would have skipped adding a friend's LR that had aiptasia on it.
Add a copperbanded butterflyfish and peppermint shrimp and you'll never see another aiptasia in your tank. I guarantee it.:D

[aandfsoccr04]

I wish I would have never used sugar fine sand. I hate sand storms and blowing off my corals every other day with a turkey baster.

[Dragon moray ki]

Iwish I had started running kalk sooner and not moved my corals around so much

[droth335]

I wish we had:

- NOT introduced Anthelia to the tank - looked so nice until it started to take over!
- bought the more expensive (and better) light fixture from day 1 vs replacing the first one after a year

To add the flip side to this thread....I am glad we:

- have run GFO & GAC from day 1
- went with the 20 gallon ATO with Kalk (the stuff is awesome)

[ZOKU]

I wish I would have never used sugar fine sand. I hate sand storms and blowing off my corals every other day with a turkey baster.

What would've been your compromise? I keep reading numerous thoughts/opinions about how evil sugar sized (oolite) grade sand is...

[aandfsoccr04]

I'd just prefer to not have sugar fine sand. Next time I move the tank I'm going to take all that junk out and replace it with a larger sized grade sand. Aragonite has multiple different grades of sand and it just isn't really worth it. I've lost corals becasue I went on vacation for a week and sand covered them up and killed them. And then when you get those bigger stronger powerheads in there like tunze or vortech it just really becomes a nightmare. Plus sticking your arm all the way down in a 24" tank isn't all that fun either every other day or so...I didn't know better and just bought whatever the LFS had since I was moving the tank the next day.