Breaking point

[nczipp]

My mom and I have had a 10 gal saltwater tank for about a year and a half. We have had ups and downs with it and right now, we're down.
We love our tank, but I'm leaving for school again at the end of the week and my mom has a lot of trouble maintaining the tank when I'm gone due to physical limitations.
Our sand is covered in orange algae ever since we put some new sand in about 2 weeks ago. The sand was depleted due to a previous issue with red slime. We've done partials and all our parameters are good. No matter what we try or how much we spend, we just can't keep the tank algae free.
What makes this more stressful, is the fact that my mom is leaving with me to go to school and won't be back for 6 days. Which means spending even more money to have someone come over and feed and top off.
We're just torn as to what to do now. The tank has a yasha goby, a few hermits, and various corals. Getting rid of it would be heart breaking but keeping it up is exhausting and feels like money is just disappearing because of it.
I don't even know if or how we could even break it down before I leave in three days when we have so much to get ready.
Has anyone else had this problem before? What would be the best way to break down the tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mcgyvr]

If you want to get rid of it then just put all creatures into bags of water and take to the local fish store to give to them..
Or maybe state your location and someone may take it all off your hands..
I see NC in your name.. Any chance you are close to raleigh NC.? :)

Then just drain and trash the tank.. Should take no more than an hour

The orange algae is likely diatoms and will go away on its own..
Provided you keep your nitrates and phosphates very low algae typically isn't an issue..

A small tank should just need water changes to keep the levels under control and algae away..
But it sounds like you would be better to just break it down..

[FoxFace Fish]

I agree. I would try to find someone who is new to reef keeping and pass the love of the hobby to them. I got my first reef from a friend. His tank was infested with Diatoms,Algea, and Cyanobacteria green and red. Every bad thing you can think of. I got a hold of it and turned it into something beautiful. Or try to sell the stuff to someone you know. Or just pack your stuff and sell it to an local store. And another option is see if someone around here wants it and mail it or let them come get it or something.

also I also agree that the orange stuff is probably dead diatoms. Try fixing your NO3 levels and test your phosphate to see where it is.

Also the type of water you use can matter. I would use R/O if you are not

[d0ughb0y]

if the hobby is causing you undue stress, then it is time to move on.
there is no right or wrong answer, regardless of what you decide to do.

[nczipp]

We have decided to keep it for the time being since we honestly don't have time to find someone and break it down. I'm not sure what my mom wants to do after she returns without me but we will probably break it down either before or or during winter break when I am home to help.
Our parameters are fine except we tested today and our ph is a little low which the guy at the store said will promote diatoms. So we're upping our ph supplement and decreasing our light to 6 hrs a day while we're gone and praying for the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Michael Hoaster]

If you decide to keep it going, I have a couple of suggestions that may help. First, hermit crabs are useless algae eaters once they get a taste for fish food. Get rid of them and replace them with Cerith Snails. They will reproduce to numbers that will equalize with algae growth. Also, consider adding a macro algae or two. They are beautiful and they will help soak up any excess nutrients that would otherwise feed undesirable micro algae. Hope this helps and good luck!

[heathlindner25]

There's no way to up your PH and not screw with your alkalinity .

[nczipp]

If you decide to keep it going, I have a couple of suggestions that may help. First, hermit crabs are useless algae eaters once they get a taste for fish food. Get rid of them and replace them with Cerith Snails. They will reproduce to numbers that will equalize with algae growth. Also, consider adding a macro algae or two. They are beautiful and they will help soak up any excess nutrients that would otherwise feed undesirable micro algae. Hope this helps and good luck!



I agree that hermits are useless. We only have ours because we were having a problem keeping crustaceans for some reason and wanted a shrimp so we were testing with them. We have quite a few bumblebee snails in there now, but they don't seem to touch the sand. I will mention Cerith snails to my mom and see about getting some. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nczipp]

I may sound insane for suggesting this, but my mom and I have talked about all our options and one that came up is to take our favorite rocks (with corals) and our goby and put them in my 5 gallon freshwater tank after emptying it. I know that smaller tanks are harder to maintain which is why we haven't decided. I don't know how much harder a 5 gallon would be to maintain than a 10 gallon either. I've done research and found that a yasha goby will be ok in a 5 gallon. The 5 gallon tank is a much easier size for my mom's physical limitations too. Do y'all have any opinions/suggestions with this?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nczipp]

(And yes, the 5 gallon tank is designed for both fresh and salt)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ReefsandGeeks]

The main problem with going smaller (though your 10 gallon would also already be considered quite small) is keeping salinity stable. Other issues show up with coral, but not a big deal for only rock and a fish or inverts. I think if moving to a 5 gallon would make it easier for your mom to take care of in your absence, than that is a legit option. You can even save the rock that you can't fit in the 5 and use it in the future if you ever decide to go bigger again. It will be dead rock and need cycled, but still a nice option to have.

Sounds like you really don't want to leave the hobby yet, so if you think the smaller tank would be easier, than I say go for it. Though I do have to say a 5 gallon isn't going to be half the effort of a 10 gallon. The main difference would be smaller water changes, and a bit less glass to clean. Otherwise, maintenance will be similar.

Once other thing you may try, is several 50% water changes in a row. I've had some persistent issues with my tanks in the past, and when I started to loose interest or get frustrated, I'd do a couple of large water changes for a few days in a row, and the tank has always looked way better after. This could help your existing tank, or maybe revitalize interest for you or your mom. Kind of the opposite of doing less work, but may help lessen the issues you're having. I understand it's pretty late to be doing this though with you going to school. I'm not sure if your mom can do that on her own while you're gone or not.

If you do decide that the hobby is just too much, it'll always be here waiting for you when you feel you have the time and the means to get back into it. I personally waited until after college to get into the hobby. I know I wouldn't have been able to afford it while in school, and certainly didn't have the spare time with studying.

[sde1500]

If you are struggling with a 10 gallon, I can't see it improving in a 5 gallon.

[d0ughb0y]

judging from how problematic this is getting to be for everyone, I'd say just cut your losses and quit. There is no shame in quitting. You will be relieved and say why you did not do it sooner.

[Michael Hoaster]

Quitting is a good option for your situation. Why are you leaving it with your mom? Take it with you. I kept a 10 gallon freshwater tank in college with no problems. Consider going freshwater for a while to simplify. Also, if you feel like you're spending too much money on failure after failure, you need to learn more. No shame in that. We ALL could learn more!

[mcgyvr]

yep.. be a quitter....
quit.. quit..quit.. quit...

[nczipp]

Quitting is a good option for your situation. Why are you leaving it with your mom? Take it with you. I kept a 10 gallon freshwater tank in college with no problems. Consider going freshwater for a while to simplify. Also, if you feel like you're spending too much money on failure after failure, you need to learn more. No shame in that. We ALL could learn more!



I'm leaving it with my mom because I'm going 6 hours away and my car is stuffed.


As far as quitting goes, we likely will. We're trying to consider all the options. We can't do anything now because we don't have time before I leave and I would like to get some money for what's in there since we have a lot of nice zoas, mushrooms, and a few other things. The tank store we go to will only give credits for what you want to sell, and if we're getting rid of it, then we won't need the credits lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[d0ughb0y]

put it on criagslist.

In The Art of War, it says to pick your fight. you can quit now and come back another day when you are ready to win.

[Sk8r]

When I was in college, in a dorm, I had a betta bowl.
When I was in grad school, in a flat, my flat-mate and I had a 6 foot long guinea pig cage, a 30 gallon guppy tank, a 2 gallon seahorse tank (worked great until the people below us held a party smoking heavily), a 30 gallon freshwater tank, and a 20 gallon piranha tank. I managed to donate the pigs back to the store, along with the guppies, I'd lost the seahorses, but moved 2 mated pairs of angels, assorted others; and the piranha 2000 miles by car back home. All arrived alive.

[nczipp]

put it on criagslist.

In The Art of War, it says to pick your fight. you can quit now and come back another day when you are ready to win.



/I/ would put it on Craigslist, but my mom is not tech savvy and is convinced everyone on Craigslist is trying to kill or rob you. So I don't know what she's going to do with it. I hope she at least gets some money for it and doesn't just give it away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nczipp]

When I was in college, in a dorm, I had a betta bowl.
When I was in grad school, in a flat, my flat-mate and I had a 6 foot long guinea pig cage, a 30 gallon guppy tank, a 2 gallon seahorse tank (worked great until the people below us held a party smoking heavily), a 30 gallon freshwater tank, and a 20 gallon piranha tank. I managed to donate the pigs back to the store, along with the guppies, I'd lost the seahorses, but moved 2 mated pairs of angels, assorted others; and the piranha 2000 miles by car back home. All arrived alive.



Oh I've made the trip with my tank before when I first got it and have no problems with the travel, but since I'm moving into my new apartment, my car won't have room for it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NS Mike D]

/I/ would put it on Craigslist, but my mom is not tech savvy and is convinced everyone on Craigslist is trying to kill or rob you. So I don't know what she's going to do with it. I hope she at least gets some money for it and doesn't just give it away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

even if she does give it away, that isn't the end the world. kudos to you for the maturity to know that college and your relationship with mom is far more important than the tank and attempting to find a home that will take care of them.

Treasure the experience you shared with mom. My tank often triggers memories of the fish tanks we had when I was a kid. I can picture the 5 gallon tank we set up in my room to raise the baby guppies and the excitement of the entire family as we gathered around the main tank in the living room when the first time we witnessed the births.


Don't forget to thank mom for all her help with the tank.

[homer1475]

I can picture the 5 gallon tank we set up in my room to raise the baby guppies and the excitement of the entire family as we gathered around the main tank in the living room when the first time we witnessed the births.

I still remember the same thing, except mine was horror when we didn't know they would eat their babies! Since your memory is so fond I'm going to assume you were smart enough/enough hobby knowledge to have a breeder box and the babies were sucked away?

To the OP, Kudo's to you for realizing the tank will be too much for your mom and having the adultness(is that a word?) to give it up instead of leaving it behind and becoming a burden to your mom.