BIGGEST mistake you've made in the hobby

mantisman51

mantisman51

Active Member
Believing that "treated" tap water was a good idea. I couldn't figure out why I had a 90% mortality rate. Finally, after 2 years of frustration , I bought a cheap counter top ro/di unit and haven't lost a fish since. Oh the $ I could've saved. BTW, I was amazed at the difference in sg readings between my refractometer and the hydrometer. Buying a refractometer and water filter is the two biggest things I recommend to new aquarists. Some folks say refractometers are over-rated, I say I wouldn't use anything else, now.
 
silencio530

silencio530

Member
my biggest mistake is getting my 90g set up and spending all the money i had on my car on my 90gal
im not carless but i hate using mah bros fishing truck
 
mantisman51

mantisman51

Active Member
p.s. I use Instant Ocean salt. My zoas are taking over the LR, so I think I'll stick with it. I can't imagine why someone would rate IO a mistake.
 
erock412

erock412

Member
Biggest mistake yet: not starting out bigger! I now find myself in the middle of a 55g to a 125g upgrade...which means ALL the equipment. At least I'll have a nice QT with the 55, eh?
 
tank a holic

tank a holic

Active Member
My biggest was trusting my "dude" to help me!! He has the mostest awesomest reef i've ever seen and has had it for 12 years. So dumb me thought what better guy to help me start well long story short he found me a 125 and some salt,changed his phone number and moved YAY!
i think the only thing keeping a for sale sign off my tank is knowing someday i'll have a killer tank (and not a fish killing tank)
 
funkysean5

funkysean5

Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/2882310
My biggest was trusting my "dude" to help me!! He has the mostest awesomest reef i've ever seen and has had it for 12 years. So dumb me thought what better guy to help me start well long story short he found me a 125 and some salt,changed his phone number and moved YAY!
i think the only thing keeping a for sale sign off my tank is knowing someday i'll have a killer tank (and not a fish killing tank)
lol
 
notsonoob

notsonoob

Member
Originally Posted by rtzx9r
http:///forum/post/2844422
Trusting my LFS on water testing. Said everything was fine for a year, each week I went in. Still, after 12 months and 440watts (VHO) I had zero coraline algae in my 60 gallon tank.
LFS #2 tested my water and voila- take a wild guess what was wrong...
Ammonia/NItrite/Nitrate = 0
PH 8.1
Phosphate = 0
calcium = 250!?!?!?!?
Alkalinity = 16.1
I am now adding calcium (liquid calcite) as well as Kalkwasser, and have already seen the coraline algae and soft corals perking up. So long for "free water tests!!".

One place in Stuart, FL, had my wife all freaked out because she said the salinity was over 1.040. She didn't know that I just checked it with my new refractometer, which had it at proper levels.
1) what did he use...hydrometer
2) did it look like it went through WWII.....yes
3) did he flick of the bubbles...don't think so...
4) go back and tell him he's an idiot...check
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
hmm. Worst mistake(s):
1. When I was just starting out: Not researching my purchases.
2. Not keeping a log of everything that was done to the tank. (this has saved me several times)
3. Listening to my LFS and believing everything they had to say.
4. Having one of my friends get me into this hobby.
5. Thinking back on all of the money that I have spent in this hobby.
Anyways, that's all for now. I might think of some later.
 
wolf_man

wolf_man

Member
The following story took place when i was about 6.
My dad just bought me a 55 gallon complete with stand and canopy. It was cycling for about a month and we put cichlids,goldfish and those types of freshwater fish. When i was watching TV there was a commercial about milk and at the end it said " Milk gives you strong bones" So i went into my fridge got a semi-full gallon of Whole Milk and poured it into my tank. I went to bed later and woke up finding a cloudy mess and a really bad odor and all the fish died. Yeah my dad was kinda ticked but i was a kid what can you say?
 
scrombus2

scrombus2

Member
The worst mistake I made was this stupid damnsel- yes, DAMNsel! I was snorkeling on a shallow reef just north of Stuart, FL and spotted a Beaugregory damnsel. Beautiful purple and yellow, with electric blue markings. Took over an hour and at least 25 dives, but I caught the little booger. He is now the absolute terror of my 75....I don't want to tear the tank down to get him out, so it's a cat and mouse game trying to catch him.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
hah, you shouldn't have gotten such an agressive little fish.
One time I put too much pressure on a 3/4" pvc pipe - 1hp jacuzzi pump pushing it. I pulled on the waterhose a little too hard and the pvc tube broke and water shot up 22ft high and soaked EVERYTHING and blew up the pump. Sucked. That's my venturing into a 1500 gallon system.
 
funkysean5

funkysean5

Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2882948
hah, you shouldn't have gotten such an agressive little fish.
One time I put too much pressure on a 3/4" pvc pipe - 1hp jacuzzi pump pushing it. I pulled on the waterhose a little too hard and the pvc tube broke and water shot up 22ft high and soaked EVERYTHING and blew up the pump. Sucked. That's my venturing into a 1500 gallon system.
Oh man..
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
and I know 3/4" was way too small - but if you saw the setup - that was just the little extra valve that I had coming off the main plumbing for water changes. I guess I should have used schedule 80.
 
culp

culp

Active Member
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/2882948
hah, you shouldn't have gotten such an agressive little fish.
One time I put too much pressure on a 3/4" pvc pipe - 1hp jacuzzi pump pushing it. I pulled on the waterhose a little too hard and the pvc tube broke and water shot up 22ft high and soaked EVERYTHING and blew up the pump. Sucked. That's my venturing into a 1500 gallon system.
sounds like that was a huge mess!

how long did that take to clean up?
 
anjiro

anjiro

Member
Originally Posted by Wolf_Man
http:///forum/post/2882915
The following story took place when i was about 6.
My dad just bought me a 55 gallon complete with stand and canopy. It was cycling for about a month and we put cichlids,goldfish and those types of freshwater fish. When i was watching TV there was a commercial about milk and at the end it said " Milk gives you strong bones" So i went into my fridge got a semi-full gallon of Whole Milk and poured it into my tank. I went to bed later and woke up finding a cloudy mess and a really bad odor and all the fish died. Yeah my dad was kinda ticked but i was a kid what can you say?

In relation to this, I kept some water in a fridge in a 1 gallon container. I always used it to top off my 30 gal fresh tank to cool the water for my Dojo's. So in my stupidity, I used tap for my first saltwater tank, about a year a go... I had no real problem until one day I poured that water in and the tank looked funny... So here were the mistakes to go with that one,
1. Used TAP to top off my sw tank.
2. Used COOL water to top off my sw tank.
3. Did not check and make sure it was actually water......
(The wife put frost Kool-aid in my jug and that went a whole gallons worth into a 10 gallon tank. Everything died within 24 hrs)
 
culp

culp

Active Member
Originally Posted by Anjiro
http:///forum/post/2883340
3. Did not check and make sure it was actually water......
(The wife put frost Kool-aid in my jug and that went a whole gallons worth into a 10 gallon tank. Everything died within 24 hrs)

that's why if i have my RO/DI water in jugs i label them as "FISH TANK WATER" so there is no mix up like that
 
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