give up, start over, or keep going?

AAARRRRGGGGHHH!!! right now, i HATE saltwater aquariums!!! well, mine anyway... i'm seriously considering giving up the thing altogether... it seems like when things JUST start going good, i run out of money, and can't even afford to keep the water topped off... and obviously that means i can't do a water change as well... i'm so discouraged, that when i notice one thing that goes wrong, i don't want to bother taking care of anything else... can someone please help me on deciding something? should i empty the tank, sell everything, and move on with another hobby, sell everything and buy a new, bigger, pre-drilled tank, or keep everything i have and try to fix all my problems and keep it up? i've got a 55-gallon aquarium, a decent amount of liverock, that has a decent amount of bubble algae, 2 maxijet 1200's, coralife superskimmer 125, nova extreme 4x54w t5 ho, and 40 lbs of livesand... that's it... i knew there was gonna be a lot of maintenence involved, but i don't have any staying enjoyment... it comes and goes whenever something happens, ie, excessive evaporation, excessive algae growth, fish death (i've lost my lawnmower blenny)... i'm thinking about going to GARF and getting them to build me some aragrocrete, and grunge, that way i don't have to deal with any algae or bad stuff... but still, should i start from scratch?

 

You will always have algae blooms, there will always be something without properly maintaining the tank. Flow and filtration are the 2 key things IMO to keeping up an aquarium. You can spend all the money that you want to but without proper flow and filtration, you will always have problems. in the words of our great "king fish" Matt "go slow, let it grow". Anthony, you are always trying to get ahead of yourself and move things a long faster then you should, as a result, you have problems. Which a lot of newbs do the exact same thing with the exact same results. Patience is a "MUST HAVE" in this hobby over anything else.

 

Without patience, money and a proper setup, you won't have much success so if you don't have any of the above.....?

 

Well if your setup is really the thing bothering you...I know how that feels...I wish so many times that I had an overflow and a sump. Money...will always be a problem hah. The store I used to sell coral to just closed...must find another one. Maybe you should just take the knowledge you have gained and start over with a tank that you wont have so many problems with...I have thought of that many a time.

 

Don't give up! Having patience and determiniation in this hobby is the key to success. Just becuase you had problems doesn't mean you should stop. If you do anything take a break or start over. You have a lot of equpiment right now, the tank, lighting, rock, etc, so you can keep most of it. If you want just start over, empty the tank, store the liverock somewhere, and keep everything in storage until you are ready to start again. This hobby is extremely rewarding and it is definatly worth it to keep going.

 

I can't make that decision for you as it is unfair to you and the livestock you have in your tank! I know one thing however, if you want to be successful>and you DO NOT have to have alot of money invested into the hobby IMO to be successful!<RESEARCH is the key to your success long term...knowledge and reading will go a long way in determining whether or not you will be successful or not IMO! As you continue to learn and gain experience and confidence, you will feel better about yourself and the tank you were dedicated to create and dream of originally.
You have to want to keep a saltwater tank because if this hobby starts to become a job and become tedious, your efforts will become stagnant and basically a waste of time and energy and your living organisms will suffer immensely as a result of this...
I would take the whole tank situation one step at a time! Go slow as Brian and Matt talked about, and YES, you will encounter pitfalls along the way(ie. fish death and algae), however, you will also reep the benefits associated with a healthy, enjoyable and successful tank if you put your mind to it and rather that REACTING to a situation, ACT before things get out of hand. If you are reacting to a problem, it is like looking out your rear view mirror of your car...what you are seeing is behind you and it is too late to avoid!
So with this in mind, you can have the tank you always wished for and have seen in books, on the internet, at you local petshop or at your Public Aquarium, you just need to take steps to ensure you and your tank will have a fighting chance!
*small weekly water changes
*read, read, read...ask questions(ie.3reef)
*test water parameters frequently
*knowledge of livestock compatability and husbandry requirements
*Salinity and temperature fluxuations kept to a minimum
*low nutrient level in your water
*good water flow
*proper lighting
*strong filtration!!!!!!!!!
*offer a diverse amount of food stuff and feed small amounts
*efficient and effective biological, chemical and mechanical filtration

!!!!!!go slow and don't try to do too much at once, don't expect miracles and things to happen over night! Don't think that algae will never occur and can be avoided totally! Remember, there is micro and macro algae evident in reefs around the world! Just try to manage it successfully-
Well, enough of the book writing! Just think about your decision real hard to avoid making a decision that you will ultimately regret in the future.
Nothing comes easy and everything comes with a price, just work at it and weigh out your options first!
LIKE A RELATIONSHIP...YOU HAVE TO WORK AT IT FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED!
Best of luck!!!!!
TOM

 

thanks all for the insight... i mean, a lot of it i already knew (going slow, fish deaths are unavoidable, as well as algae).... it just seems as if i have an extravagant domino lineup, and i'm about 2 or 3 dominoes from being finished, and i accidentally bump one, and you know how the rest goes..... i have no choice but to go slow because of my money situation, but during that time of waiting, my aquarium just seems so ordinary, and its hard for me personally to keep it in check... its weird though, i don't want the absolute best of everything, so i'm not looking for the most expensive... i think equipment wise, everything is good to go... i think everyone that has replied so far, besides superscro, knows my setup, plans, etc. etc... they already know my thoughts, ideas, questions... i don't want to give up completely, i just need to know how to change my method... i go as slow as i think is sufficent, i don't think i'm overloaded, my main problem is finding time for maintenence... my work schedule is out of whack, and the majority of the time, if i'm not working i'm sleeping... for some reason, working 6 pm to whenever in the morning will throw everything else off... if i sleep at night, i can function all day on just a few hours of sleep... but when i come home early in the morning, i have to sleep until basically time to go back to work just because i don't have the energy... it would be awesome if i had someone to come in and do daily water tests/top offs, and let me go about my business, but that would defeat the purpose of a sense of accomplishment... because it would be more their aquarium than mine...

 

i read back through the posts, and realized i'm kind of contradicting myself on the equipment... what i have is good enough, but more would be nice, as long as it would make maintenence easier... i think that's what i'm trying to say, or have decided on...

 

There for a while I was working 70+ hours a week. Ya think I had time to do anything other then sleep and work? My 75g which is all I had then went all to hell. If it wasnt taken over by caulerpa it was taken over by halimeda. In a lot of peoples opinions, it my tank was sub par as far as a equipment goes, but I could care less becuase it WORKED. I used tap water to top it off (roughly 20 gallons a time) when ever I noticed it was super low. Ya know whats so funny? Nothing died! Everything was going great. I still have that priginal set up, not much has changed on it I still have 2 of the original fish, the others got way to big for it and had to part with them. That tank is a testiment to doing the least amount of work possible to keep it going. For those who are wondering, YES I did have corals in it and they all survived!!!

As long as you have your basic stuff covered, you're good to go. You might have to look at a ugly tank for a short period of time, but LIFE happens and we move on. Not long after my daughter was born, I was ready to throw in the towel. One day I was sitting by the tank with my daughter in my lap, she was about 3 months old then, she was really squirming around and I couldnt figure out why. I then looked at her eyes, and she was staring at my clowns. I moved her closer to the tank and her lit up and she put her hand on the tank, and I knew then, I couldnt part with it. I have came a long long long way since then. I pretty much open my doors for business in roughly a month or so dealing in captive raised corals and fish.

So maybe a little unknown knowledge about my history in this hobby will help you a long.

 

It's not so much about money or the best of the lot equipment its more about patients and staying with animals with in your limitations and equipment. Nowfresh top off water is a must and as for water changes ? Carbon is cheaper. I just did a water change about 2 weeks ago for the first time in 30 yrs to see what all the fuss was about LOL I'll do my next one in another 30 yrs ..