Thinking of giving it up

Well I hate to say it but I think im going to give up on saltwater, Its just not fun anymore ever since i switched from my 30g to my 90 gal , its been nothing but problems, Filters clogging every couple of days , cleaning the glass every 3 days , topping off 3 gallons a day , now my kole tang has mild ich but he wont even come out and eat so he will probably be dead tomorrow and 1 of my clowns has it mildley too but acts fine and I cant figure out why, Amonia 0   nitrite 0  nitrate 0 ph 8.3  salinity 1.025 .... nothing testin wrong yet nothing seems right. I might have 2x250W MH's for sale soon. Ill try to decide in the next couple of days.

 

NOOOOOooooooooo!!!!!
Don't give up! Why are you running filters that can clog easily all the time? I run a skimmer. That is it. You can run a canister or such a couple days a month...that is all you need really. Make your life a little simpler!

Set up an auto top off! It is soooo easy! Please , hang in there!!!!

 

Great advise BL!

 

Fishez Don't do it!!! When I first set my tank up I felt the same way. I had problems with my sump, it overflowed a couple of times, I had algae problems, I also had to clean the glass almost every day and I was adding water every day also, It seemed to be more work than it was worth!! >You will get everything fine tuned little by little,
But as Birdlady said get a skimmer it is the best filter you can have for your system IMO. and you don't have to buy any filter material for it. ;D
And the auto top off makes life a lot easier .... John

 

Dude!!!!! Don't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember how how it was with the 30? Constant tinkering just to keep matters right? Well, unless you have a boat load of corals (and at US prices, I don't think you are getting there over night) the tinkering is much less of a problem with the bigger tank.

It just takes time.

Man, I had a boatload of the green grass, covered every inch of my LR starting 2 weeks after I set up my 110, and that was in a LR, LS, NSW tank. Who would of thunk it. Anyway, I have have suffered through it, and am now watching the red coraline "undertake" the green. Red Coraline comes back, under the green, and turns it deep purple, and in time it is gratefully dead. (I feel a song coming on ...)

Anyway, I am now watching as my tank supports some of the most beautiful corals I have ever seen. (I know, I need to post more pics, but the post tsunami (US Embassy Jakarta Indonesia) problems have me so busy I hardly have tome to scrape the algae from my glass every few days!!!!)

The biggest problem right now for me is that we have had a productive rainy season and the NSW is no good. I was at the local market this past weekend and you could smell the stench of bad water in the air. Low salinity and high ammonia (or other nitrides and a few sulfides) levels from all the runoff and the unwillingness of locals to venture much more than a couple hours out for anything aquatic is the biggest problem.

Just be patient and give it time. That is what I am doing with my water change problem. That and adding some Stress Coat to my top off. It picks up garbage and drops it off in the foam fractioner. Really. If you want to clear the water really fast after cleaning the glass and other puttering around in the tank, just top off the sump with a quart of water treated with 5-10 ML of Stress Coat, and garbage just jumps out of the water in the skimmer.

For the Ich. Get yourself a UV and wait it out. You are infected, so be it, get beyond it, and 8-10 weeks later, you are done with it. Keep the blue light on, though. Trust that only your fish will be infected in that period. Your corals and inverts will not be inflicted, infected, or otherwise affected. What fish survive will be in a sense innoculated.

Get and maintain a quarentine tank.

If I had to pay what you pay for fish, I would have a quarentine tank. However, I can replace every fish in my tank for what you pay for a single showpiece fish. That ain't bragging, just explaining why I don't support a QT myself.

Suffer through your problems. Most of them are more like simple challenges, and those can be tackled today or tomorrow. Like the glass. It doesn't have to be crystal clean 24/7/365. If it were, your inverts wouldn't be clombing up it and you couldn't watch how they eat!!! That is cool stuff. OK, I don't get out much.

Anyway, hang in there dude. Ask yourself, can it get any worse?

Cheers,
Ray

 

Thanks for all the encouragment guys. My kole tang isnt dead yet but i dont think hes got much longer.. I cant figure out whats wrong, His head looks like its caving in or something and he cant move his mouth anymore. I feel sorry for the little guy and i dont know what to do.... what makes a fishes face look like its caving in??

 

DONT DO IT...well...if u want...NAH DONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I just tryed a freash water dip, and put him back in the main tank... now im sitting here watching him die. this sucks!!!

 

As BL said, a skimmer is really what you need. It sounds like your filtration may not be getting the job done. If your water parameters are off, and you have dissolved organic compounds (DOCs), this can cause stress in your fish which will make them more susceptible to diseases, especially ich.

Remember a tank will take 12 - 24 months to fully mature and balance itself out. Green algea, brown diatoms, and red/green cyano bacteria are all part of the settling in process for a tank. You really aren't that far off from success, your just behind by a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

 

I agree with the rest...dont do it!
I've only been at this for 9 mos. with a 120 gl. I'd never dealt with fish before. We moved an existing setup and I've had nothing but probelms for 9 mos as far as water parameters go. I do lots and lots of water changes to keep the water from getting any further out of hand. My sump flooded a couple of times. My main pump has stopped. I also have ich. The list could go on. It seems like anything that could happen has happened. My hubby has been no help and I have been ready to throw in the towel---several times.

A skimmer is a must. I tried a Magnum 350 along with my skimmer and it was clogged up with in a few days. Now i know to only use it on an occasional basis when I need to polish the water.

An auto top off system is a must as well as ro/di. I have a line running from under neath the kitchen sink , running thru the attic and down into my sump. I've never had to carry any water for the top off...its done automatically. Its the only way to go. Make things simple for yourself!

I have a plan now and I'm starting to work it. I just bought a 55 gl QT tank for my 17 fish. If one has it they all have it. I need to finish cleaning up the tank and start filling it with tank water and start cycling it. Once it cycles then I'll QT the fish.

I bought new sand for my tank- using the previous owners old sand is the reason for my water chemistry being so outrageous.

When I break the tank down to QT it then I will also change out the sand bed an install a new much larger sump/fuge.

The tank is by an AC return vent. It is causing my 4 yrs old AC system to start rusting up. As we speak I have a handy man here who is going to close up the vent and install another one in the hallway. He's having to rig up a box in the back of my closet that will lead to the main return in order to make room for another vent. It isn't going to be cheap.

I've already invested so much time, frustration and money in this that I'll be ***** if going to give in now!!! I will not let it get the best of me! I'm determined that I will get things under control and when I do I will finally be able to sit back and enjoy it the way it was intended to be.

The reef tanks and fish are just so totally awesome! There's something new and different that I notice each day with the tank (other than algae that I have to clean off the glass)

Just remember your not alone here. A lot of us are either in the same boat you are or have been there at one time or another.

Also, when the going gets tuff just go out and buy a new toy for your tank. I just did! ;D

Whenever you need to vent or you feel like giving up just remember there's always someone here for you to talk to .

We are here to support you and each other.

Hang in there...we're with you all the way, and as someone else said , it can't get much worse. Just remember, THINGS WILL GET BETTER. It may be hard to see it right now, but it will.

Cindy