What was your biggest mistake with your aquarium?

not starting with a sump

 

I think I've made every mistake possible so far:

Buying insufficient lighting
Getting an algae blenny and not realizing that I needed to make sure there was either a constant supply of algae or feed him something he would take (starved to death )
Filling tank up with tap water
Buying the cheapest RO unit I could find

Probably the most fun:

Having a return chamber on the sump that could not accomodate back siphoning and then having a power failure.....FLOOD! :-/

Please God, for my wallet's sake, let it be somewhat smooth sailing from here on out! ;D

 

to many damsels i need to catch them.... nasty buggers

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/peredhils-mistake-71391.html


I made my biggest mistake yesterday.


My second biggest is rock placement... now that I have experience placing coral... not happy with the rock layout but scared to move the base rocks (as in the bottom layer) and causing param problems... leaving it alone until next tank...

 

heres one that sticks in my mind...While filling some buckets for a WC...I got a call about an aqua lifter I ordered had arrived....I just jumped in the truck and away I went...came home to the overflow of the bucket...had been dumping on the carpet for about an hour...what a mess.
And as I said in the poll...TANK SIZE... wish I would have started with a 90....but then I would not have had ALL THIS FUN !! : ) lol

 

If I would have spent my money on a larger tank to start with, I would not have had to comprimise, on some of the equipment. Buying some used rather then new. I would also have more room. Now that I've bought the larger tank, I cant seem to give up the smaller ones! And for whatever reason the 180g, just doesnt make me as happy as the 300g I'm already thinking of. Didn't I read some where here that, some one wants a 700g in their garage? I have a full basement just sitting empty. Should I put the small tanks down there or just flood it? How much live rock and sand do you think it would take?

 

buying a stand that wont allow me to have a sump

 

My biggest problem has been going to the LFS and finding a new and intriguing specimen that I have to add to my tank. I am a newb to this entire salt water experience and every time I go to the fish store I end up spending at least 50 bucks!!!

 

When I started saltwater:
- tap water
- underpowered lights
- pouring salt str8 to the tank, then mixing

Rescently:

- 3 a.m. Saturday morning, drunk as hell, decided to dose some vodka to my 28g..... 30gram shot glass full of stoli went in..... Green mushrooms simply dissolved within 12 hours. N02 and NO3 lvl's was about to set my testing strip on fire
Funny thing is....yellow carnation survived somehow.

-

 

repeatly buying fish from a lfs with pefect water conditions only to watch them die in my less the perfect system.