Biggest mistakes you've ever made

[nivek]

Just thought it would be fun for everyone to list down their biggest mistakes so that we can learn and avoid them. Let me start off.

1) Leaving detritus to accumulate in my bare bottom cheato fuge, thinking the critters and cheato will manage it. Few weeks later nitrates were at 40 and phosphates were at 2!

2)

 

[whitety1025]

starting the tank in the first place

 

[ddelozier]

I agree with Whitety....my biggest mistake was letting my wife convince me to try SW in the first place. 2nd worst....trying to DIY Plumbing on an Overflow, without really understanding fluid dynamics.

 

[DianaKay]

Guessing my biggest mistake (SO FAR) was choosing sand that was too fine.
If I could go back & re-do that without a complete start over, I would.

 

[BigAl07]

My biggest mistake was....

• 
  [*]A) Trying to save a dollar and buy less quality equipment
  [*]B) Trying to PUSH the cycle to get it done sooner
  [*]C) Not researching the advice I was given at my LFS
  [*]D) Not researching the advice I was given at my LFS
  [*]E) Not researching the advice I was given at my LFS
  [*]F) Not researching the advice I was given at my LFS

 

[nivek]

haha good one guys. Another famous LFS advice : "Oh you can use a Damsel to cycle your tank (that has 100lbs of liverock in it)"

 

[ReefApprentice]

Mine was leaving a top off water container open...came home to my closet soaked and had to try to start to remove the 7 gallons on the carpet eventually having to remove everything and lift the carpet...

 

[Kremlin]

mine was using flatworm exit on the tank. i lost all off my sps, a frogspawn, and all of my shrooms

 

[Mike Johnson]

Using a HOB protein skimmer; it is a nightmare waiting to happen. Had one overflow onto a two week old, six inch, oak plank floor. Buckled it, of course.

 

[Mayja]

I just did mine last week: placed a Chemi Pure Elite filter bag too close to the skimmer return pipe. It slipped off the clip due to the water flow and proceeded to wedge itself between the pipe opening and the side of the sump. Flooded 15 gallons of water into my former dining room (thank god it's linoleum!).

 

[Mike Johnson]

Oh, how could I forget the worst mistake I ever made! I bought a Yellow Tang from a fellow reefer. He had it for six months and it was a "healthy fish". I put it straight into my DT, thinking it would be okay since it's a healthy fish. Well, it came down with ich and died. Infected all my other fish. Had to do the hospital tanks and leave my tank fallow. What a total pain. That was five years ago - hopefully I won't ever forget it.

I quarantine everything since then, even snails.

 

[jkef2010]

I think my biggest mistake are far was starting a SW tank with such a little tank, I want so much and don't have the room for it.

 

[lbiminiblue]

Guessing my biggest mistake (SO FAR) was choosing sand that was too fine.
If I could go back & re-do that without a complete start over, I would.

Using unwashed, unrinsed sand, and getting a dragon wrasse. This combo= constant winter wonderland of dust in the tank.

 

[ohiojeff]

without a doubt, trying to save money, I purchased bags of landscaping lava rock to use as rubble in my sump. it had heavy metals or something toxic that just killed my corals. fish were fine, everything else, not so much. it has taken me six months to get my tank back to where I can keep coral and inverts healthy again.

every time I try to save a buck it bites me. one thing for sure, this hobby is an investment. take your time and invest in the right stuff the first time.

 

[JJB103]

I pushed my tank a half inch off the stand, not knowing it, and I filled the tank to leak test it. The front panel had no support under it, so it cracked the bottom of the tank. 150 gallons on the floor. It turned my laundry room into a pool.

 

[shark32]

My biggest mistake was a couple of years ago I had an outbreak of cyno in my tank... And instead of trying to get rid of it with frequent water changes and vacuuming, I tried Chemiclean... Which wreaked havoc on my tank and killed my clownfish, wrasse, scooter dragonet and tuxedo urchin... Never again did I (or will I) slack in water changes.... That was horrible

 

[Mayja]

My biggest mistake was a couple of years ago I had an outbreak of cyno in my tank... And instead of trying to get rid of it with frequent water changes and vacuuming, I tried Chemiclean... Which wreaked havoc on my tank and killed my clownfish, wrasse, scooter dragonet and tuxedo urchin... Never again did I (or will I) slack in water changes.... That was horrible

Interesting. I used it a few months ago with great success. It cleaned the tank with no deaths. Huh.

 

[Kongor]

1. Not buying a Red Sea MAX S-Line 650. Oh its sooo pricey I will never spend that much on my 75 gallon.....

 

[shark32]

Interesting. I used it a few months ago with great success. It cleaned the tank with no deaths. Huh.

My friend who told me about it had no issues either.....I don't know what happened, but it was a terrible loss of some of my fishy friends ....The chemiclean wasn't a true remedy anyway...it just rids the bacteria temporarily, I had to get to the root of the problem...and for me, I have kept up with my water changes weekly and added a dual reactor with GAC and GFO...so far, so good... That's the beauty from these kinds of forums, you can learn from someone else's mistake...

 

[Mrsalt]

I've made soo many in the past, but worst for me was a sea cucumber that ejected its guts after a year of ownership- 30secs is what it took to wipe the lot out. All of my fish, corals everything ! Strange as i was just eating my breakfast in front of the tank and I must of just looked at it funny and it stuck that one on me in return. Needless to say I felt sick to the core and gave up marines for five years after that!


Alan