what went wrong?

PS...

This is a great thread, which I have long thought the subject of could almost justify a separate forum for.

As a minimum it deserves a "sticky" someplace. ;D

S

 

thats up to the boss omard

 

tangster you mentioned a few items that happened to you, may or may not have been by your own demise. is there anything you can share that you would have changed so others may learn. can you expand on what your grandfather taught you after all these years in the hobby.

 

Way back when, my father and I had a 90 Fish only tank, I made the mistake of letting him talk me into buying a small leopard shark (don't want to hear it :-X) knowing full well that it would outgrow the tank in a hurry.

All was well at the old homestead, then some of the smaller fish (damsels, wrasse's, flame angel) started disappearing! Then one day after feeding I was sitting, watching the action when out of nowhere I saw a flash of beige and my purple tank (recently purchased I might add) disappeared right in front of my eye's only to reappear in the mouth of the leopard shark as he made his second go around.

Needless to say Old Town Aquariums in Chicago had one leopard shark in a 5 gallon bucket at their front door step within the hour! I got a new bigger Purple tang and a couple of neon wrasses in trade so all was not lost! ;D

Total Damage: 3- YT damsels, 2- Three spot (little PITA"S) 2 or 3- cleaner wrasses, 1- Flame Angle and 1- Purple Tang!

Since then not only do I not listen to my father about my tanks, when ever I see something I really like 8) and want I leave, go home and give it a couple of days worth of thought :-/ bad thing is I invariably go back and buy what ever I saw!!

 

I'll win the jackass award on this one. I bought my nano about a year and a half ago. For the first year I never checked the salinity. I went a year without a hydrometer. I use premixed water so I didn't think I needed one. I was new and didn't know. Just topped off by eyeing it up. I went to my buddies lfs and he said wholly [profanity removed], you buy one of those when you buy a tank..Long story short, when I got my hyrometer it took me 7 gallons of adding and checking to get my salinity right......BIG LESSON LEARNED.......AND my tank was only a 12 gallon nano cube with a 10 gallon sump.....

 

Ya know, I'm not arguing that we need to keep things clean around here, but I just kinda think the moderators enforcing the rules should be held to the same standard as the rest of us. Example:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/bucket/how-get-your-ass-kicked-43412.html

 

Point taken-thread title changed. I will delete the link on that thread as well.

 

cant we all just get along. i started this thread to help others. not to point fingers.

 

Brandon was correct and I remedied the situation. As far as I'm concerned, we're getting along just fine

Now, back to the topic at hand

 

Basally what I have leaned and know over the yrs is what I try to pass on today to guys here and on one other board I hang at. I just took what he taught me and pushed the edge until I found the braking points then pulled back then did it again to make sure I was at the limits. And beyond that I just applied the trades he and his brother brought me up threw and applied them as well even more so today then in the days of a simple incandescent bulb over the aquariums and setting them all up in front of a south eastern window.

I still use the cycling methods he did and water flow calculations he did at least I did not have to keep mixing my own salts the old Ruby Red salt formula would kill a crocodile But we got pass that also with the newer mix called Stockholm or Scandinavian mix ? I can't honestly recall the names now. The old timers all though that was what I/O used and has refined over the yrs.. Other then that I just try to pas on all I have learned and what I was taught some listen some don't But day in and day out I really have little or few issues with my systems either mine at home or ones I have set up for people and those who flowed my methods have never cussed me either and they continue to call and ask me how so I guess the old methods are working for them also .

I have sen many newer better ways come and go, But until I have a issue I won't change my methods I have tried them all repeatedly and as I mentioned I find that weak link Thats the fun of it for me. Don't get me wrong I have lost fish and corals and will lose more again but don't we all The trick s to not just murder them