Top 10 newbie mistakes?

[MikeP]

1. Be patient
2. Buy the best you can afford the first time around - don't be cheap.

[alexwolf]

put the tank right where you want it the first time

[dan]

1. mixing salt water to replace evaporation :oops:
2. buying all your fish when you buy the tank :wtf:
3.buy a plecostomus for your salt aquarium :cry2:

[alexwolf]

run the RODI hose to the sump for topoff, then go get some lunch and take a nap :shock:

[oceancube]

awsome zoo's alex!! :evil:

[manny]

Buying live rock at an lfs for $7.00 a pound is a rip off, don't do it

[manny]

Hey Alex, that RODI thing is a good one but I'm pretty sure there's some "oldies" who still forget sometimes :-D

[alexwolf]

:D

[Henry]

1. Putting too many fish in a tank
2. Nano tank as first tank
3. Not doing your research first

[Tim Marvin]

1. Not topping off daily
2. Leaving ro/di on to refill (I've done this more than once in the last 15 years)
3. Buying too small a tank
4. Not researching animals for compatability and feeding.
5. Trying to buy "cheap" stuff
6. Not buying high powered lights to start with.
7. loading tank too full
8. Use of bio-balls
9. Not enough circulation
10. NOT GETTING ADVICE from experience.

[Jenn]

1. mixing salt water to replace evaporation :oops:

Oh s*#! Ok, call me a newbie, but why is it bad to do this, and what do you recommend? (I do not have a RO system.....yet)

[Jenn]

Nevermind, just figured out that salt doesn't evaporate, just water :-D

[R.Allard]

Over feeding!!

[GaryP]

"You mean I can't have a shark in a reef tank? I thought sharks lived on reefs."

[captexas]

Newby mistakes -

- Researching a fish after they already purchased it and put it in their tank only to find out they can't properly take care of it. Even more fun when they find out it is going to eat the other inhabitants of the tank.

- Believing everything the people at the LFS tell them.

- Not doing any reading and/or research on the hobby before jumping in.

- Not being a paid member of MAAST :-) Had to add that one in there!

[GaryP]

Cleaning your tank with windex...

[GaryP]

Here's one that actually happened to a less than well informed friend.

He got a big time job and bought all the high dollar fish and toys he always wanted. One of the toys he bought was a hot tub. After soaking in a freshly chlorinated tub he decided to go work on his tank without taking a shower first. The chlorine on his skin killed everything in his tank.

[Andrew]

Advice to do:
1. Research what you want to keep. . .

2. know these animals requirements. . .

3. how much space this will require (tank size). . .

4. buy a tank double the size figured above (if space permits, because you'll regret buying to small a tank). A wise piece of advice: "Take whatever size tank you'd like to do, and double it - this is the size you should do". . . (this is happening to me, I have a 40 and want a 90 or bigger). . .

5. use live rock, (and protein skimmer if stocking heavily). . .

6. take it slow, let the system develop before stocking (letting pods proliferate, water testing, etc.). . .

7. add specimens gradually. . .

8. be selective, don't buy the first (whatever) you see. . .

9. enjoy the process, and keep a log, take pictures. . .

10. share the wealth (of information, and the occaisional frag :lol: )

Andrew

[reefer]

mixing saltwater using morton's table salt.....

[GaryP]

Andrew,

The only problem with doubling the size of the tank, is that eventually I'd just have to water proof my house and move into a tent in the backyard. I dropped the idea of a 300 gal. on my wife yesterday and got one of those "are you crazy looks." She reminded me that when I got the 125 gal. that I told her that was my dream tank. I guess many of us are guilty of having escalating dreams. Of course I just blamed it on Jim Norris. I'm sure many of you have had the same reaction after seeing his tank. I had to calmly explain to her that I have never designed a system from top to bottom like I want to do with the 300 gal. Maybe we need to offer a seminar on "spouse management for the reefkeeper." I think that is a mistake that more than one newbie to any hobby makes, not getting "buy in" from their significant other, especially when it has such a huge impact on "their house." I'm sure that many of you have had that experience.

Gary

[adaminaustin]

I saved this fish from the LFS.....

[wkopplin]

As a relative newbie myself, why don't you want to use bioballs? I don't have them, but have seen them used a lot.

My mistakes as a newbie:

1.) Always buy the best, so far, I have purchased two lighting systems, sumps, main pumps, skimmers (will have to buy the second one shortly) and overflows because the first batch I bought did not do the trick.

2.) Stock slowly (I did do this, some things from FW tanks carry over)

3.) Know your fish stores and who runs them. Some are WAY better than others.

4.) If at all possible, and this is your first tank, have someone with experience come over and take a look at your setup before adding livestock.

5.) Join MAAST

6.) Avoid difficult species of inverts, coral or fish. Stick to the easy stuff.

7.) Buy Big. Get a big tank. Make sure it is drilled. Overflows are a PITA

8.) Setup a refugium. They are fun as well as beneficial.

9.) Keep as much water off the floor as possible.

10.) Buy a RO/DI unit - get a good one and maintain it.

[manny]

7.) Buy Big. Get a big tank. Make sure it is drilled. Overflows are a PITA

They sure are!!!

[::pete::]

.... not necessarily a mistake, but think tile ;) ... not carpet :-o

[brewercm]

That's funny you mention the tile thing. My wife is bothering me to replace the carpeting with tile.
I told her that would be done next time.

[Inno]

10. Following mainstream instead of using your imagination.
9. Big eyes, small wallet.
8. Sacrificing pets' health for minimal upkeep.
7. Cheap products over quality.
6. Using your wallet instead of good judgement.
5. Not learning from your mistakes.
4. Leap and ask questions later.
3. Creating un-necessary complications (keep it simple stupid!) :D
2. Being impatient.

1. Relying on others instead of gaining the knowledge for yourself.

[malofish]

Using old chems. used some old kent stuff that was about a year old instead of throwing it away, woke up to a clouddy dead tank!!!!!

[Instar]

wkopplin - I'd like to challenge you on #5. Is that a mistake??? :/

Mistakes: Not rinsing the salinity meeter in RO after each use. (eventually leads to erroneous readings)
Using a metal framed tank.
Using a metal scraper to clean an acrylic tank.
Letting a freshly flea dipped kitten loose and not having a top on the sump.
Covering the tank with a glass cover and having a 4 year old son who likes to climb on things. (crack, splash...)
Making own tank. (crack, splash again...)
Draining the tank to do a water change and leaving the pumps all on.
Same as above and forgetting to unplug the heater.
Submersing a non-submersable heater and not having fire insurance.
Feeding an aiptasia and braggin about all the baby anemones thinking they will sell well.
My favorite - buying a lion fish and a blenny.

[Sherri]

Thinking "hijacker" crabs hiding in the new LR you just purchased are a good addition to your tank - NOT! I've had to deal with a total of 5 now. One was huge - large claw and had spikes...even named him "Spike" till I realized I couldn't even put in snails & hermit crabs till I got rid of this thing. NOT fun to catch...lol...right, Troy??? Went down to moving the last rock in the tank to catch him.

LOL on the aiptasia Larry...thought it was so cool that I had baby anemones growing on my LR. Took me over a year to totally eradicate them!

[VGB]

The "numbers" game.
Test-Tweak-Test-Tweak....

Too often in pursuit of tank parameters that can be quantified by hobby test kit, the new aquraist does more harm than good to his tank and his pocket book.

[GaryP]

I bet Larry has an ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrophotometer) in his garage. That will solve the old test kit problem.

Gary

[Instar]

ROFL - yeah, check the sky for blue arcs, I'm using it right now...

[GaryP]

I'll carry this over from another thread.

Dumping LFS bag water in your tank.

[GaryP]

Larry,

OK, so you are taking the low tech approach? You are using a Atomic Absorption photometer?

A few years ago I was taking an analytical chemistry course at UTSA and I took my tank water to class and ran the metals on it by AA. We were supposed to bring some tap water to check for lead and copper. I brought water from my quaratine tank that I was using copper in. I blew the lab TA's mind with the values I got.

Gary

[wkopplin]

Larry,

I meant "NOT" joining MAAST. Oops!

[Instar]

No Gary, mostly NADH rate reactions or ion specific electrodes. I don't have any mass specs, HPLC's or GC's here unfortunately. I used to have 30 of them.