Mistakes people make

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Well I’m new here at masa ...joint a few months ago but didn't really use the sight...Here is a short intro to how I started and my set-up and thought..

I started my marine love about 13 jr ago...and still run the same tank and setup today as back then ...as with every new hobby every chance you get you get in to it...if I could I would have swam in my tank back then...I really learned the hard way back then there weren't any help like there is today (internet)...times surly have changed BUT one thing hasn't and that is “THE HOW TO” on a marine tank setup...For so many years now mankind has been keeping marines in their homes but mainly in labs and for research...none of these fancy equipment were available in the old days...just pump's and air systems...but they understood the term biological filtration...

When I started I wanted the whole thing..a reef tank with fish AND I WANTED IT NOW...back then I frequently visited Wim in JHB Hillbrow, weekend for weekend I would go there and admire his show tanks and live stock...he was the man back then and well known internationally for his knowledge in the upkeep of marine tanks...the other well-known shop back then was Animal World in PTA and Randburg...Any way Wim often told me first see if you can keep marine fish and look after your water parameters for a year or two...then start adding inverts starting with the hardy ones first for a another year or two...and then one by one ad your soft or hard corals...one a year... and over a few years you would have your mini reef...once you can do that you can call yourself a Ultimate REEF FISH KEEPER.

....for so many years I added stock and fish and just bought new as and when I saw something pretty...I would spend thousands in one day running from shop to shop and buy only to lose it all over the next few months, and keep spending as I loose stock to keep my tank looking gr8 and not to lose face with friends or family when they visit...as long as the tank looks good and is stocked I’m happy...I still think I should have listened to Wim I could have saved so much and many....

Well that changed the day I realised this is no hobby...I woke up one day and realised that a hobby is something you do part-time and to keep busy with as and when it pleases you...fish keeping is a huge responsibility and something you must be passionate about...and you have no control over it until u respect and understand the term Biological filtration and patience...you will not be a successful marine keeper if you treat it as a HOBBY

..You see the small glass bowl in my house gets maintained by me... and the ocean by God...it’s that simple... Some of my fish and inverts have been in my tank for over 10 years now..

First God made the ocean then he added the fish and animals......





 
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its not a hobby.. its an obsession! Really it is.. my girlfriend is sick of me talking about marines lol.. Welcome to masa btw :)
 
cool story guy, im sure there are tonnes of okes that are going through what you have experienced and im sure you could teach a lot of us about looking after our own eco-systems with your experience. please don't be too shy to share any other secrets.
 
This is a dead coral pease i got last April to alow my stripe mushrooms to populat on to so i can do swops or sell some ...it started to change to white and soon changed colour to light brown ...it is regenerating and has grown quite some over the last few monthes...can any one tel me what family specimen this is ...Plate I think but ....??? its to the left of the coral beauty..
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system

welcome to MASA please tell us more, what filtration you got and what lighting , and btw you have somw awesome shrooms

Thanx
The filter is in the back of the tank...it's a corner unit 280l and the filter has 2 compartments...the overflow runs over a trigal system down some bio balls and in the back is the return pump and 2kg nitrate-spunge...the filter holds 15l water..
The lights...: all t8's x 4 off,,, triton, corelstar, marine glow and a power glow...
Inside the tank are a wave maker 15000 and a small 200l/h back-up power head...
2x 300w heaters...

All very basic..
 
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Imagine how beautiful your tank would have been with all those coral you bought over the years (if they did not die) should you have known about Deep Sand Beds, proper filtration methods, skimming etc.

Btw, welcome to the Forum. Keep us posted on your setup. We love pics :biggrin:
 
Imagine how beautiful your tank would have been with all those coral you bought over the years (if they did not die) should you have known about Deep Sand Beds, proper filtration methods, skimming etc.

Btw, welcome to the Forum. Keep us posted on your setup. We love pics :biggrin:

Hi sean ..
Now that is exactly why I posted this thread…My tank was never drilled so a sump filter was a bit out of reach and space in the cabinet also limited…that is why I transformed my overflow in to a trigal filter ( OLD SCHOOL) ….this does the same work as a dsb…only difference is with a sump you can go bigger…the message I want to get across is time and patience…a biological filter doesn’t just happen it takes time …DSB; TRIGAL; SCRUBERS ….all of them if you start with a setup decide on the filter system and stick to it…A marine tank setup should not cost more to setup as a tropical tank except for the live rock….I know of tanks 800l and more just running on Scrubbers or a Canister stocked to the brim and they are doing very well…at the end it is about how well your denitrifying bacteria work in the system whether in the tank or filter system ….
DSB’S Is gr8 but I have not seen many over the years that work properly as people don’t layer them properly…and tend to tamper with it from time to time…and as far as skimmers …that is debatable…
my losses over the years were because of hastiness and carelessness …I don’t think it was that a sump filtration setup would have made any bigger difference…although I know bigger is better and if I have to start a new setup I would probably go that route (sump) …
by the way you have a stunning reef...size does matter...
 
at the end it is about how well your denitrifying bacteria work in the system whether in the tank or filter system ….

Cannot agree more

DSB’S Is gr8 but I have not seen many over the years that work properly as people don’t layer them properly…and tend to tamper with it from time to time
Exactly, Hennie also mentioned this some moons ago and it does make sense

…and as far as skimmers …that is debatable…

:lol:. I still believe in them, even though I would love not to have one- electricity wise :lol:
 
It truly is a nice tank...would look even better if that mushroom migrated to mine!!!

:)


The posibility exist...c u later maybe this weekend...if ure avail...you should come cee me ...what hapend to the star pols.....????
 
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Here is it today
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regenerated coral
The coral that regenerated looks like Heliopora. Read an interesting article the other day that there used to be 3 species but now only one species left, the other two have gone extinct. I've seen many times this Heliopora being sold as live rock.
 
the regenerated coral is hardcore :yeahdude:
 
Going to have to learn some more, will google trickle filter, biological filtration. I did build a scrubber for my nano, if you want to see a fantastic reef that ran for many years with only a scrubber, it's here in EL, I have seen it often, every time it takes my breath away, check out Mudskarks skimmerless reef on masa.
Mudsharks Skimmerless Reef - Marine Aquariums of South Africa
 
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