Bored with tank

[Coolreefer42]

17 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Nothing wrong with trying a different hobby....IMO that what it sounds like you're looking for.

 

If you want to keep doing something with aquariums, then consider NOT doing saltwater as a change. 

 

Switching the tank over to brackish is the easiest option.

 

To do that you just need to stick with brackish fish that like saltwater (eg. Mollies, others).

 

Or, alternately, sell off your saltwater livestock so you can consider even more brackish animals that might prefer fresh vs salt as they grow.

 

Switching completely to freshwater has to be the lease expensive option.

 

Of course maybe doing something other than aquariums would make more sense...you'd have to tell us that part.  

 

(FYI, don't let anyone tell you freshwater tanks can't be as cool as saltwater....that's just a limited viewpoint talking. ;))

Yes I did fresh water for at least a decade  before I even thought of saltwater,  I love the corals more than I ever loved duckweed or bamboo. I think I’m just going to save up cash for a new light and let everything grow until the tank has no useable real estate left, that will be years from now, so I guess we will see then, I might look into the brackish idea, set up a mangrove tank that just makes me excited thinking about aqua scapeing that!

[Coolreefer42]

On 12/1/2018 at 9:41 AM, Fish_Wiz said:

What kind of light is on that tank?

 

Also yeah skip the flame, none of the ones I tried were reef-safe and costed me a lot in damage. I'm anti-damsel so for me, even if it has sentimental value, it's got to go. On the other hand, I currently have a pair of seahorses, and not to be dramatic but I'd die for them.

 

Have you considered ordering online?

Yes I have the gas price is the same as the shipping for coral, I might go that route when I purchase a new light, what do you think about live aquaria?

[mcarroll]

You're very limited when ordering online and commercial shipping can be very hard on livestock.   

 

Best to spend the gas money so you can see and pick for yourself (or not if things don'y look good for any reason) and avoid the downsides of ordering. 

 

IMO.

 

[Fish_Wiz]

2 hours ago, Coolreefer42 said:

Yes I have the gas price is the same as the shipping for coral, I might go that route when I purchase a new light, what do you think about live aquaria?

LiveAquaria is great, Diver's Den is even better. There was a merger between LiveAquaria and Petco and I've noticed the quality has tanked a bit but Diver's Den is still run exclusively by Dr. F&S. 

 

I can understand the drawbacks of ordering online but if you're patient and are buying WYSIWYG, there's no difference than buying it at your fish store. Both cases you take a risk.

[mcarroll]

No indication of this on any of their websites.....not at present anyway.

 

So did drfoster and petco merge or did drfoster simply get out of the livestock biz, selling out to PetCo?  Not too clear what happened.

 

[WV Reefer]

5 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

No indication of this on any of their websites.....not at present anyway.

 

So did drfoster and petco merge or did drfoster simply get out of the livestock biz, selling out to PetCo?  Not too clear what happened.

 

https://about.petco.com/2014-11-19-Petco-to-Acquire-Online-Pet-Product-Retailer-Drs-Foster-and-Smith

[Coolreefer42]

1 hour ago, Fish_Wiz said:

LiveAquaria is great, Diver's Den is even better. There was a merger between LiveAquaria and Petco and I've noticed the quality has tanked a bit but Diver's Den is still run exclusively by Dr. F&S. 

 

I can understand the drawbacks of ordering online but if you're patient and are buying WYSIWYG, there's no difference than buying it at your fish store. Both cases you take a risk.

Thanks I’ll check it out. 

[CoralStorm]

On 12/1/2018 at 10:41 AM, Fish_Wiz said:

What kind of light is on that tank?

 

Also yeah skip the flame, none of the ones I tried were reef-safe and costed me a lot in damage. I'm anti-damsel so for me, even if it has sentimental value, it's got to go. On the other hand, I currently have a pair of seahorses, and not to be dramatic but I'd die for them.

 

Have you considered ordering online?

ordering online is risky i like to go to my lfs and ask them to order the fish i want and yes it usually takes longer and may even cost more but im better off getting it alive knowing what i get

[Nelson]

If you keep your tank small and simple you can buy better looking corals. When I am browsing the web so many times I see these huge tanks with lots of empty space, 'boring' corals, you know what I mean :P. Imho less maintenance small systems + nice quality corals = more joy. Thats why I like this site so much 🙂

Your tank looks nice, give it some clean up bro haha

[Fish_Wiz]

50 minutes ago, CoralStorm said:

ordering online is risky i like to go to my lfs and ask them to order the fish i want and yes it usually takes longer and may even cost more but im better off getting it alive knowing what i get

I know what you mean and I'm not here to start an argument but a good chunk of fish stores by me are trash anyways, I gamble either way. I will say though I've been lucky enough (actually I paid a premium) to shop with top notch online retailers like Diver's Den, World Wide Corals, Cherry Corals, and AquaSD. Packaged like they actually care (even better bagged than most my LFS) and with Saturday shipping I get it as timed or a superb DOA policy. I usually shop WYSIWYG so no stock photos, I get it as I see it. If you're on the hunt for a cheap online retailer, you're already betting against the casino. 

[Coolreefer42]

58 minutes ago, Nelson said:

If you keep your tank small and simple you can buy better looking corals. When I am browsing the web so many times I see these huge tanks with lots of empty space, 'boring' corals, you know what I mean :P. Imho less maintenance small systems + nice quality corals = more joy. Thats why I like this site so much 🙂

Your tank looks nice, give it some clean up bro haha

Will do, I’ve been adviced a good light is the AI prime so if u have any coral ideas that can support that light and look decent without costing hundreds let me know.  I’ll clean it soon, thanks. 🙂

[Coolreefer42]

50 minutes ago, Fish_Wiz said:

I know what you mean and I'm not here to start an argument but a good chunk of fish stores by me are trash anyways, I gamble either way. I will say though I've been lucky enough (actually I paid a premium) to shop with top notch online retailers like Diver's Den, World Wide Corals, Cherry Corals, and AquaSD. Packaged like they actually care (even better bagged than most my LFS) and with Saturday shipping I get it as timed or a superb DOA policy. I usually shop WYSIWYG so no stock photos, I get it as I see it. If you're on the hunt for a cheap online retailer, you're already betting against the casino. 

Thanks for the advice on DIVERSDEN I’ll check them out. I’ll be purchasing an AI prime here soon. I’ll be sure to ask for advice if I can support a corals needs on that light.

[mcarroll]

3 hours ago, Fish_Wiz said:

I can understand the drawbacks of ordering online but if you're patient and are buying WYSIWYG, there's no difference than buying it at your fish store. Both cases you take a risk.

There are many significant differences and buying local is actually better when possible.  In particular for fish, but generally as well.  Yes there are always risks to everything, but that's true of life.   The risks between ordering online and local are quite different.  Just a few points of comparison to illustrate...

 

Spoiler

 

Online:  Having no help during the purchase is a disadvantage.

Local:  Shopping locally you will always get help and you can always decide what to make of that info and how to use it.  This helps A LOT of folks to avoid bad purchases.

 

Online:  Being unable to see the tank and surrounding tanks of the animal you're looking at is a disadvantage.

Local:  You can always see the tanks surrounding what you're buying and use them to help inform your decision to buy.

 

Online:  Extra trip through the FedUPS circuit for the animal is very stressful due to the time as well as general conditions – that's a disadvantage.  

Local:  You control everything there is to control about the ride home and all the time in between the store and the tank.

 

(We're comparing apples to apples here in order to make a valid comparison...good online store to good local store.)

 

BTW, what are the nicest stores near you?

[CoralStorm]

1 hour ago, Fish_Wiz said:

I know what you mean and I'm not here to start an argument but a good chunk of fish stores by me are trash anyways, I gamble either way. I will say though I've been lucky enough (actually I paid a premium) to shop with top notch online retailers like Diver's Den, World Wide Corals, Cherry Corals, and AquaSD. Packaged like they actually care (even better bagged than most my LFS) and with Saturday shipping I get it as timed or a superb DOA policy. I usually shop WYSIWYG so no stock photos, I get it as I see it. If you're on the hunt for a cheap online retailer, you're already betting against the casino. 

i am just stating on opinion i am neither trying to start an argument and yes sometimes there are exeptions where you can see what you get it can be good if you are having your hands on a rare fish and your lfs cant ever find it it is probobly worth the bet if it fails though your pocket will hurt really bad me im lucky enough to have great stores near me so i wont need to usually order online i order online for equipment only

[mcarroll]

Forgot to mention the anemone......that's definitely best to wait on in most tanks.   How does he seem to be doing?

[Fish_Wiz]

2 hours ago, mcarroll said:

(We're comparing apples to apples here in order to make a valid comparison...good online store to good local store.)

 

BTW, what are the nicest stores near you?

 

You're right, got too caught up in my thoughts, apples to oranges indeed. Great write-up, some things I didn't even think of myself (transport part). Good to have a little controversy.

 

This is my list if you're in town, shoot me a PM for some in your town, might be headed there in the summer.

 

Fish:

Reef-wise, hands down Chicagoland's premiere marine fish shop. Always the top notch best at a premium.

Sho-Tank, great selection of fish and display systems

Xzotic Aquatics, wholesaler jammed into a retail store, lots of fish, hit or miss quality

 

Corals:

AquaPros, hole in the wall with hidden gems

Reek Geeks, considered the coral wholesaler of Chicago

Kush Coral/Chicagoland Aquariums, #TANKDANK

 

[Tamberav]

This hobby wax and wanes...its pretty normal to move on to something else after a few years. Many do. Dart frog vivariums are pretty interesting if you still want a tank and want something completely new to learn about from the ground up.

[lpsouth1978]

I have both freshwater and reef tanks. Between them both, they keep me rather busy with maintenance, feeding, watching, etc. My freshwater tank has not changed (no new fish, plants, equipment, etc.) in almost 2 years. I do water changes about once a month, add freshwater once a week, and spend the rest of my time staring at it. 

 

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the reef tank. It has been running for about 7 months and did great for the first 5, then it all went down hill. Somehow I got a velvet outbreak after 2 months with no new additions. I ended up losing all but 1 fish. I also have an anemone that keeps walking into the powerheads. Luckily no MAJOR harm was done to the nem or the tank, but it is still irritating at best. I have had reef tanks ranging in size from 3g to 300g. For me the ideal size is between 30g and 90g. I did not enjoy the larger tanks as much because they required too much time maintaining them and not much time actually enjoying them. any smaller and I cold not get any of the fish I wanted in the tanks.

 

I understand how you feel. The tank is simply not as fulfilling as you would like. I have been keeping fish tanks for nearly 30 years and went through a period where the aquariums were simply not keeping my interest anymore. This is when I started to venture into keeping some other creatures instead. I started with bearded dragons and then moved to Chameleons. I enjoyed the chameleons so much that I even tried my hand at breeding them and had some pretty good success. Unfortunately, the life span of most chameleons is only a few years, so when my females died, I left the breeding behind.

 

I guess the point is, that while this hobby is very rewarding in many ways, it is not the right hobby for everyone, or all the time. There are SOOOOO many hobbies that we can try that if one is "boring" you, maybe it is time to try something new.

[Coolreefer42]

43 minutes ago, lpsouth1978 said:

I have both freshwater and reef tanks. Between them both, they keep me rather busy with maintenance, feeding, watching, etc. My freshwater tank has not changed (no new fish, plants, equipment, etc.) in almost 2 years. I do water changes about once a month, add freshwater once a week, and spend the rest of my time staring at it. 

 

Unfortunately, the same can not be said for the reef tank. It has been running for about 7 months and did great for the first 5, then it all went down hill. Somehow I got a velvet outbreak after 2 months with no new additions. I ended up losing all but 1 fish. I also have an anemone that keeps walking into the powerheads. Luckily no MAJOR harm was done to the nem or the tank, but it is still irritating at best. I have had reef tanks ranging in size from 3g to 300g. For me the ideal size is between 30g and 90g. I did not enjoy the larger tanks as much because they required too much time maintaining them and not much time actually enjoying them. any smaller and I cold not get any of the fish I wanted in the tanks.

 

I understand how you feel. The tank is simply not as fulfilling as you would like. I have been keeping fish tanks for nearly 30 years and went through a period where the aquariums were simply not keeping my interest anymore. This is when I started to venture into keeping some other creatures instead. I started with bearded dragons and then moved to Chameleons. I enjoyed the chameleons so much that I even tried my hand at breeding them and had some pretty good success. Unfortunately, the life span of most chameleons is only a few years, so when my females died, I left the breeding behind.

 

I guess the point is, that while this hobby is very rewarding in many ways, it is not the right hobby for everyone, or all the time. There are SOOOOO many hobbies that we can try that if one is "boring" you, maybe it is time to try something new.

Yeah I figured I was tired of the same ol thing so I’m creating an sps lps dominate thank in the next month or so. I’ll keep updated on it!