Dumbest purchase I made for my tank was

[TheCurriculum]

not really a bad purchase, but lack of knowledge does have it's price

Had overheating issues at work, the AC is off at night and on the weekends... Houston gets hot .... I couldn't find a cheap enough cooling solution... thought I would build my own... found peltiers for cheap at a local EPO (electronic parts outlet)... once you add in power supplies (this was worth it) ...pumps, pipe, plastic and metal housing and low and behold to find out that once I built my cooler (about 6 attempts to get what I wanted) I would have to coat it... as just about every metal out their will kill corals

Fun project and I had no clue as to what a peltier was before I started... Now I have really expensive coke can cooler

 

Broke down bought an Ice Probe chiller and controller... worth everypenny...

3 weeks later brought the tank home... don't need a chiller or heater now as my house stays at 78 all year round

 

Still hanging on to the chiller just in case I ever move a tank back to work... but it's an expensive paper weight right now though!

[siren's eye]

Originally posted by FAC_WNY

Juzam Djinn, 5/5 Flyer for BBBB from Arabian Nights.

 

 

(played in a World Championships or two..)

 

 

Cheers,  

Fred

Is this true? I've never heard that before. It's all I use.

[siren's eye]

Ahh the quote didn't work right!! I'm asking if it's true IO salt has no trace elements.

[siren's eye]

As for stupid purchases...skilter, powersweeps, JEBO pcs, cheap petsmart heater, anything from petsmart, zoos with flatworms, crushed coral, umm...I think that's it.

[japhethr]

Originally posted by siren's eye

Is this true?  I've never heard that before.  It's all I use.

 

Yup, A Juzam Djinn is one of the best Ouchies that I used. Works extremely well with a black speed deck, or a Bayou lightning deck. Not to stray off topic though, worst one that I bought...hmmm. I guess its lighting so far. Pinching pennies on this hobby is a big no-no.

[NanoBobby]

Horshoe Crab. Supplements (like calcium and iodine) without test kits. Hydrometer (refractometer is the way to go). RESEARCh before buying!!!

[Brian5280]

My biggest mistake was buying a nano tank when all the fish I like need a 70 gallon or larger tank. My other mistake would be buying a firefish (it never comes out of the rocks) and then a second firefish (because the LFS said they would come out if there were at least 2 of them)

[DKreefkeepers]

Livestock: Mushroom corals. Should've done my research and not believed the LFS

 

What exactly happened to your mushrooms? I have some that are not doing good right now and I am stumped.

 

I have to say that I like my powersweep and it has not heated the tank up any more than the stock pump in my 24g NC.

[dolivaw]

This was a long long time ago, when I was new to the hobby and before live rock became the standard. I had a FO tank with a snowflake moray and a few other fish. I asked the asian clerk at the LFS how an octopus would do with an eel. His response was 'Oh, eel love octopus'. Thinking this was his way of saying they get along well, I became the proud owner of a beautiful octopus. I have never seen anything move as fast as that moray did the moment I dropped the octopus in the tank.

[jojomichael]

My $60 Yasha Goby that never comes out.

 

My Firefish that always hide behind the rocks.

[RandyO]

Originally posted by dolivaw

This was a long long time ago, when I was new to the hobby and before live rock became the standard.  I had a FO tank with a snowflake moray and a few other fish.  I asked the asian clerk at the LFS how an octopus would do with an eel.  His response was 'Oh, eel love octopus'.  Thinking this was his way of saying they get along well, I became the proud owner of a beautiful octopus.  I have never seen anything move as fast as that moray did the moment I dropped the octopus in the tank.

Oh man, rude awakening huh?

[T3D]

Everyone dogging he skilter and zoomed ph's. They have been working fine for me on my 20L.

My tank has been going since the first week of June.

[dolivaw]

Originally posted by RandyO

Oh man, rude awakening huh?

 

No doubt. I musta been asleep when I bought him, because I clearly wasn't thinking. I remember seeing him at the store, driving back home and thinking about it for about 4 hours or so, and then driving an hour back to the store to buy him. So for roughly six hours my brain musta been running a test pattern. Even sadder, I had three tanks at the time and that was the only aggressive one.

[anarchyman2099]

The store insisted that the shrooms would be ok under my 15w flourescent, and that they would eat black powder (now that i think of it, this is also the same guy who tried to convince me that astraeas were mexican turbos). A week later, with water params in check) they were shrivled and spitting up what I can only assume was their stomaches. The reason for death was starvation. I dunno if that helps with your shroom problem DKreefkeepers.

[g0tfish]

Jebo skimmer. Strontium and Molybdenum Supplements. Oddysea Lighting. Black Sand.

[xdannyx_]

haha where to start, where to start

[xdannyx_]

lionfish in a 30 gallon?

[HighTide]

First fish in tank.... Fuzzy Dwarf Lion

Second..... 3-4" Sargassum Angler

[xdannyx_]

whats wrong with mushrooms, it was the first coral i bought and i still have them. they have made it through hell and worse in my tank, they always come back to normal and start to grow like crazy. they just need low flow

[tmantaylor18]

Why are yumas besides red hard to take care of, i have greens oranges and blues and all of them do great. This might not count but my friend bought the tablets that increase the color of your fish, dropped em in, next day all fish were dead.

[Mojorizn]

LR at LFS for $8 a pound.

 

An Iceprobe Chiller ... POS

[Goliath]

Trying a DIY lighting kit so I could join the ranks of Metal Halide lighting. I HAD a wonderful tank that would run itself it was so perfect. After 1 weekend of the new lighting being on, the temperature rose 10 degrees and cooked about 90% of all my coral and inverts!!! I am still having crazy algae breakouts 5 months later. I am just no carpenter, I need to suck it up and pay the money for a lighting system already pre fabricated.

 

Here is the before picture, I have no after picture because I dont want to remember just how bad it got.

 

[PaulS]

This was an awesome thread...

 

Equipment:

1. HOB "Wet/dry" filter. I've cannibalized most of the parts and, at this point, am thinking of using it as a HOB refugium.

 

2. 300 Watt MH (used). Wrong spectrum.

 

3. Prizm skimmer. Too small, hard to adjust.

 

4. Marineland Micron filter. Just a dumb purchase.

 

Livestock:

1. Lettuce nudibranch. Became shredded lettuce when it got sucked into the overflow for the sump. Didn't do much other than move around the aquarium.

 

2. Electric flame scallop. Bought it and then did the research.

 

3. Blue linkia starfish (2). Didn't learn my lesson the first time.

 

Possible "soon-to-be/maybe" dumb moves:

1. Goniopora. We'll see if I have the green thumb or not with this purchase.

 

Thanks for starting this thread! This was by far, one of the most enjoyable threads I've read.

 

Regards!

[Snoop]

leather coral

[Caesar777]

Haha, leather corals are gay.