what keeps you going?

[Leah]

Stupidity!

[kien]

Money.

[riceboy]

Originally Posted by kien

Money.

very good reason to. to much invested in all the equipment and fish to let it go to a waste lol, and people on this forum are great to talk to and give you guidance so hopefully you don't experience another crash again.

[kien]

Originally Posted by riceboy

very good reason to. to much invested in all the equipment and fish to let it go to a waste lol, and people on this forum are great to talk to and give you guidance so hopefully you don't experience another crash again.

that's one way of looking at it.. i was reading the question a little differently, like, how are you able to keep going in this hobby??? Well, without money you're hooped.. LOL.

[riceboy]

Originally Posted by kien

that's one way of looking at it.. i was reading the question a little differently, like, how are you able to keep going in this hobby??? Well, without money you're hooped.. LOL.

very true

[Reef Pilot]

I think what has kept me going is one step at a time. I have made some mistakes in the past, and needed to understand and fix those. But so far, have not had any major disasters or crashes. I am trying to prepare for that possibility, but of course hope it never happens.

I feel that I am progressing now, and just recently started adding SPS to my main DT. Still looks pretty bare, but am resisting the temptation to load up.

My biggest fear is going away on trips for any length of time. I have automated quite a bit, which is good and bad. Good that it takes cares of a lot of things, but bad in that not sure if anyone else could figure it out in my absence.

But I still love the challenge, and am happy with the wins so far, and will keep pushing forward slowly. My thanks to the many beautiful FTS pics I've seen here. They are my inspiration to where I want to go with my tanks.

[kien]

Ultimately I think what has helped me is/was simplifying and automating my setup. Granted, everyone has their own interpretation of what's "simple" but for me simple is not having to do anything on a daily basis. When I first started this tank I was all gung-ho and dumping in all sorts of ZeoVit stuff and manually adding additives (alk/calc). This wore me down because there are a crap load of other things that need my attention. Eventually I got a doser for my additives and I stopped using those zeovit bottles. Keep in mind that I am in no way saying that ZeoVit doesn't work! It does, I'm just too lazy for it. Got an autofeeder for my fish. For nutrient control I use bioPellets because to me they are the easiest to use. Dump a bunch of pellets into a reactor and let it tumble for months. I don't touch that pellet reactor for probably 6-8 months.

Now a days I can easily go 3-4 days without even touching my tank for any reason whatsoever.

Mind you, all that automation costs money, so I'm back to my original answer I guess.

[Parker]

The only thing keeping me going at this point is I don't have the time to take it down...

[Coleus]

Originally Posted by kien

Ultimately I think what has helped me is/was simplifying and automating my setup. Granted, everyone has their own interpretation of what's "simple" but for me simple is not having to do anything on a daily basis. When I first started this tank I was all gung-ho and dumping in all sorts of ZeoVit stuff and manually adding additives (alk/calc). This wore me down because there are a crap load of other things that need my attention. Eventually I got a doser for my additives and I stopped using those zeovit bottles. Keep in mind that I am in no way saying that ZeoVit doesn't work! It does, I'm just too lazy for it. Got an autofeeder for my fish. For nutrient control I use bioPellets because to me they are the easiest to use. Dump a bunch of pellets into a reactor and let it tumble for months. I don't touch that pellet reactor for probably 6-8 months.

Now a days I can easily go 3-4 days without even touching my tank for any reason whatsoever.

Mind you, all that automation costs money, so I'm back to my original answer I guess.

+1, simplicity, automation and patience (introduce fish or coral not too fast) is the key for this hobby. I only look at my tank when i feel stressful these days and cleaning the tank only one weekend for 1 or 2 hour to helps me forget about my daily problem with works , kids...

If you have to pay attention to your tank every day, then that amount of works will take away the fun of having the tank. It now becomes works not hobby.

I suggest you stepped back and have FOWLR tank to reduce the works that you have to put into your tank. You can go without water change for like couple weeks easily or throw in some hardy softies coral like GSP, muhsroom, leather coral.

Good luck with whatever you decide :-)

ALSO- I found it weird that people never mentioned about controller when setting up tank, only talk about awesome skimmer or lightning. True that you need good skimmer and lightning but controller is as important in this hobby IMO, it reduces lots of works and peace of mind when you are away from your tank which makes this hobby more enjoyable and last longer. There is no fun in it if it is not enjoyable right???? hmmm talking my self into hurry up finish my new tank so i can enjoy it. LOL

[Coralgurl]

Well I've been back for a week now and finally in the mood to tackle my tanks. My 55 is having a meltdown, literally, so I'm going to another large water change today, get the skimmer I bought months ago up and running, scrape it and remove all that's died. It's very green at the moment and likely going to need a few wc over the next bit. I'm also testing all my parameters as I haven't done this in ages.

The ato on my 180 crapped out again right before we got back, thankfully Mattjolly took a call from my daughter at 1:30 in the morning and helped get it sorted out.

I'm going to stick with very simple for the next while, easy corals, easy fish. I have a controller and all that's hooked up to it are my heaters. I want to get this figured out so it makes it worth the money having one.

I feel much better after our vacation, I was so overwhelmed with work and the holidays and just life in general, I can't believe the difference it's made!

I don't want to give up either tank, both are unique to me, the 180 is a year old in a couple of weeks, the 55 will be 3 in march.

Again, I appreciate the encouragement and advice, hopefully it was just a small slump.

Now to the tanks!