This past week I developed a really horrible cold that left me confined to my room unable to tend to the needs of my tank. As hobbyists, we try our best to keep our parameters stable. Many hobbyists utilize programmable controllers for top offs, heaters, dosing, etc. As a college reefer, my budget cannot handle such extra equipment.
My daily regiment for my tank is not time consuming, but it is necessary. I manually top-off a total of about 1 gallon a day depending on the humidity. I usually add water every 2-3 hours to maintain my salinity. Since I have switched my livestock for a SPS dominated nano tank, my main parameter worries have been calcium and alkalinity. It has been kept relatively stable by 2 part dosing for the past couple of months.
For the first couple of days, I could barely manage to get out of bed to add my 2 part. I skipped a day which caused my dKh to drop almost 4 points! This, of course, was displayed by the corals. From little polyp extension to RTN, I was deeply disappointed in my tank. The corals mostly affected by my dosing mishap were ORA Red Planet (RTN), Blue Bottlebrush (bleached), and a Pink Birdsnest (RTN). My LPS in the aquarium do not seem to be affected. The rest of my SPS frags had very little polyp extension with some showing signs of STN. I can honestly say that being sick while maintaining an aquarium is tough.
The moral of my experience is that I should have never ventured into this hobby…just kidding. No matter how hard we try, there will always be a hurdle our tanks will face. We lose corals and fishes from time to time, but it is important to remember to keep at it in an ethical manner. The payoff is tremendous once everything bounces back, especially if you learned something and can share that with others. Patience is truly a virtue in this hobby! When you’re just about ready to give up, take a look at some other aquariums for an inspiration. If they’re capable of doing it, you’re just as able.
I’d like to hear tips from other hobbyists who have shared in a similar experience!
In the future, I plan on purchasing a couple of dosers and an ATO for the tank. For now, it’s back to manual labor...
For the first couple of days, I could barely manage to get out of bed to add my 2 part. I skipped a day which caused my dKh to drop almost 4 points! This, of course, was displayed by the corals. From little polyp extension to RTN, I was deeply disappointed in my tank. The corals mostly affected by my dosing mishap were ORA Red Planet (RTN), Blue Bottlebrush (bleached), and a Pink Birdsnest (RTN). My LPS in the aquarium do not seem to be affected. The rest of my SPS frags had very little polyp extension with some showing signs of STN. I can honestly say that being sick while maintaining an aquarium is tough.
The moral of my experience is that I should have never ventured into this hobby…just kidding. No matter how hard we try, there will always be a hurdle our tanks will face. We lose corals and fishes from time to time, but it is important to remember to keep at it in an ethical manner. The payoff is tremendous once everything bounces back, especially if you learned something and can share that with others. Patience is truly a virtue in this hobby! When you’re just about ready to give up, take a look at some other aquariums for an inspiration. If they’re capable of doing it, you’re just as able.
I’d like to hear tips from other hobbyists who have shared in a similar experience!
In the future, I plan on purchasing a couple of dosers and an ATO for the tank. For now, it’s back to manual labor...
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