Lessons learned the hard way.......
- Thread starter rplank
- Start date
1) Dip your corals and inspect closely! I dip and still ended up with nudibranchs and flatworms. So it's not fail safe, but do your best to avoid the pests you don't want
2) acclimate your corals! I can't tell you how many corals I have received from an LFS under Halides and placed them under my Kessil and had them RTN.
3) quarantine your fish. You never know what they may introduce to your tank.
4) be patient and add things slowly. This is really hard to do but worth it in the end
2) acclimate your corals! I can't tell you how many corals I have received from an LFS under Halides and placed them under my Kessil and had them RTN.
3) quarantine your fish. You never know what they may introduce to your tank.
4) be patient and add things slowly. This is really hard to do but worth it in the end
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Stay away from new tech until it is not new anymore.
Dip and QT.
Stuff that worked 10 years ago, still works today.
Even though everybody can post online, not all advice is equal.
If you like somebody's setup, just do what they do. In the end, most experienced reefers tend to take mostly the same paths regardless of where they started.
Dip and QT.
Stuff that worked 10 years ago, still works today.
Even though everybody can post online, not all advice is equal.
If you like somebody's setup, just do what they do. In the end, most experienced reefers tend to take mostly the same paths regardless of where they started.
I forgot - there are two types of ATOs and other automated systems:
1). Those that have failed
2). Those that will
Be prepared and trust nothing but gravity*. At $100 Harbor Freight Generator can save you thousands in livestock.
*Even though gravity is constantly changing to some minuscule degree, if it changes too much then nobody will care about their tanks with all of the larger problems around.
1). Those that have failed
2). Those that will
Be prepared and trust nothing but gravity*. At $100 Harbor Freight Generator can save you thousands in livestock.
*Even though gravity is constantly changing to some minuscule degree, if it changes too much then nobody will care about their tanks with all of the larger problems around.
While every device you put on your tank will eventually fail (not just controllers), IME automation puts you at a lot less risk. For example, my heaters get turned on and off by my apex, which puts no stress on the contacts that its internal thermostat uses. If my apex ever fails and leaves the heater on when it shouldnt be, the internal thermostat kicks in and turns it off. The heaters are also sized so that any one heater can only raise my tank temp to 80 degrees on its own. Therefore to cook my tank, my apex, and at least 2 heaters have to all fail on.
The chances of one component failing at one time are higher than they should be. The chances of two components failing simultanuously, are incredibly low. The chances of three or more components failing simultaneously...you will probably win the lottery or get struck by lightning before that happens.
Moral of the story, design any automation scheme expecting any one or two things to fail and you will never "have a bad time"
The chances of one component failing at one time are higher than they should be. The chances of two components failing simultanuously, are incredibly low. The chances of three or more components failing simultaneously...you will probably win the lottery or get struck by lightning before that happens.
Moral of the story, design any automation scheme expecting any one or two things to fail and you will never "have a bad time"
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urchins will eat feather dusters, mine did.
fish will find even the smallest gap in your cover and will jump. My blue spot jawfish found my hole
even the "no moving parts sensor" ato will fail if you dont periodically clean it. Mine failed in the off position, not as bad as failed on, but still a mild disaster.
If you have a controller and havent added simple code to prevent disaster, becuase your too lazy/busy/tired... you will kick yourself later. I did, kick myself that is, lol
fish will find even the smallest gap in your cover and will jump. My blue spot jawfish found my hole
even the "no moving parts sensor" ato will fail if you dont periodically clean it. Mine failed in the off position, not as bad as failed on, but still a mild disaster.
If you have a controller and havent added simple code to prevent disaster, becuase your too lazy/busy/tired... you will kick yourself later. I did, kick myself that is, lol
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