Ever felt overwhelmed?

[sid101]

By just how complex setting up a SW tank is?^i have been planning my tank to the last detail and today trying to recap on everything i just went totally blank for a second and felt like "WOAH" it's so much equipment and parameters you have to plan in advance for!!!

[Rue]

Once you have a clue what you're doing, it's really not that complicated.

BUT - I find a SW tank WAY more work to maintain than a FW tank...

[tim k]

Oh yeh I have had that feeling a few times.
I remember ordering the first piece and thinking to myself I hope you know what your getting yourself into LOL.
But now some ten months later things are a little clearer and I feel like I have a decent understanding of what I am trying to do.
The crazy thing is there is still so much to learn , oh here comes that feeling again.

Go for it you will be glad you did the challenge is well worth it.

Tim

[MonkeyPox]

But you have SO many more options and the fish are a lot prettier!

[Rue]

I don't think SW fish are necessarily prettier...and other than the corals - which you could compare to having plants (sort of)...there aren't really that many more options for most people with a 'regular' sized tank...

Having a SW tank didn't change my interest in FW tanks at all...like them both...

[fish123234]

Just coming back from The pier aquarium here in st. pete, I am really glad i took the time and effort to start learning about SW aquariums. Its fun to see all the fish and corals and know what you are talking about when you try to explain it all to your girlfriend thumbs2:

That being said i still dont know 99% of what there is to know, but thats what you guys/trial and error are for!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

That being said i still dont know 99% of what there is to know, but thats what you guys/trial and error are for!

Proper research can eliminate 99% or the trial and error part. With all the information available today, there is no reason for people to take the "trial-and-error" approach to marine aquariums.

[fish123234]

You can't learn everything from what you read. Some times to learn new things a trial and error approach is the only way, just ask any scientist. I'm not saying just dive in and see what happens, but as you go along learn from your mistakes. This hobby teaches you something new everyday

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

No, you can't learn everything, but you certainly can learn everything you need to know to start and maintain a simply healthy reef. There is some learning as you go, but proper research should always have you 1 step ahead so you know how to deal with problems. In an aquarium, the marine environment is very unstable, relatively speaking, and that is not the case in the ocean. The reefs from which the fish and corals come from are the most stable ecosystems on the planet. The variation in parameters is so minuscule it is not even really noticeable to 99.9% of the inhabitants. Due to that natural stability they are used to, the most stable environment possible must be provided for them, and trial and error is not the way to achieve that. Trial and error is irresponsible marine aquarium husbandry. There is enough information available that there simply is no need for the trial and error.

[fish123234]

I think the problem here is the clarity of my original statement. When I say I still don’t know 99% of what there is to know about saltwater aquariums I mean exactly that. That 99% I don’t know is 100% what I will not need to know, meaning different species of coral, fish, invertebrates, ect I will never keep in my aquarium. Right now I know probably 90% of what I need to know to maintain my system. When I speak of trial and error I don’t mean do something drastic like throw a stony coral in a situation (like not enough light), or throw a fish in an unstable tank to see what happens and have it end up dying. I mean about feeding, or what salt to use ect... You can’t tell someone how much to feed their fish other then a general outline. It takes trial and error since all fish are different and combos ect... If you feed too much the first time that’s error, just scoop out the excess and learn for next time. As much as you read you just can’t account for something like that. Just do your research, ask your questions, and the rest is for you to experience and learn.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I can see your point, and i agree with you to an extent. When it comes to feeding, there is even info out there on how much and how often to feed certain fish. While it can be a certain amount of trial and error, the error should always be on the side of caution in underfeeding. Adding more food is always easier then removing food. :)

[chel]

I have to agree that trial and error is needed. I did a ton of research -- and that was just for a FW setup -- and still I felt like there was just a lot that I needed to learn just by doing it and seeing it with my own eyes.

But the fact is that sometimes we just make mistakes -- and sometimes we can't learn until we do. That's just plain life and I would hate to feel like I couldn't share that on a forum like this. Anyway, to get back on track with the forum topic, I clicked on this link because the title intrigued me ... and watching my newly set up fish tank is what I do when I am feeling overwhelmed in the rest of my life!! :ssmile:

[fish123234]

Yeah, I didn't mean for my original sentence to come across the way it did, and I didn’t mean to put up such a big stink over it, but I’ve had this argument with many people about many different subjects lol. I believe that with anything in life just doing research alone will not account for all of the different things you will encounter in your subject (take medicine for example). I could read about performing an appendectomy, but when I do it, it’s a whole new ball game. Let’s compare this to feeding your fish, the first time you do it, no matter how much you read, it’s different. Now I know what you’re saying "but come on, feeding your fish is a whole heck of a lot harder than a measly appendectomy", and I agree, but fundamentally I think you can relate the two on the basic principal the more you do it the better you become. Now relate this to anything else you do to your aquarium!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I definitely agree with you there. That's why I don't recommend hobbyists start with a marine tank. :)