Random death. Be it coral, fish, cuc, etc... when something randomly dies with absolutely no explanation and everything else is fine it drives me up the wall. I would much rather have something to blame it on so I can learn and fix, and prevent it from happening again. Also hate noise. The protein skimmer has became more normal than silence, and the house sounds odd when the skimmer is turned off lol. Biggest pet peeve is the same as yours. HATE testing. I bought the mastertronic, and after a learning curve with setup, it's been wonderful. Totally worth the money for time saved from testing and ease of getting readings directly on my phone. I see reef factory announced they are coming out with one. Excited to hear more about that. Your channel should be called "The relatable reefer" because you always are realistic and post videos on topics we all deal with daily lol. Enjoy your stuff man! Cheers from Missouri!
Hi, I have a FOWLR tank with a massive bristleworm infestation (I can't take out a piece of live rock without getting stung) and I was wondering what fish you would recommend for this problem. I have a 45 gallon tank with a spotted mandarin, 2 engineer gobies, an ocellaris clowfish, and a red coris wrasse being shipped right now (My last one was DOA). Do you have any recommendations? (srry long comment)
About that cable thingy! Its good advice to check your insurance, there is a possibility those nasty buggers would withdraw insurance claims on fires because of spaghetti-wiring. Even if it is not related to the fire...
Thank you for this video. I’m the kind of guy who jumps feet first into new hobbies and spend a fortune. I haven’t got a tank yet, and really appreciate these kinds of videos to temper my enthusiasm. I’m sure there is great satisfaction in running a successful tank … but maybe I’m best just enjoying them via UA-cam for a little while longer.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all aquarium equipment used a standard style cable and plug? I often wonder if USB-C could support the power demands of the equipment. I think the new USB-C max power rating is >200 watts. Having a thin cable with a small plug would make a world of difference!
I love this video I always love when you have a video like this where you talk about 90% of all vacant space being fish tank storage sounds like the story of my life also.
😂😂 I had to laugh at these. I agree with all of them. Another pet hate is water changes. Takes me next to no time to be fair but I can’t be bothered doing them. I do by the way I just crack on with it. Xenia and Kenyan trees were my biggest mistake. It’s a constant battle keeping it in check. I’m losing at the moment 😩
I’m glad testing was number one. I hate it. I just do very regular water changes with a small amount of dosing and it works well with my LPS and softy tank. Haven’t tested anything in ages
Someone is getting a Reef Factory Smart Tester to play with… 🤪 I can already see the opening line of that vidfeo in 6 months time: “Remember when I told you that one of my pet peeves was testing?” 😁
theres one pet hate i have.... my bloody wife moaning that i care for the tank more than her.... well i love my tank more.... hahahahahhahaha great vlog
🤣@ at everything is blue! So true ! 💙 Got me singing 🎤🎶 Yo listen up, here's the story About a little guy that lives in a blue world And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue Like him, inside and outside Blue his house with a blue little window And a blue Corvette And everything is blue for him And himself and everybody around 'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba
Hate testing to and it’s really easy to find a reason not to do it🤦♂️ but the thing I hate the most is my cleanershrimp picking at my lps when I try to feed them
I honestly don't get the blue light thing. It's so unnatural. It looks like a 1970s blacklight poster. I got into corals because of diving on reefs, and that's what I like reefs to look like.
I was shopping at the US base in Mons (Belgium) and called my wife and said, 'Nounou, I'm 40 minutes from Poisson-D'or' and she said 'go, enjoy'. Woohoo! Tagged Indonesian medium acropora heads galore! Nothing 'signature' but lots of premium ocean farmed beauties. I took 5 medium heads, one Millipora and the other four I must identify myself. One may be a Yongei which I really want. I gave them all a ten minute Coral Rx dip and placed them onto the sandy bottom. Its not my habit, but this time I will leave them on the bottom for a few weeks and raise them up slowly before gluing in the survivors. I'd like the 5 to thrive at 90 euro a piece. I have a Giesemann hybrid led x4/T5 80W x4 (Aurora) and I have no idea of what the par is or where to start. Turned up high I think I can cook the floor. The T5s just go to full and the LEDs are about 30% and for my eyes its very bright. Any suggestions for figuring out my light?
Best way to do it is buy a 2nd hand Seneye Reef and test the PAR. But starting low is the best alternative - or find someone with the same light and see what they know...
Whilst I admire your setup, I can't help noticing the "techie addiction" to adding equipment and having 32 plugs. Perhaps we need a video on not what is the next big thing to add, but what is the best thing that you can do away with and still succeed.
I talk about that quite often in my videos - here's the video I made that's along the lines of what you're saying ua-cam.com/video/Jw9YbyQQdSY/v-deo.html
I'm giving extra kudos for the correct use of the word "penultimate"...the amount of times this is used in entirely the wrong context, or meaning, is ridiculous. Um, great content etc as well 😁😁
Hmm, this makes me wonder I think there is a market for reef testers. £10, someone would come in, test and then boom results in an app for you..you can then automatically compare next week. Actually LFS shops should offer this. I'm dropping golden ideas here for free!
Oh here we go... At £10, even if you could do 8 tests a day, that's £480 for 6 days, and under £2k a month..you could add LFS services like RO or salt water delivered as well for extra....
The thing I hate the most is that after setting up a 4ft tank 18 months ago the hobby would get so much more expensive,not jus the obvious yellow tang but all fish have gone up,salt is costing me more and so is food,no wonder so many people are breaking tanks down,I fear for this hobby long term!
Are you Norfolk from R2R? I'm DSC reef and remember you. I have to agree with the cost. After 15 years my wife and I (lovemyreef) had to break our tanks down. We miss it dearly but the cost was to much our addition of 2 kids. Hope all is well!
I'm running an investment with coral. I'm betting in less then five years it'll be illegal to farm coral in the wild. Really good chance we won't have the barrier reef in 5years ya'll. Im buying as much and as many as I can now. Coral is going to go through the roof. Especially in 15 years when biologists are depending on us to possibly re-seed the dead reefs. Really good chance that coral will only exist in tanks.
My number one... over priced stuff. I understand mp40s are one of the best... but I don't think something like that should be sold at $450. They'd sell more if they sold it at reasonable prices. No reason a light should cost $500. Kinda of insane to think a high tech lighting system costs as much as a motor with a propeller... LEDs were ground breaking in the electronics world for being cheap to make and use.. no reason for a light to cost as much as it does when you usually need 2 or more per tank. No reason for an acrylic sump with bare minimum specs costing over $400.. So much more crap that's way too overpriced. It scares so many from the hobby. Imagine if mp40s were like $200 each. They would dominate the market by like 90% I guarantee it
Yup mine also. there's absolutely no reason for a over half the things in this hobby to cost anywhere close to what they charge. especially coral cost in the US. i get fish need to be caught but corals are mostly tank bred n even if they aren't its still lightyears easier to collect compared to catching fish. this the only hobby where a rod to attach a par meter costs $70. just a rod. i can buy a whole damn engine for my car hobby n it'd cost less then a high end reef setup with low iron tank. heck the tank alone costs more then a used C6 vette engine or even rebuilt ones.
My red dragonet died because I’m a noob and I let the nitrates get out of hand 🥹 he ate frozen brine shrimp and would have been easy as hell to keep… now I got no dragonet and a MASSIVE culture of copepods that I had made for him Now I got a whole ass ecosystem of at least 11 species of random inverts and coralline algae in a 10g with no fish. Putting 2 guppies in for fun though lol this hobby is unforgiving but I research fast
great vid. people need to know before they start they cant have everything they want. it just wont work out. have a vision and put in the things that work together.
What are your reef tank pet peeves?
Random death. Be it coral, fish, cuc, etc... when something randomly dies with absolutely no explanation and everything else is fine it drives me up the wall. I would much rather have something to blame it on so I can learn and fix, and prevent it from happening again.
Also hate noise. The protein skimmer has became more normal than silence, and the house sounds odd when the skimmer is turned off lol.
Biggest pet peeve is the same as yours. HATE testing. I bought the mastertronic, and after a learning curve with setup, it's been wonderful. Totally worth the money for time saved from testing and ease of getting readings directly on my phone. I see reef factory announced they are coming out with one. Excited to hear more about that.
Your channel should be called "The relatable reefer" because you always are realistic and post videos on topics we all deal with daily lol. Enjoy your stuff man! Cheers from Missouri!
The wifes input in the tank,I dont like the stick corals i want pretty ones! Ihave two 10 " monti plates whats not to like
Buckets 🪣
Hi, I have a FOWLR tank with a massive bristleworm infestation (I can't take out a piece of live rock without getting stung) and I was wondering what fish you would recommend for this problem. I have a 45 gallon tank with a spotted mandarin, 2 engineer gobies, an ocellaris clowfish, and a red coris wrasse being shipped right now (My last one was DOA). Do you have any recommendations? (srry long comment)
My pet peeve is random death. I used to have a flame angel. And then one day I saw it floating dead at the top of my tank.
🤣 Smurf filter when I'm working from home is great
🤣
About that cable thingy! Its good advice to check your insurance, there is a possibility those nasty buggers would withdraw insurance claims on fires because of spaghetti-wiring.
Even if it is not related to the fire...
Haha! You know you’ve found your crew when you see that typical blue light glowing through someone else’s window…😂
So true
Thank you for this video. I’m the kind of guy who jumps feet first into new hobbies and spend a fortune. I haven’t got a tank yet, and really appreciate these kinds of videos to temper my enthusiasm. I’m sure there is great satisfaction in running a successful tank … but maybe I’m best just enjoying them via UA-cam for a little while longer.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all aquarium equipment used a standard style cable and plug? I often wonder if USB-C could support the power demands of the equipment. I think the new USB-C max power rating is >200 watts. Having a thin cable with a small plug would make a world of difference!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets halfway through cable management and gives up
😅
I love this video I always love when you have a video like this where you talk about 90% of all vacant space being fish tank storage sounds like the story of my life also.
The blue light and cable mess.... 100% yup
😂😂😂😂 this was great! The ato had me weak! Hahahaha!
😂😂 I had to laugh at these. I agree with all of them. Another pet hate is water changes. Takes me next to no time to be fair but I can’t be bothered doing them. I do by the way I just crack on with it. Xenia and Kenyan trees were my biggest mistake. It’s a constant battle keeping it in check. I’m losing at the moment 😩
Good list! One pet peeve of mine is the price of salt.......I'm reluctantly handing over my bank card for every tm pro reef salt purchase
I'm with you on the testing 🤣
I’m glad testing was number one. I hate it. I just do very regular water changes with a small amount of dosing and it works well with my LPS and softy tank. Haven’t tested anything in ages
I must admit I am super lazy and tend to just keep my hands out the tank, the only think I really keep an eye on is the ATO and the salinity 😬
Someone is getting a Reef Factory Smart Tester to play with… 🤪 I can already see the opening line of that vidfeo in 6 months time: “Remember when I told you that one of my pet peeves was testing?” 😁
🤣
Totally agree with these!!!
🙌
Yep, my spare room is taken up by fish tank crap
Alex, I've been told Peeves make great pets! Where did you acquire Your pet? 🤣
😂
theres one pet hate i have.... my bloody wife moaning that i care for the tank more than her.... well i love my tank more.... hahahahahhahaha great vlog
If you lift your ATO pump up off the glass it cuts the noise level more then 75%. Just one less thing.
🤣@ at everything is blue! So true ! 💙
Got me singing 🎤🎶
Yo listen up, here's the story
About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue
Like him, inside and outside
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue Corvette
And everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen
I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa
Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba
Nailed it!!!
what are those cable management switch blocks called? im OCD obsessed and would NEED one of these
Dj switches - I made a video on them a while ago
Hate testing to and it’s really easy to find a reason not to do it🤦♂️ but the thing I hate the most is my cleanershrimp picking at my lps when I try to feed them
Agree with every one of these haha
Nice vid and I also agree. You should also put down the cost (for simple things like dry rock) and hiding the cost from the Mrs
I been exploring the idea of some macro algae with corals what you think bro I noticed you don’t talk about macro algae
Not my cup of tea
😂😂😂😂 perfect video!
My GSP frag died on me while favia, euphylia, mushroom and zoas did great xD
I honestly don't get the blue light thing. It's so unnatural. It looks like a 1970s blacklight poster. I got into corals because of diving on reefs, and that's what I like reefs to look like.
IonD+khD what weekly test is it missing?
Phosphate 😕
Yea the Apex system should not be so expensive!!
Maybe salt creep could have been another.
I was shopping at the US base in Mons (Belgium) and called my wife and said, 'Nounou, I'm 40 minutes from Poisson-D'or' and she said 'go, enjoy'. Woohoo! Tagged Indonesian medium acropora heads galore! Nothing 'signature' but lots of premium ocean farmed beauties. I took 5 medium heads, one Millipora and the other four I must identify myself. One may be a Yongei which I really want. I gave them all a ten minute Coral Rx dip and placed them onto the sandy bottom. Its not my habit, but this time I will leave them on the bottom for a few weeks and raise them up slowly before gluing in the survivors. I'd like the 5 to thrive at 90 euro a piece. I have a Giesemann hybrid led x4/T5 80W x4 (Aurora) and I have no idea of what the par is or where to start. Turned up high I think I can cook the floor. The T5s just go to full and the LEDs are about 30% and for my eyes its very bright. Any suggestions for figuring out my light?
Best way to do it is buy a 2nd hand Seneye Reef and test the PAR. But starting low is the best alternative - or find someone with the same light and see what they know...
@@ReefDork It proved to be a very useful tool. Thanks.
Lol
You need a tank in the background of these new style videos
Partridge fan 👊
Whilst I admire your setup, I can't help noticing the "techie addiction" to adding equipment and having 32 plugs. Perhaps we need a video on not what is the next big thing to add, but what is the best thing that you can do away with and still succeed.
I talk about that quite often in my videos - here's the video I made that's along the lines of what you're saying ua-cam.com/video/Jw9YbyQQdSY/v-deo.html
I'm giving extra kudos for the correct use of the word "penultimate"...the amount of times this is used in entirely the wrong context, or meaning, is ridiculous.
Um, great content etc as well 😁😁
Next time, instead of saying 3rd I'll say ante penultimate 🤓
Hmm, this makes me wonder
I think there is a market for reef testers. £10, someone would come in, test and then boom results in an app for you..you can then automatically compare next week. Actually LFS shops should offer this. I'm dropping golden ideas here for free!
Oh here we go...
At £10, even if you could do 8 tests a day, that's £480 for 6 days, and under £2k a month..you could add LFS services like RO or salt water delivered as well for extra....
My LFS tests (almost) everything for AUD$15. It is not that local for me though sadly.... half an hour drive.
Salt creep. I frigging hate SALT CREEP!
😡😡😡😡
👋
The thing I hate the most is that after setting up a 4ft tank 18 months ago the hobby would get so much more expensive,not jus the obvious yellow tang but all fish have gone up,salt is costing me more and so is food,no wonder so many people are breaking tanks down,I fear for this hobby long term!
Are you Norfolk from R2R? I'm DSC reef and remember you. I have to agree with the cost. After 15 years my wife and I (lovemyreef) had to break our tanks down. We miss it dearly but the cost was to much our addition of 2 kids. Hope all is well!
I'm running an investment with coral. I'm betting in less then five years it'll be illegal to farm coral in the wild. Really good chance we won't have the barrier reef in 5years ya'll. Im buying as much and as many as I can now. Coral is going to go through the roof. Especially in 15 years when biologists are depending on us to possibly re-seed the dead reefs. Really good chance that coral will only exist in tanks.
totally agree with everything you said in this video, thanks for your insight
My number one... over priced stuff.
I understand mp40s are one of the best... but I don't think something like that should be sold at $450. They'd sell more if they sold it at reasonable prices.
No reason a light should cost $500. Kinda of insane to think a high tech lighting system costs as much as a motor with a propeller... LEDs were ground breaking in the electronics world for being cheap to make and use.. no reason for a light to cost as much as it does when you usually need 2 or more per tank.
No reason for an acrylic sump with bare minimum specs costing over $400..
So much more crap that's way too overpriced. It scares so many from the hobby. Imagine if mp40s were like $200 each. They would dominate the market by like 90% I guarantee it
Yup mine also. there's absolutely no reason for a over half the things in this hobby to cost anywhere close to what they charge. especially coral cost in the US. i get fish need to be caught but corals are mostly tank bred n even if they aren't its still lightyears easier to collect compared to catching fish.
this the only hobby where a rod to attach a par meter costs $70. just a rod.
i can buy a whole damn engine for my car hobby n it'd cost less then a high end reef setup with low iron tank. heck the tank alone costs more then a used C6 vette engine or even rebuilt ones.
@@MrDon967 just realized I paid more for my kessil lights than I did for my k24 😒 lol
controlling bubble algae and aiptasia 🙄
My red dragonet died because I’m a noob and I let the nitrates get out of hand 🥹 he ate frozen brine shrimp and would have been easy as hell to keep… now I got no dragonet and a MASSIVE culture of copepods that I had made for him
Now I got a whole ass ecosystem of at least 11 species of random inverts and coralline algae in a 10g with no fish. Putting 2 guppies in for fun though lol this hobby is unforgiving but I research fast
Love it Alex.
Great video as always Alex! 😀👍👍
I never thought of blue as a peeve. That gave me a laugh.
I've been putting off testing ALL day - I did recalibrate my pH probe on my KH tester - which is SO ANNOYING
Lol love the rant about blue light.
Hatch some baby brine shrimp for your mandarin if you're worried it will end up like your two scarlet dragonets
Wow another great video so true it’s so addicting never done drubs in my life put ever penny I get extra goes in my tank lol 😂
My wife, being Scottish, refers to all my tank stuff as 'Fish Pish'
great vid. people need to know before they start they cant have everything they want. it just wont work out. have a vision and put in the things that work together.
Vermetid snails here - some managed to hitch hike on an urchin and now I even have them at the base of my powerheads ☹️