What have you learned? The experience thread!

[eklikewhoa]

Trophs can eat hot dogs too...

[moganman]

I've learned that you can't setup a tank for your girlfriend without taking care of the tank yourself. All they are good for is feeding the crap out of them. Two times she had holding females and after I repeatedly told her to always pay attention to the fish, she still doesn't. I also learned from jhenry how to beat bloat. When I first got some trophs, I was in a rush to do my weekly water change, and it was freezing cold outside. I didn't allow the water to get the right temperature, and I poured the freezing water in there ten times over. When I got back from church, over half were dead and the other half were almost dead. Out of 15, 4 survived.

[Nickintex]

Trophs can eat hot dogs too...

And they thrive on puppy chow.

[aquabee]

I've learned that you can't setup a tank for your girlfriend without taking care of the tank yourself. All they are good for is feeding the crap out of them. Two times she had holding females and after I repeatedly told her to always pay attention to the fish, she still doesn't.

+1, except with the girlfriend setting it up for the boyfriend!

I'd also say I learned that you don't have to start off small with a new hobby. If you do your research beforehand and take advice from HFB friends, you can go big or go home!

[Darbex]

I learned to take what you think you will spend on set up and increase that by 20% for FW and 50% for SW if you want to do it right.

[aquabee]

I learned to take what you think you will spend on set up and increase that by 20% for FW and 50% for SW if you want to do it right.

agreed!

[SunnyHouTX]

I've learned that HFB is the devil. Before getting on here, i had just one 55 gal tank and life was peachy. Then i joined and 8 short months later i have 500 gallons. :confused:

But HFB is also the reason for this hobby being as affordable a it had been since joining. I also lore the vast pool of knowledge available on tap, like a never ending keg at a frat party.

[Complexity]

Any kitchen utensils she can reach will end up in the tank.

YES!! And kitchen utensils are actually better, in many cases, than the so-called specialty tools put out on the market, especially for planted tanks.

Don't buy the fancy scissors sold for planted tanks. Any pair of scissors will do, including the plastic ones with the rounded tips your toddler outgrew long ago. Fingernails also cut plants very well. Plastic scissors and fingernails don't rust.

Large plastic kitchen spatulas and spoons are great for moving sand around in a tank. They also work wonders for getting crud out from rock caves, just wave them over the crud, and the water current washes the crud out. Many plastic utensils also float to the top of the water if you ever drop one.

When designing a new tank, a cheap set of plastic putty knives (or broad knives or anything like them) are excellent for working with the substrate.

An old credit card is your best friend when cleaning off difficult to remove algae, such as spot algae, from acrylic.

Magic Eraser sponges followed by a dry towel cleans the outside of the glass quickly, easily, and thoroughly.

Bleach is wonderful for sterilizing and cleaning most aquarium products. Use dechlorinator to remove the bleach for immediate use and to get the bleach smell off your hands.

Vinegar is the antidote to hard water stains. Vinegar warmed in the microwave works even better.

Hydrogen peroxide is the best way to kill algae. Seachem Excel is the second best.

You will never look at rocks and sticks (driftwood) the same again.

Tanks are like Lays potato chips. You can never have just one.

[king]

It is impossible to keep all the fish you want at the same time.

[Crude]

Give your new Eheim "every day fish feeder" a test run before you give it a go in the tank.

I just added about 20 times my normal amount of food. Looked like a snow globe. Doing a water change and vacuuming out as much as I can, but theres a lot left behind. I'm contemplating not using the feeder for the week-long vacation I have starting Wed due to the fact that I misused it today...

So yeah Give it a test run! The whole is bigger than it looks.


Thats what she said.

[eklikewhoa]

Give your new Eheim "every day fish feeder" a test run before you give it a go in the tank.

I just added about 20 times my normal amount of food. Looked like a snow globe. Doing a water change and vacuuming out as much as I can, but theres a lot left behind. I'm contemplating not using the feeder for the week-long vacation I have starting Wed due to the fact that I misused it today...

So yeah Give it a test run! The whole is bigger than it looks.


Thats what she said.

I learned this the hard way too but good thing I set it a bit lower than I wanted cause I was going to spread the feedings across multiples... caught it on the first feeding which fed about what I would in one.

[king]

I've learned that HFB is the devil. Before getting on here, i had just one 55 gal tank and life was peachy. Then i joined and 8 short months later i have 500 gallons. :confused:

But HFB is also the reason for this hobby being as affordable a it had been since joining. I also lore the vast pool of knowledge available on tap, like a never ending keg at a frat party.

+1.... Started with 55gallons...now at almost 200 and still thirsty. It was all good before HFB...lol

[Lucille]

What comes around goes around. Even if you aren't a guru, if someone asks a question and you think you can answer, go ahead and try. Maybe when you need help, people will answer you.

[eklikewhoa]

There's always room to learn more! Anyone saying they're an expert has failed that aspect.

[Lucille]

Find an environment where you feel comfortable asking questions. Do your part- read some, research some, you don't need to be spoon fed- but then if you need to know something, ask.
If you get ignored or jumped on, (that wouldn't happen here I don't think) just go on down the road a piece.