7 Mistakes EVERY Reefkeeper Makes!

[@TheMNZOO]

My guy reef dork. “There are two types of [saltwater fish tank] hobbyists. Those who buy fish without doing the research first, and liars.” Got me a literal lol

[@-Tholos-]

I’m glad you showed the peppermint shrimp. Lost six nice corals that way but never caught the shrimp in the act. So I was never sure if the shrimp got them or if I did something else wrong. Moved the tank the same week I added the shrimp.

[@PnCBio]

Peps are vicious on most fleshy LPS. They’re great for aiptasia if you optimize your tank for them to hunt them (low flow for a couple of hours during lights out). But be aware they can mess up fleshy polyps.

[@MrSaigon85]

I lost many torches back then and don’t know why. Now I know 😢

[@Baka_Mop]

I saw my peppermint feeding on my hammers, so I fed him to my freshwater tank. A soul for a soul.

[@Merknilash]

Excellent video, as always Suggestion - if you're ever scrounging for content ideas, don't be afraid to just focus on some species videos. Tons of us go looking for anything we can find on some specific fish - and there isn't much content there other than a handful of videos which are generally just copy-paste jobs from LiveAquaria descriptions. Downside is people that aren't keeping that fish or don't ever plan to might not watch it.

[@PracticalReefer]

I feel personally attacked by points 1 to 6 😂 but I've always been careful about choosing fish so that's my tiny slither of redemption 😅🤣

[@smokeandkippers]

No. 1 Rule: If you have a problem, it’s 99.9999% of the time never the lights.

[@timjohnson3913]

I came to the comments to ask where Reef Dork got the info on lights being too bright being a problem? I find lighting and detailed info about what is actually needed to be the most mysterious thing about the hobby.

[@sethmiller9198]

I honestly can say not a single one of these mistakes. Due to the fact I have watched an overwhelming amount about reef tanks as well and researched every move before I make them. People like you making these vids makes it so easy and relaxing to get into the hobby! Bravo my good man Bravo!!!🎉

[@deansmith2124]

Great video. One mistake I made was not installing my auto fish feeder that was sitting in the box for the last 1.5 years. Now that it's installed, I can properly control the amount of food going into the tank, but also I can support many small feedings throughout the day, reducing competition in the tank. Whereas before I was only doing 1 large feeding late in the afternoon. Wish I would have installed this device long ago.

[@dannymieke]

Lovely video. Me, after 15y reefing, being too carefull in setting up a new tank, trying to foresee every mistake that can or could happen , set´s up a refugium next to a po4 granule filter and npo reactor.. result: no growth at all of the algea in the refugium due to lack of food for them and a salad weed algea garden in the tank itself....

[@deanfielding4411]

Very good video, and I didnt know that about shrimp, I've always had a skunk one but will be careful about buying anything else! thanks

[@multisturge]

definitely research but don't rely on hobbyist books because most books out there are old and outdated. some i've read talk about undergravel filters and tapwater for marine. my duncan coral has sulking days but i don't do anything because next day its happy again.

[@Jzzo]

Overfeeding problem is worst when I have day off work. I end up spending a lot of time watching at the tank and all the fish come "begging" for food. Before I started this hobby I never thought fish would have character or personality. How wrong I was

[@steliosjaj]

I had 2 sexy shrim and i bought a stylophora frag. I fed everybody before putting the frag in the tank, including the shrimp. The moment I put the frag in, the shrimp showed a huge interest towards the stylo, left their food and went next to it. I came back 1 hour later only to find a hole in the flesh of my new stylophora... Both of them went to the sump.

[@jackkain7141]

A few comments on points made: - As to the question of light, this is why I rent a PAR meter and map out my tank. That way I know what strength my lights are putting out where for when I add corals. - Also to lights - there have been scientific papers showing that corals grow best under white and blue lights. Red and green do jack. - I wouldn't say live rock is becoming less popular, it's just WAY less available than it was even 10-15 years ago. Export bans removed the majority of that, and not all countries can properly aquaculture rock.

[@jordanchapman5589]

New to the saltwater setup up my system 1 week ago now the waiting game on cycling

[@mustangandsalty903]

was just wondering if you have ever done an video on keeping an picasso triggerfish? i find them call but some people call them aggressive

[@ReefDork]

Never kept one but they are aggressive from what I understand

[@benwilliams9150]

Great video, the extra week wait was worth it 👍

[@Janet-eg6ff]

I definitely agree with the last one. My first saltwater aquarium that I got over a year ago was a 13 gallon fluvial, and it crashed within the first 4-6 months. Another problem is just not researching at all because I had no idea what water parameters were and how to choose the best food. Now over a year later after extensive research at my LFS I am setting up my second saltwater aquarium. A 120 gallon aquarium stocked with soft corals, 2 bluethroat triggers and eventually a copperband and a harem of leopard wrasse (yes I did the research, and when I say research I mean going to my LFS for over 6 months and learning everything that I need to know for success. I know what I'm getting myself into).

[@BarbedWireBill]

I have been in the hobby on and off for over 20 years and have made all the mistakes! Just this past weekend while in my local fish store. I saw and absolutely fell in love with a wrasse. After asking about it, which they had no clue told me it was sold but could special order another for me. I agree. It wasn't until I got the call that it was in that I did my research. It was a juvenile half and half wrasse. It would have killed and ate everything!

[@opethmike]

YAY REEF DORK IS BACK I MISSED YOU DAD

[@kuma2574]

Hi~ Thank you for your good videos. What kind of crownfish do you own?

[@ReefDork]

Da Vincis

[@shalomitsnathan4442]

I find your videos so helpful

[@chriskane6473]

4:47 looks like there is some underwater sushi on the left side of the tank :D great video btw!

[@tubatupora0512]

Something I notice is also as your corals get bigger especially if u have alot of sps. Generally your algae issue gets under control as well. I guess the sps got to a point where it outcompetes algae for nutrients. To the point I need to supplement feed my urchins due to a really low level of algae on my rockwork.

[@forrestlea4515]

I've made all those mistakes less than 2 years in but the last 5-6 months or so I've been staying alot more consistent and also just not messing with my tank when one tiny thing seems off

[@jules2545]

I have aptaisia, I thought I would try the Pepermint shrimp and he is busy munching his way through my catalogue of corals. Can I catch the little bugger, no I cannot. Any ideas please?

[@smokeandkippers]

Bottle trap

[@wilfwill]

I've made all of them and recently been questioning why hair algea is getting worse in my tank no matter what I am doing went to add rowaphos and realised I mixed my rowaphos up with my carbon well the tubs looked the same lol

[@masteroctopusesanimations153]

Have not done any yet but I am starting one soon and I want to get a Bleny for my 15 or if I get a 10 gallon tank also any corals I should get to start with

[@ReefDork]

Go for whatever you like the look of

[@shalomitsnathan4442]

Can you do a update on the fluval evo 13.5 tank please because I'm thinking of getting a nano tank

[@ReefDork]

Yep, should be an update soon on the Reef Dork Xtra channel - it's going well 🙂

[@shalomitsnathan4442]

​@@ReefDork Thank you

[@inventoryking]

Lighting changes like other things need to happy SLOW!! Still looking forward to that full in depth Kalk video.

[@ReefDork]

What, this one? 🤓 kzbin.infoqgeOCC0mRS8?feature=share

[@bluesteel2k8]

I've been doing a tonne of research, but I'm struggling to work out which tank I should get. I don't want to get a small nano size, I was a decent size 150L or more really. I've always wanted a marine tank - but everytime I mention it, people are quick to try and put me off. I tend to ignore them, as most have never had any tanks before nevermind a marine tank. Do you have any recommendations for starting out? I've watched a bunch of your videos on starter tanks and on the cheap - but I would like a bigger one that looks great. I fully intend on starting small in terms of fish / corals. I'll go for the ones that are the easiest to look after until I learn more.

[@ReefDork]

3 foot is a great starter size - forgiving volume, more fish options and not too much hard work. I made a video called my advice to you recently - that's as complicated (easy) as the hobby needs to be! 🙂

[@sunnygoold9449]

Zero - 1 - I did knowingly put Peppermints in but never saw them and they kept aptasia out of my tank (I'm going to get a filefish now as it's a better solution. 2 - Never aimed a powerpoint at a coral 3 - I've never thought too much light was the source of any of my issues 4 - I only ever ran a skimmer and a really underized HOB algae scrubber for a bit that did nothing 5 - Overfeeding - I underfeed but I was feeding prawn heads for ages and then one day got a really high PO4 reading (some seafood is for human consumption is soaked in Phosphates). 6 - When I try things - like Vibrant - I usually way underdo it. Probably spent too much money on additives but not really an issue 7 - I have always researched my fish and have never bought a clown for example. The one fish that went pair shaped for me was a Captive Bred Multibar Angelfish and wild ones rarely eat coral. This even nipped at my SPS polyps. I got it out and that caused a chain reaction as I swapped coral out of my QT and ich appeared and I lost my hybrid powder blue. So it's not like I made any of these mistakes but I guess 3 x half points puts me at 1.5/7

[@chamoyuan24]

hello while using uv sterilizer 24/7 did you recommends used brightwell microbacter7 ?

[@ReefDork]

You'll need to turn the steriliser off if you dose bacteria.

[@mayukhbera]

Such a quality video!

[@therallybeard]

Tried a mandarin Goby inside a nano and adding copepods didn't seem to maintain its weight and it refused small Mysis shrimp and eventually i had to give it back to the shop because it wasn't eating. Only reason why i thought the nano would be fine was it had established copepods and the LFS said it ate frozen food but even with research still got burned. If anyone has success with mandarins in smaller tanks hats off... Even bought the small swim in feeding tube

[@PnCBio]

Nanos can’t really sustain a big enough pod population to keep a mandarin fed. They’re CONSTANTLY snacking. Even if you keep your pods reproducing in a nano (feeding live phyto) normally, a mandarin will put an end to that in relatively short order. It’s simply a space thing, the pod population will never keep up. Just my $0.02

[@miguelzavala-gallardo3733]

I think I have spent more on mistakes that the equipment I have now. Good video

[@tmac1072]

Love my camel shrimp, it doesn't bother any of my corals. Also have a skunk cleaner (had to replace it once) which is fantastic. My fire shrimp hardly shows itself, only occasionally to feed, but still a cool little critter. For some reason I can't seem to keep peppermints alive. Overall I have grown to love this hobby, closing in on 2 years with some pretty decent coral growth, cool fish, amazing coraline algae on my rock and back wall , so I feel like I am in the top 10%, woo-hoo! Thanks for all your helpful videos Alex

[@reef_water_drop]

I can see deltec kalkwasser stirrer 😮

[@ReefDork]

😎

[@DigitalPaintCan]

Getting corals too soon after cycle!

[@MattCasler-r3i]

What is the website he uses with all the fish stats?

[@ReefDork]

Live aquaria

[@MattCasler-r3i]

@@ReefDork Thanks. Really enjoy the videos!

[@jonathanreich9694]

I had a problem with the fish issue. I bought a rainbow wrasse, which the website said was peaceful. I did no further research on it which I regret now because come to find out it was the Attila the Hun, of fish. It killed a marble wrasse I had and terrorized the rest of the fish and I have tried every trap and every way I know to get that fish out of there and it knows I’m after it so it will not cooperate. So I’m stuck with that fish and having to find fish that can coexist with it so it won’t kill them.

[@annebartells777]

I had a damsel fish that was a very territorial varmint. It killed every fish I had. It attacked me every time I did maintenance on the tank

[@cherellzandell]

I'm new, give me time 😆 I'm definitely guilty of over-feeding even though I try not to. Just added my very first coral today, so haven't had a chance for coral related mistakes, although you just told me not to blast them with flow so hopefully I'll avoid that mistake 🙂

[@hughraynor8670]

My peppermint shrimp showed my cleaner shrimp how tasty my new frogspawn coral was... they were both sitting on it nibbling the polyps off. Nobody else I've spoken to has seen a cleaner shrimp ripping a euphyllia apart!

[@PeterAndWillAnderson]

great content as always!

[@SethShaperoHomes]

All of them. I feel better, though, that I am not alone.

[@suus801]

Hi Alex, massive fan thank you for your amazing videos! Your simply explanation has helped us start this hobby 👏 Quick question do you still have your fox face? We have a Red Sea 300 and we’re thinking of adding a one spot but not sure if it will grow to big 😅 thanks 😊

[@ReefDork]

He died, but I bought a small one for my 150 litre tank today! He will outgrow your tank, but we're talking years...

[@suus801]

Oh no! That’s a shame! thank you for coming back to me though. Something is telling me we will be upgrading in a couple of years 😅

[@megalomorphox]

All of the mistakes you list even tho I only keep fresh water tanks lol

[@wernervanderwesthuizen6059]

Yes the LED lights. I personally think it is best for a beginner to get T5 to set and forget the lighting aspect because the urge to tinker with the LED light app is unavoidable

[@dereks3207]

could also add thinking emerald crabs are all good guys. emerald crabs have eaten more coral in my tanks than any shrimp ever has.

[@evanderfrancis694]

bought a powder brown tang, thinking "oh its a tang, i did my research on tangs i can handle this guy" just to find out some tangs are way more difficult than others. He got ich about a month in and killed all my fish (3 - 4 years old) in 3 days. lesson learned, just because its the same species doesn't mean they have the same requirements.

[@estonianreefer2851]

When you say some several times and look up thinking about your light fetish 😂

[@thatreeferdude8440]

With my first aquarium I thought my rocks could do with a nice clean as they were looking brown. Washed them in the bath with soap and a scrubber…..crashed my aquarium due to me killing most if not all of that bacterial goodness that lived within. On the plus side the rocks looked good as new 🙃

[@Kenny_Edmonton]

The mistake of running to much light seems to be an easy one to make. I’m new to the hobby and if we only run our lights at say 65% like you do the why don’t we get cheaper less powerful lights

[@My525XLRedSeaReefer]

Made them all!

[@artistic_spaz3724]

Well I can say I am guilty of the fish.....darn damsel charmed me! But the overfeeding-i am not guilty but my spouse is and as I depend on him to feed the tank when I am working I can't really yell at him lmao

[@TonysCorals]

I just killed some of my corals by bottoming my phosphate. My nitrate is 10.5 ppm and phos 0 so I shut off my phos reactor with rowa in it I hope that fixes it. I have Dino’s and cyano :(

[@PnCBio]

If you run GFO or similar, you HAVE to feed “against” it. I wish this was talked about more. Dinos love a 0 phosphate environment, cyano loves high nitrate with low/no phosphates. Luckily, you can use your cyano to occupy the battle field somewhat. The cyano is keeping you from a deep dino battle. Get your phosphate above 0.07 consistently, 0.2 > 0.02 for the time being (really, always but you need to know how to get it into coral (bacteria, so carbon dosing)). If algae is an issue, your herbivores are understaffed (more snails, but manual removal+snails until it stops appearing).

[@TonysCorals]

@@PnCBio thank you for the help! My nitrate is 11.5 and phos at .04 as of last night. What is an ideal way to get my phos up but not keep spiking my nitrate as well, is their heavy phos foods like phytoplankton or something. Or should I feed the same but do the carbon dosing you talked about to get more nitrifying bacteria?

[@PnCBio]

@@TonysCorals the easiest way is to just dose the phosphates, slowly increasing dry food until you’re not dosing to top up your phosphates. Just add them to your frozen while it thaws with a bit of tank water. Literally, a few pallets a day, test, adjust.😊

[@PnCBio]

Certainly over filtered and underfed trying to control algae. Recently murdered a yellow tortusa by placing it too close to a powerhead. Never bought inappropriate live stock. If I want a pet, I better know it’s needs like a textbook. My dad kinda drilled that home 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Aleksander2526]

Never made these mistakes, the only mistake i make is forget to turn of the Rodi😂

[@ReefDork]

This is a monthly occurrence in my house 😂

[@paulsq_]

I just did this last weekend and got shit from my wife for it when she went to do laundry

[@PnCBio]

That was my condo until I bit the bullet and drilled my soft plastic reservoir and installed a float valve. Lost some reservoir space, but I now have a long RODI tube that I connect to fill the reservoir, it’s barely a chore now 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@rhondadunn4228]

I flushed a peppermint shrimp because he was eating my corals.. and I flushed an emerald crab after he got big and ate my corals! I purchased a cleaner shrimp and I just thought he was eating my corals so I flushed him too but then I felt like maybe I was wrong so I bought another.. then another .. I love those little cleaner shrimp but I bought a pair of blue throat trigger fish and they ate one of my cleaner shrimp.. Sometimes I think I’m just unlucky but most of the time I deserve what I get.. lol

[@ReefDork]

If you literally mean flushed, that's not OK - your LFS will always take them back from you or you can easily find another hobbyist.

[@Tco_H]

I bought a peppermint shrimp. It done its job then noticed it eating my zoas

[@2017Redsoxfan]

I personally have made every single mistake... even after starting again in the hobby as an adult with numerous prior years of experience that should know way better

[@patiacat1]

I over analyse and listen to too many ( experts ) then try something in between. Test test test is king.

[@oscarkromhout7621]

all of 'em, multiple times 🤣

[@mosreef1]

Nice 👍🏽

[@SalamanderFangskin]

all several times in fresh and sea water aquariums 😂

[@nedtroninck9299]

For me having mercy on a mantis shrimp hitchhiker thinking i could catch him later if he became a problem. Now I never see him. Only hear his ominous clicking inside rock tunnels 😅 EDIT: I found it 😍

[@kielieklankie7915]

So the top 5 things is basicly stability.

[@tompage8674]

Not researching fish.... thats fatal... usually for the fish.

[@saml8119]

Over the past seven years of made all of these mistakes at some point lol

[@davidleach4689]

Impulse buy six line wrasse

[@robertleffler4286]

Iv made all of those mistakes.

[@dannybellew9557]

All of em! 🙄

[@itsbeertimenow]

The number 1 mistake could be solved if the people selling the fish were more concerned about the welfare of the fish then the money they're receiving. A simple "hey just so you know, this fish can be a picky eater." would be helpful.

[@annebartells777]

My lfs owner is great. Before I purchase anything, he lets me know how to take care of it. For instance I purchased a harlequin shrimp. He made sure I knew it only eats starfish. He was more interested in the health of the animal instead of making an expensive sale. He always feeds his fish in front of me when I'm considering making a ourchase

[@PnCBio]

Hallelujah

[@steveluokkanen1766]

Oh yeah, made these same mistakes over the years.

[@EmadKhashibunchanel]

Clown goby