Servicing a NO BUDGET saltwater reef aquarium full of expensive fish and coral...fun or stressful?!

[@Unmployable]

Insane coral and fish choices. Don’t think I could make those decisions without extreme redundancies and backups etc. I’d also want to be close like 10-15 min away max. 40 min drive to check on something is brutal. Also like you said would stress to the client that I’m just an additional hand for support and to take a small amount of work load off of them but at the end of the day it is 100% their responsibility! And would tell them to be patient! $1200 fish is crazy. I’ve had micro bubbles before but my tank was large enough to where it didn’t swing the salinity that much.

[@spicyreef]

Man, this is crazy stress. My take away would be to put a leash on all clients. If I was going to take something like this on, I would only allow what my stress level could handle. That stress felt was the true tell tail IMHO 🙂 Thanks 4 sharing

[@Blackbookproduct10ns]

As someone that does this professionally, be careful with this as a side hustle. It’s all good until something goes wrong that causes damage like a flood or fire. I’m assuming you don’t have insurance so you’ll be left financially responsible. Just something to keep in mind.

[@zburnreefing]

Appreciate you chiming in and sharing your professional expertise! This is definitely something not to be overlooked and I need to address with the client.

[@StubbyAcro]

You should have used two float valves instead of one. Apply redundancy, use two return pumps, two heaters, etc. Buy a battery backup. I would minimize the risk as much as possible especially when there’s a lot at stake.

[@zburnreefing]

Very good advice. We had two heaters running and a full backup battery system, but I was missing the redundancy on the return and float valve.

[@thefurious69]

No offense, but when I saw no budget in your thumbnail I thought this is serious. Then I saw a 4 foot long tank. Good luck

[@zburnreefing]

Appreciate the comment and point taken. I see how “no budget” can mean different things to different types of individuals and audiences. I had no intention of doing clickbait. This felt like a no budget reef in comparison to my background and experience. To be fair the client has just replaced this tank with a 5 foot peninsula…the 4 footer was barely a year old! I maybe should have pushed him to go bigger to get your attention! 😀 Thanks again for chiming in!

[@thefurious69]

@@zburnreefing Like you said it is different for everyone. I live in Bergen County next to the George Washington Bridge. I'm broke and live in a closet, but the average home in the area is 3 million. So to me no budget is lamborghini's and rolls Royce's in the driveway and a 210 gallon reef tank built into the living room wall. lol

[@urielarroyo510]

honestly, after seeing that wire management...i stopped watching this video.

[@zburnreefing]

Honesty is good. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.