The choice

[Dearth]

Recently I went through my worst tank crash to date. I have had a few throughout the years where I had mass coral die off, others brought on by not being able to maintain my tank (hospital for 6 days after a heart attack) and one through outright tank negligence.

This time due to a combination of factors through work (I work 12 hr shifts) and excessive overtime and ongoing medical issues (getting old sucks) and generally neglecting my tank it crashed over a period of 5 days I lost all but 2 fish all but one coral and left with a massive hair algae explosion. Ironically my snail population has bloomed and my glass is loaded with snail egg trails.

I have been slowly putting my tank back in order after much pondering as whether to continue with the tank or not, start fresh or buy a new tank or leave the hobby totally. In the end I decided that as long as I have fish and inverts alive that I would give them a fighting chance but it hasn’t been easy or fun making choices and I did struggle with depression and a sense of loss before deciding to move forward but we will see what the future brings.

This hobby loves to send you through the wringer that’s for sure.

[Scythanith]

I feel your pain Dearth. I went through a crippling crash where I lost the majority of my SPS a year and a half/two years back. I decided we both needed our space and I let the tank do what it was going to do for 6 months. After that I started to put in the effort and got it humming again.

Our freshwater tank is similar to what you described though. We have some hella old fish and I can't bring myself to change the tank up until they are no longer with us. That could be another decade at this pace lol!

[Dash]

Sorry things are a little rough right now. Glad you’re not throwing in the towel though. What would we do without our tanks to drive us crazy?
Hope things get better soon

[Dearth]

Well 2 weeks after my mega crash I did get some bright spots in my tank 2 fish I previously thought had died showed their faces on the same day my Wheelers shrimp Goby and another goby I can’t remember the name of plus my pistol shrimp made a rare appearance as well. Add to that two coral I had thought were killed showed signs of life yesterday.

My tank isn’t out of trouble yet but things are looking up adding a little bit of joy to an otherwise bleak situation. Just placed an invert order with J&L so I am getting 1% happier.

[Dearth]

Well my tank was well on its way back to recovery and then I ended up neglecting my tank due to working a ton of overtime and having a mild case of depression(let’s hear it for side effects of heart attacks life long depression) and I had my first good look at my tank a couple of days ago and it has left me wondering if I should start fresh, get out of the hobby or bite the bucket and upgrade my tank to a newer model(this one is almost 15 years old).

While my tank isn’t crashing there is a serious case of algae and patches of cyano and just general neglect. I am however in a position now where overtime is no longer an issue and I can start looking at options to revive my system and let me tell you it’s a very daunting task and somewhat scary as well.

Should be an interesting couple of weeks anyway as I decide the future of my tank and hobby.

[Ken]

Hey Dearth, greeting from Campbell River BC, you should think about starting fresh, like getting a new tank, something like the Red Sea Reefer, not bigger but smaller and manageable and easy to maintain. Sometimes starting fresh and getting a new tank promotes a new source of excitement that can motivate and inspire you again, I have been in the hobby going back to the mid-70s then saltwater in the mid-80s, and today I am still passionate about the hobby whether it is just relaxing and enjoying my aquariums, I have 8 reef aquariums only one of them is a planted freshwater tank, or just doing routine maintenance. My secret is Passion for the hobby, Simplicity keeping simple equipment & technical, Stability for all parameters. For the sake of your health and time working, try to avoid sensitive fish & corals, there are many beautiful tanks out there that have a simple setup that requires very little work and can bring much satisfaction for you. Wish we could be much closer, then you can come and visit my tanks and be inspired. Take care of yourself and even if you have a slight glimpse of a small flame then you will overcome and be inspired again. Regards ken