Top 10 Mistakes Made by New Reef Aquarium Hobbyist

Many new reef aquarium hobbyists tend to make a wide range of mistakes and so many things are bound to go wrong before they are able to master the technique. Here are top 10 mistakes in no particular order that can put your aquarium at a grave risk.

1. Buying a small tank: when you find yourself wishing that you had grown your reef in a relatively large aquarium, this is when you know that you had made a very serious mistake in your selection. A small tank than what’s necessary doesn’t provide the best environment for your reef to grow in.
2. Rushing into it: starting your aquarium without any plans is a grave mistake that you really must avoid. Don’t just set up your reef tank just because you have seen one and you really want to have yours. Make sure you are aware of the time and money it takes to maintain the aquarium.
3. Doing what others think is the right thing to do: keep in mind the fact that your reef aquarium should be a source of joy for you and don’t just follow everyone’s advice trying to please them. Don’t give up what you like for other peoples’ preferences.
4. Buying cheap equipment: if you go cheap when buying your reef equipment, you should surely not expect great results in the long run. Cheap quality equipment doesn’t work and even though it will save you some money, you will surely be compromising on the results on the other hand.
5. Buying the wrong fish, coral or invertebrates. When you buy the wrong livestock it can be disastrous. They could eat your corals grow to big, eat other fish, the list goes on and on. It is irresponsible to buy reefs which your tank isn’t properly equipped to take good care of.
6. Being uneducated about reef’s needs: the only way you can be successful in your reef keeping hobby is to educate yourself about the needs of your reefs. You should consider lots of things like food requirements, size of your requirements, etc…
7. Using saltwater to top off your tank because of evaporation. Never do this. Only use freshwater. Salt does not evaporate so when you add saltwater the salinity goes up!
8. Failure to test water parameters weekly: most new reef aquarium hobbyists tend to regard as having to test their water weekly as a very tedious maintenance routine. However, it is essential that you conduct various tests like PH, salinity, calcium, phosphate and calcium and make the necessary corrections before things get out of hand.
9. Infrequent water changes: most aquarium problems can easily be cured through regular water changes. As such, make a point of changing the water frequently and this will see your aquarium turn out really great.

Not guaranteeing. You need to quarantine your livestock so you do not introduce pest or diseases into your tank. For example it is easier to treat a fish for Ich in a quarantine tank than trying to treat all your fish in the display tank especially if it’s a reef tank.