What's the dumbest/biggest mistake you made when you first entered the hobby?

[Hyde2406]

Nothing like putting on a snorkel to grab that frag that fell aaaallll the way to the bottom...for the third time! Never again!!

I'm 5 ft 3 and had a 90 gallon (my husband calls me T-rex) I like the look of those drop front tanks but who wants to get in there to fix the coal that got knocked over by the stupid clowns again. ......

 

[enthejungle]

Thought that after my initial setup I might only put a couple hundred more into my system.

Other than that I'd say going with a stock stand vs custom. Then it would be letting my waste line come out of my sink and flooding my kitchen and my neighbors condo. Good thing I had to work in the moning and my wife wasn't horribly ticked about the nice present I left for her.

 

[Bradley Crocker]

Mounted my MP10 controller to the inside of my cabinet... above the rim of the sump. You get where I'm going with this...

Came into the office to find my tank looking like skim milk, and smelling like the beach after a storm. The controller pulled off the wall (somehow) and landed in the sump. Breaker never tripped, and I electrocuted my tank. This was less than 1 week after adding a $600 pair of bonded yellow dwarf lionfish that I'd been searching for for over a year. I haven't found even a single yellow specimen since.

No!!!

 

[Bradley Crocker]

I know I already posted mine, but all this talk about angry spouses and fish dying brings back a lot of memories...too many of both!
I let my ex wife choose a fish...once. She picked a really neat dwarf angler despite all my objections. Finally, I figured "it's only about 1.5", there's nothing in there that it can eat." Wrong. Within 30 seconds of being in the tank it swam right up to my juvenile maroon clown (nearly 2" long) and engulfed him! I swear the theme song from Jaws was playing the entire time!

 

[mkutsch]

Let's see... A few years ago in highschool, I was making a tank with my friend in his garage. It was beautiful, 400 gallons with starphire and everything. We finish the silicone sealing, and go get lunch. We bring it back. On my way over, I pass a car under a sheet. I trip. I fall. I hit the new tank, it falls over onto the covered car. My friend looks as if he had died. I hear a door slam. His dad comes out. There is an obvious dent in the... Car... Crap. He starts crying. I run away.
The next time I see my friend, I ask him what the car was. He says, "A '92 Corvette." Double crap.

 

[Barry Bowen]

Started off many years ago with tropical fresh water. My wife and I just moved into our unit, we set up a 4 footer, with heater and basic filter, used the hose to fill tank, no chemicals added, let it run for a bit to heat water, acclimatized fish, looked great with lights on and all until all the fish started jumping out of the tank landing on the carpet one after another. We spent half the night throwing the fish back in the tank and glad wrapped it till we got lids made.

 

[jeffrey holloway]

Not doing the proper QT. Not painting the back of my DT. Believing there was a reef safe cure for Ick.

 

[Bighead]

I made a new sump for my tank a couple years ago and I used the wrong silicone not a good idea within 2 hrs I lost everything had tonvlean all the rock in avid and start all ove I had a fully stocked 90 gal was not a hood learning experience

 

[The_Noooob]

When I first started this hobby I was about 19. Not knowing a thing or even read a book I used to test my water parameters and also throw the test tubes results back into the tank smh I always wondered why my fish died on me all the time.. (fresh water tank btw)

 

[mkutsch]

Ohh... ;(

 

[cody2cannon]

Didn't calibrate my refractometer, thought I was at 1.026 was actually at 1.011

 

[Diego Johnson]

I have a 40-gallon tank in my drawing room. There is a different type of fishes, pabbles. But it was my biggest and the first mistake has I kept much more fishes and for that reason, the fish enjoyed one by one. After that time I alert and I can not faced that type of problems.

 

[4FordFamily]

1) buying used glass that eventually destroyed a 2 month old new build
2) moving too quickly

 

[mkutsch]

Screwing a light too much into too thin glass I used to save money... you can guess what happened

 

[GraphicReefer]

When first introduced to the hobby I collected rock and dead coral skeletons ( I live in florida and they dredge rivers a lot so neat stuff comes to shore ) from my yard and placed them in my tank filled with saltwater without any prior preparation. When I came back in my bedroom five minutes later I had a coral snake ( very venomous, ironic name too lol ) swimming back and forth in my tank. It was hiding in one of the rocks... Im a Genius! I knew some about saltwater tank pests but never thought a snake would be one of them lol. Talk about a fiasco trying to get that thing out!

 

[jwshiver]

Treating fish for Marine Velvet in my DT with a "Reef Safe" product. At least I had an excuse to buy more corals.

 

[kenny80]

Topped off with saltwater for the roughly the first month then realized my salinity was through the roof. Ooops lol

Haha been there!

 

[Garrett W.]

putting a maxima clam in a 20 tall tank on rock near the top with minimal lighting.....tank had only been cycled for a month or so with crushed coral for substrate....it died within a month. This was 3+ years ago when i had first started.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Did a water change prior to a week long vacation. Forgot to turn the ATO back on. Came home to my pump howling because it didn't have any water to pump, salinity through the roof and tank temp in the 60s. Everything made it. I also had some coral and a BTA in tow that I got on the trip. Didn't have a choice but to put it in. All of that also pulled through. I still panic about my poor clowns whenever I leave these days. House sitter instructions now specifically mention to make sure all switches are on and ATO reservoir has water.

 

[DeniseAndy]

When first introduced to the hobby I collected rock and dead coral skeletons ( I live in florida and they dredge rivers a lot so neat stuff comes to shore ) from my yard and placed them in my tank filled with saltwater without any prior preparation. When I came back in my bedroom five minutes later I had a coral snake ( very venomous, ironic name too lol ) swimming back and forth in my tank. It was hiding in one of the rocks... Im a Genius! I knew some about saltwater tank pests but never thought a snake would be one of them lol. Talk about a fiasco trying to get that thing out!

Oh my gosh. My husband would have died. He is terrified of snakes. How did you get it out without getting bitten?