Look, I am one of those reefers that has the “Quasi-DIY Gene.â€, and I know it. I can scheme out and plumb my reef, I can set up a protein skimmer, coordinate a flow pattern with off-the-shelf electronic pumps, dial in a calcium reactor, etc. I can almost program a controller without throwing it at the wall, so I suppose that’s progress. In reefkeeping, this is considered fairly basic stuff. However, when it comes to the hardcore stuff, like building a reliable and safe auto top off system, contracting a custom stand, or assembling my own LED lighting array, that’s where I beg off and seek the guidance of fellow reefers that love that kind of stuff.
This is a piece of cake, right?
Like most of you, I’ve acquired a fairly extensive set of rather obscure skills, like understanding the nuances of ball valves, waterproofing an aquarium stand interior, and adjusting a CO2 regulator in my CA reactor. These are skills you sort of accumulate by either observing other reefers, or just by jumping in and doing it. Occasionally you’ll figure out how to get the CA reactor going on the first try, be it through luck or just having the skills required. However, if you’re like most reefers, more often than not, you’ll get it about 80% right the first try. Not bad.
Have you ever noticed that there is really no “instruction manual†for reefing projects, or even for many of the pieces of equipment that we use? I mean, books will talk in sweeping generalities about the need for a kalk stirrer or reactor, and maybe even have a computer-generated diagram showing where it is in the sump scheme. However, you never see things like, “In order to make the reactor work, you’ll need a ______ pump, two feet of 1/2†vinyl tubing, two ball valves, and enough room in your equipment area to accomodate a 4†x 20†reactor body. The assembled unit should be placed approximately 4 inches to the side of the sump, with enough clearance to…â€
Ok, you get my drift.
Even many reef keeping products come with a diagram, maybe some basic introductory stuff about what it’s good to have the piece of equipment (C’mon, you KNOW that already, or you wouldn’t have purchased it, right? You STILL need to be sold on why a GFO reactor is a good thing for your reef after you bought it?), and if youre lucky, at least a couple of assembly pointers. Really rudimentary stuff. Not helpful for some of us who are not masters of the obvious! The manufacturers would be far better off providing detailed assembly and placement information for the purchaser, IMHO. Oh, sure, there are some manufacturers who do this, but they appear to be few and far in between. It’s almost like it’s expected that, as a reefer, you have this “hidden knowledge database†programmed in your head to figure out how to assemble everything.
"OK, I've got it from here on out, thanks..."
However, what you don’t have programmed, you can always find by tapping into “The Matrix†(sorry, had to borrow the term) of hobby knowledge that is “out thereâ€â€¦Have you noticed that? You must acquire the arcane knowledge that you need by internet search, haunting the LFS, or hanging with your reefing buddies and visiting their setups? Fun, yes, but often frustrating. There is really no formal “Reef tank construction guide†out there. None. Yes, lots of books talk about the theoretical and broad implementation of this gadget or another, but no one has really written a treatise with turnkey information about how to construct a properly equipped reef.
Weird, huh?
"Shh! I'm learning how to plumb my refugium and my A.T.O. system together..."
So, if you have the DIY thing in your game, and you can write a bit, there’s your caling- write a book on how to equip a modern reef system, with detailed diagrams and step-by-step instructions on how to assemble it. Woah! That would upset the entire balance of the universe, because suddenly, hobbyists would have a legitimate resource to turn to for reference on how to do_______! You’d no longer have to go though painful trial and error while building what you feel is a properly-equipped reef! Oh sure, there are some of you who would scoff at the idea, saying that the painful accumulation of this knowledge and the skills to pull of these projects SHOULD be gained through blood,sweat, and tears…gotta pay your dues by searching for obscure information and failing a few times on the way.
Okay, wierdos, how would you feel the next time you fly from say, LA to New York, if the two guys up front were “paying their dues†during YOUR flight? Or, if the guy in the surgical scrubs patting your arm as you fall asleep on the operating table is figuring out your procedure as he goes…Yeah, not so good, huh?
"Ok, the airport is to right...correct? Or is that a parking lot? Do we apply power now or just set the flaps at 15 degrees? We'll figure it out when the time comes"
"Have you done this procedure before, Doctor? No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.. No, seriously- I'm a reef keeper. We do stuff like this all the time. No big."
So my request is that SOMEONE, somewhere in this big reef keeping hobby world, creates a book or series of articles on exactly how to incorporate some of the “fundemental†hardware into our systems. Not only would it be good for the hobby, it would be awesome for the animals we keep, and manufacturers of aquarium equipment would realize the value, too- and possibly increase sales, because hobbyists would actually have a good guide as to how to incorporate said piece of equipment into their reef systems. Win-win.
Ok, enough of this nonsense for now. I’m off to figure out how to incorporate reactor into a nano system I’m working on…sigh.
So, I say to you- search for knowledge. Share said acquired knowledge. Complain more.
And…
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
This is a piece of cake, right?
Like most of you, I’ve acquired a fairly extensive set of rather obscure skills, like understanding the nuances of ball valves, waterproofing an aquarium stand interior, and adjusting a CO2 regulator in my CA reactor. These are skills you sort of accumulate by either observing other reefers, or just by jumping in and doing it. Occasionally you’ll figure out how to get the CA reactor going on the first try, be it through luck or just having the skills required. However, if you’re like most reefers, more often than not, you’ll get it about 80% right the first try. Not bad.
Have you ever noticed that there is really no “instruction manual†for reefing projects, or even for many of the pieces of equipment that we use? I mean, books will talk in sweeping generalities about the need for a kalk stirrer or reactor, and maybe even have a computer-generated diagram showing where it is in the sump scheme. However, you never see things like, “In order to make the reactor work, you’ll need a ______ pump, two feet of 1/2†vinyl tubing, two ball valves, and enough room in your equipment area to accomodate a 4†x 20†reactor body. The assembled unit should be placed approximately 4 inches to the side of the sump, with enough clearance to…â€
Ok, you get my drift.
Even many reef keeping products come with a diagram, maybe some basic introductory stuff about what it’s good to have the piece of equipment (C’mon, you KNOW that already, or you wouldn’t have purchased it, right? You STILL need to be sold on why a GFO reactor is a good thing for your reef after you bought it?), and if youre lucky, at least a couple of assembly pointers. Really rudimentary stuff. Not helpful for some of us who are not masters of the obvious! The manufacturers would be far better off providing detailed assembly and placement information for the purchaser, IMHO. Oh, sure, there are some manufacturers who do this, but they appear to be few and far in between. It’s almost like it’s expected that, as a reefer, you have this “hidden knowledge database†programmed in your head to figure out how to assemble everything.
"OK, I've got it from here on out, thanks..."
However, what you don’t have programmed, you can always find by tapping into “The Matrix†(sorry, had to borrow the term) of hobby knowledge that is “out thereâ€â€¦Have you noticed that? You must acquire the arcane knowledge that you need by internet search, haunting the LFS, or hanging with your reefing buddies and visiting their setups? Fun, yes, but often frustrating. There is really no formal “Reef tank construction guide†out there. None. Yes, lots of books talk about the theoretical and broad implementation of this gadget or another, but no one has really written a treatise with turnkey information about how to construct a properly equipped reef.
Weird, huh?
"Shh! I'm learning how to plumb my refugium and my A.T.O. system together..."
So, if you have the DIY thing in your game, and you can write a bit, there’s your caling- write a book on how to equip a modern reef system, with detailed diagrams and step-by-step instructions on how to assemble it. Woah! That would upset the entire balance of the universe, because suddenly, hobbyists would have a legitimate resource to turn to for reference on how to do_______! You’d no longer have to go though painful trial and error while building what you feel is a properly-equipped reef! Oh sure, there are some of you who would scoff at the idea, saying that the painful accumulation of this knowledge and the skills to pull of these projects SHOULD be gained through blood,sweat, and tears…gotta pay your dues by searching for obscure information and failing a few times on the way.
Okay, wierdos, how would you feel the next time you fly from say, LA to New York, if the two guys up front were “paying their dues†during YOUR flight? Or, if the guy in the surgical scrubs patting your arm as you fall asleep on the operating table is figuring out your procedure as he goes…Yeah, not so good, huh?
"Ok, the airport is to right...correct? Or is that a parking lot? Do we apply power now or just set the flaps at 15 degrees? We'll figure it out when the time comes"
"Have you done this procedure before, Doctor? No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night.. No, seriously- I'm a reef keeper. We do stuff like this all the time. No big."
So my request is that SOMEONE, somewhere in this big reef keeping hobby world, creates a book or series of articles on exactly how to incorporate some of the “fundemental†hardware into our systems. Not only would it be good for the hobby, it would be awesome for the animals we keep, and manufacturers of aquarium equipment would realize the value, too- and possibly increase sales, because hobbyists would actually have a good guide as to how to incorporate said piece of equipment into their reef systems. Win-win.
Ok, enough of this nonsense for now. I’m off to figure out how to incorporate reactor into a nano system I’m working on…sigh.
So, I say to you- search for knowledge. Share said acquired knowledge. Complain more.
And…
Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
I was actually entertaining the notion to have you proofread it:nerd:
