Generally speaking, in terms of the hobby, I've found there are basically three different philosophies that people have when it comes to reefing. Think of them as points on a triangle, with most people falling towards one or the other:
The reef tank as a machine::
People who take this philosophy tend to be really into the "gear" side of the hobby. They are really into all aspects of reef construction and setup, from building stands to designing intricate plumbing systems to measuring PAR on lighting systems. These folks are the ones which have gone "all in" regarding reef controllers, and want to try to quantify how well their tank is doing by looking at water chemistry parameters and continually tweaking until the ideal result has been achieved, though they of course also pay attention to things such as how well the corals in the tank seem to be growing. They tend towards wanting to begin a system with dry rock, because they want to have all of the tank inputs under their control to observe the outputs.
The reef tank as a work of art:
These are the people who were primarily attracted to reefing due to the range of colors and forms available to us. The reef tank in this paradigm is all about looking good. There is lots of emphasis on aquascaping, which leads them to lean towards dry rock, where a lot of time can be spent considering shape and placement beyond a pile of rubble. Coral which is growing well, but which has "browned out" a bit is a sign of failure. Detritus on the sandbed (if they have one) drives them crazy, as do those pesky sessile inverts (both introduced and hitchhikers) which decide to grow in unsightly locations.
The reef tank as a miniature ecosystem:
People who approach reefing with this philosophy essentially measure success by the degree to which they can use "natural reefing practices" to set up a semi-self-sustaining tank. They tend to be a lot more tolerant of muck and funk growing in the nether regions of the tank. They also tend to be a lot more open minded regarding tank hitchhikers - in fact they tend to be the people who love using live rock when available and seeing what sort of unexpected organisms crawl out as it matures. Obviously a major algae outbreak or a coral-eating pest needs to be addressed, but otherwise nature finds a balance. Success is measured by seeing how much tank biodiversity you can cultivate.
The reef tank as a machine::
People who take this philosophy tend to be really into the "gear" side of the hobby. They are really into all aspects of reef construction and setup, from building stands to designing intricate plumbing systems to measuring PAR on lighting systems. These folks are the ones which have gone "all in" regarding reef controllers, and want to try to quantify how well their tank is doing by looking at water chemistry parameters and continually tweaking until the ideal result has been achieved, though they of course also pay attention to things such as how well the corals in the tank seem to be growing. They tend towards wanting to begin a system with dry rock, because they want to have all of the tank inputs under their control to observe the outputs.
The reef tank as a work of art:
These are the people who were primarily attracted to reefing due to the range of colors and forms available to us. The reef tank in this paradigm is all about looking good. There is lots of emphasis on aquascaping, which leads them to lean towards dry rock, where a lot of time can be spent considering shape and placement beyond a pile of rubble. Coral which is growing well, but which has "browned out" a bit is a sign of failure. Detritus on the sandbed (if they have one) drives them crazy, as do those pesky sessile inverts (both introduced and hitchhikers) which decide to grow in unsightly locations.
The reef tank as a miniature ecosystem:
People who approach reefing with this philosophy essentially measure success by the degree to which they can use "natural reefing practices" to set up a semi-self-sustaining tank. They tend to be a lot more tolerant of muck and funk growing in the nether regions of the tank. They also tend to be a lot more open minded regarding tank hitchhikers - in fact they tend to be the people who love using live rock when available and seeing what sort of unexpected organisms crawl out as it matures. Obviously a major algae outbreak or a coral-eating pest needs to be addressed, but otherwise nature finds a balance. Success is measured by seeing how much tank biodiversity you can cultivate.
