Are you Star Roll or are you Flunking Out? Grade yourself!

[Kfactor]

I would like to be in the A but I voted c over all. My diy stuff like stand plumbing and what not I give my self an B . I wish I could figure out how to getting my no3 and po4 stable .

 

[Smite]

I'll average my performance over the last year. I'd say I'm a solid B. I've had moments when the tank was stunning and thriving but I've also done some real bonehead stuff and have been lazy at times.

My biggest self critique would be lack of consistency. That's a pretty crucial part of this hobby too.

 

[ReefStash]

A- the minus because I hate chemistry and testing!

I’ve kept thousands of gallons of successful tanks since 2007 to include clownfish breeding for several years, coral propagation, predator tanks, quarantine systems and pretty much everything the hobby has to offer except seahorses. Have never kept them before.

 

[Adrift]

C+
I can keep keep fish happy. Corals and anemones that’s a cough…, story for another day

 

[Glenner’sreef]

FROM:
Design A
Caribsea Reef rock mixed with live look just the way I want it to!!!
Personal Successes A
Years ago, I couldn’t keep Gonioporas or Clams alive. Figured it out. Today their thriving!!!
Best Equipment B
I like some diy but when it comes to say, lighting? Higher end lights $$$ are still a bit in the future.
Maintenance A-
Retired! for past year and half. 30 years from USPS. I’ve got time to maintain and do!!!
SPS Choices B-
One small frustration is purchasing sps frags and having some just not make it. Some have higher demands, I get that. But I’ll own that one and take a B- or even a C.

 

[reefer fro canada]

I rate myself a C mostly because there is so much to learn I have been in the hobby 20 years and still think I know very little.Learning never ends happy reefing

 

[Sleepingtiger]

I give myself a D-

I am smart enough to do plenty of tons research before getting my feet wet. My worse enemy is myself. I know what to do and how to do it. I know their are no shortcuts in this hobby. However, I listen to one persons bad advice when 30 others are telling me the right way. The result, I lost my Asfur, copperband, flame angel, longnose, yellow tang, purple tang and morish idol because of velvet. Then I lost all interest and let my coral go to waste. This is my second go around... I will try to do things different. Until I do things different and success is achieved, my grade is what it is.

 

[DrLazyReef]

I would give myself a BIG F minus,
with reef gods blessings only coral i have lost is Dendonepthya and powder blue among fish.
But many dichotomies of being in a gray or illegal hobby in my country, paid only 20 dollars worth for 50 pounds of great ocean rock today, thankfully its hard to source for a great many folk here and i hope it stays illegal.
don't really feel good about myself for the Sustainability factor.
But i am an addict, i can't help myself.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m happy with a B. I think I’m very good at husbandry and stability, but my plumbing skills are crap. I honestly despise anything that has to do with plumbing.

 

[BTimms]

Lighting: B- additional light on its way.

Chemistry/parameters: A

Aquarium biology: B+

Maintenance: B+

Coral growth: F-

Algae Growth: AAA+++

I seem to get a bit of STN and my corals seem to grow very slowly.
I test, and parameters are in check. GHA grows out of control, although my nutrient levels are low.

I can’t tell what I’m doing wrong.

 

[ReefGeezer]

1. If you were to give yourself an overall reefing hobby grade what would it be?
I think a "C- or a D"... graded on a curve though. That curve would be based on the time the tank has been established.
2. What is an area you excel in and get an A or A+ in?
System design i.e. ATO, flow, lighting, aquascape, filtration
3. What is an area you are not good at and maybe flunking out of?
Pest algae/bacteria control & growth of Coralline

The tank runs well. The fish are very healthy. The few test corals I have are doing OK. The aquascape is stable, has a bunch of surfaces to put corals on, and looks cool. Thanks to 2 FX 350's and an old MP40, flow is not an issue. Light is not an issue. An 8X 54W T5HO programmable SunPower fixture provides more than enough PAR/PUR. The water level never changes. N&P are easy to maintain at low levels. BUT... I just can't get past the ugly phase. The tank is 9 or 10 months old and started with dry rock and a few lbs. of live rock. Right now I have some sort of fuzzy tan bacterial growth that coats the plastic & rock and a red encrusting sponge that lightly covers a lot of the lighted rock surfaces. Neither will go away. Coralline is present, but isn't really spreading.

 

[Seascapes]

Ok so none of you are totally flunking out, we call that learning at your own pace! Last night I was cleaning the glass of the tank and I asked myself this question. "If I were to give myself a grade on being a reefing hobbyist what would it be?" I wanted to answer truthfully so gave myself a C+. I mean there are things I get an A+ on but some things an F- so a C+ is about where I would average out. Let's talk about it today.

BE HONEST!

1. If you were to give yourself an overall reefing hobby grade what would it be?

2. What is an area you excel in and get an A or A+ in?

3. What is an area you are not good at and maybe flunking out of?

I have some pretty large tangs, but I'm struggling with nitrates and consistency of parameters. I can't seem to get things back on track since I moved to Texas. The water here is so different. So I rate myself between C & D.

 

[SciGuy2]

Incomplete.

 

[ying yang]

I grade myself c because im only nearly 8 months into saltwater and i do few hours research every night for last 10 months and 5 years ago few hours every night for 6 months so learnt lots but hands on experience more useful than just reading/ watching vidoes but i not lost 1 fish in 8 months and only 3 hermits died but they died by other hermits aw and a pistol shrimp mia since 1 week but i put that down to molting and stressed/ died as both cleaner shrimp/ few corals and rest of cuc are thriving.
So learnt lots and bot lost nothing but still lots to learn so will mark myself middle of the road c

 

[Billldg]

I gave myself a B because I have been dealing with Dino's, and have had to deal with my tank on a daily basis. I can not give myself a A because of the fact that I am having to deal with Dino's...LOL!!! The tank is only 4-5 months old and I should have monitored it more closely from the start, thus the B, maybe a B-, and not a A. I can say work prevented me from monitoring it, BUT, with the same amount of workload I was able to combat and defeat the Dino's. I am now dealing with algae, BUT, that's better than dino's.

 

[James_O]

1. If you were to give yourself an overall reefing hobby grade what would it be?

Probably a B. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert by ANY means

2. What is an area you excel in and get an A or A+ in?

Spirit I guess? ;Hilarious

Seriously though, probably growing my Duncan. No clue why I’m having so much success with this coral.

3. What is an area you are not good at and maybe flunking out of?

Testing my water. I need to do it way more often.

 

[pandaparties]

I give myself a C, haven't had too many coral die and never had a fish die (that wasn't eaten alive by another member of the tank). But i also almost always feel like something is going wrong and needs fixing, feels like i am doing too much. Keeping a 500+ gallon tank with predators like sharks/rays in addition to large fish like tangs, along with mixed reef (have about 15 frags each of acro, gonis, torches and chalices) is just a struggle. Nutrients are always a concern, sooo much equipment to keep track of - 6 power heads, 6 leds, 12 T5s, huge uv, calcium reactor, trident/apex, algae reactor, skimmer, socks etc. The sharks are picky eaters, the rays are too competitive and out eat. But that being said it's all working for now lol

 

[MJV15]

If you spend enough money there's no doubt you can be a superstar.. With automation that kinda takes the challenge of the hobby away IMO.

I disagree, look at the start of the BRS 360. Doesn’t get much more automated and unlimited budget than that. And wasn’t exactly the picture of success. Do his credit he didn’t shy away from its problems.

I have a fair bit of automation in my tank. It allows me to travel for work without needing to stress about my tank so much. But i still need to do a fair bit of maintenance and tending. It just compresses it to a full weekend of maintenance every other month instead of a little bit every day or two.

 

[GillMeister]

I would have given myself an A- right up until i dosed flucanazole and wiped out 90% of my SPS. Still have not invested in any livestock since.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Who ever rated a A let me see them Full tank shots