Building a 10 year Dream Reef Tank. (Aka- Ryan's first public speech!) | BRStv

[Ryanbrs]

I'll have to watch this when I get home from work!

From today's release

 

[w2inc]

I've never considered success in the hobby to be related to the age of an aquarium. I've always thought that the measure of my success was the amount of enjoyment and fun that I got out of it. The tank can run for as long as it's fun. Fish and coral are easy to re-home and I've never felt re-homing a fish to be irresponsible or disrespectful when it's easy to make sure it's going to a decent home of a proper size. I disagree that reef keeping is the most difficult pet, it's not even the most expensive when you consider maintaining the health of a dog or cat long term when it comes getting surgeries and paying for meds and treatments. I spent about a thousand bucks recently just to get my cats teeth cleaned and some bad teeth extracted and that's just this year so far. I had a cat years ago that required sub-cutaneous fluid injections every week. That was difficult. Difficulty wise, I've found high-tech freshwater planted aquariums such as Dutch style or Nature style to be as difficult as reefs as well.

I really wish that instead of telling people to examine likes and post counts on reef forum users(this part was super cringey) that you'd refer them to the published works of hobby experts like Fenner, Sprung, Delbeek, Borneman, Shimek, Joshi, Calfo, and more who have put in the hard work and have the real world experience. There are a ton of great books out there and the Reef Keeping magazine archive on Reef Central pretty much tells you all you need to know about good reef husbandry practices. Some of the tech has changed since those books and articles were written, but the core principles and practices have remained the same. Advanced Aquarist web site is awesome. Wet Web Media is a huge mess of knowledge. Coral magazine is also excellent and they have a fully online component now. I think BRS and R2R do a disservice to this hobby by constantly ignoring the huge wealth of legacy reef keeping knowledge that is already out there. I have nothing against the R2R members you mentioned, it's great they are trying to help hobbyists here. But for me, they are just a faceless avatar. A lot of forum goers just parrot what they've read on the forums and have little real world experience.

As a hobby veteran, I was hoping to gain some new insight or learn about innovations in the hobby, but this talk was mostly just your opinions on what makes a good reefer and some general advice on some do's and don'ts with virtually no new practical husbandry advice that hasn't been covered ad nauseam before it. I do appreciate your "good intention" though. Maybe some newbs will benefit. I can understand that you set a ten year reef as your own personal goal, but I don't think the average hobbyist can fathom keeping a reef that long, nor do they need to. It's just a hobby after all.

I have to agree with the post and like count being shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from.

For instance, @Randy Holmes-Farley, who is a long time author and a reefer with much more than 10 years behind him. After checking just now it looks like his post count is around 31,000 and his like rate is closer to 20,000.

I have repeatedly received solid feedback from him.

Often times solid advice given to another is responded to with a "thanks" rather than the like button. A question solved in two posts can get tumbled down the list and no other members read through it to give more likes.

I want to be smart and popular, as do many people. A high like ratio would make me look that way on this forum. Trouble is that it is easy to inflate my like ratio that has nothing to do with good advice or intelligence. If I had my husband follow me, or if I were to add an additional account or two, or just follow and like a couple friends and ask them to do the same for me.

A good cheer leader and motivator will get more likes. I get the most likes with comments like "You are awesome! That looks so cool!" I make more posts and get less likes when I am actively trouble shooting with another member and the thread. Questions like "Could you give me a little more information about your skimmer, ALK, and feeding schedule", do not normally inspire the like button. Occasionally members who do like your feedback reply with +1 rather than hitting the like button.

Looking at the other side, a lower like ratio can show up from an experienced person (reefer since the mid 90's) that is looking for help troubleshooting issues with his system and is willing to let the community help. I typically don't get likes when I post about questions or requests for help. Can you imaging getting likes when you post a photo fo a dying fish or coral? I don't usually get likes when I post things like "thanks for the feedback, I have tried that with no avail. Can you think of anything else?", Or "Could you point me to some more information about that?".

Photos of a tank are also kind of shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from. I was recently at a members home helping him troubleshoot algae issues. Looking through some of his posts I realized that he had posted fake photos in more than one situation just to win an argument or try to gain credibility. It is just too easy to download an image or shoot one of a display that is not yours and claim it.

When I am looking for someone to take advice from or want a "mentor" to follow, I take a minute to fact check some of the advice they give. I find out if there is any research related to their claims that they can point me to. I see if they know another member who had a similar problem that they can pull in to the thread to help us both out. I check for their posts for help and be sure they are willing to admit that they are not winning all the time. I check out their tank build. Dig around in their post history. Some of my best advice has come from members with under 200 posts.

I am looking for honesty and experience when I look for someone to repeatedly listen to. A high like ratio may very well reflect solid advice. However, it might not and a low like ratio may also reflect some hard won experience and some really solid advice.

I do also appreciate the "good intentions" of BRS. For me, some of the best advice I heard in the video was to be sure that your financial goals are in line with the person you are taking advice from.

Happy Reefing people!

 

[chefjpaul]

I have to agree with the post and like count being shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from.

For instance, @Randy Holmes-Farley, who is a long time author and a reefer with much more than 10 years behind him. After checking just now it looks like his post count is around 31,000 and his like rate is closer to 20,000.

I have repeatedly received solid feedback from him.

Often times solid advice given to another is responded to with a "thanks" rather than the like button. A question solved in two posts can get tumbled down the list and no other members read through it to give more likes.

I want to be smart and popular, as do many people. A high like ratio would make me look that way on this forum. Trouble is that it is easy to inflate my like ratio that has nothing to do with good advice or intelligence. If I had my husband follow me, or if I were to add an additional account or two, or just follow and like a couple friends and ask them to do the same for me.

A good cheer leader and motivator will get more likes. I get the most likes with comments like "You are awesome! That looks so cool!" I make more posts and get less likes when I am actively trouble shooting with another member and the thread. Questions like "Could you give me a little more information about your skimmer, ALK, and feeding schedule", do not normally inspire the like button. Occasionally members who do like your feedback reply with +1 rather than hitting the like button.

Looking at the other side, a lower like ratio can show up from an experienced person (reefer since the mid 90's) that is looking for help troubleshooting issues with his system and is willing to let the community help. I typically don't get likes when I post about questions or requests for help. Can you imaging getting likes when you post a photo fo a dying fish or coral? I don't usually get likes when I post things like "thanks for the feedback, I have tried that with no avail. Can you think of anything else?", Or "Could you point me to some more information about that?".

Photos of a tank are also kind of shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from. I was recently at a members home helping him troubleshoot algae issues. Looking through some of his posts I realized that he had posted fake photos in more than one situation just to win an argument or try to gain credibility. It is just too easy to download an image or shoot one of a display that is not yours and claim it.

When I am looking for someone to take advice from or want a "mentor" to follow, I take a minute to fact check some of the advice they give. I find out if there is any research related to their claims that they can point me to. I see if they know another member who had a similar problem that they can pull in to the thread to help us both out. I check for their posts for help and be sure they are willing to admit that they are not winning all the time. I check out their tank build. Dig around in their post history. Some of my best advice has come from members with under 200 posts.

I am looking for honesty and experience when I look for someone to repeatedly listen to. A high like ratio may very well reflect solid advice. However, it might not and a low like ratio may also reflect some hard won experience and some really solid advice.

I do also appreciate the "good intentions" of BRS. For me, some of the best advice I heard in the video was to be sure that your financial goals are in line with the person you are taking advice from.

Happy Reefing people!

I can definitely understand this post and relate a bit. As I don't always update my threads, look for popularity, or likes, nor number of pages I consume . Not why I am here.

I am on the forum every day, some multiple, but also work 80 hrs. / week, reading and learning more than anything. Helping those with knowledge I am comfortable sharing.

On the OP reason;
I do like what Ryan has to say, solid advice for someone new and or frustrated. Plus the data that BRS collects is fascinating.

One great point, and probably the most important, that he made is the amount of miss guidance in these forums and the importance of how to evaluate the difference.

 

[Ryanbrs]

I have to agree with the post and like count being shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from.

For instance, @Randy Holmes-Farley, who is a long time author and a reefer with much more than 10 years behind him. After checking just now it looks like his post count is around 31,000 and his like rate is closer to 20,000.

I have repeatedly received solid feedback from him.

Often times solid advice given to another is responded to with a "thanks" rather than the like button. A question solved in two posts can get tumbled down the list and no other members read through it to give more likes.

I want to be smart and popular, as do many people. A high like ratio would make me look that way on this forum. Trouble is that it is easy to inflate my like ratio that has nothing to do with good advice or intelligence. If I had my husband follow me, or if I were to add an additional account or two, or just follow and like a couple friends and ask them to do the same for me.

A good cheer leader and motivator will get more likes. I get the most likes with comments like "You are awesome! That looks so cool!" I make more posts and get less likes when I am actively trouble shooting with another member and the thread. Questions like "Could you give me a little more information about your skimmer, ALK, and feeding schedule", do not normally inspire the like button. Occasionally members who do like your feedback reply with +1 rather than hitting the like button.

Looking at the other side, a lower like ratio can show up from an experienced person (reefer since the mid 90's) that is looking for help troubleshooting issues with his system and is willing to let the community help. I typically don't get likes when I post about questions or requests for help. Can you imaging getting likes when you post a photo fo a dying fish or coral? I don't usually get likes when I post things like "thanks for the feedback, I have tried that with no avail. Can you think of anything else?", Or "Could you point me to some more information about that?".

Photos of a tank are also kind of shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from. I was recently at a members home helping him troubleshoot algae issues. Looking through some of his posts I realized that he had posted fake photos in more than one situation just to win an argument or try to gain credibility. It is just too easy to download an image or shoot one of a display that is not yours and claim it.

When I am looking for someone to take advice from or want a "mentor" to follow, I take a minute to fact check some of the advice they give. I find out if there is any research related to their claims that they can point me to. I see if they know another member who had a similar problem that they can pull in to the thread to help us both out. I check for their posts for help and be sure they are willing to admit that they are not winning all the time. I check out their tank build. Dig around in their post history. Some of my best advice has come from members with under 200 posts.

I am looking for honesty and experience when I look for someone to repeatedly listen to. A high like ratio may very well reflect solid advice. However, it might not and a low like ratio may also reflect some hard won experience and some really solid advice.

I do also appreciate the "good intentions" of BRS. For me, some of the best advice I heard in the video was to be sure that your financial goals are in line with the person you are taking advice from.

Happy Reefing people!

Hopefully, the intent of that example is ultimitly what comes across rather than the single example I agree wholeheartedly that a 1:10 post to like ratio is not guaranteeing good advice or the inverse. The intent of the conversation is to get the thought juices flowing and finding the answer to "I got 40 different answers, who do I listen to?

Speaking just on like ratio. There are a lot of factors at play but one of the ones I have noticed is it often is more about the level of respect and politeness that advice is given than the accuracy. Each person will evaluate how important accuracy is vs respect but in the end, I think most people are not willing to accept accuracy without respect.

So outside of that how does everyone identify who they listen to? Case by case basis or effort put into identifying some of the community members who continually put out some of the best information. Who are they?

I will start by also calling out @Randy Holmes-Farley as well. I don't know if there is anyone who has been both an industry thought leader and author while also making himself simultaneously available to the community on forums as well as him. He has served as a chemistry mentor to tens of thousands of reefers and the community is better off for it.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hopefully, the intent of that example is ultimitly what comes across rather than the single example I agree wholeheartedly that a 1:10 post to like ratio is not guaranteeing good advice or the inverse. The intent of the conversation is to get the thought juices flowing and finding the answer to "I got 40 different answers, who do I listen to?

Speaking just on like ratio. There are a lot of factors at play but one of the ones I have noticed is it often is more about the level of respect and politeness that advice is given than the accuracy. Each person will evaluate how important accuracy is vs respect but in the end, I think most people are not willing to accept accuracy without respect.

So outside of that how does everyone identify who they listen? Case by case basis or effort put into identifying some of the community members who continually put out some of the best information. Who are they?

I will start by also calling out @Randy Holmes-Farley as well. I don't know if there is anyone who has been both an industry thought leader and author while also making himself simultaneously available to the community on forums. He has served as a chemistry mentor to tens of thousands of reefers and the community is better off for it.

I'll add @Dana Riddle to that as well. His studies and information is unmatched IMO

 

[KenJ]

outstanding as always

 

[Aco5000]

My wife and I were lucky enough to hear that speech in person and I gotta say I think Ryan made some great points. My search for knowledge in this hobby is never ending, at least so far and any tips on how to find the most likely helpful and useful information is always welcome. If i can get the help I need without being shamed first that's even better and next time I'll be less hesitant to reach out. I'm fairly new to this hobby and brs's videos were my first source of information, I like the way ryan approaches this hobby and all the info provided by him and Randy has been invaluable to me. Thanks again for all the help and information, you're one of the few who provide that respectful accurate info I search for.

 

[tdlawdo]

My wife and I were lucky enough to hear that speech in person and I gotta say I think Ryan made some great points. My search for knowledge in this hobby is never ending, at least so far and any tips on how to find the most likely helpful and useful information is always welcome. If i can get the help I need without being shamed first that's even better and next time I'll be less hesitant to reach out. I'm fairly new to this hobby and brs's videos were my first source of information, I like the way ryan approaches this hobby and all the info provided by him and Randy has been invaluable to me. Thanks again for all the help and information, you're one of the few who provide that respectful accurate info I search for.

+1. I watched the vids for 6 months waiting to start my WaterBox 230 build.

And they are just as nice in person. I was recently in Minnesota on business and had the uber driver take me to BRS on the way to the airport and got to get an unexpected and impromptu tour, some advice and met Randy! Saw the filming studio water stations office area with some great tanks!
Thanks for all those guys do there!!

 

[Sallstrom]

Great talk!

We had a couple of reef tanks at work(small public aquarium) that were started around 2004-2006 and were up and running until May this year. We're rebuilding, so we needed to move the corals and fish to temporary tanks. The reef tanks weren't great all the time, but got better over the years

 

[sfin52]

Reef2Reef members!

How do you reach that goal of creating and sustaining a decade old reef tank? These are Ryan's thoughts from his speech at RAP-NY and how he plans to achieve this in his own home!

How old is your oldest tank? And for those of you voting in that 5+ year bracket....what advice can you provide to the rest of us to achieve the same???

Well done. Started my tank in 14 with loads of bad advice and mostly just my research. Wish I had your video at the start. Especially about the heaters. Ive had two failures. One off in my reef thank goodness. Fowl failed on temp hit 82 no loss of fish but scared the crap out of me.

One advice for tank sitters over explain and make it stupid simple.

 

[DxMarinefish]

Information is just Information!

The quality and usability of any information is the question.

Information from those who can demonstrate what they are sharing has worked / is working is usually the most valuable because the evidence is there for all to see.

Keeping Aquatic life is results based. You will always see what is working and what is not.

For those who keep us going by sharing demonstrable results, I take my hat off and say thank you to all of you.

 

[Stigigemla]

From minute 18 it is one of the absolute best reef videos I ever seen. The first 18 minutes are only very good.
The second part should be shown to everyone thinking of starting a new reef.

Of coarse there are several opinions on what a succesful tank is. If someone is setting up a tank to grow out Banggai cardinal babys and succeed in growing out 40 babys and then just can sell 10 of them to the local store I would say that tank wasnt succesful.
Other would say 40 Banggais from 1 batch thats owesome! What a success!

Which statement is correct or is this question irrelevant?

 

[Kieran McBride]

I've never considered success in the hobby to be related to the age of an aquarium. I've always thought that the measure of my success was the amount of enjoyment and fun that I got out of it. The tank can run for as long as it's fun. Fish and coral are easy to re-home and I've never felt re-homing a fish to be irresponsible or disrespectful when it's easy to make sure it's going to a decent home of a proper size. I disagree that reef keeping is the most difficult pet, it's not even the most expensive when you consider maintaining the health of a dog or cat long term when it comes getting surgeries and paying for meds and treatments. I spent about a thousand bucks recently just to get my cats teeth cleaned and some bad teeth extracted and that's just this year so far. I had a cat years ago that required sub-cutaneous fluid injections every week. That was difficult. Difficulty wise, I've found high-tech freshwater planted aquariums such as Dutch style or Nature style to be as difficult as reefs as well.

I really wish that instead of telling people to examine likes and post counts on reef forum users(this part was super cringey) that you'd refer them to the published works of hobby experts like Fenner, Sprung, Delbeek, Borneman, Shimek, Joshi, Calfo, and more who have put in the hard work and have the real world experience. There are a ton of great books out there and the Reef Keeping magazine archive on Reef Central pretty much tells you all you need to know about good reef husbandry practices. Some of the tech has changed since those books and articles were written, but the core principles and practices have remained the same. Advanced Aquarist web site is awesome. Wet Web Media is a huge mess of knowledge. Coral magazine is also excellent and they have a fully online component now. I think BRS and R2R do a disservice to this hobby by constantly ignoring the huge wealth of legacy reef keeping knowledge that is already out there. I have nothing against the R2R members you mentioned, it's great they are trying to help hobbyists here. But for me, they are just a faceless avatar. A lot of forum goers just parrot what they've read on the forums and have little real world experience.

As a hobby veteran, I was hoping to gain some new insight or learn about innovations in the hobby, but this talk was mostly just your opinions on what makes a good reefer and some general advice on some do's and don'ts with virtually no new practical husbandry advice that hasn't been covered ad nauseam before it. I do appreciate your "good intention" though. Maybe some newbs will benefit. I can understand that you set a ten year reef as your own personal goal, but I don't think the average hobbyist can fathom keeping a reef that long, nor do they need to. It's just a hobby after all.

What Ryan has done is highlight many things, that even some 'veterans' may have missed along the way. I believe you're opinion very negative on what Ryan has tried to achieve, of which every part of it was a positive for the hobby, and I do not believe for a second he intended to bring any insight or new innovations. In my opinion Ryan has more than achieved many people expectations in regards his public speaking event. I believe it was very professional and yet, very down to earth and not making it a subject that is too much for a beginner to digest. We have to remember, that there are more beginners and intermediates at a convention like this than there is 'veterans'. As for BRS and R2R being any disservice, I suggest you take the reins and show them how it's done instead of doing them a disservice.

 

[w2inc]

Hopefully, the intent of that example is ultimitly what comes across rather than the single example I agree wholeheartedly that a 1:10 post to like ratio is not guaranteeing good advice or the inverse. The intent of the conversation is to get the thought juices flowing and finding the answer to "I got 40 different answers, who do I listen to?

Speaking just on like ratio. There are a lot of factors at play but one of the ones I have noticed is it often is more about the level of respect and politeness that advice is given than the accuracy. Each person will evaluate how important accuracy is vs respect but in the end, I think most people are not willing to accept accuracy without respect.

So outside of that how does everyone identify who they listen to? Case by case basis or effort put into identifying some of the community members who continually put out some of the best information. Who are they?

I will start by also calling out @Randy Holmes-Farley as well. I don't know if there is anyone who has been both an industry thought leader and author while also making himself simultaneously available to the community on forums as well as him. He has served as a chemistry mentor to tens of thousands of reefers and the community is better off for it.

I just wanted to be sure that I did state that your videos and shared knowledge are really appreciated. I feel they are incredibly valuable to anyone starting out in the hobby, as well as to long term hobbyists. Your studies motivate me to do research, and your reviews take much of the footwork out of informed decision when purchasing new product.

Thanks for that.

 

[EmptyWallet]

Yep a big thanks to Ryan and the BRS team for the many youtube videos, which have been immensely helpful and gave me the support and confidence to get back into the hobby (namely 52 weeks)!

I just wish BRS sold internationally as it's hard to get a lot of items here 'down under' and what you can get generally has a hefty 'Australia Tax' applied (i.e. MP40 is $700 AUD / $500 USD at the moment). Very jealous you U.S. guys can order basically anything online with free shipping

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

I've never considered success in the hobby to be related to the age of an aquarium. I've always thought that the measure of my success was the amount of enjoyment and fun that I got out of it. The tank can run for as long as it's fun. Fish and coral are easy to re-home and I've never felt re-homing a fish to be irresponsible or disrespectful when it's easy to make sure it's going to a decent home of a proper size. I disagree that reef keeping is the most difficult pet, it's not even the most expensive when you consider maintaining the health of a dog or cat long term when it comes getting surgeries and paying for meds and treatments. I spent about a thousand bucks recently just to get my cats teeth cleaned and some bad teeth extracted and that's just this year so far. I had a cat years ago that required sub-cutaneous fluid injections every week. That was difficult. Difficulty wise, I've found high-tech freshwater planted aquariums such as Dutch style or Nature style to be as difficult as reefs as well.

I really wish that instead of telling people to examine likes and post counts on reef forum users(this part was super cringey) that you'd refer them to the published works of hobby experts like Fenner, Sprung, Delbeek, Borneman, Shimek, Joshi, Calfo, and more who have put in the hard work and have the real world experience. There are a ton of great books out there and the Reef Keeping magazine archive on Reef Central pretty much tells you all you need to know about good reef husbandry practices. Some of the tech has changed since those books and articles were written, but the core principles and practices have remained the same. Advanced Aquarist web site is awesome. Wet Web Media is a huge mess of knowledge. Coral magazine is also excellent and they have a fully online component now. I think BRS and R2R do a disservice to this hobby by constantly ignoring the huge wealth of legacy reef keeping knowledge that is already out there. I have nothing against the R2R members you mentioned, it's great they are trying to help hobbyists here. But for me, they are just a faceless avatar. A lot of forum goers just parrot what they've read on the forums and have little real world experience.

As a hobby veteran, I was hoping to gain some new insight or learn about innovations in the hobby, but this talk was mostly just your opinions on what makes a good reefer and some general advice on some do's and don'ts with virtually no new practical husbandry advice that hasn't been covered ad nauseam before it. I do appreciate your "good intention" though. Maybe some newbs will benefit. I can understand that you set a ten year reef as your own personal goal, but I don't think the average hobbyist can fathom keeping a reef that long, nor do they need to. It's just a hobby after all.

Ha Ha. I have no intention of sounding rude but you are funny. Only because you have compared reef keeping to dog/cat keeping. I could agree with you only if they shared the same habitat as that of the corals. To be clear, I can say that, keeping corals in the ocean would be easier than keeping dogs/cats only if you tried to maintain a home for the later submerged in an ocean of your choice. Think before you leap.

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

I have to agree with the post and like count being shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from.

For instance, @Randy Holmes-Farley, who is a long time author and a reefer with much more than 10 years behind him. After checking just now it looks like his post count is around 31,000 and his like rate is closer to 20,000.

I have repeatedly received solid feedback from him.

Often times solid advice given to another is responded to with a "thanks" rather than the like button. A question solved in two posts can get tumbled down the list and no other members read through it to give more likes.

I want to be smart and popular, as do many people. A high like ratio would make me look that way on this forum. Trouble is that it is easy to inflate my like ratio that has nothing to do with good advice or intelligence. If I had my husband follow me, or if I were to add an additional account or two, or just follow and like a couple friends and ask them to do the same for me.

A good cheer leader and motivator will get more likes. I get the most likes with comments like "You are awesome! That looks so cool!" I make more posts and get less likes when I am actively trouble shooting with another member and the thread. Questions like "Could you give me a little more information about your skimmer, ALK, and feeding schedule", do not normally inspire the like button. Occasionally members who do like your feedback reply with +1 rather than hitting the like button.

Looking at the other side, a lower like ratio can show up from an experienced person (reefer since the mid 90's) that is looking for help troubleshooting issues with his system and is willing to let the community help. I typically don't get likes when I post about questions or requests for help. Can you imaging getting likes when you post a photo fo a dying fish or coral? I don't usually get likes when I post things like "thanks for the feedback, I have tried that with no avail. Can you think of anything else?", Or "Could you point me to some more information about that?".

Photos of a tank are also kind of shaky ground when choosing who to take advice from. I was recently at a members home helping him troubleshoot algae issues. Looking through some of his posts I realized that he had posted fake photos in more than one situation just to win an argument or try to gain credibility. It is just too easy to download an image or shoot one of a display that is not yours and claim it.

When I am looking for someone to take advice from or want a "mentor" to follow, I take a minute to fact check some of the advice they give. I find out if there is any research related to their claims that they can point me to. I see if they know another member who had a similar problem that they can pull in to the thread to help us both out. I check for their posts for help and be sure they are willing to admit that they are not winning all the time. I check out their tank build. Dig around in their post history. Some of my best advice has come from members with under 200 posts.

I am looking for honesty and experience when I look for someone to repeatedly listen to. A high like ratio may very well reflect solid advice. However, it might not and a low like ratio may also reflect some hard won experience and some really solid advice.

I do also appreciate the "good intentions" of BRS. For me, some of the best advice I heard in the video was to be sure that your financial goals are in line with the person you are taking advice from.

Happy Reefing people!

Well ! If you only choose to cling on to exceptions, fine. And, only members of the Opposition Party are in the habit of doing that. They don't see the bigger picture.

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

What Ryan has done is highlight many things, that even some 'veterans' may have missed along the way. I believe you're opinion very negative on what Ryan has tried to achieve, of which every part of it was a positive for the hobby, and I do not believe for a second he intended to bring any insight or new innovations. In my opinion Ryan has more than achieved many people expectations in regards his public speaking event. I believe it was very professional and yet, very down to earth and not making it a subject that is too much for a beginner to digest. We have to remember, that there are more beginners and intermediates at a convention like this than there is 'veterans'. As for BRS and R2R being any disservice, I suggest you take the reins and show them how it's done instead of doing them a disservice.

Very well said. The critics are a selfish lot, and I apologize for being straight and possibly rude but they suffer from a vision of very narrow perspective along with a couple of other desires. They appreciate very little in life.

 

[HCl+NaHO=]

What Ryan has done is highlight many things, that even some 'veterans' may have missed along the way. I believe you're opinion very negative on what Ryan has tried to achieve, of which every part of it was a positive for the hobby, and I do not believe for a second he intended to bring any insight or new innovations. In my opinion Ryan has more than achieved many people expectations in regards his public speaking event. I believe it was very professional and yet, very down to earth and not making it a subject that is too much for a beginner to digest. We have to remember, that there are more beginners and intermediates at a convention like this than there is 'veterans'. As for BRS and R2R being any disservice, I suggest you take the reins and show them how it's done instead of doing them a disservice.

How someone can say that a multi year successful reef system is not a sign of success, I cannot figure that out...

 

[Curious reefer]

I've never considered success in the hobby to be related to the age of an aquarium. I've always thought that the measure of my success was the amount of enjoyment and fun that I got out of it. The tank can run for as long as it's fun. Fish and coral are easy to re-home and I've never felt re-homing a fish to be irresponsible or disrespectful when it's easy to make sure it's going to a decent home of a proper size. I disagree that reef keeping is the most difficult pet, it's not even the most expensive when you consider maintaining the health of a dog or cat long term when it comes getting surgeries and paying for meds and treatments. I spent about a thousand bucks recently just to get my cats teeth cleaned and some bad teeth extracted and that's just this year so far. I had a cat years ago that required sub-cutaneous fluid injections every week. That was difficult. Difficulty wise, I've found high-tech freshwater planted aquariums such as Dutch style or Nature style to be as difficult as reefs as well.

I really wish that instead of telling people to examine likes and post counts on reef forum users(this part was super cringey) that you'd refer them to the published works of hobby experts like Fenner, Sprung, Delbeek, Borneman, Shimek, Joshi, Calfo, and more who have put in the hard work and have the real world experience. There are a ton of great books out there and the Reef Keeping magazine archive on Reef Central pretty much tells you all you need to know about good reef husbandry practices. Some of the tech has changed since those books and articles were written, but the core principles and practices have remained the same. Advanced Aquarist web site is awesome. Wet Web Media is a huge mess of knowledge. Coral magazine is also excellent and they have a fully online component now. I think BRS and R2R do a disservice to this hobby by constantly ignoring the huge wealth of legacy reef keeping knowledge that is already out there. I have nothing against the R2R members you mentioned, it's great they are trying to help hobbyists here. But for me, they are just a faceless avatar. A lot of forum goers just parrot what they've read on the forums and have little real world experience.

As a hobby veteran, I was hoping to gain some new insight or learn about innovations in the hobby, but this talk was mostly just your opinions on what makes a good reefer and some general advice on some do's and don'ts with virtually no new practical husbandry advice that hasn't been covered ad nauseam before it. I do appreciate your "good intention" though. Maybe some newbs will benefit. I can understand that you set a ten year reef as your own personal goal, but I don't think the average hobbyist can fathom keeping a reef that long, nor do they need to. It's just a hobby after all.

I agree with what your saying but In the beginning of the presentation he said this was for newer hobbyist but yes your right people get into this cause they like what they see buy dont realize you need to do alot of researching.