Changes in this hobby in the last 20 years

[raylinds]

I got back into keeping a reef tank a few years ago after a 20 year absence and am amazed at some of the changes that have taken place over that time period- mostly on the positive side. Technology has really made it much easier to be successful IMHO. I have my tank set up for auto water changes and top offs. When I was doing this in the late 90s water changes were a huge pain and it took a lot of discipline to stay on top of the topping off. I have a Neptune Trident and DOS on the way, so I can automate my two-part dosing. I have alerts set up for all kinds of potential problems. The one thing I have learned, though, is how important it is to still do physical inspections of my tank every day and that no technology is foolproof. It is important to not let the technology make you overconfident and think you can ignore your tank for any length of time.

The house I bought a few years ago came with a Generac full house generator that automatically kicks on within a minute of the power going off and I have a battery backup that covers the gap. We lost power for ten days while on vacation and everything continued to run like nothing happened and I was able to monitor the tank with my phone. Temperatures got close to a hundred and the tank temperature started to rise, but I was able to call the person I hired to feed the fish to turn up the AC.

Another positive is the increase in the level of concern for natural reefs around the world and the captive breeding of fish and propagating of corals.

I must say, though, that I was shocked at how expensive corals have gotten. I can remember going into a LFS and buying large colonies of Zoas and large Brain or Mushroom corals for under $50. Now that money only gets you a tiny frag and forget about anything rare and desirable.

I'm really excited to be back in the hobby and look forward to seeing my frags grow and spread around the tank.

Feel free to share your thoughts.

 

[ScottR]

So much has changed for sure. Lighting is a big one. LEDs really have changed the game but not the price. If anything, nothing ever gets cheaper in this hobby and that is one thing that will never change. But I like what you say about automation with controllers - they make things much easier and keep things stable but we must do physical inspections, not only to stay on top of shortcomings but to keep our husbandry in tact.

 

[raylinds]

So much has changed for sure. Lighting is a big one. LEDs really have changed the game but not the price. If anything, nothing ever gets cheaper in this hobby and that is one thing that will never change. But I like what you say about automation with controllers - they make things much easier and keep things stable but we must do physical inspections, not only to stay on top of shortcomings but to keep our husbandry in tact.

Yeah, LEDs have become big in the hobby. I used MH lighting in the late 90s, but went to LEDs when I got back into it. I love the ability to be able to emulate natural changes to lighting at different times of day with them. I am in the process of adding some T5s to supplement. Metal Halides are still a great choice, though.

 

[JCM]

I agree with all your points. Most are great, but the coral prices is a big one that I hate. 15 years ago, I could buy a softball sized "green torch" for $50. These days, it'll have a silly name attached and cost $300.

I dont mind people buying high end named corals, but finding non-named basic corals (torches, trumpets, brains, etc.) Has become much more difficult.

 

[mdb_talon]

Technology has certainly changed tremendously and made maintenance/stability so much easier. The best changes in my opinion though are better understanding of nutrients and increase in cultured frags. It was not that long ago the answer to nitrates and phosphates is they should always be "undetectable"(partially because our test kits were not nearly as precise...my 0 phosphate may well have been anything under .1 or .2) Also not that long ago when buying a frag you were usually buying a recently imported wild colony that had just been chopped up. Of course that still happens a lot, but a lot more options for buying truly tank grown coral.

The worst thing i think has happened in the hobby is the near elimination of true frag swaps or sharing frags. I remember when swaps were really about local reefers getting together and trading corals. Of course there was selling also, but people were much more willing to just share what they have extra of. Now though it is increasingly difficult to get a hobbyist spot at a table because spots are filled by vendors. The commercialization even at the hobbyist level is understandable, but still dissapointing.

 

[KrisReef]

Technology, money & politics are the three independent variables that make life and the reef keeping hobby unpredictable.

It will continue to change and hopefully it will be allowed to flourish.

 

[Wasabiroot]

I agree on the pricing aspect. I understand someone has to source, collect, import and quarantine new finds, but we're still nearly 40-60 bucks for a super common frag less than an inch across that's been propagated thousands of times.

 

[ReeferBud]

Agree with the points made about technology. A real game changer for enabling more consistent and successful keeping of fish and coral.

I also think the knowledge about filtration has vastly improved. We’ve come a long ways from the days of the DSB and wet-dry tricks filters.

 

[Stigigemla]

I restarted in 2004. At that time most used calcium reactors and watched the values of kH, Ca, Mg and NO3. NO3 was the big enemy at that time. Tunze stream pumps was beginning to be common. At 2006 I began using a dosing pump. 3 washing machine pump heads controlled by one timer for all channels. Phosphate remover entered the market. T5 tubes came. Next big step was the led lights. With the new controllable and stronger light it was possible to see good colors on the corals with a higher phosphate level than before. But phosphate tests with higher sensitivity and the ULNS syndrom got some aquarists to end the hobby. I hope we will never see such a stupid interpretation of anything in the hobby again.

 

[McPuff]

While swaps are not really swaps anymore, I still find some great deals there. Just have to be willing to look closely and figure out which vendors are more on the hobbyist side vs the retail side. But a lot of reefers are in the game to make a buck or two and I can't say they are wrong for that. Free market!

I have a few friends that I trade with fairly often. Sometimes you have to be the one to start the trading vs buying and selling. You'll find that offering free corals or even very cheap corals brings a lot of good will and can start those trading relationships. You can also just make a post on facebook or your local reef forum asking if anyone wants to trade. Lots of people are looking for the same but don't know how to start.

As for finding "regular" corals, just put out a WTB thread and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. "I would like a __ coral, nothing named" and you may be surprised by how many people have it. A lot of people give away or even throw away "regular" corals because they don't think they can sell them. Heck, I sometimes have to chop up corals and then use the skeletons in my calcium reactor simply because I can't get rid of them fast enough. Kind of crazy but everyone seems to want those named corals and pay no attention to the classics or no names.

 

[raylinds]

I just installed an Apex Trident in my system and just love the idea of automatic testing and control of dosing.
I agree with those that pointed out how much more we know about the chemistry these days. Twenty years ago I knew you needed to maintain salinity, alkalinity and calcium and that ammonia was poison, but that was about it.

But sometimes a little old school is called for. Some people are getting great results with MH lighting. I just added T5s to my LEDS and really love the change, as do my corals.

 

[Joe Rice]

I agree on the pricing aspect. I understand someone has to source, collect, import and quarantine new finds, but we're still nearly 40-60 bucks for a super common frag less than an inch across that's been propagated thousands of times.

I guess we're lucky in the Boston area as there are several local coral farming hobbyists who sell common frags quite inexpensively. You probably have to be a member of the local reefing club to find them and you might have to wait for a "sale". But in the past month I've picked up the following for a total cost of $70:

ORA Neon Birdsnest
Yellow Porites
Purple/blue Porites
Green Slimer
Tyree True Undata Monti
Purple Haze Monti
White Rose Acro
Hawkins echinata
Upscale Microclado Acro
ORA Frogskin

Even online, if you wait for the sales and are okay with the common corals, I find you can get some good deals. I just bought 8 frags during the recent Cherry Coral sale here on R2R, for around $160.

 

[Wasabiroot]

I guess we're lucky in the Boston area as there are several local coral farming hobbyists who sell common frags quite inexpensively. You probably have to be a member of the local reefing club to find them and you might have to wait for a "sale". But in the past month I've picked up the following for a total cost of $70:

ORA Neon Birdsnest
Yellow Porites
Purple/blue Porites
Green Slimer
Tyree True Undata Monti
Purple Haze Monti
White Rose Acro
Hawkins echinata
Upscale Microclado Acro
ORA Frogskin

Even online, if you wait for the sales and are okay with the common corals, I find you can get some good deals. I just bought 8 frags during the recent Cherry Coral sale here on R2R, for around $160.

Haha, same. And some vendors are better than others. I'm lucky I live 20 minutes from Cherry Corals.

 

[Cory]

A lot has changed but people still think old technology is better like calcium reactors and t5s metal halides. I slmewhat agree but technology has become more efficient.

 

[raylinds]

A lot has changed but people still think old technology is better like calcium reactors and t5s metal halides. I slmewhat agree but technology has become more efficient.

The great thing about technology is that it gives you choices. One could have a successful reef tank with Metal Halides, t5s, LEDS or any combination of the above. It's all about what your objectives are, what your preferences are and how you implement the technology. I personally like the hybrid approach as I have all of the flexibility and efficiency of LEDs and have T5s come on just during midday.

 

[kels64]

Please understand I am NOT talking about this group- Some have become very “elitist” and are not supporting new reefers. It seems that many of them just scour groups and comments looking for something to jump on so they can tell somebody how wrong they are even when they don’t have the full information. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that I can’t do what I do every single day with my reef tank which is happy and healthy. I think it’s sad because the reef and community used to be very supportive of one another and used to be very quick to try to help new people.

 

[raylinds]

Please understand I am NOT talking about this group- Some have become very “elitist” and are not supporting new reefers. It seems that many of them just scour groups and comments looking for something to jump on so they can tell somebody how wrong they are even when they don’t have the full information. I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that I can’t do what I do every single day with my reef tank which is happy and healthy. I think it’s sad because the reef and community used to be very supportive of one another and used to be very quick to try to help new people.

Yeah, that is a typical reaction on all types of forums. I have found that in reefing, like many similar endeavors, there are various ways to achieve the same objectives successfully. High nutrient, low nutrient; deep sand bed, bare bottom; Triton method, Berlin method; etc.. Unfortunately, too many feel that theirs is the only way.

 

[ZoWhat]

APEX has been a major game changer

I can be anywhere in the world and feed my fish on command, change my lighting settings, monitor measurements, on and on.

Apex is to reefing what the Microwave did to the kitchen

.

 

[fish farmer]

APEX has been a major game changer

I can be anywhere in the world and feed my fish on command, change my lighting settings, monitor measurements, on and on.

Apex is to reefing what the Microwave did to the kitchen

.

I reheat my food and coffee with my microwave. Sometimes I make popcorn, that's about it .

 

[blasterman]

LEDs are perhaps the biggest tech improvement. The ability to adjust intensity levels to your corals is priceless. T5s and halides were never "set and forget". Its like saying we never paid taxes before LEDs came along. I still prefer the color of a classic Radium or Phoenix over the annoying purple haze of most LED fixtures, but thats the reefers fault.

Better pumps.

UV and ozone gadgets available on Amazon budgets.

Better understanding of filtration and nutrients.

Better monitoring tools, but I see too many reefers obsessed with testing.

Frag meets in my area were very popular until covid shut them down. Otherwise social coral trading is very strong in my area.

I do wish useless trash like wet drys , bio wheels and bio media were left back in 2002 where they belong.