Does time in reefing equal proficiency in reefing? Let's talk about it!

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

In our personal lives, I'm sure we have known people, maybe at our jobs, who have years of experience in a particular area but show no growth or "live up" to the expectations we may have. On the other hand, we have those people who surprise us with their level of understanding, given their limited time or experience in a particular area. Can this also apply to reefing? Reef keeping is complex; even if someone only adds liverock and a pair of clowns to a small tank, you are still forced to grow in knowledge unless you give up. But is the progression of that growth based on time? Or is it based on effort?

Yesterday, I asked how long you have been in reefing (check it out here), but today, I'll follow up on that question by asking, "Does time in reefing equal proficiency in reefing?" Why or why not?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i picked other because i guess it depends on how hands on you are. if you have a tank but hire out all the maintenance, you arent going to learn much. i was talking with a friend of mine who does tank maintenance, and he said 95% of the tanks he cares for, the people have nothing to do with them. they just want a pretty tank in the house. im not saying there is anything wrong with that. just saying- in reefing =hands on learning stuff all the time!

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

i picked other because i guess it depends on how hands on you are. if you have a tank but hire out all the maintenance, you arent going to learn much. i was talking with a friend of mine who does tank maintenance, and he said 95% of the tanks he cares for, the people have nothing to do with them. they just want a pretty tank in the house. im not saying there is anything wrong with that. just saying- in reefing =hands on learning stuff all the time!

Yes, I can agree with that. I know for myself I am a hands-on learner. I have to have an active role in my tank to understand.

 

[Reefer Matt]

My opinion is it depends. Quoting a number in years doesn’t suggest that a Reefer has spent every minute of it reefing. Some may go weeks on end without touching their tanks, while others are reefing everyday. Then there are people who are quick studies, and pickup on things much faster than most.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Just depends. Some people can be involved in the hobby for a short time but retain information quickly. However, someone could be in it for 10+ years and still not fully comprehend reef keeping.

 

[Mark Goode]

I think I'd reverse it: proficiency in reefing won't come without spending time.

Even then there's no guarantee...

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Time in the hobby might make you efficient, but to me, proficiency comes from reading and research. Many people are very happy with their ways and not interested in learning or knowing new things.

 

[GARRIGA]

Today information is a few clicks away. Back in the 70s when I started fish keeping it meant a trip to the library or finding a breeder like I did to educate me and later being at a retail/wholesaler that started a large collection of corals and inverts to teach me the Berlin Method in the mid 90s. Take everything I've learned and I could cram a weekend and be up to speed just following someone who's tank success appeals to my style.

It's almost cheating

 

[MoshJosh]

Kind of a complicated question because everyone’s idea of what it means to “reef” is going to be different. Experience over time can be incredibly useful, but factors like effort, research, source of info (among tons of other factors) . . Are going to play a role in how valuable the time spent will be

10 years of “I did what the fish store person said to start then pretty much don’t touch the tank”

Might be less valuable than

5 years of “I researched everything, joined a forum, make tweaks as needed”

Both those people “reef” but have very different experiences

This is just hypothetical and the best I can explain right now using my cell phone keyboard

 

[shakacuz]

when i first started reefing, i did take tenure into account. being that the longer the person has been in the hobby, the more legitimate their response/advice. nowadays i don't think about it in this manner since there just so much information available to the public. i do my own research and try to follow others' experiences as closely as possible but in my own way

 

[Reefer Matt]

when i first started reefing, i did take tenure into account. being that the longer the person has been in the hobby, the more legitimate their response/advice.

That’s all any new Reefer can go off of really, imo. I remember the day when my “reefing sensei” started asking me for advice. I said, “You’ve been at this a lot longer than me, what advice can I give you?”. After that I learned that we all have different levels of experience and are not knowledgable in everything. But by having a conversation with each other, we can fill in each other’s knowledge and experience gaps.

 

[KrisReef]

i picked other because i guess it depends on how hands on you are. if you have a tank but hire out all the maintenance, you arent going to learn much. i was talking with a friend of mine who does tank maintenance, and he said 95% of the tanks he cares for, the people have nothing to do with them. they just want a pretty tank in the house. im not saying there is anything wrong with that. just saying- in reefing =hands on learning stuff all the time!

Great reply.

To add, as the reefer gets busy with other tasks the tank can also become neglected and the reefers skills dont help the tank much.

I forgot what else I was going to write, but it had something to do with the impacts of aging on the proficency of the reefer, and also their ability to spell proficiency in reefing?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, almost anyone becomes a better reefer over time. Just like any activity, from baseball to car driving to public speaking, doing it more teaches you what works and what doesn’t.

Of course the proficiency level varies person to person, as again is true in almost anything one tries to do.

 

[TX_REEF]

I don't think it's a direct correlation. Like any other endeavor, it's not just about how long you do it, but the amount of effort you put into learning, trying new things, and failing along the way (which causes even faster learning, if you let it). For example, you can have a tank for 20 that was set up and maintained by a fish store, but I'm sure you'd be less adept than someone who has done only 5 years or so but everything DIY.

 

[Dburr1014]

This is my hobby, I do the maintenance.

If it's just to look at the tank and have someone else take care of the maintenance, then it's art.

Being 100% hands on, yes, I'm more proficient. 20+ years proficient.

 

[ben5impson]

as soon as we consider ourselves proficient we start shutting ourselves off to new information so a big no from me

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

The longer youre in... the more ......hmmmmmm.
More time..can mean.....hmmmmm.
it..opened my mind... I learned as I went. Internet, LFS, and... Books?!?!??! Books you say? What is a book?
Darn kids and their tablets. Lol

recently, more reading made me take out as much as I could. More Minimalist. More natural????
But that's me.
Faithful to my water changes.
Lights, heater, wavemakers. The tank is happy. Why mess with it?

 

[MnFish1]

In our personal lives, I'm sure we have known people, maybe at our jobs, who have years of experience in a particular area but show no growth or "live up" to the expectations we may have. On the other hand, we have those people who surprise us with their level of understanding, given their limited time or experience in a particular area. Can this also apply to reefing? Reef keeping is complex; even if someone only adds liverock and a pair of clowns to a small tank, you are still forced to grow in knowledge unless you give up. But is the progression of that growth based on time? Or is it based on effort?

Yesterday, I asked how long you have been in reefing (check it out here), but today, I'll follow up on that question by asking, "Does time in reefing equal proficiency in reefing?" Why or why not?

Time in reefing SHOULD equal proficiency unless the reefer has unlimited funds to constantly replace dead fish and corals. In reality (and in fact I've been thinking of doing it) - I believe I could set up a small tank with an anemone and 2 clowns - with dry rock and bottled bacteria - and be successful. I do not believe a high school junior could do the same. (no offense to high school juniors)

 

[MnFish1]

The longer youre in... the more ......hmmmmmm.
More time..can mean.....hmmmmm.
it..opened my mind... I learned as I went. Internet, LFS, and... Books?!?!??! Books you say? What is a book?
Darn kids and their tablets. Lol

recently, more reading made me take out as much as I could. More Minimalist. More natural????
But that's me.
Faithful to my water changes.
Lights, heater, wavemakers. The tank is happy. Why mess with it?

Keep it simple, keep it stable...

 

[paragrouper]

Yes, but only to an extent.