Dry Rock and LED LIGHTING are the 2 main causes of new people leaving the hobby in the first year.

[flyingscampi]

I started this hobby during Covid for something to do at home. I'm 260 days in with a 15 gallon, and I only have a few inexpensive corals and inverts. I'm in no rush to waste money and inflict unintentional cruelty while I learn the basics. So far, I've only lost a couple of hermits and a snail which fell victim to the last hermit standing. He's made his point, and is now bigger, so I won't add any more.

Anyway, my aquarium is now added to the maintenance list for my house, car, and boat, which fights for attention with the girlfriend and the job. We all become a janitor for our possessions...

 

[PNWReefer21]

I used dry rock and led when first starting too. That first year was really rough.

 

[MissouriReefer31]

To really get accurate information on this topic we'd have to ask people who have left the hobby. Who are probably not here, responding to polls.

I picked dry rock and inexperience. The data on dry rock vs live rock are clear enough that the only arguments left on the topic seem to be about other issues e.g. cost or aesthetics. Live rock simply starts a tank correctly and dry rock simply doesnt. But dry rock is definitely cheaper.

I bet a lot of the people who left the hobby would say "pests", which I would relabel as "inexperience", since pests happen and an experienced hobbyist deals with them.

yeah that would be an interesting poll. but yeah cost, inexperience and impatient are definitely gonna be the big ones and what most things will fall in too. And ive never had issue with dry rock and have nothing against live rick if anything live rock looks cooler too me.

 

[tharbin]

Let's discuss. I feel that the 2 main causes of people leaving the hobby after the first year are the use of dry rock instead of live rock and the adjustability of led lights versus the plug and play aspect of old school t5/metal halide lights.

These are both valid points IMHO. I'm re-entering after long hiatus due to a move. My first foray with either dry rock or LEDs. Both present challenges.

I voted for LEDs and Patience.

Hopefully more of the LED manufacturers will provide better guidance; either presets, recommended settings or something akin to Kessil Logic. Setting up a Prime 16HD is the height of guess work. Whose schedule do you trust? Which one suits your livestock and tank dimensions best? I came from T12s/VHOs/MH. You had a pretty limited variety of known good choices. I always ran MHs with tubes. Do I want to emulate a MH 14k bulb or an ATI Blue+? No idea I never used just one bulb type and have no idea what the mix I used looks like on a spectrometer. I just know it worked.

Dry rock is okay but really pushes the limits of patience to get right. Without the biodiversity of live rock things are just much, much slower to even out.

On top of that, all of emphasis on "designer" tanks full of corals/fish/inverts/automation within months of setup with pristine sand sets unrealistic expectations. I see all the time questions about brown/green algae and what they can do to get rid of it. Tanks need to age but instead I feel that many newcomers fell like they are failing because they see a few diatoms and think they have to fix it now...before the next photo session. Their tanks never get a chance to mature and no one is providing them guidance. Take it slow is the best single thing a reefer can learn.

 

[takitaj]

Knowledge and understanding has to be number one. Without that success will be hard to reach. With that you'll spend less, make less mistakes & know how to better correct them. Having a better understanding will also make it easier to have more patience while your reef matures, understanding the different stages to expect while it does and what to do (or not do) about each.

It doesn't matter whether you start with dry or live rock, MHs or LEDs. All options are feasible if you understand how to use them. LEDs are easy these days, having built in settings that are proven successful, and have other positive features that MH or T5s don't.

With the vast variety of livestock available to us these days you have to know and understand the needs and requirements of each for a successful reef tank.

So in my opinion, even to just the amount of patients it takes, it all boils down to knowledge and understanding.

 

[Durabane]

I know I am back after taking 15 years off. My daughter wanted a tank like we had when she was little. The main thing has been just the overall cost of getting everything up and running again and her desire to see instant growth. I Mixed Live rock with Dry rock and used Boosters so we could add fish at a month instead of the 6 months like we did when she was little. The Fuval Biological actually worked really well. We have just started month 3 and have not lost a fish. I made her research and plan out an addition schedule and see which fish live well together and not compete for the limited resources in a new tank. We plan to do the same on the LPS and Nem's she wants. The main thing I see now talking to even the people working in the LFS is the want to rush everything (Not having a schedule for adding and a plan if something happens).

 

[fishybizzness]

I do feel that leds are an awesome way to light a tank. I also feel that using dry rock can eventually lead to a beautiful aquarium. My initial thoughts for this thread were geared towards a new reefer with no knowledge starting out. I still feel that led lights offer way too many settings and that is extremely tempting to mess with for the younger generation. New reefers don't have the experience to get the right settings on their lights without alot of experimenting. They also don't have the patience to take their time let things mature without constantly making changes that cause further issues. The common method used to be, add water, sand and liferock, wait a few weeks, turn on your t5s . Set them on a timer for 10-12 hours and enjoy. Add fish and coral and start the journey.

 

[Cory]

What are you talking about quitting? People always come back...

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

I do feel that leds are an awesome way to light a tank. I also feel that using dry rock can eventually lead to a beautiful aquarium. My initial thoughts for this thread were geared towards a new reefer with no knowledge starting out. I still feel that led lights offer way too many settings and that is extremely tempting to mess with for the younger generation. New reefers don't have the experience to get the right settings on their lights without alot of experimenting. They also don't have the patience to take their time let things mature without constantly making changes that cause further issues. The common method used to be, add water, sand and liferock, wait a few weeks, turn on your t5s . Set them on a timer for 10-12 hours and enjoy. Add fish and coral and start the journey.

I agree about the live rock completely. It really is a key to success for myself. I tried dry. Didn't like it.

 

[damsels are not mean]

It's an expensive, difficult, and time consuming hobby. People get bored or don't want to keep spending money. Did people just not leave before LEDs and dry rock became popular? It's definitely the maintenance that can get tiring. I bet tank crashes or major floods kill a lot more spirit than too much hair algae or being able to make your lights more blue (?)

 

[ZoWhat]

the main cause of new people leaving the hobby in the first year....​

Not enough of this;