Has R2R Been Losing Popularity Lately?

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Holy moly, Chris. You are 7 tacos on a Monday? Makes a guy wonder how many tacos you ate today since it's Taco Tuesday.

You see, only rookies eat Tacos on Tuesday. Oh young Jedi. You have much to learn. They start prep for Taco Tuesday on Monday. Mondays are fresh Tacos. Tuesday’s are for the gringo’s :)

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

You see, only rookies eat Tacos on Tuesday. Oh young Jedi. You have much to learn. They start prep for Taco Tuesday on Monday. Mondays are fresh Tacos. Tuesday’s are for the gringo’s :)

Now I want Tacos.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Why did I tell myself that…

 

[Roatan Reef]

Eh, it’s a slow year for hobbies I think. Only a few of us are dedicated.

Honestly curious...I’ve been a member here for many years but havent been visiting the site regularly for the past year or so. From what I recall, there used to be far more threads posted on a daily basis and many more comments on practically every one of those threads.

For those of you who have been here for a while, has traffic on the site seemed to have slowed down over the past year or two?

I have observed that posting and commenting has appeared to have decreased. I am afraid that my posts and comments which are often humorous may have caused the more serious site participants to retreat from my nonsensical comments about this delicate hobby.

I am very sorry for this but so far I have not been able to improve my participation in the general discussion. I will continue to try and improve myself and my discussion comments but I don’t know if it will cause folks to rejoin in our discussions?

I’m not sure if I am joking or if this is a real situation, and I hope that our reefing buddies will engage again and be more active like prior days.

They go in spurts there will be days when there are a ton of post an some days only a few .

I agree and feel the same. Feel like I used to get instant responses now sometimes my posts go unanswered

For me personally, I know once football season starts, i am not on here as often...we get super busy, going to games, watch parties, and especially for us...my MIAMI HURRICANES made the National Championship for the 1st time since 2002, and we are DIE HARDS the definition of FANATICS. But now that's all done, time to fix our tanks, upgrade our tanks, spend lots of $$$$$$ on our tanks etc, fix the house up, take care of all types of things that may not have gotten our full attention during the months of September to January etc. So....guess what... WE'RE BACK!!

Go Canes!! []_[]

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I am on every night (late). Most of the time just catching up on reading about things I have missed. I need to post more. I will have another build thread coming up. But I also need to update the ones I have. But I am also sleepy.....

 

[winxp_man]

I agree and feel the same. Feel like I used to get instant responses now sometimes my posts go unanswered

That’s because your questions are getting way too smart for us to answer to!

 

[Spare time]

I think for me, personally, I mostly stopped responding on here as I am out of the hobby as of right now due to work. I also got burnt out by the same, repetitive questions asked over and over again. I also got irritated with how the hobby, like many industries, has been focusing on luxury products and high end gear, rather than innovating on the mid tier or budget friendly options. I find that incredibly boring. Finally, I have become slightly disallusioned with the ornamental fish export market. So many fish die in the process to get to the store. On top of that, I find most people who enter the hobby end up neglecting their tank and killing the inhabitants at some point. It is just a weird idea to promote killing so many marine organisms so that someone can stare at them in a box for some months before killing them. People just don't care about the fact that most of the fish they got came from across the world from a functional role in an an ecology to sitting in a box until something goes wrong and they die. Not saying I am against the hobby, I just got tired of seeing the abuse by customers after working in reef stores for years.

 

[Louis Z]

I believe there is a general overall retreat from the hobby . Prices on everything outside of the hobby have gone up . Leaving less funds to continue the hobby . I see many sell offs of aquariums on local Facebook posts . Prices on equipment are really high . I am not complaining of the quality that I see but many can’t afford to keep up . I was in petco the other day and I saw someone come in and ask how much a new SW aquarium would cost . I told him that it was relative to what their objective was. Having coral definitely ups the price . My advice was to start slow with fish and a few inverts on a 20to 40 gal aq . Begin to enjoy it and not reach for the stars right away . I gave some advice on how to keep small tanks with low bio load and high diversity to might satisfy one’s foray into the hobby without spending a lot of money . Told him to research on reef2reef to see how to start and not rely on stores that are not SW centered . . I believe that cost is causing a major decline in the hobby and I don’t see it getting better so when one doesn’t have a tank then one does not need a forum .

 

[DSC reef]

Im happy to be back, I used to be part of reef squad and its nice to see all the new members and familiar faces. It seems to me R2R has grown and continues to be the place to be for reefing knowledge and help. I've helped others all over and nothing compares to R2R and thats just facts. Im so happy to be back

 

[DSC reef]

I would be lost without R2R. When I was researching before I got back into the hobby, I signed up on a few forums. I rarely post to any besides R2R.

Same and thats a great point. Anytime I'd go to world wide corals or other popular fish stores since I'm local I'd mention R2R and I couldn't believe how many people were members and relied or started their tank because of R2R. Even ran into people I helped and met great friends along the way.

 

[Tahoe61]

You have to consider the seasonal shifts. During the holidays people have more leisure time. New systems and equipment are in abundance right around Christmas and tax season. When true summer hits you see another lull in activity.
Judging by the content on many FB sw aquarium sites the industry needs R2R more than ever. It's scary out there.

 

[DSC reef]

You have to consider the seasonal shifts. During the holidays people have more leisure time. New systems and equipment are in abundance right around Christmas and tax season. When true summer hits you see another lull in activity.
Judging by the content on many FB sw aquarium sites the industry needs R2R more than ever. It's scary out there.

This right here! I've tried giving advice on FB and its almost ridiculous. I couldn't believe the hate towards honest good advice while others are just saying what that wants to hear. The SW hobby absolutely needs and deserves R2R and all its helpful members.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Do I currently have a reef tank up and running? Nope, been shut down for almost a year now. Do I still actively post on here? Yep, sure do. I get a lot of people post because they have questions about their tanks, or don't feel the need to post because "My tank is smooth sailing, so I am good". However, I contribute a lot here because the community is very special. You don't get this kind of community in Reefing anywhere else.

Ai? You are talking to well... Ai not a real person. Therefore, you are getting zero community.
Reddit? Doesn't seem very active on the reef tank side of things, not to mention Reddit has no filter, no strictly enforced rules, and ends up becoming a battleground over certain topics.
Facebook? While I do think it is nice that you can find local Facebook clubs, it does feel like a thing where people just want to show off their tanks, not so much ask questions. Not to mention, similar to Reddit, there are fewer rules on Facebook. Resulting in people getting dog-piled, and at times, a "gatekeep" mentality.

Reef2Reef allows for people, both new and old, to enjoy this hobby in a safe and loving environment. You don't get that anywhere else. Not to mention, it allows people to connect with thousands of other reefers in an area where reefing might not be popular at all.

Reefing needs Reef2Reef, and I could not imagine this hobby without it.

 

[Genvid]

I'm already an old man, over 60. I really like R2R. I'm on the site every day and read a lot, but writing isn't my thing. I think a lot of riffers are like me. Writing is very tiring for me. Although I learn here every day. R2R has been my life lately.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

I'm glad to hear all these thoughts from other members. R2R has served as a great resource for me and a place I can connect with others in the hobby for several years now. Now that I'm about to make another big move, this time to the Philippines, I'm looking forward to using the site to help find reefers when I get there.

 

[rtparty]

Judging by the content on many FB sw aquarium sites the industry needs R2R more than ever. It's scary out there.

Facebook is the worst place for reefing advice I’ve ever found. If that is all someone is using, their chances of success plummet

I see it everyday in the AskBRS group. It’s impossible to keep up with all of the horrible information being parroted

 

[Louis Z]

Before reef2reef, reefs.org and reef central were extremely popular . . Reef central got really big that they had difficulty keeping up with all of the site traffic . . R2R was an alternate , devoid of the traffic and most switched over . There are other underlying reasons for the major shift . But there is a wealth of knowledge on those sites . Much DIY before all of the mfgs started to produce all of these products in use today . These message boards / forums have been essential to the growth / advancement of the hobby . Otherwise we would have been waiting on books and magazines to answer our questions . I often use the search function to research any dilemma , Identification , diy , recommendations, fixes and cures . So these forums are essential

 

[Tahoe61]

Before reef2reef, reefs.org and reef central were extremely popular . . Reef central got really big that they had difficulty keeping up with all of the site traffic . . R2R was an alternate , devoid of the traffic and most switched over . There are other underlying reasons for the major shift . But there is a wealth of knowledge on those sites . Much DIY before all of the mfgs started to produce all of these products in use today . These message boards / forums have been essential to the growth / advancement of the hobby . Otherwise we would have been waiting on books and magazines to answer our questions . I often use the search function to research any dilemma , Identification , diy , recommendations, fixes and cures . So these forums are essential

Some of my best forum times were on Nanoreef, 3Reef in the early days, RC was going strong. The content could be brutal, not for the faint of heart. Did I get banned a time or two, absolutely.

Reef2reef became a forum where a family approach was encouraged, and forum bullies were discouraged.

No forum or FB site is a perfect fit for me, I feel most comfortable at R2R, and that's the reason I support it.

 

[landlubber]

Honestly curious...I’ve been a member here for many years but havent been visiting the site regularly for the past year or so. From what I recall, there used to be far more threads posted on a daily basis and many more comments on practically every one of those threads.

For those of you who have been here for a while, has traffic on the site seemed to have slowed down over the past year or two?

a sign of the times... the average person just has less disposable money to spread on hobbies. Not to mention, the cost of lights, pumps and powerheads is eye watering for a person looking to enter the hobby.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Reef2reef became a forum where a family approach was encouraged, and forum bullies were discouraged.

No forum or FB site is a perfect fit for me, I feel most comfortable at R2R, and that's the reason I support it.

A lot of forums and groups are just places for the owner to have a fan club. As you know, @revhtree takes a humble approach, and is interested in helping the community learn and grow together. This site isn’t just about him, it’s about reefing. And I fully support that as well.