How do you vet information you receive here on Reef2Reef?

[Gumbies R Us]

I do kinda wish there was an old-timers sub-forum where we could post all day about how we do a bunch of things we’re not supposed to do and somehow, miraculously, don’t kill everything we touch.

There was a thread going a few days ago talking about the old ways vs new ways of reefing. I guess that is similar to what you are wanting haha

 

[KrisReef]

That 0% is your review rating for items sold or traded. LOL!

I liked my interpretation better than yours.

I guess I need to review @Paul B ’s book and raise his status on here?

My wife read it too but she doesn’t post on here and wonders if I have a supermodel side kick that I am always texting. Life is so complicated. People should read Paul’s book to get clear on how things work.

Can we update his 0 now, please?

 

[Paul B]

Kris, my Zero rating and status is fine. I never sold anything out of my tank. If I don't need it, I will give it away.

And Don't push people to read my book. I get calls from the Amazon that they are having trouble printing it because they are running out of trees.

 

[Troylee]

I think @revhtree just needs to install a fact checker like social media sites.. end of story.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Kris, my Zero rating and status is fine. I never sold anything out of my tank. If I don't need it, I will give it away.

That zero has something to do with never selling somebody a certain metal fish...

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

You should post about it and if someone derails the thread negatively we will remove them from it.

Trust me, I would like nothing more than to start a thread talking about how after lunch today, I scraped the pasta and tomato scraps off my plate into the sump of the reef tank in my classroom rather than throw it in the garbage.

But I have been scolded a few times here…probably rightly so…for maybe encouraging others to reef as recklessly as I do.

So it would be nice if there was an R2R version of a dive bar where anybody who wandered in who is not old, weathered, and worn out would do so knowing they’re just there for the laughs and what’s said in the dive bar stays in the dive bar.

 

[KrisReef]

Trust me, I would like nothing more than to start a thread talking about how after lunch today, I scraped the pasta and tomato scraps off my plate into the sump of the reef tank in my classroom rather than throw it in the garbage.

But I have been scolded a few times here…probably rightly so…for maybe encouraging others to reef as recklessly as I do.

So it would be nice if there was an R2R version of a dive bar where anybody who wandered in who is not old, weathered, and worn out would do so knowing they’re just there for the laughs and what’s said in the dive bar stays in the dive bar.

I read a thread like that on here. This guy liked to go to the bar each night and come home plastered and that angered his wife who would start yelling at him. In defiance, he poured himself a drink and she dumped it into the sump of his tank in spite. This went on, repetedly for a couple of weeks and then one morning the guy looks in his tank and its doing great!

And that's how the guy invented vodka dosing. True dive bar story. My wife is in the other room yelling because I am on here, gotta go!

 

[Katrina71]

I do kinda wish there was an old-timers sub-forum where we could post all day about how we do a bunch of things we’re not supposed to do and somehow, miraculously, don’t kill everything we touch.

I would love to read a Retro Reefing thread! I mean, if PBR can become hipster beer...

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I hate to break it to you, but there are numerous 10K post count folks who are as full of BS as there are 2 post count folks. Likewise, I have 35 years of SW experience and have kept aquariums for 45+ years... I am newish here at took 5+ years off of forums (20k post at RC from a decade or more ago). Many of those 10K post counters here treated me like an idiot because my post count was in the teen... One of them even pointing their post count compared to mine as an indicator of their experience and knowledge compared to mine... then double down on the assertion....

To the OP and others. Separating fact from BS is hard and an art in and of itself. I do not mean to disparage any single person here, but this forum is a wealth of knowledge and at the same time a mountain of BS and misinformation.

So how do you know what is true and what is not? You have to use multiple sources and some common sense and also understand that this hobby (well all hobbies) are full of PILES of misinformation passed from person to person as gospel and fact. But let's ignore our hobby for a second to give examples from outside of the hobby.

Mention cleaning a cast iron or steel pan to somebody, and without fail most of the people, including your mom, dad or grandma will tell you not to use soap in it or it will ruin the pan. It is 100% BS, soap does not hurt steel pans or "ruin" the "seasoning". Press another "more informed" person and they will assure you that the advice came about because "old time soap" had "lye" in it and the "lye" is what would eat through the seasoning on the pan. That too is mostly BS.

Yes, you can STRIP a greasy carbonized pan to bare steel with lye.
However, SOAP never did have lye in it. You see soap is MADE with lye, but the lye is consumed on the process of saponification and turned to "soap" and glycerin. There is no lye in finished soap, then OR now. But we don't use much real soap anymore anyway. Everything that you call "soap" is likely detergent (from your dishwashing "soap" to your face "soap").

Back to "lye". Yes, if too much wood ash (sodium hydroxide) is used the process of making soap, then the finished soap will be "lye heavy soap" and very dry and brittle and burn your skin when you use it due to the unreacted sodium hydroxide (lye). But alas, you great great grandma, the hardware store owner or the tribe's soap maker was aware that poorly made soap burned your skin... so they were very careful about the process. They didn't have rubbermaid gloves... they didn't use lye heavy soap...ever! So no, great great grandma or your great great uncles the cowboy your his great great grandfather the roman centurion cooked in steel pans and cleaned them with soap.

Bad information is passed from person to person, often TRUSTED sources and becomes "fact" even if it is, was and always has been pure BS rooted in some distorted truth that sounds good and reasonable...

phew... anyway. Do your own research, then more, then more. You will find the truth if you look for it, no matter how many people get it wrong.

Or... You can have a different opinion of what constitutes what "seasoning" is.
Maybe you never had a egg sandwich from the Palace Grill in Chicago...
Flavor gets absorbed into the cast iron (think of it as the PO4 of the kitchen)
Soap will take that "seasoning" away.
I am not arguing your point. I just have a different point of view.

 

[Mikeltee]

The problem that I see is that over 75% of the posters have had a tank for 3 months and they think they know it all because they researched for 3 weeks before they got their tank. If you want the answer to an important question you need to look at the sources post history and time in the hobby. There are only a few experts here. I'm 14 years in and don't know much... 90% of the posts that I see here are just flat out bad advice when it comes to addressing issues.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Or... You can have a different opinion of what constitutes what "seasoning" is.
Maybe you never had a egg sandwich from the Palace Grill in Chicago...
Flavor gets absorbed into the cast iron (think of it as the PO4 of the kitchen)
Soap will take that "seasoning" away.
I am not arguing your point. I just have a different point of view.

Yes I would eat an egg sandwich from there.
Nasty pans are still nasty pans

My 9"x9" Griswald has been used 1x - 2x a day for 20+ years. It is clean, non-stick and "seasoned" - just not nasty

I have a pile of De Buyer pro pans, same things, used daily. They look used, they are seasoned, but not "nasty".

I am just not a fan of layers old carbonized leftover food and oil being baked onto a pan. It is the top layer of polymerized oil that does the work. All of those "layers" are just there to peel, chip, flake and dissolve into your food. Ick. If some people feel that last years egg crust and 2 years ago potato crust is "seasoning" then more power to them!

Like the diner that dips their burgers in 100 year old burger grease that gets added to, but never dumped or replaced. I would likely eat one, but ick!

 

[BeanAnimal]

The problem that I see is that over 75% of the posters have had a tank for 3 months and they think they know it all because they researched for 3 weeks before they got their tank. If you want the answer to an important question you need to look at the sources post history and time in the hobby. There are only a few experts here. I'm 14 years in and don't know much... 90% of the posts that I see here are just flat out bad advice when it comes to addressing issues.

I am 25 years into reefing and 45 into fish and learning every day.

You do bring up a good point. The worst type of interactions are with those who ask a question and proceed to tell the answerers that they are wrong because Mr. Insta-Facebook reefer said otherwise. Then end up on the "emergency" tag section 3 weeks later and still refuse to listen.

I may not be a good reef keeper, but I sure can spot those who are destined to fail a mile away. I think that is why some of us try so hard to help. I don't think any of us relish in seeing somebody frustrated or fail, especially when it is preventable.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Or... You can have a different opinion of what constitutes what "seasoning" is.
Maybe you never had a egg sandwich from the Palace Grill in Chicago...
Flavor gets absorbed into the cast iron (think of it as the PO4 of the kitchen)
Soap will take that "seasoning" away.
I am not arguing your point. I just have a different point of view.

Palace is solid!

 

[tnw50cal]

What do you use as a barometer to gauge the quality and accuracy of the information you receive here on R2R?

As a old person and this forum being about saltwater aquariums I'm going to answer with an old saying:

With a grain of salt.

 

[KrisReef]

As a old person and this forum being about saltwater aquariums I'm going to answer with an old saying:

With a grain of salt.

What brand of salt do you recommend?

 

[tnw50cal]

What brand of salt do you recommend?

LOL. I love this forum.

 

[Paul B]

What brand of salt do you recommend?

Kris, I started with "Lampert Ks Marine Magic" salt in 1971. Probably not available any more. That and the water that flows under the Brooklyn Bridge.

There is probably a reason they don't sell that.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Seeing the tank of those offering information is important. This is a results-oriented hobby. Seeing the results of people providing advice is a necessary part of the vetting process.

So true, I was a taxidermist for years and also had my own shop. There was a forum that I was a member on that had basically folks that did not do taxidermy but still answered questions on it based on what they learned from the forum. I called them "coat tail riders" on that forum. When I see folks on here posting with no tank pics or build thread, I call them the same.

 

[revhtree]

As a old person and this forum being about saltwater aquariums I'm going to answer with an old saying:

With a grain of salt.

What brand of salt do you recommend?

Best ONE, TWO posts of the day! Ha!

 

[BeanAnimal]

So true, I was a taxidermist for years and also had my own shop. There was a forum that I was a member on that had basically folks that did not do taxidermy but still answered questions on it based on what they learned from the forum. I called them "coat tail riders" on that forum. When I see folks on here posting with no tank pics or build thread, I call them the same.

I can't seem to find my tank pics or build thread... I do like to ride coat tails though, I think of myself as a sugar glider with no wings.