How to distinguish information from misinformation?

[atoll]

2 saying in this hobby. (there are more)
1/ There is more than 1 way to skin a cat.
2/ what works for one may not work for you.

When I started in this hobby there were a lot of "thou must nots" which have been disproven.
2 examples, never have more than 1 of the same species of fish in your tank and two never feed foods from the fish market.

I found out you can indeed keep.more than one of a species in many cases and that you can indeed make your own food bought from the fish market without any problem what so ever.

I won't mention to QT or not to QT for fear of WW3 breaking out lol.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

With so much information all over the place these days, how can anyone in the hobby be able to determine the difference between good information and misinformation?
How do folks filter through it?
Do folks just choose the information that falls in line with their beliefs and experience or is better to follow the information given by popular names in the hobby?

I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve seen what I believe to be good advice being ignored and I’ve seen what I believe to be parroted information being passed around as an absolute true.
this makes me really curious in learning how do you do it.

I do my own research, then come here and look what trusted people here have to say on a given subject. Multiple people. If I see repetition across my research and multiple people here, then I feel I can trust it.

 

[ClownSchool]

It is extraordinarily difficult, particularly when companies spread the false information to support sales. Sadly, some of the biggest reef supply companies are among the bad actors.

It is sometimes clear they know they are misleading folks,, and sometimes it may be that they are just ignorant of the truth. In some cases, I cannot tell which it is. .

I totally agree.
I saw an ad for instant water earlier this year - just add air - and was totally bamboozled!!!!

(I’d love to know how many people actually clicked the link in that BRS April 1st email)

 

[Peer.Boerner]

I have 100% faith in these two books, anything that differs greatly I’m skeptical.

Absolutely!!! I lost my copy of Corals and I’d live to get Sprung’s book. I’m going to see if I can buy both again.

My technique is to try and find consensus with an idea or concept before I take any one person’s advice UNLESS it’s someone who’s a published author or well respected by the reefing community

 

[Greg Clayton]

With so much information all over the place these days, how can anyone in the hobby be able to determine the difference between good information and misinformation?
How do folks filter through it?
Do folks just choose the information that falls in line with their beliefs and experience or is better to follow the information given by popular names in the hobby?

I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve seen what I believe to be good advice being ignored and I’ve seen what I believe to be parroted information being passed around as an absolute true.
this makes me really curious in learning how do you do it.

In my experience I follow advise of people I know have been in the hobby for decades. LFSs that have been open longer than I've been alive are my favorite resource.

 

[ClownSchool]

My technique is to try and find consensus with an idea or concept before I take any one person’s advice UNLESS it’s someone who’s a published author or well respected by the reefing community

I think that’s what makes this forum so valuable. It doesn’t take long for a consensus to present itself on almost any topic posted.

 

[Science/G]

Distinguishing information from misinformation is an incredibly important skill that humans must posses in today's world, not just in reefing. And it's just going to get more difficult.

In the educational realm we call this information literacy.

 

[Science/G]

Not sure if you believe I “scoffed” at your comment but I didn’t. I pointed out that the information “recently” disclosed by Vic and Ryan has long ago been documented. Many believe the hobby today is vastly improved and while some things have improved much has not.
I agree with your sentiment about Julian, being from Miami I first met him in the late 90’s at Gables Aquarium and more than a dozen times since. Even delivered saltwater to his house with VIP Saltwater.

You worked with Rick?!??

 

[CHSUB]

You worked with Rick?!??

No but I tagged along some times when he did neat stuff. One time to fill an outdoor aquarium in Miami Beach, took 3 trips with his truck.

 

[Science/G]

No but I tagged along some times when he did neat stuff. One time to fill an outdoor aquarium in Miami Beach, took 3 trips with his truck.

Small world. I still use him for my NSW.

 

[Staghorn]

I find that lots of people give good advice and some not so good. Sometimes when we are experiencing an issue with our aquarium, we’re willing to grasp straws and will consider anything no matter how unlikely it may be. It’s hard to distinguish the good from the bad. I think it’s important to pick from who you’re receiving advice carefully. A lot of the literature mentioned above is a great starting point. And anyone you decide to take advice from should be someone with time in the game. Also, whenever you’re experiencing a problem, go back to the basics and start there which often times is the place to find the answer. Good luck to everyone starting out. There is a wealth of information out there and a lot of it is excellent.

 

[CHSUB]

Small world. I still use him for my NSW.

He has been around for a very long time, I’m a little surprised he still has the service. More than 10 years ago he talked about selling, guess he didn’t. I would pay him in part with sandwiches as I owned a few Quiznos Subs on his route…haha!

 

[ReeferTCG]

Started with BRS basics and expanded to podcast, finding trends in what different successful coral growers talk. Watch tank tours and see if its a good, tank look at what method they follow. Try stuff and see if it works.

If im interested in acros for example I go to best of the best and look for the top like @Battlecorals and look for podcast they have talked in.

For chemistry I confirm my thoughts asking and waiting only for @Randy Holmes-Farley to answer and for fish I wait for @Jay Hemdal to respond but so R2R badges of active members help me out.

If many successful keepers talk about something similar I investigate that idea further.

Science background so if someone has science background I listen more closely… but here I have to trust they have Science background

 

[CKW]

Good grief Charlie Brown, doesn’t anyone have a life???

 

[sdreefer619]

What I do is I look up a bunch of stuff based on what I want to know. If people say the same thing over and aver again like having patience and consistency in this hobby then we’re on to something. Can’t forget stability!

 

[Yazannreef]

"If thier tank ain't nice, dont take thier advice" Ray Pirates reef.

I personnaly would never follow any reefers opnion or even vendors unless they can show me they can grow and maintain thier own tanks and can show for it. Not just some Data and bunch of numbers that means absolutely nothing without real world experience. Hype/ Marketing and paid ads dont cut it. This hobby became a hobby of trends.

Ideally I would follow ones methodology that I feel they are transparent of what worked and what dont. We all started somewhere.

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

All the best pieces of advice I’ve received all point in the same direction.

@gcarroll “Be wary of advice coming from those who will not show you the fruits of their success!”

That one stuck with me. Without seeing the outcome, we are often just acting on a stranger’s opinion on the internet.

Victor from WWC “Stop listening to everyone and start listening to someone.”

That might be one of the most important lessons in the hobby. It is not just about vetting the advice. It is about vetting the person giving the advice.

J. Kenji López-Alt “The first step to winning is learning how not to fail.”

The people I trust most tend to be the tinkerers. The ones who tried everything, failed more than most, and eventually learned which changes actually affect the outcome and which don't. In reefing, that has often been Dana Riddle, RHF, coral farmers I have been lucky enough to meet, along with people like Elliot at Marine Collectors.

Kenji also said “Once you understand the basic science of how and why a recipe works, you suddenly find that you’ve freed yourself from the shackles of recipes. You can modify as you see fit, fully confident that the outcome will be a success.”

That is reefing in a nutshell to me. If this is your first rodeo, stop crowdsourcing information from 100 strangers on the internet, trying to vet every answer, and stitching it all together into a plan. That is the direct cause of why 90% of reefers do not make it past the first 12 months.

The goal is to find a proven path or recipe that works, understand why it works, and execute. That success allows you to break the shackles of recipes, start tinkering and become the next wave of mentors.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I do my own research first. I'll sit, read up on an issue and always take into account that there may be several possible answers to any given question. Then, if I am still not satisfied, I'll ask a question of the members to gain some clue as to how I should move forward and which paths are more relevant than others.

As to how I would manage trust in members? That would be based more on reputation than anything else. Some here are great all around while others have their own areas of expertise. Those just need to be identified.

But in the end I'll always revisit researching to verify a modality before acting. One can certainly maximize a success by hard and fast studying!

 

[kalkwash]

It is amazing how much information is at our fingertips and how communication is more efficient than ever. Funny how powerful this is, to the point of it being a detriment in a lot of ways.

I would still take it over the alternative... An isolated fragmented, centralized hobby. I will gladly consume a cannon blast of decentralized disinformation, anecdotal experiences, post hoc ergo propter hoc and the like - just to sink my teeth into all the amazing stories, experiences and finds and claims.

It is wild the first person who added fluconazole to a tank for example - whoever they were. That was a huge risk or maybe it was a calculated galaxy brain move based off a decade of high level reefing experience. It doesn't matter if I choose to use it on hsir algae or bryopsis (although I have in the past and it did work for me) the story in the end is more is more interesting.

After all it is just a hobby. There is so many facets to this hobby it seems never ending. That is what makes it exciting. It really does seem like chess, maybe there are as many combinations of things that can be done - each one with a new result - as there are moves on a chess board. When you zoom out people at the top of the hobby who push forward seem to be getting better results just like top modern chess players.

I think as a new reefer finding the people with insane tanks and learning their philosophy rather than any one thing, will guide you through the "muddy river" of products and decisions. It is a guiding voice in your head that hatches it helps you attempt to think critically and clearly ask yourself what you are trying to achieve.

This is why my favorite form of content has been podcasts - huge shout out to Reef Beef, Reef Therapy, and Rappin with Reef Bum. Regardless of the "right or wrong" - walking away with the stories and conversations is where it is at. It is surprising how much I retain from that.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

With so much information all over the place these days, how can anyone in the hobby be able to determine the difference between good information and misinformation?
How do folks filter through it?
Do folks just choose the information that falls in line with their beliefs and experience or is better to follow the information given by popular names in the hobby?

I’ve seen it so many times. I’ve seen what I believe to be good advice being ignored and I’ve seen what I believe to be parroted information being passed around as an absolute true.
this makes me really curious in learning how do you do it.

I wrote a Reefs.com article on informational sources for aquarists. This was from close to 20 years ago, so it lacks anything about AI.

https://reefs.com/magazine/media-review-information-resources-for-home-aquarists/