Is ChatGPT right?

[Reefer Matt]

ChatGPT thinks I have a channel on the other kind of reefer. Lol!

 

[KrisReef]

ChatGPT thinks I have a channel on the other kind of reefer. Lol!

That’s hole some.

 

[EastonsReef]

AI just repeats what it is read and fills in blanks that match what it has already read (for lack of more detailed explanation. It does not use logic or reasoning in the way that you assume it might

Examine both of those AI responses closely. Why do they differ? Which one is correct?

Something to note is that not all AI services are equal. I've found the Google AI to be pretty dog**** overall.

 

[spsick]

Why are you asking chat GPT how to stock YOUR reef?

 

[EastonsReef]

I recently got a 75 gallon tank and was wondering what to put in it. I talked with ChatGPT for the past three days and this is the list that I ended with. Is it right or is it completely wrong?

• Royal Gramma
• Firefish Goby
• Orange Stripe Cardinal
• Ocellaris Clownfish (x2)
• Blue Green Chromis (x4)
• Starry Blenny
• Ruby Finned Fairy Wrasse (male)
• Purple queen Anthias (1 male, 3 females)
• Cleaner Shrimp
• Scarlet Hermit Crabs (x3)
• Pom-Pom Crab
• Nassarius Snails (x6)
• Feather Duster
• Toadstool Leather Coral
• Kenya Tree Coral
• Green Star Polyps
• Zoanthids
  • HML Red and Green Bouquet Zoanthids
  • HML Bloodshot Zoanthids
• Mushroom Corals
  • HML Black Plague 226 Mushroom
  • HML Toxic Green Rhodactis
• Hammer Coral
  • HML Oddball Splatter Double Hammer
• Clove Polyps
  • Clove Daisy Polyp

I don't know if you're interested but I'm also using ChatGPT to assist with my 75 gallon setup and have a thread here. Our stocking is a bit different so I'm curious about how our experiences differed.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/planning-my-tank-with-chatgpt-my-experience-so-far.1115297/

 

[EastonsReef]

Why are you asking chat GPT how to stock YOUR reef?

I can't speak on OPs reasoning but I'm doing something similar and can speak to my own. My reason was to get ideas and hear potentials for issues that I, or others I had spoken to, hadn't considered.

I like to think of Chat as an old hobbyist who works at the local store, they probably know what they're talking about but always do some independent research and get second opinions as they may be giving some not so accurate advice.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I like to think of Chat as an old hobbyist who works at the local store, they probably know what they're talking about but always do some independent research and get second opinions as they may be giving some not so accurate advice.

But most LFS employees don't know what they are talking about. They just repeat what a vendor or customer told them and AI is even more full of crap, it is just more articulate.

There is a wealth if information about reefing here, there and everywhere. There is as much (or more) misinformation as there is good. The LLM does not know the difference, it just fills in blanks by following patterns.

Want to learn to setup and keep a reef aquarium? Buy a real book (Fenner, Delbeck, Calfo, Sprung, etc.) that has been peer reviewed.

Spend time researching and learning hands on and interacting with people. That AI is not a reef keeper and is not going to teach you to be one. Ask it the same question 5 different ways and get 5 different answers -- possibly all 5 being wrong.

 

[EastonsReef]

But most LFS employees don't know what they are talking about. They just repeat what a vendor or customer told them and AI is even more full of crap, it is just more articulate.

There is a wealth if information about reefing here, there and everywhere. There is as much (or more) misinformation as there is good. The LLM does not know the difference, it just fills in blanks by following patterns.

Want to learn to setup and keep a reef aquarium? Buy a real book (Fenner, Delbeck, Calfo, Sprung, etc.) that has been peer reviewed.

Spend time researching and learning hands on and interacting with people. That AI is not a reef keeper and is not going to teach you to be one. Ask it the same question 5 different ways and get 5 different answers -- possibly all 5 being wrong.

All of that is good advice, but I think that you’re discrediting potential sources of information. While not all LFS employee advice can be trusted, there are many who can be and are great sources of knowledge.

Interestingly enough, when I asked Chat just now where I can go to learn more about keeping saltwater aquariums, it suggested Reef2Reef as the first response, then BRS. On books, it suggested one of the authors you listed.

Ultimately, everyone has to review all the information they receive and deem its merit. I think you’re right to urge caution but AI is just a tool and can be used properly and improperly. There’s a real threat of people out there taking everything it says as fact but, let’s be honest, those people are going to find and accept bad information wherever they hear it.

 

[BeanAnimal]

While not all LFS employee advice can be trusted, there are many who can be and are great sources of knowledge.

I think you may have missed the context of the point. If you don’t know, then you don’t know.

Interestingly enough, when I asked Chat just now where I can go to learn more about keeping saltwater aquariums, it suggested Reef2Reef as the first response, then BRS. On books, it suggested one of the authors you listed.

Don’t mistake its suggestions for intelligent suggestions. It does not know which of those, if any are reliable sources. It can only repeat patterns and full in blanks. It makes up information as often as it repeats what it has read.

There’s a real threat of people out there taking everything it says as fact but, let’s be honest, those people are going to find and accept bad information wherever they hear it.

I don’t think most people realize how it works or that it is not “thinking”. Given that it responds sounding sentient and with authority, more people than not will take its output as factual and well reasoned.

 

[areefer01]

Throw down the 'show me your reef tank' card so you can judge the answer worthiness :D

FYI: sarcasm

 

[BeanAnimal]

I don’t think I have posted a photo of my tank in 15 or more years.

 

[EastonsReef]

Throw down the 'show me your reef tank' card so you can judge the answer worthiness :D

FYI: sarcasm

I don’t think I have posted a photo of my tank in 15 or more years.

To be honest I’d love to see it. While we disagree on AI and its potential place in the hobby, your responses give the impression you’ve been in the hobby a long time and I’m always interested in people’s thoughts and opinions that have been in the game a while.

My thread on using Chat wasn’t meant to be an endorsement but to share my experience and encourage these kinds of conversations.

 

[BeanAnimal]

My tank is nothing special to see. I don’t really do much to take care of it other than pay the electric bill and buy fish food and a few jugs here and there of alk/cal/mag to refill dosers. If push comes to shove, I scrape the front glass, but right now it is mostly covered in coralline algae and I don’t have the time or energy to do it.

 

[areefer01]

To be honest I’d love to see it. While we disagree on AI and its potential place in the hobby, your responses give the impression you’ve been in the hobby a long time and I’m always interested in people’s thoughts and opinions that have been in the game a while.

My thread on using Chat wasn’t meant to be an endorsement but to share my experience and encourage these kinds of conversations.

My reply is in jest and snarky as it seems the 'show me' card seems to be more readily played these days. I personally have no say or thoughts on how fellow hobbyist get their questions answered. Questions, curiosities, of what have you. It really doesn't bother me.

 

[Gribbles]

Let's clarify a pretty big nuance, LLMs can be (and many are) trained on vetted datasets. They're not just throwing random forum BS out there lol

 

[TankYouVeryMuch]

Is this feeding plan good?

Mon	Light feed or skip	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Tue	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + mysis	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Wed	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + algae wafer	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, MagnesiumPM: Amino acids (weekly)
Thu	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + mysis + vitamins	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Fri	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + crushed pellets	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Sat	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Mysis + Nori

For what it’s worth, ChatGPT is super helpful on this stuff but sometimes if you push back a little bit it’ll say “you’re right to call me out on that, here’s the right answer…” If anything sounds off ask it to clarify or double check. But ChatGPT has helped me a huge amount with my tank, and it’s less opinionated than any of the guys at the LFS.

As for what you shared, I’d say move slowly with dosing. Get the test kits and keep an eye on how things fluctuate first, especially after water changes. You won’t learn how your corals are using nutrients if you’re dosing everything right out of the gate.

As for the load out of fish, I’d suggest not adding more than one kind at a time. Add the more docile fish first and let them stake out a safe spot in the tank, and then add the known troublemakers last.

 

[TankYouVeryMuch]

Is this feeding plan good?

Mon	Light feed or skip	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Tue	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + mysis	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Wed	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + algae wafer	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, MagnesiumPM: Amino acids (weekly)
Thu	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + mysis + vitamins	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Fri	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Brine shrimp + crushed pellets	AM: Dose Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium
Sat	AM: Flakes/pelletsPM: Mysis + Nori

I am not going to comment on what your feeding, but it absolutely boggles my mind that you might skip or do light feeding on any given day.

Fish need food every day, multiple times per day is almost mandatory in most cases.

This also appears to be in the planning stages, so I think you can safely ignore any calc, alk, mag dosing, you need to get things up and running and see what your consumption is first... Certainly okay to plan, and with data from your tank then you can figure out what to dose.

You would also do well to research all of the items in that list, as others have stated some of these items can be invasive, and indeed hard to rid yourself of after the fact. AI is a great tool, but you need to "own" the information.

I’m not calling you out but I am curious: Jake Adams from Reef Builders made a very popular series of videos in which he set up a nano tank in a day. In that series he said one of the keys to its success was that he only fed the two clownfish every few days. That seemed weird. Is this something a lot of people do?

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Another big brain using ChatGPT then coming here anyway to confirm

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

For what it’s worth, ChatGPT is super helpful on this stuff but sometimes if you push back a little bit it’ll say “you’re right to call me out on that, here’s the right answer…” If anything sounds off ask it to clarify or double check. But ChatGPT has helped me a huge amount with my tank, and it’s less opinionated than any of the guys at the LFS.

What a sad isolated hobby this has become.

Yesterday I stood out in the rain and chatted shop with a local guy about our tanks for a good half hour while I was picking up a frag. Turns out he’s getting rid of some SPS colonies for cheap.

But hey, I guess you could also just stare at your computer screen and ask AI, that’s cool too.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Let's clarify a pretty big nuance, LLMs can be (and many are) trained on vetted datasets. They're not just throwing random forum BS out there lol

The context here being ChatGPT, Gemeni, Copilot, LLAMA and similar, not a task specific LLM trained on a narrow and specific dataset.
We can even include Claude, though it is much better at context depth.

So yes, they spit insane amounts of random BS out. It just sounds good because the LLM is amazing at putting words together.