Reef Hobbyist Advice and Misconceptions Through the Years.

[jdpiii3]

Good evening to all of my fellow Reef hobbyist. I've been in the hobby for well over 40 years. Becoming a reef keeper around 2000. Learning something new everyday.

Through the years it's amazing some of the misconceptions I've been told about the hobby. Whether it be good advice bad advice or just a comment that will always stick with me.

When I was setting up my 400 gallon natural sunlight Reef I was talking to all the hobbyists I could just to get advice. Well one comment I will always remember.

"A natural sunlit reef? You'll never grow coral with that!"

"The only thing you'll grow will be algae"

"The hobby isn't expensive...lol"

"Just remember KISS - keep it simple stupid"

It's truly all worth it when a friend that isn't a hobbyist sees the tank for the first time and their first word is... WOW!

Let's hear some of your good or bad advice or misconceptions you've heard over the years.

 

[Thunder_reef]

I think the worst thing I was ever told was from the owner of a lfs. Regarding cyano and Dino’s, he said that he saw them regularly while diving, so if it’s on the actual reef, it can’t be bad for our tanks, and we shouldn’t waste our time fighting it.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I originally waited a week before adding my fish I couldn’t wait but ended up adding lots of bacteria and they are all happy now. This is the worse thing: “I’m telling you right now you added fish way too soon, your tank isn’t cycled, and all your fish are going to die” says the person at Petco who had been keeping saltwater aquariums since he was a little kid, offered no helpful advice, and actually made me leave the store sobbing! Thankfully lots of people comforted me. WELL JOKES ON YOU! He came off very harsh and while he is knowledgeable not my favorite store. I prefer my lfs.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Also it was in that moment as well as reading all the hate comments on social media about this hobby towards newbies that there are so many different ways to do things and be successful! It’s not one size fits all and you can’t go pushing your negative experiences on others assuming that it’s going to happen to everyone. And for that reason and others I love this forum and how supportive/helpful the people are on here!

 

[fish farmer]

You'll have better success if you go bigger.

 

[Geebs19]

Sadly there is so much misinformation out there on how to obtain the perfect tank.

My latest one was from an LFS: I quarantine all my fish before you buy them, so you wont need to. 2 weeks later and velvet wiped out 8 fish. Awesome. Lesson learned.

 

[ScubaFish802]

My tank is no where near some of the tanks on here or elsewhere.. but I did have an instance where my Dad came to visit a few months back, and he stopped in front of the tank and stared for a moment, and was just like 'Wow' .

That was pretty nice to see/hear

 

[Thunder_reef]

My tank is no where near some of the tanks on here or elsewhere.. but I did have an instance where my Dad came to visit a few months back, and he stopped in front of the tank and stared for a moment, and was just like 'Wow' .

That was pretty nice to see/hear

That’s alway so wonderful to hear someone say!!

 

[mdb_talon]

I think the worst thing I was ever told was from the owner of a lfs. Regarding cyano and Dino’s, he said that he saw them regularly while diving, so if it’s on the actual reef, it can’t be bad for our tanks, and we shouldn’t waste our time fighting it.

I think the "thats the way it is on the ocean so it is fine/better/etc" is the source of a ton of bad info in this hobby.

 

[Crustaceon]

"Invest in better equipment and you'll get better results". I assure you my equipment is not the best. Not by a long shot. Yet my acros are encrusting nicely. Sure, i'd have the awesome toys too because they're super fun, but if someone says you NEED them, otherwise don't bother with the hobby, you should just ignore them. They're wrong and reefers like me are proof of that. You can have an awesome reef tank in a ten gallon petco tank with a single hydor pump and an led fixture that costs less than $50. The only MUST have things in this hobby are willingness to ask questions, knowledge and experience.

 

[gbru316]

I vividly remember your original build thread on RC, glad to see you're still around and the tanks doing well!

 

[jdpiii3]

My tank is no where near some of the tanks on here or elsewhere.. but I did have an instance where my Dad came to visit a few months back, and he stopped in front of the tank and stared for a moment, and was just like 'Wow' .

That was pretty nice to see/hear

Awesome!

 

[jdpiii3]

I vividly remember your original build thread on RC, glad to see you're still around and the tanks doing well!

I vividly remember your original build thread on RC, glad to see you're still around and the tanks doing well!

Thanks I was seriously contemplating taking down the tank. 2 years worth of covid craziness a battle of depression and to finish off 2021 with a pipe breaking in my foundation I was ready to toss in the towel.

Glad I didn't! 2022 saw a major refresh to The Reef, refinishing all of the acrylic and rebuilding all of the electronics with new goodies.

 

[AVVITT]

My initial mistake when I started reefing 19 months ago was taking lots of different information from the forums without realising a lot of them contradicted each other.
I was constantly chasing numbers and mixing so much information than I was often counteracting one action with another.

After a lot of making my tank unhappy, the lesson I have learned more recently is don't sweat the small stuff, don't chase numbers, instead, watch your corals. Not one of them, but all of them. If one looks ticked one day, no big deal, but if several of them are unhappy looking then there maybe an issue and it's time to check a few things in your tank.

Since having this mindset, I've had mostly successful coral growth and a happy tank overall.
It's too easy to overthink things in this hobby!

In my own mind I see the balance and stability of the tank as a pendulum. At worst, you only want a very gentle swing but ideally, the pendulum to be still. The more you change, panic or overreact, the more that pendulum swings and the more you tick off everything you work so hard to keep. Work smarter, not harder!

 

[AVVITT]

Thanks I was seriously contemplating taking down the tank. 2 years worth of covid craziness a battle of depression and to finish off 2021 with a pipe breaking in my foundation I was ready to toss in the towel.

Glad I didn't! 2022 saw a major refresh to The Reef, refinishing all of the acrylic and rebuilding all of the electronics with new goodies.

Good for you! Glad you found a new love for the hobby.

 

[ReefEco]

Beautiful tank - love how it forms the corner!

 

[ShoalSister]

I tire of hearing people comment that fish are the easiest pets to have, especially when they are looking at our saltwater setups.

Been tempted to show them the equipment involved and explain the purpose of each and how they work (especially the protein skimmers) just to watch their brains break.

People in this hobby are super intelligent to not only know their equipment and water chemistry, but also biological interactions. It's amazing.

 

[dstockwell]

Just a few short month’s ago the long time LFS owner told my daughter-in-law to.. Put in live sand, add salt, then water. Killed her sand and leached salt for weeks.

 

[jdpiii3]

I tire of hearing people comment that fish are the easiest pets to have, especially when they are looking at our saltwater setups.

Been tempted to show them the equipment involved and explain the purpose of each and how they work (especially the protein skimmers) just to watch their brains break.

People in this hobby are super intelligent to not only know their equipment and water chemistry, but also biological interactions. It's amazing.

When my non fish friends come to visit at first they think it's just a fish tank...then the questions start. An hour later after answering and trying to pull them away, didn't we have dinner plans?

 

[jdpiii3]

Just a few short month’s ago the long time LFS owner told my daughter-in-law to.. Put in live sand, add salt, then water. Killed her sand and leached salt for weeks.

That is crazy, the stuff LFS tell customers is mind boggling at times. I have one store near me that makes sure you know what you're doing. Asks question of current setup and will make recommendations. I've watched him flat out tell customers NO! you cannot buy that fish. Some of the locals gave him the nickname "Fishnazi" No fish for you! Come back 1 year when you have a 200 gallon!