The 12 Commandments of Reef Keeping

[arking_mark]

If it aint broke thal shalt not fix it!!

Hmmm...I think this might be the 12th commandment. Or is it really just a tweak on #2?

2. Triple-check before you believe or make any changes to your tank

 

[CMMorgan]

It all makes sense now.
Moses parted the Red Sea.
He was actually just doing a water change.

This is perfect! @arking_mark ... maybe Rev needs to change your name. Then again... you are already quite biblical, you already have the ark.

 

[iMi]

I’d like to add one more. Don’t covet another’s frag even if they snatched it from you in the same live sale even though you know you clicked that checkout button first. Lol

 

[zukihara]

Algae is good, algae is bad
My wallet now emptied, makes me quite sad

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Amen

1. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank
2. Triple-check before you believe or make any changes to your tank
3. Only make one change at a time in your reef tank
4. Only dose what you can test for
5. Don't chase #s, stability is what's critical
6. Anytime you add anything to your tank (even quarantined livestock), your whole tank is at risk
7. Know and be able to meet your livestock requirements
8. Most problems can be mitigated with larger water changes and GAC
9. Have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup backup plan for reefing risks
10. Stick to one reefing methodology. Don't be a Frankenstein unless you're willing to fail while blazing your own path to success
11. Do not believe manufacturer claims

 

[arking_mark]

I'm wondering if there needs to be another commandment for figuring out good advice from bad advice or is it covered by:

Stick to one reefing methodology. Don't be a Frankenstein unless you're willing to fail while blazing your own path to success

 

[ZoWhat]

12. Before starting this reef hobby, secure a 2nd parttime job that pays cash under the table

 

[arking_mark]

12. Before starting this reef hobby, secure a 2nd parttime job that pays cash under the table

So true. I hord cash so the wife doesn't see all my aquarium purchases.

 

[ZoWhat]

So true. I hord cash so the wife doesn't see all my aquarium purchases.

You should consider DoorDashing in the evenings. Right now I've been earning $25-$30 per hr during dinner time. You can cash out via a debitcard

 

[arking_mark]

You should consider DoorDashing in the evenings. Right now I've been earning $25-$30 per hr during dinner time. You can cash out via a debitcard

Wow. Something to consider...

 

[ZoWhat]

Wow. Something to consider...

I'm retired from my career but do DoorDashing full time to keep myself busy.

Here's what I made last week:

Drove about 500miles and used about $60 in gas. The way I look at it is my car is a money maker so I don't sweat the mileage

 

[ReefBeta]

1. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank
2. Triple-check before you believe or make any changes to your tank
3. Only make one change at a time in your reef tank
4. Only dose what you can test for
5. Don't chase #s, stability is what's critical
6. Anytime you add anything to your tank (even quarantined livestock), your whole tank is at risk
7. Know and be able to meet your livestock requirements
8. Most problems can be mitigated with larger water changes and GAC
9. Have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup backup plan for reefing risks
10. Stick to one reefing methodology. Don't be a Frankenstein unless you're willing to fail while blazing your own path to success
11. Do not believe manufacturer claims

Those are the things that are repeated over and over again on the forum. It's probably a good starting point for new reefers. But after been in this for a while, you will realize many of those are just "rules of thumb" rather than hard rules.

The one that I probably never agree with is #10. Reefing methodologies are really just a vehicle to teach techniques and reasoning in a more comprehensive setting. Each component have a purpose behind it. It's a bad idea to mix different methods without really understand the goal and how they work. But once you understood them, there is no reason why you can't combine things that works for you. Eventually, reefing is to find a way that works for you. Everyone's circumstance is different, every tank is different, then why are we expect the method of reefing to be same?

The other parts are #1 and #3. Those are true when applied to the already stabled system. But for a system in trouble, things probably need to change fast before it's too late. For example, there was a time I lighted the tank too low at the beginning, and the acros are dying. Do I slowly ramp up the light from 50 PAR to 200 PAR over the next two months? If I did that, the acros will be long gone. Instead I just bump it to 200 right away. The acro literally stopped STN overnight. Basically, if the change is to improve on what's OK currently, it should going slowly. But if the change is to fix something that's actively going south, it probably need to be fast. Of course assuming you're sure about the cause.

I do like #6 a lot. This hobby is really all about risk management. Few things here are absolute.

I'm not saying those points are wrong. They're just not absolute. But these points are mean for reefers with some level of experience, not for new reefers.

 

[arking_mark]

Tweaked the precepts base on feedback

 

[Rmckoy]

1. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank
2. Triple-check before you believe any observations or make any changes to your tank
3. Only make one change at a time in your reef tank
4. Use the right tool for the right job
5. Only dose what you can test for
6. Don't chase #s, stability is what's critical
7. Anytime you add anything to your tank (even quarantined livestock), your whole tank is at risk
8. Know and be able to meet your livestock requirements
9. Most problems can be mitigated with larger water changes and GAC
10. Have a plan, a backup plan, and a backup backup plan for reefing risks
11. Stick to one reefing methodology. Don't be a Frankenstein unless you're willing to fail while blazing your own path to success
12. Do not believe manufacturer or LFS claims without doing your homework

This should be a sticky !!

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

12?!
D

 

[arking_mark]

12?!
D

People keep giving me gems to live by.

 

[arking_mark]

Ok. I might have another:

Often coral issues are due to something that happened in the past.

This comes from almost losing my prized Jellybean Chalice. It went from beautiful to looking like it was starting on its way out. I went into testing and retesting all my parameters, looking at stability changes, were inhabitants bothering it, etc...

I took a step back, thought about what changes in the tank were made over the last couple of days/weeks. Well I had added a powerhead that was adding additional current to the tank a couple weeks ago. It wasn't directed at the coral, and it had seemed happy at the time. Anyway, my intuition said turn off the powerhead and see what happens. I made that one change and in less than a week the coral was definitely better and in two weeks mostly back to its old self. Interestingly enough it's color scheme has greatly changed.

Before:

After:

 

[MexiReefer]

I am sinner , biiig time. No wonder I can just figure why nothing grows.

 

[arking_mark]

Updated...

 

[arking_mark]

So I really want to update the 2nd commandment:

"Triple-check before you believe any observations or make any changes to your tank."

It does cover measurements, but I've been seeing so many issues with reefers believing inaccurate measurements due to hobby grade test kits and then causing more serious issues that send them into a tailspin.

Any suggestions?

Just finding