Tired of false information

[Texasreef]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

 

[winxp_man]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

The reason I’m here. In 2024 if you don’t know that “influencers” don’t know anything at times it’s on you haha. Forums is where it’s at. Heck even Reddit to a degree will pass haha.

 

[rtparty]

How do water changes keep up with tanks using 2-3dkh of alkalinity per day?

 

[goosemans]

What?

 

[JayM]

The bigger problem (aside from downloading TikTok in the first place) is that people go to TikTok for anything other than looking for the next Darwin Award winner.

 

[Reef.]

As soon as they start with “reviews” of something they have just received in the post I stop watching all their content as they can not be trusted.

Why people watch these people beats me, as soon as a well know retailer started down this road I stopped watching their videos too.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

I saw this on Instagram earlier.
This guy peddles a lot of misinformation & shills seachem to the max but why wouldn't he, they are paying him I guess.
He did it with discus originally which really frustrated me, then moved on to rays, loudly advocating prime as all that was needed when when setting up a tiny QT tank for a Ray, no filter, no cycle.
The Ray died of ammonia build up & he took a lot of flak quite rightly.
He's now moved onto salt & uses a bizarre "troll" style of posting which attempts to prove people wrong.
Standard, miracle in a bottle bull that does nothing for the hobby.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Oh I completely agree with your assertion. Not necessarily regarding influencers peddling potions but rather companies making wildly unsupported claims about their products.

However, the few times I’ve seen your stuff pop up in my feed the information you’ve shared has been…lacking in quality to put it kindly.
See to your own house before going after others is all I can say.

 

[gbroadbridge]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

They only keep going because folks watch them.

 

[Kmst80]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

The problem is not the missinformation out there, the problem is that not many are willing to do their own proper research and learn about the subject of interest.
It takes determination and time and patience. All these are easily beat by the next one stop fix it all bottle claim.

 

[Polymate3D]

Social Media is mostly people trying to get attention. Just remember that when on social media platforms.

In these cases, many are trying to make money selling a product, or desperate for a following that aimlessly will believe whatever they say and say there amazing.
The human mind has a strong desire to be liked and admired by others. Some are driven so hard by this, they will lie and deceive.

I agree that many newer reefers will see all the bottles and equipment and either walk out the hobby, or go spend $100's or $1000's before they even have anything alive.

This would be my advice to a new reefer:

Start simple, get some tests, and let the aquarium run. Learn what it needs by what it tells you. My EVO is now a year old with about 10 SPS frags and still not requiring dosing, but I am keeping my eye on it.
I also recently had a Cyano outbreak. I just kept brushing it off and gave it a month to see what happens. Now it is back under control on it's own.

I honestly think sometimes all this kit is trying to replace the ecosystem, when we could just let the ecosystem establish itself and not only save a lot of money, but also have a more stable aquarium as well.

- Paul

 

[Reef.]

The problem is not the missinformation out there, the problem is that not many are willing to do their own proper research and learn about the subject of interest.
It takes determination and time and patience. All these are easily beat by the next one stop fix it all bottle claim.

Agree, sad but true, even on here you get people that obviously have not done the bare minimum of research before buying a fish, coral or piece of equipment, they start a thread asking about something totally unrelated that makes it clear they have literally went to their local lfs and bought something that caught their eye.

I just didn't think there were enough of these people to make it worthwhile for people to make money putting bad information out there.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

Agree, sad but true, even on here you get people that obviously have not done the bare minimum of research before buying a fish, coral or piece of equipment, they start a thread asking about something totally unrelated that makes it clear they have literally went to their local lfs and bought something that caught their eye.

I just didn't think there were enough of these people to make it worthwhile for people to make money putting bad information out there.

Ultimately its the responsibility of someone getting into the hobby to do their own research & ask questions via the proper channels such as here.
Even then, prudence is required.
The big companies want to sell a product & when you couple that with individuals keen to receive attention/adoration from an anonymous crowd via social media yiu have the perfect storm.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Most social media is for marketing products, not providing accurate information. That’s like reading a sales catalog looking for instructions on how to do something. The platform is as important as the info. That’s why I always couple videos with threads on R2R to discuss the topic at hand and offer a place to elaborate and clarify the info. Influencers are simply paid salespersons, and not always a source of experience and knowledge.

 

[KStatefan]

It is not just this industry it is all of them. One of the worst I watch is camping/RV videos installing inverters/solar/generator/battery systems.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Two things reefers can do:

1. Before buying a product, ask what is the evidence behind a claim. Assuming you hear anything back, check that evidence with other users or knowledgeable reefers.

2. Remember that an observation (say, a coral changing color) is just that and no more. Assuming it’s not a lie, it’s an indisputable fact. A follow on explanation of why it happened (say, because I dosed product X) is not indisputable, and may well be wrong.

 

[Dom]

How do water changes keep up with tanks using 2-3dkh of alkalinity per day?

It would depend on what is in the tank.

 

[Reefering1]

It would depend on what is in the tank.

How is the contents of a tank relevant to water changes keeping up with 2-3dkh demand? They can't, in any situation I can think of. Please elaborate

 

[Reefer Matt]

2. Remember that an observation (say, a coral changing color) is just that and no more. Assuming it’s not a lie, it’s an indisputable fact. A follow on explanation of why it happened (say, because I dosed product X) is not indisputable, and may well be wrong.

Agreed. Coral coloration is one of the most varying aspects of reefing, imo. When someone gets a new coral, it should be as represented in any photos at purchase. But there are no guarantees that the coral will stay that color in the new tank. A Reefer may add certain products to try to obtain the original color, only to have it finally happen one day. Then they may claim the product was responsible for the change. In my experience, just giving the coral sufficient time to adapt to its new environment is all that’s needed instead of dosing additives most of the time.

 

[unclejed]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking about. It’s 11:50 as of 2024 & I’m trying to take a stand. What happened to the industry? It’s all about “buy this” and your fish will be “healthy” specifically this video just gives me the chills. This community started to help each other, not to sell a product. IDK…

Sucks to see new reefers seeing this junk. I’m going to get a lot of Flak from this but I’m being honest sorry.. I’ve had 5-90g mixed reefs on nothing but water changes and QT

I suppose my best response to this would be; Caveat emptor...buyer beware.

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