Top 10 Things Every Reefer Should Know! What would you add?

[Doctorgori]

1) The less chemical fixes the better
2) Electrical safety: cord management;drip loops; grounding plugs, GFCI's et et et...Use UL or equivalent electrical equipment, especially for submerged equipment
3) I've had the best success with initial livestock stocking levels at or around 50% , some species or genera need to be added all at once
4) Make sure your CUC has enough to eat, don't clean the glass if you can help it, stock snails at 1/2 the recommended level THEN buy as needed. Save a patch of algae on the glass for them
5) The air quality around a tank is equally important as the water quality: mind the Aerosol sprays, paints, insecticides, smoke and vapors, CO2, et et et
6) Less hands in the tank the better. Rinse your hands free of oils, lotions, soap et
7) NEVER move a tank with water or heavy rocks/gravel in it
8) You don't have to feed your fish every time they beg, although several small feeding ar better
9) NEVER trust a single pH probe or electronic Temperature probe. Verify out of tolerance pH with a backup test
10) Don't drink the Kool Aid of every "influencer". Anyone can post anything on Youtube, et...A slick vid does not equate to a expert

 

[marco fish]

That’s a great idea! If I had an App, I would have all my stats with me when I am near the reef store.

@Mjfalend I use to have a notebook that I logged all of my testing on, until a fellow reefer recommended Aquarimate, it’s the App that I use now, it costs $10 dollars a year. With this app you can put all your parameters that you test , livestock, maintenance, pictures of livestock and progression, and I am sure it has more things that I still haven’t figured out, lol . Check it out maybe you like it and find it useful.

 

[Lasse]

Number 1 thing every reefer should do is read the Kruger-Dunning study. Once you get there then you start to understand just how little you know and that odds are if you think you know something you are wrong.

Take flow.... drives me crazy. I have no idea what "high flow" is. Why do we bother with tank turnover numbers? If all we need is 50X tank volume in power heads, lets put them all in the sump and let them run there. What good is turbulent flow in an area with no coral? What good is laminar flow in an area with no coral? Does it really matter if flow is unidirectional? Why? Can you prove it?

This holds true for lighting, chemistry, feeding and fish husbandry.

If I may quote Lord Kelvin "When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarely, in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science."

From the study

the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others

Wonderful

IMO there is only two important rules to follow

1) it is living things
2) You are in charge

And remember - you will not develop your knowledge to your highest competent level in a straight line - your knowledge will only develop to the level there you start to be incompetent again - hence you need to start thinking in new ways - again, again, again and again

Sincerely Lasse

 

[boostedbeast]

I think theres alot about reefing that nobody knows anything about. This is a fairly new hobby and new things are figured out everyday.

 

[Reefnman2]

The expense!! This should be number 1 for anyone entering the hobby to consider even if you are thinking of doing a budget build, coral and live stock can add up quickly.

 

[Dburr1014]

Everything takes time. Don't rush anything

Even if things seem to be going south... Don't rush a fix (unless a life is on the line).

 

[mcdrichj]

Dip every coral you get, scrub the base and cut off the plug. Pests, nuisance anemones, clove polyps, and whatever those stringy tube worm things are (forget the name) will make you want to tear your tank down and start all over.

Vermetid Snail... I hate them.... very much!

 

[9975]

The one thing people need to know that I havent seen on here that drives me crazy....if you ask for help on R2R post pertinent information:

- parameters
- pictures
- what you are seeing
- how the livestock is acting

I'm sure there's more....

 

[Tastee]

I pretty much agree with everyone’s comments. My $0.02:
1. This hobby requires patience.
2. This hobby requires patience.
3. This hobby requires patience.
4. This hobby requires patience.
5. This hobby requires patience.
6. This hobby requires patience.
7. This hobby requires patience.
8. This hobby requires patience.
9. This hobby requires patience.
10. YMMV.

 

[Dragonreef202]

I think this hobby is one that requires patience and testing

 

[wranodj]

First piece of equipment is RO/DI system.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

***Bristle worms sting*** (learned the hard way) :mad:

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Dip every coral you get, scrub the base and cut off the plug. Pests, nuisance anemones, clove polyps, and whatever those stringy tube worm things are (forget the name) will make you want to tear your tank down and start all over.

But... (says in small voice) what if I like the little hitchhikers I find?

 

[WiscoFishNut]

1) Use RODI water only...and be sure to add salt
2) All fish are jumpers...except that one that you wish you'd never bought... he'll be in there staring at you everytime you walk by the tank for the rest of your life.
3) Vacations are the number one cause of tank crashes
4) Cheaping out on equipment leads to house fires
5) LEDs are THE BEST form of reef lighting...or was it MH? ...or maybe T5...?
6) Anything desirable in your tank can die due to minor fluctuations in stability...
7) Anything undesirable in your tank (aiptasia, dinos, cyano, flat worms, ich, asterina stars, or pretty much any other pest...) will survive a nuclear holocaust, Darla, the zombie apocalypse, and outlive your great-grandchildren
8) Rev updates his build thread once a year
9) If you're adding 1 last fish to your stocked tank, it will either carry disease, eat things you don't want it to, or die within 48 hours
10) Ask 10 reefers a question, and you'll get 17 opinions.

Lol #2

 

[BornHandy]

1. The advice to "buy the biggest tank you can afford" is a half-truth. Buy the biggest tank you can afford that still leaves you enough money to buy good equipment.
2. Even if you buy good equipment, you are still going to have equipment failures.
3. Don't rush - if you need a little time to buy the things you need, just enjoy your empty tank until you have your gear. Adding equipment "later" can turn into "never", and constantly adding or changing things is the opposite of stability.
4. Your LFS is a great resource, and there is usually someone there who is passionate about the hobby, but are often beginners themselves. Take their advice with a grain of salt.
5. A RODI unit is worth it!
6. A controller is worth it!
7. A hydrometer is worth it!
8. You WILL face problem algae, be ready to do battle!
9. Some of the best viewing is after dark, keep a flashlight handy!
10. "Beginner corals" is a dumb term. Hardy corals is much better. There is no shame in having a tank without Acros. A beautiful tank full of hardy LPS will beat an ugly tank full of struggling corals any day!

Oh, and one more...Have fun!

 

[Cbones1979]

1) Use RODI water only...and be sure to add salt
2) All fish are jumpers...except that one that you wish you'd never bought... he'll be in there staring at you everytime you walk by the tank for the rest of your life.
3) Vacations are the number one cause of tank crashes
4) Cheaping out on equipment leads to house fires
5) LEDs are THE BEST form of reef lighting...or was it MH? ...or maybe T5...?
6) Anything desirable in your tank can die due to minor fluctuations in stability...
7) Anything undesirable in your tank (aiptasia, dinos, cyano, flat worms, ich, asterina stars, or pretty much any other pest...) will survive a nuclear holocaust, Darla, the zombie apocalypse, and outlive your great-grandchildren
8) Rev updates his build thread once a year
9) If you're adding 1 last fish to your stocked tank, it will either carry disease, eat things you don't want it to, or die within 48 hours
10) Ask 10 reefers a question, and you'll get 17 opinions.

How do you deal with vacations?

what’s the most likely cause of house fire?

 

[Webslinger]

Slow and steady win's the race. Nothing good happens fast. but bad things do.

 

[Bapeluso]

this one seems like a no brainers, but I've known a wide variety of people who didnt know from the get go. Evaporated water is fresh water. So to top off a tank you add fresh water not salt water. Love the people that show up at a shop with salinity of 1.030+

 

[The cats wrasse]

1. The advice to "buy the biggest tank you can afford" is a half-truth. Buy the biggest tank you can afford that still leaves you enough money to buy good equipment.
2. Even if you buy good equipment, you are still going to have equipment failures.
3. Don't rush - if you need a little time to buy the things you need, just enjoy your empty tank until you have your gear. Adding equipment "later" can turn into "never", and constantly adding or changing things is the opposite of stability.
4. Your LFS is a great resource, and there is usually someone there who is passionate about the hobby, but are often beginners themselves. Take their advice with a grain of salt.
5. A RODI unit is worth it!
6. A controller is worth it!
7. A hydrometer is worth it!
8. You WILL face problem algae, be ready to do battle!
9. Some of the best viewing is after dark, keep a flashlight handy!
10. "Beginner corals" is a dumb term. Hardy corals is much better. There is no shame in having a tank without Acros. A beautiful tank full of hardy LPS will beat an ugly tank full of struggling corals any day!

Oh, and one more...Have fun!

this MAY be the only thing all 10 would agree on