What Makes Reefing “Difficult”?
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Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
I will say for anyone reading this besides patience on my part… if your tank is thriving and one coral is dying let it die! Don’t go changing stuff trying to keep everything happy it will make you go Insane lol… I have learned that over the years and I’m being tested right now by my tank haha! I’ve never had such fast and great growth on my acros till now, and one of my older corals “asd rainbow Millie” started peeling on me ugh! It comes and goes and all my Params and nutrients check out! Everything else is doing amazing and growing like crazy with great PE! It’s hard to not touch anything but it’s the best course of action!
Ok? Just got finished getting loaded so I can be in the proper mindset to respond to the questions.
“Laziness, finances, ineptitude and bad luck are a good description of my life lately. What these things do for a reef is beyond my comprehension, atm. I just got loaded.
I try not to complicate things but it turns out that “The simple things you see are all complicated,” just like The Who sang in their song “Substitute.”
That’s a great song, btw. Let’s see if I can find
vlangel
Seahorse whisperer
For me the difficulties came with accepting limitations. In the beginning it was learning that not all animals could go together in one tank. So I added tanks. Then it was learning that I did not have enough focus to give multiple tanks the attention that they needed. So I bought one bigger tank. That present issues of needing more money to fill the tank, more money to maintenance the tank. So that led to more equipment, and again more money, plus dealing with things breaking or the aftermath of things breaking. I also wanted animals or creatures that the skill nessessary either exceeded mine or pushes me past what I want to put into it.
Finally after about 20 years in the hobby, I have learned what my personality/ability limitations are as well as financial, space etc... I have also learned to be content within those limitation. As a result the hobby has ceased to be difficult. Hopefully you all can learn this faster than I did, ha ha!
Finally after about 20 years in the hobby, I have learned what my personality/ability limitations are as well as financial, space etc... I have also learned to be content within those limitation. As a result the hobby has ceased to be difficult. Hopefully you all can learn this faster than I did, ha ha!
Daniel@R2R
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My Tank Thread
I find it's hard to reef...when my new tank and stand are still crated and in the garage because I'm waiting on a contractor to finish a job before I can set up my tank...
EgotisticObeseChihuahua
Active Member
I believe Ignorance would be a core example.
fish farmer
2500 Club Member
This.....90 percent of corals doing well and there's one that just exists or the one you give more space, does well and bails a few polyps. What did I do wrong? And does it really matter and why waste time trying to figure it out.
DanyL
Valuable Member
Honestly? Mostly the investment both in time and money needed to acquire the knowledge and experience in the first few years.
These days it’s far easier, there are forums and lots of stuff is already known.
But when I started Nanos were still a new concept, Calcium reactors were the norm, and lighting was always lacking unless you went with MH. And who knew that trace elements aren’t snake oil like everything else they tried to sell us?
But even with the availability and accessibility of the knowledge today, there is still a certain burden one needs to overcome and experience by himself “to feel” how it should react/work under different conditions, to get to know more methods, and more techniques or new concepts.
Even today I still keep learning, however it’s far easier and less critical than the basics I already know.
After this, there’s also the costs and the lack of space/time for more/bigger tanks.
These days it’s far easier, there are forums and lots of stuff is already known.
But when I started Nanos were still a new concept, Calcium reactors were the norm, and lighting was always lacking unless you went with MH. And who knew that trace elements aren’t snake oil like everything else they tried to sell us?
But even with the availability and accessibility of the knowledge today, there is still a certain burden one needs to overcome and experience by himself “to feel” how it should react/work under different conditions, to get to know more methods, and more techniques or new concepts.
Even today I still keep learning, however it’s far easier and less critical than the basics I already know.
After this, there’s also the costs and the lack of space/time for more/bigger tanks.
mfinn
likes zoanthids
I personally think it's only difficult if you choose to make it difficult.
People like to tinker, sometimes when nothing is wrong, and that's when things get difficult.
just trying to make the answer difficult
Miami Reef
Clam Fanatic
For me, the hard part about reefing is parasites, pests, and predators that can enter the tank, often unnoticed, that causes infections or damage to fish and corals.
Another difficult aspect about reefing is that we are all going to eventually experience something that might crash the tank at any given moment (power outages, fires, leaks, seam breaks, equipment failures, natural disasters). I get backups of equipment that I can, I have a controller, and I have a generator. It’s definitely not foolproof.
If my chiller decides to die in the hot summer or if there’s a really bad hurricane that hits my house are two examples that will cause me to be stressed.
Another difficult aspect about reefing is that we are all going to eventually experience something that might crash the tank at any given moment (power outages, fires, leaks, seam breaks, equipment failures, natural disasters). I get backups of equipment that I can, I have a controller, and I have a generator. It’s definitely not foolproof.
If my chiller decides to die in the hot summer or if there’s a really bad hurricane that hits my house are two examples that will cause me to be stressed.
Roatan Reef
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Patience is #1.
Coming from Freshwater, I may be a jack of all trades and a master of none, but I pretty much got a Freshwater Master degree after 20+ years. Set up many friends and family tanks, and as long as they abide by what I told them, the tanks were massive success stories.
I researched Saltwater for over 5 years, watching many videos, visiting many forums, and thought ok...I can do this...boy was I wrong.
It's hard to understand at first, but you are essentially involved in a never ending biological, Scientific, Oceanographic research experiment...and it takes time and patience.
I almost quit at the 1 year mark..thank God I didn't, because it's awesome now.
Coming from Freshwater, I may be a jack of all trades and a master of none, but I pretty much got a Freshwater Master degree after 20+ years. Set up many friends and family tanks, and as long as they abide by what I told them, the tanks were massive success stories.
I researched Saltwater for over 5 years, watching many videos, visiting many forums, and thought ok...I can do this...boy was I wrong.
It's hard to understand at first, but you are essentially involved in a never ending biological, Scientific, Oceanographic research experiment...and it takes time and patience.
I almost quit at the 1 year mark..thank God I didn't, because it's awesome now.
Ernie Mccracken
Active Member
It's everything. If we're being honest, probably 90% of people fail pretty hard and leave the hobby after 2 years or less.
Reefing requires tons of money, DAILY discipline for years at a time, and a deeper than surface level knowledge of many topics (plumbing, flow, lighting, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, countless biological processes, supplementation, pest control, fish husbandry, nuisance algae, artistic vision, coral warfare, repairing flood damage, and water chemistry that is still largely a mystery to science).
And even then, it can all crash in a day and you have to start over. Probably 20 years ago, someone on RC made a post that I still think about:
"If you think smashing your head into a brick wall while tearing up $100 bills and flooding your basement sounds like fun, this is the hobby for you!"
Reefing requires tons of money, DAILY discipline for years at a time, and a deeper than surface level knowledge of many topics (plumbing, flow, lighting, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, countless biological processes, supplementation, pest control, fish husbandry, nuisance algae, artistic vision, coral warfare, repairing flood damage, and water chemistry that is still largely a mystery to science).
And even then, it can all crash in a day and you have to start over. Probably 20 years ago, someone on RC made a post that I still think about:
"If you think smashing your head into a brick wall while tearing up $100 bills and flooding your basement sounds like fun, this is the hobby for you!"
Paul B
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Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I can't say I find anything in reefing difficult. By now I know what I can't keep and know what I can almost keep so I don't keep those things.
I also don't think it is an expensive hobby (after a number of years when you have everything)
If you keep fish correctly they should live a long time so you don't have to replace them very often. Corals are another story and I do lose corals but I know why so it makes it OK.
I think it is a pretty easy hobby but many people complicate it and need the most technical equipment and test everything. I don't have those issues so it normally goes fine and is just a source of pleasure.
I also don't think it is an expensive hobby (after a number of years when you have everything)
If you keep fish correctly they should live a long time so you don't have to replace them very often. Corals are another story and I do lose corals but I know why so it makes it OK.
I think it is a pretty easy hobby but many people complicate it and need the most technical equipment and test everything. I don't have those issues so it normally goes fine and is just a source of pleasure.
thrillreefer
Active Member
Agree with most of these adding to the difficulty… but also, the many layers of challenge are what also makes it a great hobby that will not bore you after years or decades! There’s always a new way to fail, and a new facet to understand!
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