You Decide - should I come back

[ChrisPPolys]

I’m definitely interested. I’m uninterested in the complexity of approaches now adays I believe

As I’m sure you know nobody goes in business to lose money. People will lead you to believe you need the newest light, RODI system, calcium reactor, doser, sump blah blah blah. Do those work? Yes, are they necessary? No.
Those companies and sponsors lead you to believe it is 100% necessary because it’s better business for them to make a buck.

I’m right there with VintageReefer, no fancy equipment. No RODI water doser blah blah blah.
A good ole fashion tank with a nice variety of corals. All fed by city water.
Reef keeping has been around since 1960’s….far before all these fancy gadgets. Successful tanks without RODI water, calcium reactors, doses, Bluetooth compatible lights etc. If you’re interested in it give it a go, you don’t need all this fancy equipment to keep a reef tank. That being said DO IT FOR YOU.

 

[CBonito]

Don’t get me wrong, when I was in the hobby, I never skimped out on husbandry and observation. I was just ‘too’ careful and that stressed me out. Anything wet and new to my tank scared me , due to pest and disease

Sometimes you have to just step away from the tank and let it figure it out itself.
If you obsess over everything you're going to be the problem.

 

[Miami Reef]

Oh wow, so just treated tap water? Also, how long has this been set up

Don’t make the Hasty Generalization logical fallacy.

Just because someone can use tap water successfully doesn’t mean you can. Tap water varies A LOT, and most cities have copper and heavy metals that can kill inverts and corals if not filtered with RO/DI water.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

As I’m sure you know nobody goes in business to lose money. People will lead you to believe you need the newest light, RODI system, calcium reactor, doser, sump blah blah blah. Do those work? Yes, are they necessary? No.
Those companies and sponsors lead you to believe it is 100% necessary because it’s better business for them to make a buck.

I’m right there with VintageReefer, no fancy equipment. No RODI water doser blah blah blah.
A good ole fashion tank with a nice variety of corals. All fed by city water.
Reef keeping has been around since 1960’s….far before all these fancy gadgets. Successful tanks without RODI water, calcium reactors, doses, Bluetooth compatible lights etc. If you’re interested in it give it a go, you don’t need all this fancy equipment to keep a reef tank. That being said DO IT FOR YOU.

Hey ! Thank you for that. Makes sense. Don’t do what I’m not willing to do and what I’m willing to do, do it as best as possible.

Companies now adays really have become a problem I believe

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Sometimes you have to just step away from the tank and let it figure it out itself.
If you obsess over everything you're going to be the problem.

100% this is why my approach this time around has been to let the tank take a more natural course and less of my intervention other than water changes and keeping parameters in range

 

[ChrisPPolys]

Don’t make the Hasty Generalization logical fallacy.

Just because someone can use tap water successfully doesn’t mean you can. Tap water varies A LOT, and most cities have copper and heavy metals that can kill inverts and corals if not filtered with RO/DI water.

In my 12 years of reefing, in three different states tap water has never failed me yet….

 

[flashsmith]

I have a ethical problem with 0 quarantine unless you buy from somewhere that does it. The amount of fish that die and tanks that get wiped in this hobby is astounding. Also you really should run carbon for the fish's health. Also what is a natural approach? Nothing is natural about this hobby.

Let's be honest here.. Even though I love the hobby there's absolutely nothing ethical about it. The majority of fish harvested die long before they even reach the States. Upwards of 80 percent. The whole quarantine argument is absolutely ridiculous. It's been proven time and time again that by the time we buy the fish quarantine makes little to no difference on the outcome of fish survival. I mean you wouldn't take a blood thinner if you didn't need it would you? So why medicate a fish whether it needs it or not and stress it even further. Often times the treatment can kill a fish quicker than not.

 

[BOYERZ]

Minimalist Reefer

I'd like to see R2R start a 'Minimalist Reefer' forum for those of us who want to keep it simple and maybe be a bit 'old school' in the way we do things. I'm a member of the Reef Squad here and in talking with a few other Reef Squad members, I've found they have some very similar feelings. So...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

100% this is why my approach this time around has been to let the tank take a more natural course and less of my intervention other than water changes and keeping parameters in range

Willkommen bei der Berliner Methode.

Happy reefing my friend.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

Let's be honest here.. Even though I love the hobby there's absolutely nothing ethical about it. The majority of fish harvested die long before they even reach the States. Upwards of 80 percent. The whole quarantine argument is absolutely ridiculous. It's been proven time and time again that by the time we buy the fish quarantine makes little to no difference on the outcome of fish survival. I mean you wouldn't take a blood thinner if you didn't need it would you? So why medicate a fish whether it needs it or not and stress it even further. Often times the treatment can kill a fish quicker than not.

This is my belief.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Willkommen bei der Berliner Methode.

Happy reefing my friend.

That large, well known online go to place is owned by private equity Btw. Not that it should matter. But on some level it does

 

[VintageReefer]

Do you use tap water? RO/DI is necessary for any fish tank-, especially with coral

No it’s not. Check out my tank page for proof

 

[VintageReefer]

Not for nothing, but that's like a really nice collection. That rainbow lobo is amazing.

Thank you!

The yellow is just starting to come in. This guy eats a lot also

 

[JAS927]

Do you use tap water? RO/DI is necessary for any fish tank-, especially with coral

I’ve never used RO/DI a day in my life and have kept healthy, happy reef tanks for over 20 years. I use tap water.

 

[VintageReefer]

Oh wow, so just treated tap water? Also, how long has this been set up

This setup has been up 30 months. But the tank rock and sand has been wet about 10 years. It used to be a sps mixed reef and went through stages then a few years of neglect then I rebooted into this and started adding frags 2.5 years ago and growing them out

I have a home filtration system with a carbon media filter that’s larger than a scuba tank hooked up to my incoming home water.

 

[girlsdad_AAA]

I came back after a couple of years of break.. Last April, I decided to create a nano reef (15G) and it's actually doing so well! I don't use a skimmer, I do a 2.5G water change every two weeks, and I don't even change the filter floss. I do have an Apex though.

I HIGHLY suggest hitting up Eric Cohen and buy some Aussie rubble rocks, along with some rubble rocks and live sand from AquaBiomics to seed your rock and sand. My tank is rocking, I'll send you some pics!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I always recommend people coming back into the hobby.

 

[NeedAReef]

Do you medicate if any issues are present ?

I feel that if one fish becomes sick in the display, others are too

If it is a new addition, then I think observing is great

so far i have never needed to medicate. fish have only died in qt or survive my 4-6 week observation, except two carpet surfers from the display... hence the mesh cover on it now.
the lfs i shop also does a qt so far so good

 

[fish farmer]

As the title states, I’m debating whether or not to come back to the hobby.

My previous attempt at saltwater reef tank only lasted 2 years where I broke down the tank due to being a poor teen with lack of organization

I have all I need to begin as a FOWLR - tank, ATO, RODI unit, Hanna checkers

I don’t have live rock, sand, salt or fish

If I start this hobby again my approach would be - NO QUARANTINE. Not for fish or coral. I plan on dosing and performing regular water changes as necessary/indicated by test kit

MINIMAL FILTRATION. No fancy equipment, only filter floss, and regular water changes along with live rock for bio diversity

NATURAL APPROACH. Staying away from any miracle chemicals. Algae? Use CUC, herbivore, or something to outcompete. Pest? Find a natural predator whether it be coral or pestilence

Most importantly PATIENCE. I will try my best to delay any action as the situation permits

So what do you think R2R, is it best I stay out the hobby or should we shoot for another try ?

When you broke down the tank at 2 years was it doing well or failing?

Did you make mistakes that you learned from and won't do again?

Did you start with "easy" corals when in reality should have started with weed corals?

Did you add too many fish?

 

[Mikeltee]

No. Do not come back. Not quarantining is irresponsible and the fish deserve someone that respects them. Get a goldfish or put your tank on marketplace for $50.