Am I a jerk?

[brandon429]

I think its a good thing to look into, I have a take that explains to me why people show up algae challenged

They have been told to leave it in their tanks, and that its presence means there is a water defect, that it doesn't grow naturally in perfect waters, by all they've ever read.


I read the sage algae books from the 90s, 00s, posts from them in the middle 00's, and every one is this:

add clean up crew

reduce nitrate

reduce phosphate

and "leave it in the tank" until those take hold. <---key fail point

and then 16,000 inversions on how to do only those three things. its either plants, mechanical reactors or reducers, NNR methods, ATS, chems, but they are just doing one or more of those three core tenets above, and they are leaving out the tenet that comes first before those three.

disallow all algae. yes, you can do large water changes and -not- kill bacteria. don't stir up a wasteful sandbed, has nothing to do with the drain. don't have a wasteful sandbed, perhaps 60% of the algae issues wouldn't be there. you can hand remove algae so that your tank isn't wrecked with it, then when prevention reveals itself to you, you work less.

The boundaries were set, the rules were given, newb reefers and even many seasoned ones go off training, how many times do you see a post from a reef tank that hadn't been done before? we are copies of copies


we were told to leave it in by the sages who are not responsible for having to correct and document the fixes live time in the forums from what happens when we simply leave algae in a tank

rant off

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Stupid title, serious question. I see so many pictures posted that make their tanks look like crap. Algae everywhere, sand covered in brown etc etc. I would never let someone look at my tank like that, let alone post a picture. Am I wrong for being that way?I feel snobbish even saying that, but that's just me. Am I alone the one that feels they need to be on their "A" game before showing the tank off?

You're a jerk for not having an avatar!

 

[143MPCo]

You're a jerk for not having an avatar!

I spilled coffee on myself after reading that, lol.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

HAHA!

 

[Oceansize]

I've never said anything to anyone. I am married too, newly actually. Maybe I should learn that skill!

Repeat after me: There are more important things than being right. There are more important things than being right. There are more important things than being right.

Marriage goes a lot smoother this way, LOL!

 

[kschweer]

Repeat after me: There are more important things than being right. There are more important things than being right. There are more important things than being right.

Marriage goes a lot smoother this way, LOL!

I think life in general goes a lot smoother that way too!

 

[Oceansize]

I like to see nasty tanks for the same reason my wife & I watch the show Intervention. It helps me appreciate my own life/tank that much more.

If the only pics here were perfect tanks, I'd start to get an inferiority complex.

 

[dbl]

I think life in general goes a lot smoother that way too!

AMEN!!!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I think its a good thing to look into, I have a take that explains to me why people show up algae challenged

They have been told to leave it in their tanks, and that its presence means there is a water defect, that it doesn't grow naturally in perfect waters, by all they've ever read.


I read the sage algae books from the 90s, 00s, posts from them in the middle 00's, and every one is this:

add clean up crew

reduce nitrate

reduce phosphate

and "leave it in the tank" until those take hold. <---key fail point

and then 16,000 inversions on how to do only those three things. its either plants, mechanical reactors or reducers, NNR methods, ATS, chems, but they are just doing one or more of those three core tenets above, and they are leaving out the tenet that comes first before those three.

disallow all algae. yes, you can do large water changes and -not- kill bacteria. don't stir up a wasteful sandbed, has nothing to do with the drain. don't have a wasteful sandbed, perhaps 60% of the algae issues wouldn't be there. you can hand remove algae so that your tank isn't wrecked with it, then when prevention reveals itself to you, you work less.

The boundaries were set, the rules were given, newb reefers and even many seasoned ones go off training, how many times do you see a post from a reef tank that hadn't been done before? we are copies of copies


we were told to leave it in by the sages who are not responsible for having to correct and document the fixes live time in the forums from what happens when we simply leave algae in a tank

rant off

What do you mean by "wasteful" sand bed? One that has a lot of detritus and organic matter built up in it?

 

[brandon429]

yep, clogged up to the point we don't touch it out of fear.

opposite end of spectrum: I drain my whole tank, take out the rocks, rinse 100% of the sand outside the tank and put back, my dsb is 9 yrs old and clean as a whistle

work=forced tank compliance. hands off is only a cruising phase, not meant to be the totality of the care method

I know that's not practical for giant tanks, so lets stop sinking through other creative means. anything other than: sink up, hands off or stir a little but gain on the sink, sink up some more year after year until a manifestation event happens

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

If one is not going with a DSB, how much sand is recommended for a 125 gallon tank?

 

[143MPCo]

...if ya look really close you can see "algae" in his sand bed!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I can't see anything because Youtube is blacklisted by the company firewall

 

[143MPCo]

I can't see anything because Youtube is blacklisted by the company firewall

cell-phone?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

The fifty year old building I work in is an EMF trap. LOL. I couldn't get cell reception in here if my life depended on it!

 

[143MPCo]

i gets the feeling this might turn into a mod stop event...

The fifty year old building I work in is an EMF trap. LOL. I couldn't get cell reception in here if my life depended on it!

I can give you a proxy avoidance url but, you might be looking for a new job afterwards.

 

[dbl]

...I couldn't get cell reception in here if my life depended on it!

Since your life doesn't depend on it, watch it when you get home...it's stunning, algae or no algae!!!

 

[Reefloco760]

This is a hobby not a profession. What you may consider trash is another persons treasure.

 

[Paul B]

You may be a Jerk, but I never met you so I wouldn't know. As for ugly tanks, I love them. I also love nice tanks, I love Supermodels with tanks. I love Supermodels with ice cream. Ugly tanks are in the eye of the beholder. My tank has been ugly lots of times but those were the times I found them most interesting. I get bored now because my tank doesn't have problems but in the days of ich, black ich, white ich, green ich, hair algae, bryopsis, flatworms, round worms ring worms, bristle worms, cyano, velvet, bleaching, pop eye etc. That's when I really enjoyed this. Now I throw food in my tank, the fish eat it, I go to bed and start again. It is very easy to have a clean, beautiful tank. That is a no brainer and if you throw a lot of money at your tank, you can also have wall to wall corals. If that is what you want. I have a tank because it is interesting and to me, fun. I don't have a tank to be TOTM or anything else. If someone has a tank that you feel is ugly, don't look at it. Here is a picture of my tank many years ago. There was so much hair algae in there that trees started to grow. I almost threw in a weed whacker. But those were the days when I had the most fun. If those little annoyances didn't happen they would call this stamp collecting, and we know how exciting that could be. "OMG" my 2 cent stamp from Tunesia turned yellow.

 

[TheEngineer]

This is a funny thread. I've thought that a few times too. I really dislike certain aesthetics, but that's just my sense of style (or lack thereof). I try and be constructive if someone is asking for opinions. If someone's posting a picture of a tank that I don't personally care for I usually just don't post anything.

As for marriage, the only two words you need to know... "Yes, dear." Seems simple, but the way you say those two words makes a world of difference. They are a tool for good, but also a weapon that can be used to bludgeon you until you consider whether or not you can fit in the spot your clownfish likes to hide in.