Handling conflicting information

[Hans-Werner]

If you have a garden or indoor plants maybe you know that a healthy plant looks good. It may be hard to describe how and why but somehow it looks good. With corals and fish it is similar. If they are healthy they look good. Look at your lifestock. Hopefully it will show you the way. Numbers are not important, important is what your lifestock tells you.
Numbers are good to give you security and Information but not for instruction.

 

[Zionas]

The OCD part of me goes through a multi-layered assessment of info I come across. I check to see if this site, sometimes Reef Central, YouTube, Bob Fenner / WWM, Scott W. Michael, and other authors say the same thing about a piece of livestock or a practice. Then, I assess whether a particular method is realistic for me, and whether a particular species is desirable for the level of maintenance / level of risk I can tolerate.

Generally, this site is my primary source of info, supplemented by WWM and my collection of books. If WWM and this site disagree, R2R takes precedence.

And then I still have the occasional YOLO moment, but generally I’m more risk averse than not.


Ranking my trusted sources of info:

1. R2R

2. WWM and Scott W. Michael and other authors

3. Everything else.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Want to be successful? Remember that you are managing WATER. Then the fish/corals will be happy.

 

[Kris 2020]

Ok so I haven’t read thru all the other responses, because I’m just on my break at work. But I think micromanaging a tank goes about as well as micromanaging employees...it doesn’t work well and no one is happy. As far as starting a build, all of my tanks were set up one way and evolved over time. I mean, try to find the basics that you are happy with tank size wise & sump wise, then play with at as you go. You don’t need to decide right now if you want like, a uv sterilizer or reactors or a dosing system. Let the tank Peripherals and inhabitants grow with your experience...sometimes you don’t know what you want or need until you get started.

 

[Lasse]

Use your own common sense - pick a strategy and follow that until the point you see by yourself that it has to be changed. Write down when you do changes and go back 14 - 21 days later and see if you got the effects you wanted. @Hans-Werner `s advise is very good - the fish and corals know what´s right and wrong. Many problems have multiple solutions - therefore - if you hesitate - @Randy Holmes-Farley third point is often true (flip a coin )

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Zionas]

I have a tendency to fret over lots of stuff and this was what I had to read. Thanks a lot. I’ll try to keep this in mind and let the tank develop naturally.

 

[van7271]

Go for it. We learn best from our mistakes.