Mid-gamers?

[krash7172]

I've noticed that the majority of posts here are by dedicated experts or those new to the hobby. I find myself in a place where there is a balance between fish, coral and reef keeper effort (me). I'm not asking for advice for my tank but I think there are many like me lurking on forums like this. We've been through a lot just hoping for a tank to enjoy with family and guests. Basic maintenance is done by owner or 3rd party and essential params are met. We don't dose or have quarantine tanks. There are small amounts of different types of algae, a couple aptasia, and cute little white stars (not desirable ofc) but we keep these things in check with nominal effort without serious effort to eradicate. Maybe a show of hands of how many are at this stage? If you are, what are your plans for sustaining your tank in the future?

 

[James M]

I’m at that stage.
My plans for my tank are just to let it do it’s thing and start growing out coral to frag.

 

[krash7172]

Do you focus on things like eliminating algae or live with it?

 

[James M]

Do you focus on things like eliminating algae or live with it?

I let the tank do it’s thing and just do water changes.

 

[chawalte-qcvux5]

I was in this boat, then got out of the hobby. I've lurked around the forums forever. Finally decided I would start opening my mouth.

Knowledge wise I feel I am a mid level reefer.

Tank wise I'm a noobie at the moment. Haha. Waiting on growth to start in the new setup.

 

[flchamp89]

I'm basic with any tank I build. Also go simple and as natural as I can. Try and follow tried and true ways. I find beauty in the health of the inhabitants. I rarely try and push my luck. Low par heavy filtration low bioload heavy cuc. These principles have always done me well in both salt and fresh regardless of the tank size.

 

[krash7172]

Lurker replied

I was in this boat, then got out of the hobby. I've lurked around the forums forever. Finally decided I would start opening my mouth.

Knowledge wise I feel I am a mid level reefer.

Tank wise I'm a noobie at the moment. Haha. Waiting on growth to start in the new setup.

 

[Hermie]

my problem isnt experience its money lol! I'd have more stuff if I had more to spend. But as far as QT goes, I would recommend it for all levels of reefkeepers. It's kind of like adopting a child, would you just take one off the street and let them sleep in your house and in your bed? No, you'd get them checked out first make sure they were healthy and had their vaccinations, for their own good and for yours.

 

[Hermie]

I'm basic with any tank I build. Also go simple and as natural as I can. Try and follow tried and true ways. I find beauty in the health of the inhabitants. I rarely try and push my luck. Low par heavy filtration low bioload heavy cuc. These principles have always done me well in both salt and fresh regardless of the tank size.

How low of PAR? I have been running in the 30 PAR range for the past 6 months, but only added corals in the past 2, mushroom and candy cane, both are doing very well. Especially the candy cane when fed.

 

[flchamp89]

How low of PAR? I have been running in the 30 PAR range for the past 6 months, but only added corals in the past 2, mushroom and candy cane, both are doing very well. Especially the candy cane when fed.

I run a prime on a 20 on my current tank. I could of bought bigger or better. I think it's all relative to your goal. I never build looking for quick growth of plants or coral. I think there are as many people who run too much par as not enough. Less is sometimes better imo. Often people make the hobby too complicated often make it all about the equipment or magical additives and they become married to their tank. Their expectations are too high and unrealistic and don't stay in the game long term to see the positive results.

 

[ScottR]

IMO, if you are interested in this hobby, learning about all the different aspects of it is a lot easier. But actually putting what you know to the test is something else. I got in this hobby because of diving, surfing, and lurking around tide pools. I love the ocean and it fascinates me. To be able to have a small slice in my home is fun for me.

Make your tank what you want it to be.

 

[chawalte-qcvux5]

I run a prime on a 20 on my current tank. I could of bought bigger or better. I think it's all relative to your goal. I never build looking for quick growth of plants or coral. I think there are as many people who run too much par as not enough. Less is sometimes better imo. Often people make the hobby too complicated often make it all about the equipment or magical additives and they become married to their tank. Their expectations are too high and unrealistic and don't stay in the game long term to see the positive results.

This x100.

I agree totally. I am probably getting 30-50 PAR on the sandbed on my current setup. Exactly where I want it. In past builds I did the "more equipment than brains" route. It was successful but I was married to it. This time around getting back into the hobby I want to set it up and forget it. Let the tank and its inhabitants do there thing and me set back and steer only when needed. So far so good and believe it or not growth has been faster than I remember with previous setups and startup issues have been much less (algae outbreaks, diatoms, etc.).

 

[Hemmdog]

IMO, if you are interested in this hobby, learning about all the different aspects of it is a lot easier. But actually putting what you know to the test is something else. I got in this hobby because of diving, surfing, and lurking around tide pools. I love the ocean and it fascinates me. To be able to have a small slice in my home is fun for me.

Make your tank what you want it to be.

+1 same here

 

[Crustaceon]

I think most people are at this stage but don’t want to admit it for fear of looking like a “noob” in this hobby. This isn’t a competition though and we shouldn’t really care what equipment other people run or how grown out their system is. That’s because we all have personal goals for OUR tanks. Every tank is different not just because of water sources or salt mixes used, it’s because every tank has a different person maintaining it. I’ve seen the cleanest setups with the best gear struggle and jumbled messes with cheap used stuff like mine take off. Do I know my Par levels? Lol, no but I can watch my zoas multiplying and coloring up, so why bother measure and change what’s already working great? It might not be exactly perfect, but the other option is trying to obtain perfection only to catastrophically make things worse. This is what happens too often. We try to get that 8.3 dkh to 8.5 a little too fast and burn corals, when it really wouldn’t have been a beneficial change anyways. We spend way too much on equipment with the goal of growing coral faster to fill our tanks when it would be faster AND cheaper to just buy a colony from a fellow reefer. Rarely do we see or should we see everything done perfectly, because this is a very imperfect hobby.

 

[fish farmer]

I don't consider myself an expert, even though I've been in the hobby since 2000, but with that said dropping out of forums and printed literature for a few years can make you feel like a newbie. I'm gaining with my tank issues on years of passive reefing where softies and algaes thrive. I never expected to even consider trying any easy sps with my old lighting(PC), but with better LED lighting options it has intrigued me.

I have plans for a better sump setup and a temp controller.

 

[Crustaceon]

I don't consider myself an expert, even though I've been in the hobby since 2000, but with that said dropping out of forums and printed literature for a few years can make you feel like a newbie. I'm gaining with my tank issues on years of passive reefing where softies and algaes thrive. I never expected to even consider trying any easy sps with my old lighting(PC), but with better LED lighting options it has intrigued me.

I have plans for a better sump setup and a temp controller.

You could also go with t5ho as a more natural progression in your lighting and passive reefkeeping style. Use a few Ati coral plus and blue plus bulbs and you’ll hit all the spectrums needed. If you need more intensity, add more bulbs. Simple. Leds can be great but I personally don’t consider most of them “plug and play” and cost-wise, they really aren’t any cheaper to own/operate than a cheapy hydroponic 6 or 8 bulb t5ho fixture + bulb replacement considering buying “good” led fixtures and having enough of them to get good coverage can be really expensive. The one area where leds win is actinic “pop”. Also, I didn’t include power consumption because running a 165 watt led fixture at full blast is equivalent to running 165 watts of t5ho power consumption-wise. Par values will be different of course, but in order to save electricity, leds need to be dialed back in intensity. Dang...The funny part is many reefers will claim how much $$$ leds save and then will proceed to buy all new led fixtures every few years.

 

[ReeferReefer]

I have been keeping salt water for about 5 years now but I would consider myself "Mid Game". I have never had good success with SPS so over the years I have shifted into keeping softies. I still make a ton of mistakes and I recently lost all the fish in my 90g to Velvet. I have now decided to impliment a strict QT system for all fish and inverts.

I come here to continue learning and to document my journey. I am tearing down my 90g and building a Nuvo 30L now. Still figuring out what my level of commitment to the hobby can be and how I can maintain it long term.

 

[Crustaceon]

I have been keeping salt water for about 5 years now but I would consider myself "Mid Game". I have never had good success with SPS so over the years I have shifted into keeping softies. I still make a ton of mistakes and I recently lost all the fish in my 90g to Velvet. I have now decided to impliment a strict QT system for all fish and inverts.

I’ve been doing this for 10 years and also find new ways to be humbled. Half of my fish are now in the hospital and the other half are in the sewer thanks to Brooklynella which I believe came in on a zoa frag. Stuff happens and you learn from it. It still hits you hard though and you’ll always remember those traumatic events & will make vastly better decisions as a result. On a side note, I kept sps for a while and went back to softies because I simply like them more. I also don’t think one or another coral are really any more difficult to keep as I spend an equal amount of time and effort trying to keep alk/cal/mg & nitrates within a specific and stable range for my zoas as I did for my acros.