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Poll: Auto this, auto that. Gone too far for me.
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Newb73
Valuable Member
This.
The REAL luxury item is having an expert tank sitter on call 24/7 who checks the system reliably.
Thats either a major point of failure or would be a huge expense.
hockeyhead019
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Interesting thread responses, premise is interesting as well. Unfortunately I'm in that undecided count lol. I think it's whatever you want to get out of the hobby, I think there have always been some "advanced" ways to care for a reef even back in the day. Tech progresses and people love to eat it up. I'm personally a tech junkie, I spend less on corals so I can have more tech things to play with. Maybe that's backwards but whatever lol, what I don't get is anybody who condemns or talks down, both ways, techies hating on old school and old school looking down on tech.
It's good to see that (for the most part) the forums can have a pretty civil discussion about something that is so polarized
It's good to see that (for the most part) the forums can have a pretty civil discussion about something that is so polarized
PeterG
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I started my first reef tank just a couple of months ago and think it’s important as a Newbie to understand the whats & whys involved in this hobby. In my opinion the manual hands-on approach will help me to learn the critical factors in maintaining a reef tank. That said, I am also retired and have plenty of time to devote to these ends and can appreciate the need for automation for those of you with busier lives.
Space for all these automation features is another factor. My 90gal tank sits in the living room and on the other side of the wall behind it is our kitchen. I’m limited to the space inside the stand for all equipment. I've got a controller for my power heads mounted on the side of the stand and my AI Hydras are controlled via computer but everything else is hand operated. I bought an RO/DI setup from BRS and make water in a Brute trash can and wheel it out of the garage and pump it into the LR from my driveway. Top offs are via bucket. Someday, I’d like an APEX controller and all the bells & whistles but for right now I’m having a blast doing it manually.
As someone with a whole lot to learn about this hobby, I think of the correlation with DSLR photography and PSAM modes: PROGRAM lets the camera make the decisions SHUTTER gives you some control as does APERTURE, but MANUAL gives the photographer complete control over the main components in producing a digital image. Then again nothing ever dies in an underexposed or out of focus photo. Hmmm?
Space for all these automation features is another factor. My 90gal tank sits in the living room and on the other side of the wall behind it is our kitchen. I’m limited to the space inside the stand for all equipment. I've got a controller for my power heads mounted on the side of the stand and my AI Hydras are controlled via computer but everything else is hand operated. I bought an RO/DI setup from BRS and make water in a Brute trash can and wheel it out of the garage and pump it into the LR from my driveway. Top offs are via bucket. Someday, I’d like an APEX controller and all the bells & whistles but for right now I’m having a blast doing it manually.
As someone with a whole lot to learn about this hobby, I think of the correlation with DSLR photography and PSAM modes: PROGRAM lets the camera make the decisions SHUTTER gives you some control as does APERTURE, but MANUAL gives the photographer complete control over the main components in producing a digital image. Then again nothing ever dies in an underexposed or out of focus photo. Hmmm?
d2mini
5000 Club Member
Just like how you should never dose anything into your tank without testing for it first, you should never automate anything without specifying exactly what that automation is performing.
I don't have anything automated for the fun of it.
I have a calcium reactor that is continuously dosing alk, calc and minor trace elements based on MY settings, based on MY testing. A doser would be similar.
I have an auto water change setup running based on exactly what I want it to change on a daily basis.
My lighting is automated based on PAR tests and third party spectrum research.
Everything above (plus one or two other minor things) is in place to provide the most stable environment, without relying on human error, laziness, forgetfulness, etc.
Nobody knows me better than me, and I can guarantee you that my tank is healthier because of the automation I have in place.
I don't have anything automated for the fun of it.
I have a calcium reactor that is continuously dosing alk, calc and minor trace elements based on MY settings, based on MY testing. A doser would be similar.
I have an auto water change setup running based on exactly what I want it to change on a daily basis.
My lighting is automated based on PAR tests and third party spectrum research.
Everything above (plus one or two other minor things) is in place to provide the most stable environment, without relying on human error, laziness, forgetfulness, etc.
Nobody knows me better than me, and I can guarantee you that my tank is healthier because of the automation I have in place.
4FordFamily
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I’m not big on lots of automation. Partially due to money and amount of time I spend testing (little to none).
I also keep only easy and some intermediate level coral that are from another hobbyist that grossly neglected them when they left the hobby (battle tested).
I am very unscientific and use the appearance of my fish and coral to determine when I have issues. I solve them with large water changes.
If I kept more difficult coral I’d have to dose and test and automate more. This is why I don’t.
I have also seen reactors/automation gone wrong that grenaded 5k of coral overnight. Sure power can go out and kill a tank of fish and easy coral, as I learned in February. But had my father payed attention that could have been avoided. But that would happen in many highly automated tanks too unless your battery back up or generator took over all of those processes. Which I could add to my tank and should have.
So, I keep circling back to my needs don’t require it. But if my hobby included more difficult and more beautiful corals, I’d have little choice at my proficiency level with coral.
I also treat my fish to avoid disease outbreaks and that aggravation, similarly!
In short, with some things in life, “less is more”.
I also keep only easy and some intermediate level coral that are from another hobbyist that grossly neglected them when they left the hobby (battle tested).
I am very unscientific and use the appearance of my fish and coral to determine when I have issues. I solve them with large water changes.
If I kept more difficult coral I’d have to dose and test and automate more. This is why I don’t.
I have also seen reactors/automation gone wrong that grenaded 5k of coral overnight. Sure power can go out and kill a tank of fish and easy coral, as I learned in February. But had my father payed attention that could have been avoided. But that would happen in many highly automated tanks too unless your battery back up or generator took over all of those processes. Which I could add to my tank and should have.
So, I keep circling back to my needs don’t require it. But if my hobby included more difficult and more beautiful corals, I’d have little choice at my proficiency level with coral.
I also treat my fish to avoid disease outbreaks and that aggravation, similarly!
In short, with some things in life, “less is more”.
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MnFish1
10K Club member
Automation is not a time saver. It is a back up. For those of you who are just wanting to sit back and automate your tanks - read the posts on this site and others of the people who have said - i had a great tank - everything great until x Failed, y failed, z failed, I was on vacation. Say all you want but anyone that relies on technology alone to 'run' a reef tank - unless they have nothing valuable inside it - is IMHO (apologetically) a fool - and I don't mean fool as a derogatory term designed to get me banned from this thread lol - but - lets just say seriously misinformed.
An example - I had a dosing pump - doing 2 part worked great for months. The other day - when i opened the cabinet - where it was - i noticed a little white precipitate. 3 days later there was a huge amount. Of course, I trusted the technology - but unfortunately, the tube dosing the Soda wash had plugged. well.. That was not planned. Note - on the apex, the Ph was fine, everything 'looked' fine. But - the alk in the tank had dropped a point since the last check - etc etc etc. But - it was automated.
An example - I had a dosing pump - doing 2 part worked great for months. The other day - when i opened the cabinet - where it was - i noticed a little white precipitate. 3 days later there was a huge amount. Of course, I trusted the technology - but unfortunately, the tube dosing the Soda wash had plugged. well.. That was not planned. Note - on the apex, the Ph was fine, everything 'looked' fine. But - the alk in the tank had dropped a point since the last check - etc etc etc. But - it was automated.
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I guess it depends on ones interpretation of automation. Automation is just to make certain aspects easier and to help with consistency.
The hobbyist still needs to do his or her due diligence in checking their tank and equipment.
The hobbyist still needs to do his or her due diligence in checking their tank and equipment.
Daniel@R2R
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Great discussion going on here! I personally am an automation guy, but I'd say enjoy your reef however you want. It's a hobby after all.
Radman73
Valuable Member
I cringe to think what my tank would have looked like for a bit before and a good bit after after my second cervical fusion if I had not had a DOS setup to perform automatic water changes. I suppose I could have done water changes a cup at a time myself.....
It's a hobby, not a job. Some people thoroughly enjoy every bit of maintenance they do on the tank. Others get more enjoyment out of just watching the tank. I fall somewhere in-between. I do get some level of enjoyment out of working on the tank, but there are specific tasks that I don't enjoy and will absolutely automate if I can. I also use to have 1.5-2 hour commutes each way to work. That made it impossible to respond to any minor or major emergency in a reasonable amount of time. Or even know of it. Automation helped out there too. What I don't understand is criticizing those who choose to do something different than me. What's the purpose. A want to me could be a need to them. Who am I to judge?
It's a hobby, not a job. Some people thoroughly enjoy every bit of maintenance they do on the tank. Others get more enjoyment out of just watching the tank. I fall somewhere in-between. I do get some level of enjoyment out of working on the tank, but there are specific tasks that I don't enjoy and will absolutely automate if I can. I also use to have 1.5-2 hour commutes each way to work. That made it impossible to respond to any minor or major emergency in a reasonable amount of time. Or even know of it. Automation helped out there too. What I don't understand is criticizing those who choose to do something different than me. What's the purpose. A want to me could be a need to them. Who am I to judge?
