Reef Hobby going down the drain

[S2G]

Who needs that new stuff. My old power head works fine.

Your jacuzzi jets should be interesting lol

 

[X-37B]

Commercialism not a problem with this hobby but our society. People want to be able to buy success while skipping the work, knowledge, practice and time it takes to achieve it.

I have seen people spends thousands on a RC vehicle and run it into something in 10 seconds because they didn't learn to use it first. I have seen people spend thousands on a firearm and say it is bad because they never learned to shoot. I have seen them spend thousands on a pure breed dog and get rid of it because it doesn't act the way they want. It is always the thing at fault and not them.

Things that are worthwhile to do are not easy and take dedication, time and effort. Money cant make that for you. You have to do it yourself.

There is a common hitchhiker sticky post in a Hitchiker forum here. How many bother to look at it before posting another blurry picture of an aiptasia, qtip sponge ot ball anemone?

Well said my friend!

 

[fish farmer]

Commercialism not a problem with this hobby but our society. People want to be able to buy success while skipping the work, knowledge, practice and time it takes to achieve it.

I have seen people spends thousands on a RC vehicle and run it into something in 10 seconds because they didn't learn to use it first. I have seen people spend thousands on a firearm and say it is bad because they never learned to shoot. I have seen them spend thousands on a pure breed dog and get rid of it because it doesn't act the way they want. It is always the thing at fault and not them.

Things that are worthwhile to do are not easy and take dedication, time and effort. Money cant make that for you. You have to do it yourself.

There is a common hitchhiker sticky post in a Hitchiker forum here. How many bother to look at it before posting another blurry picture of an aiptasia, qtip sponge ot ball anemone?

It's much like my other hobby flyfishing. I can tell a newbie to buy the latest Orvis flyrod which is super light, casts with ease and is several hundred dollars or an affordable flyrod which can do the same work.

The novice flyfisher will still hook the trees if they don't practice casting.

 

[Waterislife]

I suppose if a reader takes the first advice they come across as gospel and runs with it they are bound to have trouble. If, however, the reader takes the time to read as many posts, reviews, articles, etc. as they can and then develops an educated conclusion they are likely to see success. Coming here and looking for a bulletproof recipe for success is a foolish expectation and I don’t have a lot of sympathy for those unwilling to put forth some effort to do the homework.

Every reef, and every fish/coral/invert is unique. As has been said several times above each of us will find our livestock reacts in its own way to the thousands of potential variables our reefs offer.

I personally find that those who approach any online community with a closed mind and a bad attitude are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Coming here, regardless of claimed experience in the hobby, with the sole purpose of being a downer and, frankly, a bit of a jerk, serves no purpose whatsoever.

My .02

Rooster

Well said

 

[Waterislife]

If you're willing to pay big dollars for something whose fault is that, just because the next guy has it doesn't mean you have to have it, we live in a world of bright and shiny things, when we are deprived of those bright and shiny things, we're not happy, so we spend the big bucks to get the bright shiny things, when in reality you just paid for a candy coating.

 

[Thales]

A big part of why I try to help is for the sake of the animals. It breaks my heart watching people do stuff that we know doesn’t help.

 

[S2G]

Commercialism not a problem with this hobby but our society. People want to be able to buy success while skipping the work, knowledge, practice and time it takes to achieve it.

I have seen people spends thousands on a RC vehicle and run it into something in 10 seconds because they didn't learn to use it first. I have seen people spend thousands on a firearm and say it is bad because they never learned to shoot. I have seen them spend thousands on a pure breed dog and get rid of it because it doesn't act the way they want. It is always the thing at fault and not them.

Things that are worthwhile to do are not easy and take dedication, time and effort. Money cant make that for you. You have to do it yourself.

There is a common hitchhiker sticky post in a Hitchiker forum here. How many bother to look at it before posting another blurry picture of an aiptasia, qtip sponge ot ball anemone?

This is a quality post.

 

[Scorpius]

It's a free market. You can spend as much or little as you want. I have been a victim of my own misfortune by jumping on the everyone is doing this bandwagon so I should as well.

 

[littlebigreef]

Awful subjective and self serving statement by the OP. While I do believe Facebook is full of bad actors and even worse advice I don’t find that to be the case on r2r.

Facebook is a way to kill time and mess around, when someone comes to r2r it’s because they actually want to be here and get info from other hobbyists. You’ve got chemists, electricians, plumbers and all kinds of people just a posting away that are ready to help. You’ve also got subject specific hobbyists whether it’s zoas, sticks or any thing else.

As for ‘bad takes’ and influencers it’s really up to you’re own perception isn’t it? If you disagree then they’re wrong and you’re right (since that’s the way the internet works). At the end of the day show me your tank and I’ll decide if the advice is good or bad.

The hobby as a whole is not broken- but it has changed tremendously in the last decade or so. I think back to the mid 90’s and what the hobby was and where is it’s now. Do greedy people leave a bad taste in my mouth? Sure, as they should anyone’s. Fact is the barriers to the hobby have never been lower, information (reputable information) has never been more accessible, and the diversity of Corals and animals greater.

@revhtree just because someone waltz’s in and cuts a rank fart doesn’t mean we need to sit around smelling it. R2r is a great community.

 

[X-37B]

Well said my friend!

The gun reference is funny. Was at the 100 yard range in the 90's. I was shooting my 375 from the bench.
Nice cloverleaf groups with a 3x7 leupold dot.
Guy next to me was shooting a 378 weatherby. Started talking to him and he said he was leaving for Africa next week. Just bought the gun and was sighting it in.
His groups looked like a kid was poking his target randomly with a stick.
He asked me what the problem could be. I said let me shoot it. Shot 2 rounds that were touching each other 4" high and 6" to the right. Made an adjustment and dead on at 100 yards.
I watched him shoot again and same random shotgun like groups.
The African animals were safe that day.
He would have been better off using a less caliber gun he could shoot than the 378.
Moral is, knowledge and knowing you equipment, is king over the "quote" best and highest price in any sport or hobby.

 

[Jstn]

I do agree the influencer idiots with their thirst for attention is saturated but that’s every hobby.

 

[Waynerock]

I honestly believe we are in the golden age of reef keeping and gold is expensive!! I only really got into it around 2000 so that’s about as far back as my mileage goes. I know I had a lot more loss back then and my tank doesn’t look anywhere as good as it does now. If we were all smart we would be farming the heck out of some corals right now Because if things continue the way they are now, in 10 years if the oceans get worse and export bands remain in place those torches will be at $10,000 instead of 1000. The scarcity and rarity of these items is what keeps me attracted to them. If everybody was able to afford it and do it I wouldn’t have the passion for it anymore.

 

[raketemensch]

We're in a very weird economy right now where the people who actually have disposable income have a LOT of disposable income. I keep seeing threads posted where someone says, "I'm getting back into the hobby" along with a photo of $5k worth of new gear, still in boxes.

Meanwhile, it's still very possible to get started cheaply. There are some amazing threads here for budget builds, along with things like Donovan's Nitrate Destroyer, that are teaching the real science (aerobic vs anaerobic) alongside $20 home depot projects.

I think there's a lot of room for both right now, and I'm happy for the people who are making good money off the hobby alongside the people who are cranking it out themselves (like me).

I also believe that climate change is driving many people to this hobby, as it feels good to be part of a globally crowdsourced science project to figure out how to best save coral -- depression is rising rapidly throughout humanity as we stare down the barrel of an ever-warming Earth, and this is a good outlet for those people to fight the blues, with purples, greens, reds, yellows, etc.

 

[Flippers4pups]

No way can you compare the 80-90's style of reefing to today's or even the 2k era . I had tanks in all of those
and none can compare to today's information and equipment, it simply did not exist or was too complex for the
AVERAGE FAMILY to have an outstanding tank like we see HERE.
The tons of advice offered is great and is mostly just reminders of the basics that are overlooked or forgotten, but when it comes to expert level information the chaff is quickly separated and at times in no uncertain terms ;Blackeye to keep most of us
on the strait and narrow. All thanks to those that volunteer their time. I think this hobby is evolving greater and faster today than any other time than i have been active, and has enabled everyone the opportunity to keep a salty tank.

I have to agree that back in the beginning of the nineties, keeping SPS like today was NOT HEARD OF! And the internet did not exist! Keeping a reef was trial and error!

Yes there was books to guide you, but they would be considered very primitive by today's standards. A slightly modified "Berlin method" is what I've always ran.

 

[Flippers4pups]

It's much like my other hobby flyfishing. I can tell a newbie to buy the latest Orvis flyrod which is super light, casts with ease and is several hundred dollars or an affordable flyrod which can do the same work.

The novice flyfisher will still hook the trees if they don't practice casting.

Or the back of their head! Lol

Fly fisherman since a kid here.

 

[Flippers4pups]

It's much like my other hobby flyfishing. I can tell a newbie to buy the latest Orvis flyrod which is super light, casts with ease and is several hundred dollars or an affordable flyrod which can do the same work.

The novice flyfisher will still hook the trees if they don't practice casting.

Or the back of someone else's head! Lol

 

[Thaxxx]

I honestly believe we are in the golden age of reef keeping and gold is expensive!! I only really got into it around 2000 so that’s about as far back as my mileage goes. I know I had a lot more loss back then and my tank doesn’t look anywhere as good as it does now. If we were all smart we would be farming the heck out of some corals right now Because if things continue the way they are now, in 10 years if the oceans get worse and export bands remain in place those torches will be at $10,000 instead of 1000. The scarcity and rarity of these items is what keeps me attracted to them. If everybody was able to afford it and do it I wouldn’t have the passion for it anymore.

So your saying if all corals were under say $100. You would quit?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Sounds like someone got a talking-to from the wife....

 

[TheOne]

The reefing hobby is in a bad position. Niche hobby that has gotten even more expensive. Black Friday sales were trash this year. Hobby keeps burning new people with bad info and marketing. Haven’t been on this site for a while and came back recently to trash. Forums are polluted with terrible takes and bad info only to be followed by bias info from homers of products who consider themselves “influencers”. Man, I feel bad for the new people that actually want to join this hobby and are misguided by the internet.

You should spend your time advising the new hobbyist on how to be successful. It's obvious you have been doing this for awhile and have amassed great knowledge to enlighten us all. Maybe you could even contribute your own articles and actually spend the time to turn this hobby back around for the good of mankind. Just a thought.......

Can we please get an ask Snooki Thread? Thanks

 

[Waynerock]

So your saying if all corals were under say $100. You would quit?

no The fact that not everyone has one is what keeps me in it. I have only bought 1 coral that was over 120 And that was just at TSA’s BF sale. In my small local scene we are good about not gouging prices and sharing the wealth. I do like somewhat high prices for fish and coral it makes people try a little harder to keep them alive and not just say oh well and throw it away. Exotic animals like these should not be cheep especially when they are disappearing in the wild.