Tips for Thanksgiving Guests and Your Reef Tank?

[ZoWhat]

It's always fun to ANNOUNCE at the Thanksgiving dinner table that the special ingredient in the dressing is from a fish that didn't make it in my tank last week

Makes for a quick dinner and all guests up in out early so I can watch Football in peace.... AND MORE LEFTOVERS FOR ME


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[i cant think]

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it would be a good idea for us to talk about tips for hosting guests in and around our reef tanks! A couple things come to mind quickly for me like visiting children and even just making your tank look really clean for people to enjoy! Let's discuss!

1. What are some tips for hosting people, kids, around your reef tank for Thanksgiving?

2. What are some things you like to do to get your tank ready to be viewed by visitors? Cleaning list, new stock, ect?

So over here we don’t have Thanksgiving unfortunately however when it comes to Christmas/Easter/Halloween/Birthdays I love people asking questions about my tank. Even when people just come over during the week I love having them round. I don’t prep my tank and “Fake” (Im using that as a loose term) the hobby, I show them what the tank is like that day. Wether that’s during an algae bloom or during the best time where it’s at its best. I find it when the tank is more dirty, people see the truth behind this hobby and how it’s not always a perfect reef.
Often when there’s huge family gatherings there’s a new fish or two (This year there will be a minimum of 5 fish) that people get interested in. Because of covid when we usually have our family gathering I had the tank behind me and even then my relatives focused on it and asked about it.
Last year, when we had a zoom meeting every week, the tank was going through the nasty phase and it was brown but my family and friends still admired it. I would say my biggest tip is:
Don’t be ashamed of the tank!! Show people the ugly phases every so often!! Even when the tank is at its worst people will still look at it because activity and life is often what entices them into it!

 

[i cant think]

Run the algae scraper and get the glass really clean, then mentally prepare myself for the fingerprints that are coming.

Weirdly enough I also get a lot of forehead prints, especially from kids.

I have a small binder that I leave on a table near the tank, it has basic details about all the fish/corals. This binder really helps when someone is interested and I cannot remember/keep up with explaining while also managing my part of the hosting. 95% of questions can be answered from the binder (what is it, where is it from, how big will it get, when did you get it, etc.).

Ugh, I need to do a binder with my fish, the amount of questions I get asked that I could finish by just writing it in a binder/book is shocking. I may start pulling out the book with a bunch of scientific and common names for almost every family of fish I can think of.
As soon as corals get put into the picture the phone comes out and I just let them throw questions at me haha… Yeah, screw it - Next time I have a family gathering at my house, a binder is coming out.

 

[Onewolf]

Only 2 rules.

No tapping on the glass and no peeing in the sump.

 

[BigSkyRich]

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it would be a good idea for us to talk about tips for hosting guests in and around our reef tanks! A couple things come to mind quickly for me like visiting children and even just making your tank look really clean for people to enjoy! Let's discuss!

1. What are some tips for hosting people, kids, around your reef tank for Thanksgiving?

2. What are some things you like to do to get your tank ready to be viewed by visitors? Cleaning list, new stock, ect?

I always forget not to tell them how tbe watch is made when they ask what time it is

 

[Discovery]

Ahh - the holidays. Gives new meaning to vodka dosing!

 

[Uncle99]

Please don’t throw a penny in my DT after you make a wish

 

[LPS Bum]

"You see with your eyes, not your hands"...

 

[flashsmith]

Tip #1. Don't invite anybody over for the Holidays. Freeload as much as you can and go to other people's parties. I need that money to support my addiction. Rest assured I will always show up with a top shelf bourbon or scotch as a present though.

Seriously though we have large dogs. Two Great Danes. Not everybody loves dogs so I just don't invite people over unless they are dog friendly. It's too much of a hassle to wrangle them all night. I like my animals more than people most days. We have people over often for whiskey wine and billiard nights just not in large groups.

 

[David Gaskins]

Great tips (lock up the chemicals/keep out of range of small ones).

Don't forget to do the same for any foods, as I had a young niece once get ahold of a can of Omega 1 pellets and dump the entire contents into tank. Brown snow storm! Took lost of vacuuming and ended up with small nutrient spike. Fish and corals loved it, along with subsequent algae growth!

I also put a child proof lock on sump doors to keep hands out.

Sincerely,

David

 

[Blknovass]

My nephew loves to see my tank. He gets so excited about seeing the lobster(peppermint shrimp). He is 5 I love to see his excitement so much fun! Every one else likes it too but not as much as my little nephew.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Ugh, I need to do a binder with my fish, the amount of questions I get asked that I could finish by just writing it in a binder/book is shocking. I may start pulling out the book with a bunch of scientific and common names for almost every family of fish I can think of.
As soon as corals get put into the picture the phone comes out and I just let them throw questions at me haha… Yeah, screw it - Next time I have a family gathering at my house, a binder is coming out.

It really didn't take long to make either, and I learned more myself by doing it.

Live-aquaria actually has really great pages on most fish and some corals, and other online retailers or forums can fill in what is missing easily.

The best part so far has been having dates for when each thing went into the tank.

Now that I am thinking about it again, I might turn it into an online document and then just put up a QR code near the tank. Then I could link progress pics of each coral, now if only my photography equipment/skills were better.

 

[OU812Reefing]

I enjoy showing my tank

 

[Ro Bow]

Anybody have a sauce they like to eat their thanksgiving dinner? (you could have "thanksgiving lunch", but the definition of dinner is the main meal of the day, which the thanksgiving feast would be) Im looking for something good to eat with turkey, I dont like cranberry sauce... I like Nando's mild, hot, and extra hot, but those arent very "thanksgivingy" lol.

 

[Reefvision]

Great tips (lock up the chemicals/keep out of range of small ones).

Don't forget to do the same for any foods, as I had a young niece once get ahold of a can of Omega 1 pellets and dump the entire contents into tank. Brown snow storm! Took lost of vacuuming and ended up with small nutrient spike. Fish and corals loved it, along with subsequent algae growth!

I also put a child proof lock on sump doors to keep hands out.

Sincerely,

David

Same thing happened to me - only I was running errand and when I returned I had lots of floating guppies ( was 55g fresh water) lesson learned !!

 

[Idech]

I always make sure to clean the glass both inside and outside, before I have company over.

I love talking about my tank and my fish but I know other people don’t care much and that they’re only asking me questions to be polite. So I try to refrain myself from going overboard on the subject.

My kids are adults and they don’t have any kids yet so no risk of finding french fries or other goodies in the tank, lol !

 

[Jedi1199]

Anybody have a sauce they like to eat their thanksgiving dinner? (you could have "thanksgiving lunch", but the definition of dinner is the main meal of the day, which the thanksgiving feast would be) Im looking for something good to eat with turkey, I dont like cranberry sauce... I like Nando's mild, hot, and extra hot, but those arent very "thanksgivingy" lol.

I have a fantastic recipe for stuffing that EVERYONE who has ever tried loves.. I do a homemade cranberry sauce. that most like.. never tried anything else besides the caned garbage.

 

[JLau]

Since my dad and me have had tanks for over 20 years it’s not a big deal to most of the family. Kids and new comers are usually awestruck and so I enjoy answering any questions people have. But usually they just want to look at the fish.
My biggest pet peeve is when someone points out the anthias and go “I didn’t know goldfish can survive in salt water.” I have to fight the urge to slap them, because I love my fish but if they ever pass I will get Evan’s anthias or sunburst or something no one, under any colored light think is a goldfish.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Don’t forget to open a Window a bit, near the tank, if you have a house full of guests. CO2 will go up, and the pH can plunge.

 

[Ro Bow]

I have a fantastic recipe for stuffing that EVERYONE who has ever tried loves.. I do a homemade cranberry sauce. that most like.. never tried anything else besides the caned garbage.

oooooh thats cool