What’s wrong with being a NEW & OLD School reefer?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Saw this on the interwebs and it struck me as kinda odd.

Maybe I’m being sensitive but what’s wrong with being a “new old school reefer?” What’s wrong with being the best reefer you can be by learning from the old school knowledge of the past while using the new school advancements of today? Why does there have to be a divide between the two? Neither is perfect but both ways offer a path to reefing success!

Name one thing from “old school reefing” and one thing from “new school reefing” that you feel is important for us today.

image via duke_of_coral_62

 

[Bpb]

A lot has changed in the hobby, but it is my personal opinion that test quality and powerhead design are the two most important improvements. Otherwise most everything is just more expensive. Not necessarily better. Old school tanks at the pinnacle almost always just look better than new school tanks. They also reached their pinnacle a lot quicker as well

 

[scottedontknow]

Im a big fan of the mix, i enjoy my LEDs over T5 or MH (absolutely nothing wrong at all) and my DC pumps over AC (again just me), i LOVE my APEX because having control when im not home is great and haveing the trident doing most of my testing for me is also a huge plus saves me time as my schedule is crazy and when i get home after making dinner and getting the kids ready for bed and all that adult stuff i enjoy watching my tank and drinking a beer or a glass of wine and not spending that time testing. i will say i do feel that some people take the new school WAYYYYYYY too far and end up over compilcating everything and tinker 24/7/365 just to make their seup look cool. just my 2 cents.

 

[ca1ore]

Just seems silly to me. The best long tenured reefers I know do the things they did years ago that work, reject/replace those things that modern technology has made easier or better and use experience based common sense in adopting new approaches and rejecting those that don’t pass muster. Overly dogmatic positions rarely result in best practices, but to reject approaches simply because they are ‘old’ is just silly.

 

[scottedontknow]

And because of @Bpb i also LOVE my "old school" lifereef skimmers as it just works and i NEVER need to look at it lol

 

[Bpb]

And because of @Bpb i also LOVE my "old school" lifereef skimmers as it just works and i NEVER need to look at it lol

excellent sentiments in both posts. Glad to hear you’re doing well man

 

[Joedubyk]

Because people in the "old school" are stuck in the old way of doing things, don't evolve with the hobby, and think their way is best. You can replace that with any other hobby or thing in life.

 

[Joedubyk]

Just seems silly to me. The best long tenured reefers I know do the things they did years ago that work, reject/replace those things that modern technology has made easier or better and use experience based common sense in adopting new approaches and rejecting those that don’t pass muster. Overly dogmatic positions rarely result in best practices, but to reject approaches simply because they are ‘old’ is just silly.

Well you said it better than I could. What you said can apply to anything as well, not just this hobby, but other hobies and business, etc....

 

[OceanDiver]

A lot has changed in the hobby, but it is my personal opinion that test quality and powerhead design are the two most important improvements. Otherwise most everything is just more expensive. Not necessarily better. Old school tanks at the pinnacle almost always just look better than new school tanks. They also reached their pinnacle a lot quicker as well

Agreed. Plus having access to real reef rock was key.

 

[scottedontknow]

Hate to say it but your outlook is completely closed minded. You need to have an appreciation for how things use to be done it’s only then can new technology/techniques be appreciated and used properly. Saying people are just suck in their old ways it’s a valid point. Some “old school” tank have been around for 10+ years and are in prefect pristine shape. I have to say.... if it’s not broken when why fix it?

 

[Samina]

100% believe that a mix of both is the best of both worlds. The knowledge/wisdom and insight gained from “old school reefers” can be applied with the new schools of thought and result in success. And new technology and methods can make processes much easier when applied correctly. We all have much to learn from each other!

 

[scottedontknow]

I don’t know why it didn’t quote the post that I wanted. Weird.

 

[OceanDiver]

Hate to say it but your outlook is completely closed minded. You need to have an appreciation for how things use to be done it’s only then can new technology/techniques be appreciated and used properly. Saying people are just suck in their old ways it’s a valid point. Some “old school” tank have been around for 10+ years and are in prefect pristine shape. I have to say.... if it’s not broken when why fix it?

100% correct

 

[albano]

I don’t know why it didn’t quote the post that I wanted. Weird.

Are you saying that... Scotte don’t know?

 

[phatduckk]

there has to be some element of societal stuff at play: with lots of stuff pushing towards a simpler, sleeker look (moderns gadgets/phones, even software is "cleaner", appliances w/o handles etc). I can definitely see that influence leading people to want things nice and along an appreciation for "the killer" feature in the devices they buy.

 

[Montiman]

I would describe myself as old school but I would like to push back a bit against some of those in my camp. I really feel there has not been a big improvement in equipment quality over the years but it has gotten more affordable not less affordable. This affordability of high end gear makes reefing much easier.

The two biggest examples of affordability are dosing pumps and ATOs. I remember when buying an ATO was just too expensive for most people but now there are good $99 options. Likewise I remember when dosing pumps were used medical devices or expensive Litermeters now you can buy a good 4 chanel dosing pump for $150

 

[jda]

Everything that is the most important has not changed in 50 years... biology, chemistry... reefers are just reefers and the smart ones are along for the ride. The dumb ones think that they can outsmart nature and can do a better job. There are dumb and smart in both the old and new school.

The best stuff is still made in Germany or USA... most of the trash comes from China. Nothing has changed here. Equipment has nothing to do with old or new school - the application does. Using equipment to "control" is an illusion that new school cannot see, but those with experience will see it as "monitoring" in addition to an old school technique.

I hate this paradigm in our current world where everything is "a little of both." Of course nothing in life is binary, so have the guts to say which one is a more than the other. "Both" always wins the click award. When making an actual choice, most successful people are more old school than new, IMO - so that got my vote.

 

[ThePurple12]

Old school seems a lot more natural to me. New school tanks have way too much blue light and even bare bottoms

 

[LadyMac]

Following for knowledge

 

[X-37B]

Everything that is the most important has not changed in 50 years... biology, chemistry... reefers are just reefers and the smart ones are along for the ride. The dumb ones think that they can outsmart nature and can do a better job. There are dumb and smart in both the old and new school.

The best stuff is still made in Germany or USA... most of the trash comes from China. Nothing has changed here. Equipment has nothing to do with old or new school - the application does. Using equipment to "control" is an illusion that new school cannot see, but those with experience will see it as "monitoring" in addition to an old school technique.

I hate this paradigm in our current world where everything is "a little of both." Of course nothing in life is binary, so have the guts to say which one is a more than the other. "Both" always wins the click award. When making an actual choice, most successful people are more old school than new, IMO - so that got my vote.

Nice! I have a used apex. Not sure when or if im going to use it. Maybe to just keep an eye on ph, temp. I like simple.
Most of my equipment is Tunze. Just set up my carx 3171 this morning. Super simple to implement. No ph controller, keeps it simple, and you know whats happening in your tank.
Old school is where all the knowledge for new school came from.