What has changed in the last decade?
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rhymechizel
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I just got back in the hobby in April after taking a decade break too. Here’s my build thread for what I did. So far I’m loving the new tech.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/planet-aquarium-105g-build.496844/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/planet-aquarium-105g-build.496844/
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DesertReefT4r
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I just started a tank again also, took a 5 year break. A lot has changed. Yeah LED is the most common light uses now and MH is nearly forgotten. Many have never even heard of Power Compact fixtures. A total flip from 8-10 years ago when LED was unproven and many reefers skeptical about their ability to grow coral. Pumps and power heads have gone to controllable DC pumps and away from fixed speed AC pumps. ULNS is now old and outdated, never liked it anyways, and you want to have low levels of no3 and po4 detectable in the water to keep corals colorful and healthy. Carbon dosing is not as popular but some still dose liquid carbon or use bio pellets. Refugiums and algae scrubbers are very popularnand effective at controlling nutrients. Skimmer design has improved and new skimmers are well made and thought out which has increased effectiveness.
DanConnor
Valuable Member
I was out for a while and got back in 3 years ago.
One big difference is how many people use ****** facebook groups vs forums like this or local clubs. That is a step backwards, imo.
Oh, and the eco-aqualizer turned out to be bunk
One big difference is how many people use ****** facebook groups vs forums like this or local clubs. That is a step backwards, imo.
Oh, and the eco-aqualizer turned out to be bunk
At the highest level, nothing has really changed. If you are smart, patient and had a nice reef a decade ago, then you can have one now. Bacteria is still bacteria. Chemistry still works the same.
You might see the absence of books and other vetted sources of information - everybody is a pro now and expected to be treated equal on a message board or online. Be careful who you follow and listen to - just like a decade ago, not all opinions and experiences are equal.
You might see an absence of good LFS or local support, depending on where you live and if you ever had any to begin with.
Like anything in life, there are some things cycling back around that were out of style 5 years ago. Lots of people are using T5s with their LED. MH sales are at a decade high. People are dropping DC pumps for the super-reliable AC pumps - this is good and might cause the DC pump manufactures to up their game and make a reliable pump that will last 5-10 years like AC pumps do.
China is in the market now with cheap things. Not everything from China is junk, but a lot is - just do your research.
Perhaps the most important change for me is that lots of more fish and coral are captive bred.
Probably the largest change is the creature comfort for the reefer. You can have a webcam to view your tank, alerts and monitoring of nearly anything that you can think of (with varying degrees of accuracy). You can change the color of your lights from your couch on a iOS app (you should probably not do this, but people do). While none of this is necessary to run a reef, some reefers really love it and it makes them really happy.
You might see the absence of books and other vetted sources of information - everybody is a pro now and expected to be treated equal on a message board or online. Be careful who you follow and listen to - just like a decade ago, not all opinions and experiences are equal.
You might see an absence of good LFS or local support, depending on where you live and if you ever had any to begin with.
Like anything in life, there are some things cycling back around that were out of style 5 years ago. Lots of people are using T5s with their LED. MH sales are at a decade high. People are dropping DC pumps for the super-reliable AC pumps - this is good and might cause the DC pump manufactures to up their game and make a reliable pump that will last 5-10 years like AC pumps do.
China is in the market now with cheap things. Not everything from China is junk, but a lot is - just do your research.
Perhaps the most important change for me is that lots of more fish and coral are captive bred.
Probably the largest change is the creature comfort for the reefer. You can have a webcam to view your tank, alerts and monitoring of nearly anything that you can think of (with varying degrees of accuracy). You can change the color of your lights from your couch on a iOS app (you should probably not do this, but people do). While none of this is necessary to run a reef, some reefers really love it and it makes them really happy.
Bigger then any technology change is the fact there are no more Indo colonies. While many people hold out hope they will return with a ban in place for many months now you aren't going to find large cheap colonies anywhere anymore. 10 years ago Australian corals were rare and and super expensive now they are the bulk of whats out there. That does mean some brighter colours but less overall variety.
@jda While I am fortunate to have a couple competent LFS, your point about selectively choosing who to listen to (online) is critical. I would add to that the need to stay consistent with one "method" at a time. There are so many methods now, and more on the way. The forums CAN BE powerful aids to the hobby, but the context (or method) of each contributor needs to be understood first. Many different methods are demonstrated to work; deploying many methods at the same time is roulette.
