New? Read the sticky "SETTING UP". We're seeing a lot of cries for help...

Sk8r · 03/12/2015, 04:08 PM

...and that long sticky is a free how-to handbook.

Much better to read it now instead of after a series of moves have really put your setup in difficulty.

Map your choices, pick your tank, setup, you name it---they're all in there.

mmittlesteadt · 03/12/2015, 04:20 PM

I've read through it...many times. And I've had some pretty complex freshwater tanks for over 35 years. I've also run two pet stores and I am no expert on reefs. Over the years of dealing with customers in the fish world, if there is one aspect of the hobby that is paramount, it is PATIENCE! Even more so with saltwater life.

Patience ranks right up there with awareness of the life we "adopt" and care for and the knowledge and understanding to do it properly.

We live in an impatient, instant gratification world yet if one is to keep living creatures safe in the proper evironment where they not only live, but can thrive, it is our duty to gain as much knowledge about each and every creature we keep. I may be a newbie to reefkeeping, but I'm an experienced caretaker of life on this planet.

Everyone, please be patient and take the time to learn. Not just about the equipment you'll use, but the life you are using it for.

I've spent the past year preparing to keep a saltwater reef tank and I haven't even set my empty tank up yet. All I do is read, read, and read some more. And ask a lot of questions...and then read some more. I think the process is more fun than the end result.

gone fishin · 03/12/2015, 05:32 PM

I would much rather respond to a thread that starts I was reading the set up sticky and I don't get blank, instead of Help pick a disaster.

1MP3R1AL · 03/12/2015, 06:43 PM

So will this get stickied? Like a sticky for a sticky?

malawi · 03/12/2015, 07:36 PM

Hahahahaha read, read, read, I know I know...trail and error

Airborne12B · 03/12/2015, 10:39 PM

Don't you tell me how to live my life! Time to go feed my miniatus grouper in my 29 gal cube.

Ktm898 · 03/13/2015, 12:42 AM

i hate how they want help after a disaster. Ive found RESEARCH IS KEY TO SUCCESS.

Kyle461 · 03/13/2015, 12:07 PM

Coming from a newbie, the best thing I did was read as much as I could first and then dive in! Pretty much every scenario that has happened during my cycle was explained in the "setting up" sticky and through the links it provided. And yes, you do have to visit the links provided!! Thank you for providing the new guys with that sticky to help guide us through any possible "disasters", which I haven't had due to having researched it first.

Sk8r · 03/13/2015, 12:42 PM

THank you, guys. A number of people over a number of years have contributed articles to that sticky---and the cumulative experience behind those articles, sequentially speaking, is probably a couple of centuries of reef- and marine tank keeping.

Believe me, if there something new, we're interested, and sometimes we do try it, or research it and decide---nope, that 'un's been done before, or we did that back in the 1970's and it's not going to go good places... We've come from undergravel filters to bioballs to fluidized beds (boy, was THAT a mess!) to live rock and sandbeds versus barebottom...and we've gone from struggling to keep mushrooms and green star polyp alive to cursing them for multiplying.

We learn. We make notes so that other people don't have to invent the wheel. Equipment gets better. Chemistry gets easier to manage.

Just take advantage of what we've got up there, and ask questions where something isn't clear. Us mods are in the newbie forum not because we're beginning our tanks, but because we've been running them a while, and we can answer the questions.

You can help too---if you can answer 'What's this worm?" accurately and advise the person it's a friendly---if you can tell people accurate things and support them when they've had a problem---you'll be contributing too. The good people of RC are located all around the world, and I've had the experience of counseling somebody in a tank crisis and literally handing him off to another helper in another country as the sunlight crossed the ocean, because it was way past my bedtime...

We want people to learn, and contribute, and we want the creatures we keep to be healthy and have long lives. We want our hobby to teach people about the ocean and the way it works. It's a world in a glass box. And we want your glass box world to be as prosperous and healthy as possible.

Paul B · 03/20/2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

We've come from undergravel filters

Oh No, you mean I can't use my Undergravel filter?

Map69 · 03/20/2015, 03:19 PM

I will admit that even after many years of this "hobby", or in my case my therapy, I constantly learn something new. I regularly re-read the stickies just to keep fresh. I believe as I have gotten older, the need for instant gratification has diminished. I do not claim to be an expert, but one thing I do know is that the previous posters were correct: Patience is definitely needed. Very rarely is there a quick or easy way. This site is an amazing resource that I have learned to rely on.

JamesHolt · 03/20/2015, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B

Oh No, you mean I can't use my Undergravel filter?

No offense intended, but I think yours is "grandfathered" in...lol

Paul B · 03/23/2015, 04:56 AM

Oh, OK then

toothybugs · 03/23/2015, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Map69

I believe as I have gotten older, the need for instant gratification has diminished.

In my case, the need to see rapid growth has diminished just as I've gotten out of my first year of having my tank up. It's not the first tank I've run, but it is the first since I "learned ALL the knowledge" (read: got my chem degree) and it has taken a while to accept and realize that my BS was not a fast track to mastering running a tank. As the rush of having things going passes, you actually do start to settle in for the long haul and let patience take over. I might know shortcuts or have better understanding of some things, but knowing how to calculate the molarity of a calcium solution or understand the changes in electron energy levels during a chemical change doesn't do you much good when you are borderline for being an incompetent biologist.

PS - thanks to all the authors on RC who have helped us through the stumbles and falls and subsequent pick-ups to keep us going.

03/12/2015, 04:08 PM	#1
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	New? Read the sticky "SETTING UP". We're seeing a lot of cries for help... ...and that long sticky is a free how-to handbook. Much better to read it now instead of after a series of moves have really put your setup in difficulty. Map your choices, pick your tank, setup, you name it---they're all in there. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/12/2015, 05:32 PM	#3
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	I would much rather respond to a thread that starts I was reading the set up sticky and I don't get blank, instead of Help pick a disaster. __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

03/12/2015, 06:43 PM	#4
1MP3R1AL Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: VA/DC/MD Posts: 299	So will this get stickied? Like a sticky for a sticky? __________________ 24X24X12 Mixed : T5 / 13UP lighting \| Apex \| MP10 \| SCA-301 \| WW/CW/UV Sump Lighting \| DIY dosers 20L AIO SPS frag tank : UV/CW/WW/R/B/L/P LED - GONE

03/12/2015, 10:39 PM	#6
Airborne12B Certified Soul Eater Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 171	Don't you tell me how to live my life! Time to go feed my miniatus grouper in my 29 gal cube. __________________ "Self quotation is the ultimate form of narcissism" -Me Current Tank Info: 79 gal reef, and 150 gal that's not set up ATM.

03/13/2015, 12:07 PM	#8
Kyle461 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 438	Coming from a newbie, the best thing I did was read as much as I could first and then dive in! Pretty much every scenario that has happened during my cycle was explained in the "setting up" sticky and through the links it provided. And yes, you do have to visit the links provided!! Thank you for providing the new guys with that sticky to help guide us through any possible "disasters", which I haven't had due to having researched it first. __________________ Nadie me paga en chicles!! Build Thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2485917 Current Tank Info: 40 gallon breeder (2/17/15); 20L 3-chamber sump; Tunze Nano ATO; Hydor 320gph return and Circulation 850 gph; Coralife Super Skimmer 125 G; Marineland 24"-36" Reef LED

03/12/2015, 04:20 PM	#2
mmittlesteadt Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Rothschild, WI Posts: 1,209	I've read through it...many times. And I've had some pretty complex freshwater tanks for over 35 years. I've also run two pet stores and I am no expert on reefs. Over the years of dealing with customers in the fish world, if there is one aspect of the hobby that is paramount, it is PATIENCE! Even more so with saltwater life. Patience ranks right up there with awareness of the life we "adopt" and care for and the knowledge and understanding to do it properly. We live in an impatient, instant gratification world yet if one is to keep living creatures safe in the proper evironment where they not only live, but can thrive, it is our duty to gain as much knowledge about each and every creature we keep. I may be a newbie to reefkeeping, but I'm an experienced caretaker of life on this planet. Everyone, please be patient and take the time to learn. Not just about the equipment you'll use, but the life you are using it for. I've spent the past year preparing to keep a saltwater reef tank and I haven't even set my empty tank up yet. All I do is read, read, and read some more. And ask a lot of questions...and then read some more. I think the process is more fun than the end result.

03/12/2015, 07:36 PM	#5
malawi Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New Orleans;Louisiana Posts: 354	Hahahahaha read, read, read, I know I know...trail and error

03/13/2015, 12:42 AM	#7
Ktm898 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: louisiana Posts: 52	i hate how they want help after a disaster. Ive found RESEARCH IS KEY TO SUCCESS.

03/13/2015, 12:42 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	THank you, guys. A number of people over a number of years have contributed articles to that sticky---and the cumulative experience behind those articles, sequentially speaking, is probably a couple of centuries of reef- and marine tank keeping. Believe me, if there something new, we're interested, and sometimes we do try it, or research it and decide---nope, that 'un's been done before, or we did that back in the 1970's and it's not going to go good places... We've come from undergravel filters to bioballs to fluidized beds (boy, was THAT a mess!) to live rock and sandbeds versus barebottom...and we've gone from struggling to keep mushrooms and green star polyp alive to cursing them for multiplying. We learn. We make notes so that other people don't have to invent the wheel. Equipment gets better. Chemistry gets easier to manage. Just take advantage of what we've got up there, and ask questions where something isn't clear. Us mods are in the newbie forum not because we're beginning our tanks, but because we've been running them a while, and we can answer the questions. You can help too---if you can answer 'What's this worm?" accurately and advise the person it's a friendly---if you can tell people accurate things and support them when they've had a problem---you'll be contributing too. The good people of RC are located all around the world, and I've had the experience of counseling somebody in a tank crisis and literally handing him off to another helper in another country as the sunlight crossed the ocean, because it was way past my bedtime... We want people to learn, and contribute, and we want the creatures we keep to be healthy and have long lives. We want our hobby to teach people about the ocean and the way it works. It's a world in a glass box. And we want your glass box world to be as prosperous and healthy as possible. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

03/20/2015, 03:19 PM	#11
Map69 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Crofton Md. Posts: 53	I will admit that even after many years of this "hobby", or in my case my therapy, I constantly learn something new. I regularly re-read the stickies just to keep fresh. I believe as I have gotten older, the need for instant gratification has diminished. I do not claim to be an expert, but one thing I do know is that the previous posters were correct: Patience is definitely needed. Very rarely is there a quick or easy way. This site is an amazing resource that I have learned to rely on.

03/23/2015, 04:56 AM	#13
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Oh, OK then __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971