Lay of the Land - Whats the difference between the Reefing sites?!

[Omri]

Lay of the Land - Whats the difference between the Reefing sites?!

Not trying to be controversial here, but I really enjoy reading all the online reefing forums online. I'm just trying to figure out if there are clear differences between some of the sites I am looking through. I'm starting a 140 gallon Reef Tank and would love to do a tank build thread and get some feedback, but wasn't sure if it's better to do it in a local club near me in Jersey so I can meet people and get some good guidance from the more advanced reefers & mentors on these amazing forums. Would love to also swap, trade & buy from people I trust near me.
Are some of these sites more National, is popularity/size a factor.

Here are the sites I find myself on most in no particular order:
*********
ReefCentral
ManhattanReefs
Reefs.com
3Reef
My absolute favorite is Reefkeeping TOTM and any other TOTM's I can find as those are what I aspire to one day do in my tank when I'm my reefkeeping skills get there.

Also, I find that many of the photos/older posts don't open so easily on iPhones. Are there apps you use on a phone that make this easier?

[mcgyvr]

Well.... Reefcentral stopped TOTM a while back..
The problem with old photos here may be related to when photobucket started charging for access to photos.. They started to manually fix many of them but not sure they have done ALL here..

Some forums have more "activity".. Some have giveaways,etc..
Some are newer software with more fancy likes/etc... features..
Some are national,etc..
Not sure if the ******** in your list was another forum or not..If not you missed one that might be one of the biggest/most active forums but we aren't allowed to speak about it here and this forum will automatically remove it.

Reefcentral has a selling/trading but you aren't allowed into it until 50 "meaningful" post and like 90 days of membership here..

[Bpb]

Originally Posted by Omri

Lay of the Land - Whats the difference between the Reefing sites?!



Not trying to be controversial here, but I really enjoy reading all the online reefing forums online. I'm just trying to figure out if there are clear differences between some of the sites I am looking through. I'm starting a 140 gallon Reef Tank and would love to do a tank build thread and get some feedback, but wasn't sure if it's better to do it in a local club near me in Jersey so I can meet people and get some good guidance from the more advanced reefers & mentors on these amazing forums. Would love to also swap, trade & buy from people I trust near me.

Are some of these sites more National, is popularity/size a factor.



Here are the sites I find myself on most in no particular order:

*********

ReefCentral

ManhattanReefs

Reefs.com

3Reef

My absolute favorite is Reefkeeping TOTM and any other TOTM's I can find as those are what I aspire to one day do in my tank when I'm my reefkeeping skills get there.



Also, I find that many of the photos/older posts don't open so easily on iPhones. Are there apps you use on a phone that make this easier?

This one and reef (number)two reef are the two largest ones I believe, not counting some of the overseas ones. Nano reef used to be pretty big as well. To be honest they’re mostly the same. Mixture of good and bad advice by experienced and new hobbyists alike. I’d trust a forum over a fish store but it requires some skill in sifting through the nonsense. Experience and learning from mistakes will count a lot more toward forum advice. I always preferred reef central. It is what guided me in my early days, and it’s a shame traffic has declined so much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Oldreeferman]

I would like to see more interaction also but things are pretty quiet these days I guess no one is boiling palys off live rock anymore or doing anything odd.

[cvrle1]

I really wish RC could go back to activity it once had. I have no idea what happened to it, as I was away for 10 or so years, but it was sad to see such decline when I came back. I still prefer it over the site that shall not be named, as that one is getting overrun with pointless questions of the day and other nonsense used to drum up new content and get views. And this is all done by the owner as well, so it really sucks to see. It has become really annoying truth be told.

[mcgyvr]

As more and more people actually learn to find and digest information themselves forums like this will continue to decrease in traffic/activity if nothing else is done to keep people around..

[cvrle1]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

As more and more people actually learn to find and digest information themselves forums like this will continue to decrease in traffic/activity if nothing else is done to keep people around..

Thats true as well, however I will say that people these day are more and more reliant on someone providing them with answers, instead of spending few minutes to search for them themselves. It is easier to ask and let someone resolve my issue than to actively look for resolution myself 1st.

[hkgar]

I think when I started my go to forum was "saltwaterfish" or something like that. I don't believe it is around anymore.

Is TOTM the same as ROTM?

[Tastee]

Removed

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by hkgar

.

Is TOTM the same as ROTM?

Nope... One is "tank of the month".. one is "reefer of the month"..
Person vs tank..

[Oldreeferman]

Googling info & Youtube with its videos also now answer most questions for the masses at least with everyone i know. Its faster & easier then scouring forums, the World is changing with tech internet isnt what it used to be its more now.