Community Help for New Aquarists: Input Needed!

Don't forget a generator. If the power goes out so does water flow, heating, protein skimmer, etc. I think its a much needed part of this hobby.

 

And that is a valid point. Just like some folks still run a under gravel filter or a skilter. However, what has worked the best for most and is the predominate way of running a reef these days is to use a skimmer. And yes you don't have to, but going off script requires much more kowledge than most new commers have which is who this thread is intended for.

I actually love skimmers and other gear. But I would rather try to run without one.... but to do that would require a bigger system with tighter tolerances on husbadry and a fine balanced eco system. Things most newcomers do not have. But personally I would love to try my hand at an all natural eco sytem that thrives. That would be quite cool.

 

^^^That is a good one, Should have made the list. Actually now that you bring it up, so should have battery operated air pump.

If this thread is for beginners than these definelty should have made the list, because most newbies (including myself when I started) do not know or have not been taught what to do if there was every a power failure.
After all as a newbie, you usually only ask questions as you incounter the problem, and thats the extent of your kowledge until the next problem occurs.

 

I see your argument on the whole refractometer/hydrometer thing however to powermans point, I dont think that was the intent of it being on the list. Im assuming it was more for the importants of knowing your specific gravity, rather then the certain equipment being used. weather or not the hydrometer works, or if there is a such thing as "quality" hydrometer, is a whole seperate issue. I believe a refractometer is essential indeed. However when I first started and ran out of money buying intial equipment, my hyrdrometer did get me by until I got the refractometer, so i guess it counted for somthing.

I believe hydrometer/refractometer should be changed to "knowing your specific gravity" as this is more important than the way in which we test for it. or hydrometer and refractometer should be seperated if the emphasis was intended to be on the equipment.

 

Battery operated air pump made the list.

 

my 2 cents as a newbie:

everyone says "patience" well that may fly once you have experience however as some one going thru this real time it would be beneficial to quantify what exactly patience is exactly. For instance when adding anything that can cause an ammonia spike it would be helpful to know on average how long before ammonia will show up if it is going to show up. Answers like "every tank/cycle is different" is not a good answer. While technically it may be true I think you would be hard pressed to say one time it may take 6 months for ammonia and another one day (there must be quantifiable answers to these type questions. A better answer might be "every cycle is different but on average this is what to expect.

Once you have life experience "patience" has a meaning because you can quantify everything in your mind due to real life experience but to a newbie patience is meaningless as it is not quantifiable. I think speaking in less broad terms and more on quantifiable averages would be of greater assistance to newbies. The above was just an example but can be applied to any response citing "patience".

Just to be clear EVERYONE on this board has been very helpful to me and I appreciate all of the advice!!!

The above was just my thoughts as someone going thru the process as a newbie.

 

I understand what you maybe implying, newbies are not aware to know what there being patient for" But this is exactly it. "you have to be patience in everything as a newbie...(including understanding why your being patient)

IE. Your a newbie, youve been told to wait for your tank to cycle, you have been told not to proceed to step 2 until step 1 is completed. However you are unaware when step 1 is over, or your unsure when your ammonia will spike, or your cycle is over. etc etc. Sense you dont know "you should not proceed to the next step. In the meantime you need to research what exactly information you are lacking.

Instead often times newbies get impatience, particularly becuase exactly what you describe. "they dont know why they are being patient." So they often ignore advice, or decide to rush the process infrustration. So they go out and put a bunch of things in there tank to fast and somthing ends up dying.

What the newbie should have done is reasearched until they found "how long to what" things like getting the proper test kits to test for elements (detrimental or benificial) and researching and studing the whole Nitrogen Cycle" and how it works in reef aquaria would give a Newbie understanding of exactly how far they are along in said process, how much estimated time may be left in that process and when it is ok to proceed to the next step of the process.

Remember karate Kid? Dan L was being taught Karate by washing cars and painting fences. Before he knew what he was doing he was getting really impatient and was ready to quit, once he understood what Mr M was telling him then he was no longer impatient.

The Only diffrence here is theres no Mister Miyagi! lol. A newbie has to learn by studing,resaerching and asking questions.

This is the typical thread and overloads with lack of patience with newbies on forums .

Ok I just put my tap water in yesterday,tomorrow I will be going to get 2 clown fish, a madarin dragonet. and a BTA.

To novists Its like wow!! slow down. The clownfish will still be there next week! Learn what it takes to keep a Mandorin before you make that decision. Learn what i takes to keep a BTA alive. The BTA will be avaliable too 6 months from now. No need to kill them and your wallet all at once..

Patience is having patience for being and understanding patience.

 

I will agree wiht everything you said, however it is very frustrating when a direct question gets side stepped with the "have patience". There is an average answer to everything that's all I am saying.

BTW some things are very difficult to get answers on even with many hours of googling , reading books and sorting through endless hijacked threads.

and Yes I see countless "I put 20 tangs in my 5 gallon why are they dying" So I hear you on that one -- hahaha

 

Heh, not to bust anyones bubble but I have three Instant ocean hydro's, a deep six, and a refractometer.

All three Instant ocean hydro's read exactly the same- they are dead spot on- the deep six that I have reads .10 to high.

There is some truth to what is being said.

Either way- for a newbie SW aquarist, these devices usually will work just fine- an SG that is off by .10 isnt going to kill the tank over night- but in time it will cause problems.

The biggest thing we missed is in water changes and top off water:

DO NOT TOP OFF EVAPORATED WATER WITH SALT WATER - USE ONLY PURE WATER FROM A KNOWN GOOD SOURCE - ONLY!

 

My take on the following:

Protein Skimmer - not required for a light bio load, with decent HOB/Canister filtration
RO/DI Water - not required if a good water source and water conditioner is used.
1-2 lbs Live Rock/Gallon
Sand Bed - only necessary dependent of livestock
Sump w/ 6-10x Tank Turnover/Hour - not a requirement, and slower can be better sometimes
Flow Rate in Tank
Patience - No Impulse Buys, Take it Slow
Research and Ask Questions
Auto Top Off - not required
Water Changes
Kalkwasser/Additive Drip - not required
Strong Lighting (Reef Only)
Hydrometer/Refractometer
Quarantine Tank - not required
Liquid Test Kits/Periodic Testing
Refugium - not required
Clean Up Crew (CUC)
Quality Heater
Grounding Probe - not required
Thermometer
Battery Operated Air Pump (for emergencies)
Validate Aquarium Doesn't Overflow During Power Outage
Good Acclimation Procedures
Appropriate Aquarium Cleaner (Mag-Float, Scraper - differs for Acrylic vs Glass)
Activated Carbon- not required and can cause problems

Look people - this is a NEWBIE list, not an advanced SW aquarist listing- hell if I read this list of crap I would have never gotten into SW at all.