Old vs New Reefers (1 Viewer)

[sneezebeetle]

When I started out, I had not yet heard of marsh, brs, or any of that stuff. I did not have a social media foot print and avoided things like youtube and fb. So when I got started a friend of mine referred me to a woman who started out as just the lady who came and cleaned my tank and canister, she eventually became my mentor and teacher. She spent about a year walking me thru the ups and downs of having a SW tank and was instrumental in encouraging my learning process as I started to look at upgrades and eventually found other hobbyists who themselves introduced me to new things. Im forever grateful for that mentorship and that is why I always try and be helpful, friendly, and patient with new hobbyists because that used to be me

 

[steveb]

When I started out, I had not yet heard of marsh, brs, or any of that stuff. I did not have a social media foot print and avoided things like youtube and fb. So when I got started a friend of mine referred me to a woman who started out as just the lady who came and cleaned my tank and canister, she eventually became my mentor and teacher. She spent about a year walking me thru the ups and downs of having a SW tank and was instrumental in encouraging my learning process as I started to look at upgrades and eventually found other hobbyists who themselves introduced me to new things. Im forever grateful for that mentorship and that is why I always try and be helpful, friendly, and patient with new hobbyists because that used to be me

Exactly. While it can be frustrating to "point" out things that have already been hashed over we should keep in mind that the person asking for help may be overwhelmed, may not know where too look etc. Take a minute out of your life and help them. It will help you be a better person and may help save a precious animal or two.

To not help someone in need to me is unconscionable.

My frustration kicks in when I have provided help either directly or through links and they ignore the advice. That is when I bow out and leave them to their own devices and keep in mind the old adage "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink".

 

[decimal]

I started with reading Julian Sprungs books. Then I found marsh (word of mouth) and found it to be a great resource for questions and quick feedback. This was before FB and all that though. It’s also a great resource for frags and equipment. It allows you to connect to the hobby beyond an LFS and see other tanks and what other hobbyists are doing.

 

[steveb]

I started with reading Julian Sprungs books.

Me too! I also read several other books.

Now I'm going to date myself, the only "online" board (via dial up modem) at that time was Compuserve (or at least that I knew of) but there was a Marine Aquarium community.

I then left the hobby for several years (got married/had kids).

When I re-entered the internet had come of age and my 1st forum was Reef Central (2002)- read all of the advanced aquarist articles. Read Spung books and books E. Borneman and others and then found MARSH 2009.

I still don't use FB that much and struggle every time I try. I couldn't imagine that as my only source of information.

 

[decimal]

The thing is that most of the people that I run into don’t even know about marsh. Everyone goes to FB because everyone is familiar with it but the information here is a lot more precise with waaaay less junk.

 

[Cody]

The thing is that most of the people that I run into don’t even know about marsh. Everyone goes to FB because everyone is familiar with it but the information here is a lot more precise with waaaay less junk.

Millennials have left Facebook in a pretty significant way. Instagram (although owned by the same company) is really their main social format. Instagram is atrocious for someone trying to learn about this hobby. The next generation after millennials are the zoomers and they currently are jamming TikTok, which is also horrible for learning. I wonder where they’ll end up in ten years. After all, millennials made Facebook what it is today but don’t use it nearly as much as they used to.

 

[decimal]

I don’t use FB almost ever. I should just delete it off my phone. Don’t have tictoc and insta is used even less than FB. It’s no surprise though. Somehow FB is a cesspool and wasteland imho.

 

[R-BallJunkie]

I remember getting out of the military and hauling my saltwater tank from San Antonio in 1992 to setup here in Houston. I don't think the internet was invented yet, no one thought about keeping corals. Shop lights were the norm and if you had money, the nice intermatic timers. I've watched the hobby grow over the decades(T-12, T-8, CF's, halides, Icecap Ballasts, VHO's, T-5's, plasma, LED's etc)....remember drooling over getting a aquacontroller II back in the late 90's or early 2000's, cant remember.....this was the time when coral keeping started to take off. I was never good at it early on, LFS wet dream.....

Your original questions.

When it comes to a new random member online, it's harder to get in the mood to help/advise them.

Meh, kind of just sit back and observe nowadays listen to the same few guys espouse their rhetoric on the board...mostly good stuff based on current consensus.

IMO, the board used to have a different dynamic to it. It was definitely more interactive than it is nowadays with TOTM, giveaways, side of town tank tours with many graciously opening their homes to showcase tanks, group events and outings etc. I guess like others have mentioned, maybe the facebook affect.....wasn't invented yet as well as the other online detractors now available.

I think the current moderators/admin are doing a great job....i could not do any better.

Are you as enthusiastic about the hobby as you used to be?

Once a reefer, always a reefer. You can never really leave. I've been blessed to have been in a position to chase my own fish down at 150', collect corals from patches that extend hundreds of feet, same species. All in wonderment as a hobbyist and enthusiast.

 

[BigRick]

I remember getting out of the military and hauling my saltwater tank from San Antonio in 1992 to setup here in Houston. I don't think the internet was invented yet, no one thought about keeping corals. Shop lights were the norm and if you had money, the nice intermatic timers. I've watched the hobby grow over the decades(T-12, T-8, CF's, halides, Icecap Ballasts, VHO's, T-5's, plasma, LED's etc)....remember drooling over getting a aquacontroller II back in the late 90's or early 2000's, cant remember.....this was the time when coral keeping started to take off. I was never good at it early on, LFS wet dream.....

Your original questions.

When it comes to a new random member online, it's harder to get in the mood to help/advise them.

Meh, kind of just sit back and observe nowadays listen to the same few guys espouse their rhetoric on the board...mostly good stuff based on current consensus.

IMO, the board used to have a different dynamic to it. It was definitely more interactive than it is nowadays with TOTM, giveaways, side of town tank tours with many graciously opening their homes to showcase tanks, group events and outings etc. I guess like others have mentioned, maybe the facebook affect.....wasn't invented yet as well as the other online detractors now available.

I think the current moderators/admin are doing a great job....i could not do any better.

Are you as enthusiastic about the hobby as you used to be?

Once a reefer, always a reefer. You can never really leave. I've been blessed to have been in a position to chase my own fish down at 150', collect corals from patches that extend hundreds of feet, same species. All in wonderment as a hobbyist and enthusiast.

+1 on everything you said. +2 on the admin part doing a good job. Being on this board for as long as I have and a non member for a couple years before I've seen it at all too.. vhos, mh's, etc.. And your thesis is 100% spot on with Facebook.
Admin job is much harder then anyone thinks and way more time consuming then the reward.

 

[RevRich]

TLDR( too long didn't read version): I'm New, I like research took me a long time to find MARSH.

As a new reefer here's my $.02. I started my research into the hobby by joining a couple fb groups. I'm an elder millennial and joined fb pretty early on so I've been using it for something stupid like almost 2 decades. As such, I'm very comfortable with the platform and with being in groups there. Unsatisfied with the constant conflict of opinion, I sought out answers via Google. These searches led me to youtube which in turn led to the BRSTV 5 minute guide. The first time I stumbled onto it I watched over half of it but couldn't fathom actually starting a reef tank and just following along. I spent hours watching the entire 5 minute guide probably 3-4 times and also fell into the youtube pit that is marine aquarium youtube much to the chagrin of my wife. By this time I still didn't know about MARSH. I started trying to seek out LFS in my area ( there aren't any) to maybe find some like minded people who enjoyed this hobby as much as I was. I begin searching on fb for clubs or groups of local marine aquarists which landed me on R2R and I kept searching for stuff there until one day a google search happened to come up with a MARSH thread as one of the results. I FINALLY found a place where the threads were relatable and people seemed knowledgeable and it was (somewhat) local. Houston is an hour from Houston. As much as I like forums and message boards the younger generations find it antiquated and not quite the user friendly experience you get on other platforms. I appreciate when more experienced reefers have good advice for me, even if I don't take it. Sometimes I do stuff even though I know better because I've done tons of research but I get excited and make dumb mistakes and it's not necessarily a learning experience but a "hammering home the point of something I already knew" experience. I know that not all beginners are like me and many will jump in way before doing the research but I'll tell you that it was Months of research before I had even heard of MARSH let alone became a member.

 

[Tangs]

When I started stores could care less if it lived or died. Plus they were too busy with their own lives without caring for my tank.

 

[reeftopia]

First off find the biggest bank you can rob. Secondly buy the biggest tank you can afford first and still have enough for sump and proper reactors.
You can worry about filling it at a slower pace as you should fill slowly anyway. Many go out and buy a tank full of fish and corals without the
proper systems to support them. Everything dies and they spent all the money they should have spent on equipment. If you need instant
gratification your in the wrong hobby

 

[soymilk]

you're right, drugs is way cheaper

 

[SCUBAFreaky]

Many go out and buy a tank full of fish and corals without the proper systems to support them. Everything dies and they spent all the money they should have spent on equipment.

Oh my gosh, how many of us understand this first hand?! Guilty as charged!! Whenever I'm mentoring somebody I tell them to "do it right the first time" and not to half ********* it with being cheap on equipment or cutting corners and they'll thank me later for it. I constantly stress that the learning curve is massive for a reef tank and folks want it to be the same as having a dog or a cat.

 

[soymilk]

The problem with buying “right” is that usually is that it’s a slippery slope.

You’ll find yourself up at 3am looking at the differences between bubble king skimmer models.

 

[Cody]

The problem with buying “right” is that usually is that it’s a slippery slope.

You’ll find yourself up at 3am looking at the differences between bubble king skimmer models.

For sure. What makes a light or skimmer “better” than another one? Anyone that knows how to answer those type of questions isn’t googling them and getting ten different opinions on the subject making it even worse.

 

[Cody]

I remember getting out of the military and hauling my saltwater tank from San Antonio in 1992 to setup here in Houston. I don't think the internet was invented yet, no one thought about keeping corals. Shop lights were the norm and if you had money, the nice intermatic timers. I've watched the hobby grow over the decades(T-12, T-8, CF's, halides, Icecap Ballasts, VHO's, T-5's, plasma, LED's etc)....remember drooling over getting a aquacontroller II back in the late 90's or early 2000's, cant remember.....this was the time when coral keeping started to take off. I was never good at it early on, LFS wet dream.....

Your original questions.

When it comes to a new random member online, it's harder to get in the mood to help/advise them.

Meh, kind of just sit back and observe nowadays listen to the same few guys espouse their rhetoric on the board...mostly good stuff based on current consensus.

IMO, the board used to have a different dynamic to it. It was definitely more interactive than it is nowadays with TOTM, giveaways, side of town tank tours with many graciously opening their homes to showcase tanks, group events and outings etc. I guess like others have mentioned, maybe the facebook affect.....wasn't invented yet as well as the other online detractors now available.

I think the current moderators/admin are doing a great job....i could not do any better.

Are you as enthusiastic about the hobby as you used to be?

Once a reefer, always a reefer. You can never really leave. I've been blessed to have been in a position to chase my own fish down at 150', collect corals from patches that extend hundreds of feet, same species. All in wonderment as a hobbyist and enthusiast.

Just to be sure, the “member spotlight” that we do every month took the place of “tank of the month”. Most people aren’t confident showing their entire tank (fear of judgement), plus you run out of people to submit very quickly, which is why I believe TOTM has always been a failed concept. My idea was to change it to a specific topic, which most people can actually engage in, plus allows people to submit more regularly.

Having said that, Tony and Gregg have managed the monthly spotlight giveaway longer than any TOTM has ever lasted on marsh in the six years that I’ve been here. Hats off to them for doing AN AMAZING JOB as far as being regular and keep that giveaway for members going.

 

[Cody]

I remember getting out of the military and hauling my saltwater tank from San Antonio in 1992 to setup here in Houston. I don't think the internet was invented yet, no one thought about keeping corals. Shop lights were the norm and if you had money, the nice intermatic timers. I've watched the hobby grow over the decades(T-12, T-8, CF's, halides, Icecap Ballasts, VHO's, T-5's, plasma, LED's etc)....remember drooling over getting a aquacontroller II back in the late 90's or early 2000's, cant remember.....this was the time when coral keeping started to take off. I was never good at it early on, LFS wet dream.....

Your original questions.

When it comes to a new random member online, it's harder to get in the mood to help/advise them.

Meh, kind of just sit back and observe nowadays listen to the same few guys espouse their rhetoric on the board...mostly good stuff based on current consensus.

IMO, the board used to have a different dynamic to it. It was definitely more interactive than it is nowadays with TOTM, giveaways, side of town tank tours with many graciously opening their homes to showcase tanks, group events and outings etc. I guess like others have mentioned, maybe the facebook affect.....wasn't invented yet as well as the other online detractors now available.

I think the current moderators/admin are doing a great job....i could not do any better.

Are you as enthusiastic about the hobby as you used to be?

Once a reefer, always a reefer. You can never really leave. I've been blessed to have been in a position to chase my own fish down at 150', collect corals from patches that extend hundreds of feet, same species. All in wonderment as a hobbyist and enthusiast.

Also, we did at minimum a tank tour every year the few years leading up to covid, and even did one virtually. That being in addition to us renting a party bus, driving members around town for killer deals and giving thousands of dollars in giveaways. Not to mention annual Christmas parties, Moody Garden backstage tours, etc. I can say that prior to the pandemic hitting, MARSH was arguably doing more for its members than ever before. We are getting back on track now too, which is great!

Are you doing our zoom bingo night in April or frag swap/diy frozen fish food/bbq in may?

 

[R-BallJunkie]

Also, we did at minimum a tank tour every year the few years leading up to covid, and even did one virtually. That being in addition to us renting a party bus, driving members around town for killer deals and giving thousands of dollars in giveaways. Not to mention annual Christmas parties, Moody Garden backstage tours, etc. I can say that prior to the pandemic hitting, MARSH was arguably doing more for its members than ever before. We are getting back on track now too, which is great!

Are you doing our zoom bingo night in April or frag swap/diy frozen fish food/bbq in may?

I made sure to add the comment....u guys are doing a great job, all things considered, especially the last couple of years. Are we BBQ'ing the fish food in May?

 

[Cody]

I made sure to add the comment....u guys are doing a great job, all things considered, especially the last couple of years. Are we BBQ'ing the fish food in May?

I know and I appreciate that. Just wanted to comment on it again considering that someone recently was asking about why we don’t do TOTM anymore while Tony and Gregg are knocking it out of the park.

We are planning on BBQing the DIY and fooding the swap corals!