Water gardening: How have you learned to understand the water in your tank?

[Peace River]

Water gardening: How have you learned to understand the water in your tank?

To be an effective reef keeper you need to understand water. If we focus on being water gardeners first, then success in reefing will often follow. How have you learned to understand the water in your tank? Was it from someone at a local fish store (LFS) and a local reefer? Was it from reading, watching videos, or on a forum such as R2R? Maybe you have an educational background in the sciences, or you learned through trial and error – whatever it was, please tell us how you have learned about water!

Photo by @LxHowler

 

[Gumbies R Us]

For me I have learned about water from Reef2Reef, and other people in the hobby.

 

[Fishy888]

I’ve learned from R2R, YouTube videos, Google, and of course the school of hard Knox. Even with all those I still have tons to learn but that’s a large percentage of what makes reefing so awesome!

 

[Tanglover1]

Trial and error

Tried different things and learn. Sometime I referred internet too but mainly I hv done experiments.

 

[flyfisher2]

I’ve learned a number of things about water over the years, most by trail and error. I learned not to let the plug on my extension cord go into my brute while It‘s plugged in.
i learned not to tug the hose which is wrapped around the 5 gallon bucket in the next room. (that’s even worse than the extension cord when your spouse sees the after effect)

On a more serious note, water is something I‘m always trying to learn more about. I‘m actually watchong Mike Paletta old interview and he touches on his experoments with potassium and other components.It seems that over the years we have left the compositon of water to the salt mix manufacturers. I guess thats been okay for most but as we try and advance( it is a hobby) we expect more from our project. We start delving into better coloration, polyp extension,etc. and we are forced to realize that the lights and flow won‘t suffice for everything. I’m looking forward to hearing from others and their gain in knowledge on our most precious resource.

 

[KING KONG]

By trial and error and education( I am a science student). Sometimes I hv asked lfs but all the time they can't answer your query as this is their business.

 

[flyfisher2]

By trial and error and education( I am a science student). Sometimes I hv asked lfs but all the time they can't answer your query as this is their business.

That says alot.

 

[KING KONG]

That says alot.

My lfs was selling me fishes with itch, lympho,etc. Then I realize he is just making money

 

[Tanglover1]

By trial and error and education( I am a science student). Sometimes I hv asked lfs but all the time they can't answer your query as this is their business.

Mine sold undulate triggerfish and said it will be peaceful with tangs and then it killed every fish and finally I donated it but now it had came back to me 6th time from 3 yrs. All says it stays peaceful for some months but suddenly started killing fishes

Lfs really makes money from their business

 

[Labridaedicted]

Been helping and learning on forums like this one for over a decade, Have a degree in Marine Biology, and 20 or so years of just figuring it out as I go.

I have a pretty good read on most things these days but when there is a topic I'm not savvy in, one of you fine folks usually have advice for me.

 

[Dburr1014]

I haven't been to a lfs yet that actually knew about water quality. Sad, I know.

My vote: forums, videos, and trial/error.

 

[ClownSchool]

The thing I’m still getting used to is allowing my NO3 to go above the traditional .05-.1 range for my mixed reef.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I think listening to all information but being cognizant of what you know and running new info through your pool of collected knowledge is the best option

 

[His Coral Highness]

I'm going to go against the grain and say the best advice I have gotten has come from LFS. There are so many things online, especially things that will make you panic and think you need to do more than you actually do. I've had way more success following my LFS's advice than trying to implement the 2,000 different over-the-top things people will post online that are TOTALLY NECESSARY to do for your tank if you want it to thrive.

 

[EricR]

R2R and YouTube,,, followed by trial and error,,, then MORE R2R.
That's all I know. Well,,, all I "think" I know...

 

[KrisReef]

Water gardening: How have you learned to understand the water in your tank?

To be an effective reef keeper you need to understand water. If we focus on being water gardeners first, then success in reefing will often follow. How have you learned to understand the water in your tank? Was it from someone at a local fish store (LFS) and a local reefer? Was it from reading, watching videos, or on a forum such as R2R? Maybe you have an educational background in the sciences, or you learned through trial and error – whatever it was, please tell us how you have learned about water!

View attachment 3033727
Photo by @LxHowler

The most direct way; siphon hose mishaps.

I wish I had a home flame ionizer so I could check my water every week and add minerals accordingly.

The other half of the picture is the non-desolved nutrients the water delivers to the corals as the movement removes waste products. Very complex activities in the oceanic chaos on a reef.

What the pro's do

and me.

 

[design.maddie]

I have come across 2! count them 2! "Local" reefers in my time that I would take advice from openly. The rest are just as lost as I am most of the time and try to answer my questions with questions of their own and never a solid answer.

 

[vlangel]

I am going to agree with @ His Coral Highness and say a lfs that I worked at taught me all the foundational info I needed to learn about water quality. My boss was very knowledgeable and he insisted that his employees be up to date and properly informed.

He has since passed on and the nuances of different things to keep, like in my case macroalgae, I learned by trial and error.

 

[biom]

I have voted “from education “, but the truth is “from @Randy Holmes-Farley ”

 

[ReefGeezer]

For the most part, I learned from too much trial and error! I tried a lot of things I read about from various sources that didn't work for me, and bought into some bad advice from vendors in the process. I made all the mistakes. I learned lessons from those mistakes with the help of a group of people I trust here at R2R. I finally took stock of my failures and applied what I had learned from them. I think I understand now, at least to a point that I can operate my system, and have created a methodology that works for me.

Unfortunately, my tank still suffers from some of my mistakes. It's getting better, but it is slow going.