What’s more important to you in reef keeping?

[Flippers4pups]

Our time in the hobby gives us personal experiences to learn from , good or bad. But without other reef keepers knowledge and experiences, there wouldn’t be anything to compare to.

We all learn and grow in this hobby, alone, together or both.

But what’s more important to you, right now? Of the choices given, what has been the biggest impact to you in this hobby so far? And why?

Cast your votes and share!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Mine has to be all of the above. I’ve learned from so many over the years and have also learned from my own personal experiences.

 

[B-rad]

Ideally there wouldn’t be a “my knowledge, their knowledge” difference because it should be the same. Personal experience is nice, but without knowledge you don’t really have direction in what you’re doing.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Ideally there wouldn’t be a “my knowledge, their knowledge” difference because it should be the same. Personal experience is nice, but without knowledge you don’t really have direction in what you’re doing.

Knowledge, yes can be both, personal and from others.

But one can be knowledgeable about a subject, but have no experience with it.

 

[DSC reef]

All the above. I've learned through trial and error as most do but I think being able to learn from others not only makes you a better reefer but makes the reefing community/family stronger. When I first started reefing years ago I thought everyone was against me, I soon realized they were trying to help and i was the one holding me back.

 

[Flippers4pups]

All the above. I've learned through trial and error as most do but I think being able to learn from others not only makes you a better reefer but makes the reefing community/family stronger. When I first started reefing years ago I thought everyone was against me, I soon realized they were trying to help and i was the one holding me back.

I think all of us have been there at the beginning of this hobby. Sometimes it takes some “personal experiences” to shed that light of “they were just trying to help.”

 

[Mal11224]

I picked all of the above. I did so much research and learned a lot of good things from people and reading books and i still had my difficult moments. I also realized that personal experience is so important as well. Every tank is different and you really have to use the knowledge you gained to make it work for you. Many people find success without water changes but I find success with them. One process is no more effective than the other. Just depends on how the system responds. The experience is so important, but without help from others, where would we be?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I picked all of the above. I did so much research and learned a lot of good things from people and reading books and i still had my difficult moments. I also realized that personal experience is so important as well. Every tank is different and you really have to use the knowledge you gained to make it work for you. Many people find success without water changes but I find success with them. One process is no more effective than the other. Just depends on how the system responds. The experience is so important, but without help from others, where would we be?

It would be like we were the first to attempt to keep saltwater reefs. Trial and error! Lol. totally agree!

 

[DeepBlueSomething]

All of the above for me - without the knowledge of others our personal experience would be much worse; through the experience of others we gain the ability to endure our experiences and then learn and share in a hopefully positive loop!

 

[Flippers4pups]

All of the above for me - without the knowledge of others our personal experience would be much worse; through the experience of others we gain the ability to endure our experiences and then learn and share in a hopefully positive loop!

Agreed, but when others give advice and it’s sound, when you go to apply it, doesn’t make you feel like your taking a leap of faith? When it works, does it reaffirm that faith? When it doesn’t, for what ever reason, is it chalked up as experience?

 

[ca1ore]

Nobody is so smart or so experienced that they cannot learn something new ...... so of course it's 'all of the above'. I've been keeping reef tanks almost continuously since about 1988 and I learn new stuff all the time. Back in the early days it was though books, magazines and events like MACNA; now it's mostly though places like this or RC (I've grown weary of shows, too many charlatans).

I've been posting on RC for almost 13 years, here quite a bit less. I don't ask for advice all that much, but when I do I find it relatively easy to spot the people who know what they are talking about.