Why do EXTREME fixes seem to be the suggested go to on online forums?

terraincognita

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Lol it is clear there is nothing of value i can get from you so i want nothing other than maybe an acceptance that your way is not the only way. FYI i dont need to kill any in my DT...because i take "extreme" measures now to ensure they dont get there in the first place because they are a horrible pest to have...which was my original point you had a problem with.
Lol it is clear there is nothing of value i can get from you so i want nothing other than maybe an acceptance that your way is not the only way. FYI i dont need to kill any in my DT...because i take "extreme" measures now to ensure they dont get there in the first place because they are a horrible pest to have...which was my original point you had a problem with.

to both of you.

I think one point OP is trying to make is, when you see 1 or 2 aiptasia in your tank. The thing to do is not FREAK OUT, and nuke your tank. He's not saying that you're wrong mdb_talon. But that there's more than 1 way to skin the cat.

When he said would you bomb your house, I think he literally meant, you see a cockroach in the bathroom, so you move everyone out the same day and throw an insect bomb in? Maybe you do, but surely the first time you studied on how to handle insects you probably looked at a lot more options than just bombing.

The OP's point mainly is that the proper thing to do is gather information, research, and make an informed decision for yourself on what you think is best. That may take a day or two. And what you decide on, may not be what everyone else wants to do. Maybe it is to bomb your house. But most likely there's other options too, and he wishes newer reefers would take a look and study a bit more at all the info.

If you think it's better to bomb your house, instead of laying cockroach traps around, finding the nest, and exterminating them like that. Then to each their own. There's 1,000,000 ways to skin a cat. But as long as you have studied at least 100,000 of the ways you'll feel better about the decision you're making. I think that's the main point the OP was trying to make.

Ripping a tank down with 2 Aiptasia and rebuilding it and throwing out the rock with aiptasia, boiling your rock, and sand, yeah that will 100% handle the aiptasia.

But like the OP says, 15 years ago, most reefers took painful years to get a mature tank, so the idea of doing something like that was absurd. A lot of reefers now-days are doing skip-cycles and instant bacto boosts. Along with that, the learning curve changed.

Going from starting a reef tank, to adding coral 1 year later, you have a lot of time to study, read and figure out information about reefing.

Now-a-days people are adding corals in weeks. And then trying to ram that same 1 year of info into a few threads on R2R.

There is something to be said that no matter how much you study and read and look at, nothing at all is exchangeable for 15-20 years of experience in a hobby.

To a lot of old salt heads, 1 or 2 aiptasia isn't even an eye blink. But there's so many other horror stories about it. including from some of the old salt heads.

It doesn't help when someone who's been reefing for 15 years posts a photo of one of their tanks overrun with aiptasia without giving the full backstory including their lazy and lackluster husbandry that led to that point.

So instead you end up with people thinking unless they kill it within 15 minutes, they're gonna have the same thing, when in reality it probably took months before major spreading even occurred.

Again, 1,000,000 to skin a cat. You don't have to agree on how to skin it. But I get the OP's point for sure.

I think if people posted threads with a lot more "This is what I did and it worked for me but there's other solutions"

Or "In my experience." Or "When I dealt with this" instead of jsut "This is what you should do" It gives a lot less of a "didactic I know best" attitude. When I don't think anyone on this forum (or at least 90%) are egotistical enough to think they know better than anyone else :).
 
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mdb_talon

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to both of you.

I think one point OP is trying to make is, when you see 1 or 2 aiptasia in your tank. The thing to do is not FREAK OUT, and nuke your tank. He's not saying that you're wrong mdb_talon. But that there's more than 1 way to skin the cat.

When he said would you bomb your house, I think he literally meant, you see a cockroach in the bathroom, so you move everyone out the same day and throw an insect bomb in?

No, the proper thing to do is gather information, research, and make an informed decision for yourself on what you think is best. That may take a day or two. And what you decide on, may not be what everyone else wants to do.

If you think it's better to bomb your house, instead of laying cockroach traps around, finding the nest, and exterminating them like that. Then to each their own. There's 1,000,000 ways to skin a cat. But as long as you have studied at least 100,000 of the ways you'll feel better about the decision you're making. I think that's the main point the OP was trying to make.

Ripping a tank down with 2 Aiptasia and rebuilding it and throwing out the rock with aiptasia, boiling your rock, and sand, yeah that will 100% handle the aiptasia.

But like the OP says, 15 years ago, most reefers took painful years to get a mature tank, so the idea of doing something like that was absurd. A lot of reefers now-days are doing skip-cycles and instant bacto boosts. Along with that, the learning curve changed.

Going from starting a reef tank, to adding coral 1 year later, you have a lot of time to study, read and figure out information about reefing.

Now-a-days people are adding corals in weeks. And then trying to ram that same 1 year of info into a few threads on R2R.

There is something to be said that no matter how much you study and read and look at, nothing at all is exchangeable for 15-20 years of experience in a hobby.

To a lot of old salt heads, 1 or 2 aiptasia isn't even an eye blink. But there's so many other horror stories about it. including from some of the old salt heads.

It doesn't help when someone who's been reefing for 15 years posts a photo of one of their tanks overrun with aiptasia without giving the full backstory including their lazy and lackluster husbandry that led to that point.

So instead you end up with people thinking unless they kill it within 15 minutes, they're gonna have the same thing, when in reality it probably took months before major spreading even occurred.

Again, 1,000,000 to skin a cat. You don't have to agree on how to skin it. But I get the OP's point for

I think if people posted threads with a lot more "This is what I did and it worked for me but there's other solutions"

Or "In my experience." Or "When I dealt with this" instead of jsut "This is what you should do" It gives a lot less of a "didactic I know best" attitude. When I don't think anyone on this forum (or at least 90%) are egotistical enough to think they know better than anyone else :).

I actually agree with everything you said. My point really was that there are many ways to do things and many ways can be reasonable. I would never suggest to tear down a tank and start over because of an aiptasia for example. However i will be quick to suggest removing the rock/frag or even better use a QT to keep them out in the first place.

I guess part of it is i really very rarely see what i consider extreme suggestions. Things like boiling rock you once saw more of, but i cant remember the time i actually saw someone suggest that. Things like removing all animals for ich i really dont know about i can honestly say in 30 years i cant remember last time i had it(with SW). Probably because i am even more extreme when it comes to adding fish. I only buy fish locally and i pay for them and monitor them in their tanks before they even make it into my QT.

I guess some would call me an extreme QTer. I am a big proponent of eliminating the problem before it has a chance to become a problem. Seen so many people leave the hobby over the years after battles with fish disease or coral pests. Dont know if i can even count high enough over people who quit after having beautiful tanks destroyed with AEFW...which actually seems much much less common that just several years ago....maybe due to higher percentage of aquacultured vs chop shop acros.
 

Jedi1199

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Ultimately, the bottom line here is that everyone has their own way of approaching this hobby. There will always be people who look for the quick fix.. and people who advise in that direction. This does not mean they are "wrong". Just a different approach to the hobby. Personally I tend to go away from all of the expensive tech and stick with old school. Am I taking the right approach? Maybe, maybe not, but its the way I want MY tank to go.
 

reefiniteasy

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My question is why do I so often see extreme methods to fix things posted?

You see in the forums what you are looking for. For every “extreme” method you see, I see tons of natural remedies. Many times the advice given is based on the size of the tank in question. For example, in my 16 gallon BioCube I cannot fit some fish that would be a natural remedy to common “problems.” Maybe a chemical is the less extreme path forward.

The other thing I want to say is why should anyone care how anyone else wants to reef. It’s my tank and that’s your tank. I don’t give a dang what anyone else does and they shouldn’t give a dang what I do.

I ask for advice, I weigh my options. I don’t spend my time sitting here questioning or formulating opinions on what others do.
 

terraincognita

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Ultimately, the bottom line here is that everyone has their own way of approaching this hobby. There will always be people who look for the quick fix.. and people who advise in that direction. This does not mean they are "wrong". Just a different approach to the hobby. Personally I tend to go away from all of the expensive tech and stick with old school. Am I taking the right approach? Maybe, maybe not, but its the way I want MY tank to go.
Yeah,

This about sums it up.

As long as we as a community come together in posts and offer the advice we can that’s all that matters.

I do understand the OPs frustration with someone who comes on the forum maybe once every month or couple months with very few posts who recommends random extreme advice due to some trauma they dealt with in their own tanks. LOL. That’s generally where and if I see random extreme advice from.

but again, there’s nothing we can ever do about that, it’s the internet.....

except reinforce the positive advice givers and carry on. :cool: :cool:
 

Brady4000

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To answer this one....yes. it is actually fairly common for people to "bomb" their homes once a twice a year even without seeing pests. I never see pests in my home....probably because it is bombed every spring and late fall.
Been a home owner for some time now.. this is a thing?

I just spray the outside walls for ants, guess I am just using a squirt gun when I should be using a bazooka lol.

I would be more scared of the poison than the bugs.
 

Brady4000

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I agree with the OP, and I am new to this hobby, and joined these forms immediately for help. I got into the hobby 4-5 months ago.

However, all the “extreme” advice the more experienced reefers gave me, set me in the right direction to research and pick my own path. Without the advice I would have been lost in this hobby. At he end of the day I am asking for “advice”, and that’s what I got, best thing about advice is you can take it or leave it. People have a mind of their own.

Also I would like to add, all that “Extreme” advice is extremely valuable. I know so much now because of it. I know how long ich last in a tank without fish. I know how to QT fish with copper the right way. There is a 1000 different ways to skin a cat, but I don’t know what I don’t know. So I am and will be extremely grateful for any advice I get.
 

CanuckReefer

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I'll apologize for the post in advance if it makes you upset.
My question is why do I so often see extreme methods to fix things posted?
For example, someone could post a problem of having dinos, and without initial questions I see people telling them to cut their lights for a week and start dosing with peroxide, this has serious on the aquarium ecosystem...
Or a one fish in a display with ich and someone asks for help, and I see people actually suggesting to remove all the animals, potentially kill them with copper and then leave the tank empty for 86 days... this is incredibly extreme and chances are you'll kill more fish than if you just kept the tank healthy.
OR aiptasia, and people saying that the tank needs to be shut down and they need to be injected with peroxide, instead of suggesting a 100% viable natural method. Aiptasia isn't even a big deal... it can be controlled.. and eliminated.
Or worse... BOILING The rocks, whether they are boiled the right away or by literally boiling them... neither of these are necessary.
ALL of the above can be solved naturally with ease... it just requires patience. Some people get advice to add things and do things to their tank that makes it impossible to get ahead and have a successful tank.
I am shocked by some of the things I see by "experienced members"
Those of you suggesting it, would you remove all the animals from your home and have it bombed on the first sight of a cockroach?
Cause that seems similar to what you tell people to do with some very miniscule issues!

It is only frustrating because sometimes people over complicate this hobby for newcomers, scaring them into thinking they have something horrible that is really very normal.
Don't apologize off the hop.... cause we here are with you. Post of the week.
 

Viking_Reefing

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My guess has something to do with the high turnover in this hobby.
How high of a percentage of posters here has 5, 10, 15 or 20 years experience? Not the majority is my guess.
When you are new the urge to use quick fixes is a lot higher and people are just regurgitating advice they’ve heard from others.

Aptasia, bubble algae, dinos etc etc can all be fixed with a bit of patience and perseverance.
 

LegendaryCG

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Also to back this up, 15 years ago dinos were never a problem, the insane methods people take, cause a resistance in dinos, and if you do not see it as an experienced reefer you are quite frankly blind.
15 years ago people weren‘t typically trying to start reef tanks with dry rock and bare bottoms. That‘s probably at least 50% of the issues you see on this forum. It’s really, really simple. In an enviroment that is devoid of natural competition whatever organism can take hold first will dominate. That happens to usually be very undesirable stuff in a reef tank like GHA and dinos. You’re in for a very long process if you try to start a tank sterile.
 

LegendaryCG

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Been a home owner for some time now.. this is a thing?

I just spray the outside walls for ants, guess I am just using a squirt gun when I should be using a bazooka lol.

I would be more scared of the poison than the bugs.
Depends where you live... I have this thing called winter that prevents foot long centipedes from invading my house.
 

brandon429

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Why there are extreme fixes:

Post a link for one instance where either of these issues was fixed in someone's tank using less intrusive means, not the op's own tank. If the op can show one thread where a disease or invasion was fixed for someone and logged then we'll have something to see.

The extreme moves have all the documented fixes is why. Everyone wants the old school fixes but they don't have any work threads showing the old ways working.
 

ApoIsland

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I wonder what percentage of R2R ‘members’ are less than two years in the hobby?

someone actually posted a poll a few weeks ago asking this question and the results were very surprising to me. More than half the responses were over 15 years in the hobby. 2 years or less was a very very small %.

Maybe the newbs just didn’t want to answer that poll, but seems like the majority here are experienced reefers.
 

Deep

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Totally relate to what the OP is saying about quick fixes. Most of the time the quick fixes are usually chemical fixes from a bottle in which 99% of the time you do not know whats in it except for the manufacturers pitch on the label of the bottle. Which means no one really knows what to expect and how to follow up on issues that might be caused as a result of these snake oils. So when someone says use vibrant for GHA, they have no clue how thats going to impact the rest of the tank or how the results can vary tank to tank depending on whether they have softies or sps.
 

Mr. Mojo Rising

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i do agree there is a culture of dipping and dosing on this forum, not enough emphasis on learning what a cycle is and how a biofilter works.
 

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