chemical help
- Thread starter pcmc3
- Start date
So does that apply to all of them like him? Wasn't much more than a year ago I was like him. In many ways I still am. So by your standards I would assume I am not a worthy participant in this forum. Would that be a safe assumption?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Messages
- 216
- Reaction score
- 5
And that right there is the attitude that helped my decision to not renew my membership. All the bickering and political BS from the not too distant past. It's still a lot better than it wad though.
- Messages
- 1,481
- Reaction score
- 0
Yes...hehehehehehe
Ask anyone who I have ever meet how much I have personally helped them. But please do not expect to be spoon feed everything. You want to achieve the best saltwater reef tank, take the time to understand the chemistry, understand what species you can and can not keep in a certain tank size, how quickly you can stock or add fish to a system. This hobby is all about patience and understanding and most of all knowledge. Yet everyone wants to be given the answer when in reality you need to understand how to get to the answer as the answer is only a fraction of what you need to know. Sorry that this may have seemed targeted at you but it is not. Day after day I see "members" claim they care about their tank and their inhabitants yet they blatantly go against sound and proven advice.
Edit:
And that is all fine and well but yet here you still are on this forum. You just now don't support the forum but still use all the information and resources that it has to offer.
- Messages
- 216
- Reaction score
- 5
Tfolks youjust part of the reason. I also don't want to subsidize holiday parties and cookouts and whatnot that I will never attended. That's another subject though. You're entitled to your opinion but, honestly, have you every done your research and STILL wanted confirmation of your understanding from folks who you can actually interact with?
I have seen many new reefers jump in head first and make some big mistakes. Some get friendly and solid advice and thereby become better reef keepers and go on to be helpful to others. Others ignore that advice and soon enough get no response when they ask for help again. But what is sad, IMHO is when they get blasted from the get go and end up getting out, or worse, don't bother to ask anymore. Why not nurture and guide instead of tear someone down. Ask yourself how you would reach your son or daughter to play soccer. Do you tell them to go read a book then brow beat them when they get something wrong? If so, I am glad you were not my parent.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LOL. No, I do not coddle. To her my girls tell it I was a "big fat meany head". LOL
Your points are very good points and well taken. My point is only that encouragement and mentoring goes a very long way. Case in point. The thread I just finished reading was about burning corals. Through the discussion two very knowledgeable reefers had opposing opinions. That resulted in reference links being posted after which the OP commented that they had read them and learned from them. I wonder how many hours would have gone by (and how many corals damaged) if the only response had been "read the directions"?
No one did it for the OP but now he/she has a much better understanding.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No, you are not a bad person. On the contrary you are someone trying to learn something that takes years to learn. Patients is the hardest of those things to learn. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask or the ones you ask after you have already done something. Ask first, weigh the answers (some will feel right others won't), do your own research and then give it a try.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
While the example I gave may not have been a perfect one, my point is that learning from others has merit and can spark the interest needed to research further.
In addition, I would put forth that in most of the research I have done, simple google searches have taken me primarily to threads such as this where someone asked a question which sparked a discussion, which prompted conclusions and thereby knowledge was gained. Had the original question not been presented the thread would not exist.
Some gain knowledge by reading endless technical data and studies. Others could read that entire study and not gain anything. But, if I put it in a different form the light may come on.
One of the most rewarding experiences of my life came while teaching a 2nd year apprenticeship class. A young may busted his hump for 6 months and just never got it. He was not stupid but it just never clicked. One day, I phrased it a bit differently and the expression on his face changed from bewilderment to astonishment. I would not trade that moment for anything.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- Messages
- 2,920
- Reaction score
- 0
I think I am going to take some of my own advice!
there is a lot more information on other forums and websites. I think the reason why this forum lacks a larger collection of organized info is to encourage people to ask questions and interact with each other. Also when people say UTSE, well, the search engine isn't the best one available. Often times I use it to try to find a thread I have seen in the past week or so, and it isn't even great for that.
But for the most part, there are a lot of good people on here who are willing to take time and help each other. Right when I joined, I went and bought test strips, and another member mailed me better test kits to use instead. People like Dave Ball (dball711) who go above and beyond to help others is what makes this club invaluable. I'm sure most of us have made some mistakes with our tanks. Instead of acting like I'm perfect I think it's better to share when I messed up and how it could have been avoided. I think that a lot of people on here who act like they are above the rest have made mistakes in the past as well, and would be pretty embarrassed to have them exposed for side by side comparison with things they say to new members or others who are asking for help.
There is no need to brag about an elite status in reef keeping. It shows when you help people and share information that you have learned.
Just to take this a step further.. I don't think many people who are new to the hobby know what they need to dose. If there was a sticky called "dosing" or something that tells people what parameters are needed to keep a healthy reef tank, new members would read it. The other day I was over at my buddies house when I saw him dose alkalinity and strontium&molybdenum. Well I have some stuff that my brother gave to me that he wasn't using, including a small bottle of red sea coral buff and a small bottle of kent strontium & molybdenum. so when I got home I read the instructions, tested my alkalinity, and raised it following the instructions.. and added a few drops of the strontium and molybdenum. I don't know what I need to dose, I was under the impression that by doing water changes regularly with reef crystals I was adding the trace elements needed. Where do I go to read about what I need to test for and dose in my tank? When at the same time I have had others tell me about disasters that they have had from following the directions on a bottle, even tank crashes that they believed to be a result of dosing chemicals.
Heath Lindner floats a small tupperware container witha hole poked in the bottom to slowly release chemicals into his tank. The bottle doesn't say to do that.
Agreed, the post was vague. But the attitude is not necessary.
If I feel stupid about something I will probably just text someone who I have met through here and ask my dumb question, so that I don't have to be insulted. But that doesn't help anyone who has the same question.
Heath Lindner floats a small tupperware container witha hole poked in the bottom to slowly release chemicals into his tank. The bottle doesn't say to do that.
Agreed, the post was vague. But the attitude is not necessary.
If I feel stupid about something I will probably just text someone who I have met through here and ask my dumb question, so that I don't have to be insulted. But that doesn't help anyone who has the same question.
- Messages
- 1,481
- Reaction score
- 0
Thanks for giving away my getto dosing system....lol
Hey Heath do you have a pic of your doser and what are you dosing? For how long and what's your experiences so far? Thank you! Thinking about buying me another doser after I sold mine to Dylan hehehe
Similar threads
