Great minds DON'T think alike

Also, some not so great minds disagree. During the seven weeks since I
set up my nano tank, I have read or scanned every book written in the
past five - sometimes more - years on the subject of mini reefs that I
could find in the public and university libraries here, as well a few in
the local bookstores. I've also read most of the posts here and the How
To articles over at ReefCentral and elsewhere.

What I have found out:
#1. A clear, concise, informative, manual has not yet been written. (Go
ahead, Marc: Do it.)
#2. There is no *one way* guaranteed to work or even one way you can
depend upon to fail. All successes appear to depend upon on an approach
described by Marc L. as *interactive*.
#3. As in all subjects, the more the author knows, the more the author
recognizes what he/she does not know. It takes limited knowledge to be
convinced one has dibbies (like that, Teeb?) on THE ONLY WAY.
#4. The methods recognized as works of the devil on this newsgroup are
accepted methods by at least one author who is recognized here as a
higher authority: Tullock.

So who is one to believe? Tullock, who seems so respected here, in his
latest book advocates the use of Skilters, at least at entry level. The
use of additional filtering, which I understand from the newsgroup is
just a ticket to hair algae, is considered by him to be a necessity.
Nitrate, a four letter word to many, is not the stuff of nightmares to
him. By the way, his book disappointed me; it seems unnecessarily
padded, something of a pot-boiler and not a good choice for the
beginner. I prefer a 12 year old book by Levine. Also the one for
Dummies is quite helpful. Goldstein is almost useless to me and Mills
worse.

Aside from books, the information I get from local experts differs
markedly from what I've read here, especially about lighting. Four 400
halide lamps is all it takes to maintain a 500+ gallon lush reef garden
that I visit regularly. Some of you are putting far far faaaaarrrr more
than that on far fewer gallons. Whom am I to believe? So far, I'm in
agreement with Marc L that *interactive* is the way to go, that in the
final analysis I must pay more attention to my tank than anyone's words,
but it would mike it all easier to know where to look for dependable
suggestions.

P.s. I saw my first wormy thingy in the sand yesterday morning. You'd
think I saw an orchid from my ooohs and ahhhs.

Ruth Kazez

First off, I think #2 is exactly the reason our #1 will not ever write that
book, lol.
And second, I have to ditto everything James said.. pay attention to what is
going on in your tank, get to know it.. you'll know if there's a problem.
A few weeks ago I freaked over some water tests in my marine tanks. In over
30 years of keeping freshwater tanks I have NEVER ever done any kind of
routine water testing. Never. If something looked *off*, I'd test.. but that
was rare. I had come to the mind that regular testing for marine tanks is
imperative. So I did it.. posted results here.. Marc jumped in telling me I
needed to do some fast water changes over the next couple days... but.. ok
sorry your Highness.. but I ended up not changing a drop.. (you won't find
me.. I am hiding wayyyyy back in a corner of one of the many dungeons, lol)
BUT I had decided, the tank was stable, nothing was showing any kinds of
signs of stress, in fact everything in it had been growing and
multiplying... so... if it ain't broke, this girl don't fix it. I was going
to just break down the 10 gallon, but it's still running... with several
huge bristle worms and copepods scurrying around. The caulerpa I pulled out
of the big tank is taking over it. I might even get brave enough to put
something else in it eventually.
The point to my rambling is, I have always believed in *stability*.. if it's
working and things are thriving.. not just *surviving* but growing as they
should, then the system is working.
There is no all-encompassing definitive *way*.. there are only starting
points.

Teeb

"rtk" wrote in message ...
Also, some not so great minds disagree. During the seven weeks since I
set up my nano tank, I have read or scanned every book written in the
past five - sometimes more - years on the subject of mini reefs that I
could find in the public and university libraries here, as well a few in
the local bookstores. I've also read most of the posts here and the How
To articles over at ReefCentral and elsewhere.

What I have found out:
#1. A clear, concise, informative, manual has not yet been written. (Go
ahead, Marc: Do it.)
#2. There is no *one way* guaranteed to work or even one way you can
depend upon to fail. All successes appear to depend upon on an approach
described by Marc L. as *interactive*.
#3. As in all subjects, the more the author knows, the more the author
recognizes what he/she does not know. It takes limited knowledge to be
convinced one has dibbies (like that, Teeb?) on THE ONLY WAY.
#4. The methods recognized as works of the devil on this newsgroup are
accepted methods by at least one author who is recognized here as a
higher authority: Tullock.

Also, some not so great minds disagree.

#1. A clear, concise, informative, manual has not yet been written. (Go
ahead, Marc: Do it.)

And it never will be.

#2. There is no *one way* guaranteed to work or even one way you can
depend upon to fail. All successes appear to depend upon on an approach
described by Marc L. as *interactive*.

Because there is no two tanks that are alike. Eveyone of us have our own
unique tank with different livestock which means different biological
requirements. No different then why one person dies for cheese burger and
the next rather have a chicken sandwich.

#4. The methods recognized as works of the devil on this newsgroup are
accepted methods by at least one author who is recognized here as a
higher authority: Tullock.

This hobby is a very fast changing hobby. What was written as the "bible" in
the mid 90s is now already outdated because of the new knowledge we have
gained since. There are still so much we have not yet learn about the
corals, so chances are what is considered "the method" today will be
outdated a few years from now. In the early 90s, SPS tanks were imposslbe.
Today many can show you how to have successful SPS tank even if you are a
newbie.

So who is one to believe?

No one person. But instead many different people based on the tank you wish
to keep. This is why learning and knowledge is so critical in this hobby.

Four 400
halide lamps is all it takes to maintain a 500+ gallon lush reef garden
that I visit regularly. Some of you are putting far far faaaaarrrr more
than that on far fewer gallons. Whom am I to believe?

What is within that 500+ tank? Low light mushrooms or light intensive
colorful SPS corals?

So far, I'm in
agreement with Marc L that *interactive* is the way to go, that in the
final analysis I must pay more attention to my tank than anyone's words,
but it would mike it all easier to know where to look for dependable
suggestions.

This is what makes this hobby both hard and interesting. Self-learning and
the ability to apply what is works for you and throw out what arent is a
must in order to be able to determine what is best for their own setup based
on the different teachings all over. Knowledge like this requires time and
that time veries for everyone.

jc

Jimmy Chen wrote:

What is within that 500+ tank? Low light mushrooms or light intensive
colorful SPS corals?

http://www.aquarium.psu.edu/Tour/ReefBTS.htm
It's an Hawaiian biotype that seems pretty inclusive.

Ruth Kazez

http://www.aquarium.psu.edu/Tour/ReefBTS.htm

That tank is most likely maint. by Dr. Joshi or with his assistance(
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/.../aquarium.html ), who
happens to be one of the many better known hobbyist within this hobby. While
the tank may be 530G in volume, tank height and livestock placement are what
determines if the given light intensity is good enough, and not water
volume.

jc