FarmerTy

Picture dump before the weekend!

So this happened....

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef-of-the-month-june-2019-farmerty.615678/#post-6182098

It's good to see someone trying research this!   Sadly disseminating it still has to deal with people unwilling to update their understanding of how reef systems work.  I"ll read a quote by resarcher's saying "the link between coral science and aquaculture is still poorly developed."  then I have individuals who likes to present themselves as people of science tell me the research I post doesn't apply, and they'll acknowledge they haven't had the time to read it, I'm dumbfounded sometimes.   The whole thing with phosphates is a perfect example;  for a couple decades reefers were told to keep phosphate at or below .003 mg/l (ppm) and even though Wiedenmann and D' Angelo published thier research 7 years ago showing how detrimental it was to corals it's still firmly entrenched in many aquarists dogma

If anybody missed the subtle jab, Tim is talking about me as a person that likes to present himself as a person of science (not that my degree in Ocean and Coastal Resources or my 10 years of being an actual scientist plays any part in that maybe being somewhat factual)... If you're going to dig your heels in Tim, at least call me by name sir.

This is also the second time I have seen you utter the same gripe about a person of science and not taking the time to read and refute. I've already told you last year via PM that I don't have the luxury of free time that you do. I have a wife and kid and both our families live in town... So curling up with the newest reef research is not at the top of my priority list as I'm happy just to have time to feed my fish before I go wash bottles or do laundry. It is not out of lack of desire to read is the issue... It is the time constraint so I do the best I can.

Honestly, you're the only reason I don't spend time on ARC anymore. I'm got tired of having a successful acropora dominated tank and trying to share advice that worked for me to achieve that tank get thrown back in my face by someone that just regurgitates articles they read and has never produced a beautiful acro-dominated tank that I've ever seen. I've seen your tank at your house... Stags (the easiest of acros) with burnt tips and STN at the base with glass so dirty I could hardly see them... And I've seen your body of work with your clients in person and on video. None of what I have seen I would consider maintained or created by a person I would consider an acro expert. Where's the Hawkins echinata you were going to grow in a tap water topoff system of yours? I saw 3 pictures of it and then it was never mentioned again.

The disappointing part is you've seen my tank in person and was even amazed at how I was able to achieve the colors I do from the acros. I don't understand how you can refute the level of success I've had with them and my experience with them that you've seen with your own eyes. That my advice may actually may be helpful to those trying to achieve the same type of tank. I'm not running a softie tank here... So my advice is geared towards those trying to achieve the same style of tank that I run with full acros. That's fine if you don't agree with that for your type of tanks... But my advice was never geared for that type of system so I don't understand where you have a leg to stand on to counter my advice when I've never seen you run an acro-dominant tank? I don't sit around and tell people how to run tap water ATO tanks with no skimmers... I have no leg to stand on with those type of systems.

I don't really appreciate the back handed jabs at me... Even when I had left the forum already. I don't know if my absence is why you were bolstered to do it again but just please stop and move on. You are behaving like you still have a chip on your shoulder. I'm not even around anymore.

Regarding low phosphates... I keep mine at 0.03 ppm. This is what 0.03 ppm of phosphates looks like in my tank. I don't consider my corals starved and unhealthy. I'm not entrenched in old reefer dogma... I run that based on my experience with color and health in correlation with phosphate levels in my tank and found that the lower end pulls better colors for me and keeps my tank more stable while increasing growth. There are going to be anomalies with any rule but I stick with what I've seen in my own acro dominated systems the last 7 years I've been running them.

If you're running a softie tank... Don't keep it that low... But that's not who I am trying to advise these days. They'd be better off listening to someone else's advice for those type of tanks. I haven't run one in 7 years so I'm a bad resource.

I've said my peace. Feel free to say whatever you need to say to get it off your chest and let's just move on. I'd rather be spending time with my kid then thinking about this stuff... That's why I left in the first place Tim.