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New hobbyists, I would like your help


Dan H

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Hello newbie! Welcome to the Austin Reef Club.

Hopefully you've already been learning a lot from ARC and you've already become a premium member because you know you want to be awesome. ;) And most importantly, hopefully your little piece of the ocean is doing well, and you are enjoying it's beauty!

I would like to ask for some help answering a few questions. I want to figure out if there is a way to help new hobbyists either right before, or just as they enter the hobby. ARC has a mentoring program, and I wanted to see if that is something that you as a new hobbyist would have been open to when first starting. So if you have a moment, please answer the following questions... Even if you're no longer new, feel free to answer. (I'm awaiting the normal sarcastic responses from the salty ones) :)

  1. How long have you been in the hobby now?
  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater?
  3. How did you find out about ARC?
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)?
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy?
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby?
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists?
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS?
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones?
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start?
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start?
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 12 years
  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? Saltwater baby! rock.gif
  3. How did you find out about ARC? I think a google search back in 2007.
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? Neither, craigslist, and many parts from other reefers on the club.
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? Like butter... nice and smooth.
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? Nanoreef... had a nanocube for 5 years when I first started.
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Same as on ARC, I was a nanoreef newbie and asked lots of questions.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? No, liked doing my own research... big surprise!
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? wetwebmedia was useful back in the day, as well as reefkeeping.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? not if I knew FarmerTy and Timfish were the only choices for mentors... fish.gif
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? Have instructional videos that explains basic processes on how to setup a tank, how to acclimate corals/fish, how to do a water change, how to test my water, etc.
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? About 4 years but coming to an end :(

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? Started with freshwater
  3. How did you find out about ARC? Google
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? My first set up was purchased at RCA
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? I did a lot of homework before getting into the hobby 100% so i thought it was easy
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? Google
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Not really. I mainly relied on Google and if i couldn't find the answer i would ask around.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? Yup, RCA is the best!
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? I cant remember specific ones but usually i turn to google and read through different forums
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? Maybe, I probably would have stuck to Google though. Only because Google will answer all life questions at 3 am. Haha
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? If i would have known about ARC before i started i would have come to the community.
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 3 months (super noob)

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? I kind of started them at the same time. I got a freshwater setup going and immediately purchased a nano tank to start a saltwater.
  3. How did you find out about ARC? Google search for "Corals for sale in Austin". I was looking around for other local saltwater folks and I stumbled across ARC.
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? Craigslist. The guy we bought my tank off of (and my husbands) was super helpful with getting started. My husband purchased a tank from the guy a day later.
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? I think I've gotten lucky and it's been really easy. *knock on wood* That my sweet little nano tank keeps going great.
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? Reading around forums and watching countless hours of YouTube videos. I've also done a lot of research on different things as I've come across different fish, corals, and just stuff I was curious about with the hobby.
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? No, not really. I've done my own research for the most part. Now that I found ARC it's been very helpful though.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? We are fans of AquaTek. Linus and Steve have been such big helps when we have crazy beginner questions. Their excitement for the hobby makes us more excited.
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? Various. But ARC has been the best by far.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? Yes, probably so.
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? Considering I'm still really new I think ARC will be a great community at helping me have a successful start because usually you get quick responses. Everyone is really easy to talk to and don't make you feel crazy for asking questions.
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 9yrs w/ a 3yr gap in between while i collected equip for next one!

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? freshwater tanks smell icky, saltwater all the waaaay
  3. How did you find out about ARC? LFS, MAAST.
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? tank/cabinet/most startup equip- CL, newer equip CL+LFS+Amazon+Ebay+BRS
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? was easy, but being impatient made it excruciating to wait for the cycle
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? research, research, RESEARCH! Believe no one, until you can prove or disprove it via other source.
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Not at first, definitely do now! many years of experience here at ARC!
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? eh, kinda.. but I always felt they tried to hawk what THEY liked, didn't really point to resources to help be decide.
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? Not many sites back then. reefcentral & maaast, i think? then i found ARC.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? I'm the type that enjoys tinkering and figuring things out myself. I;d be a good mentor for things NOT to do tough smile.png
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? Me? I'm a lost cause. In general.. I think a quickstart w/ bullets and basics would be good. Then make an intermediate on after that. Basic things like... GFCI, drill a hole in the return to kill the siphon, etc.
  12. Comments? Howd this section get here? Anyways... might be nice to have an up to date sheet w/ club and member loaner/emergency equip, or a sheet of people willing to be "on-call" for random stuff, or a sheet showing who sells what, who is good at what, etc. I know most of us kinda know this from BEING here, but many lurkers would benefit from that info upfront. (salty enough?)
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 13 years in salt water, 18 years in aquariums

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? fresh water first, then salt
  3. How did you find out about ARC? I can't even remember anymore. Probably the internets
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? LFS (RCA) and a mix of old equipment, used from the forums, and online
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? The technologies have evolved as I have been in the hobby. Keeping fish alive was a breeze in 2003, then soft corals, then anemones, then I got to SPS and that was hard. Forums have always helped.
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? The local fish stores of Austin. (Gallery of Pets and AquaTek), RC, and books from the 90's.
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Not until I learned RC existed.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? Always when I was new to the hobby, not so much anymore.
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? RC and Ask Jeeves.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? Oh definitely
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? Lots of well defined threads on simple and basic (to a well experienced reefer)techniques, strategies, and the reasoning behind it. It took me forever to learn all the ins and outs of water chemistry, lighting, filtration, biology of a reef aquarium. Having it all listed out individually in separate threads would have been wonderful.
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1. How long have you been in the hobby now?

FOWLR for ~15yrs. 1st reef tank was filled today...waiting on the water to clear.

2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater?

Salt

3. How did you find out about ARC?

Googling back in the early 00s. There was a guy (named Tim?) who owned a fish shop up in Round Rock in the same strip center where Partners is now, but cattycorner? Also named Partners? iirc, that guy was pretty active on the forums at the time? Same TimFish on here now? Came back when I decided to get serious about getting coral going.

4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)?

Both. All fish, food, sand and salt from LFS. Most of my hardware online, because I'm shopping prices and can check features/models/etc right there. BRS free shipping is a winner. I did get my lights from the Dome though - happened to have the set I wanted for the same price and it was payday. Tank, sump, fuge were all gifted by an acquaintance leaving the hobby.

5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy?

On the FOWLR, mostly easy-breezy, although I did have a couple of fairly tragic events. Mostly bonehead and obvious in hindsight. Reef is TBD.

6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby?

FOLWR - ReefCentral.com forums. Reef - here.

7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists?

Online questions here and going to the meetings when I can. I don't know anyone else w/ a sw tank, much less a reef tank.

8. Did you seek help from a LFS?

Not really.

9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones?

Here - see above.

10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start?

Definitely. I'm open right now. Have a fairly good idea of what I'm trying to do, but could use some help on the details of how, and order of operation. I have good taste in beer.

11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start?

A section of pinned threads on basic topics would be nice. I know they get old and outdated after a while (see: every pinned ReefCentral thread), but things like plumbing, testing, cycling, first 5 things you need to do when starting a reef tank, rodi/mixing station setup, dipping, etc would be really nice to easily refer to.

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1) How long have you been in the hobby now?

11 years salt, fresh for 5-7 years befor salt

2)Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? fresh water first, then salt

3) How did you find out about ARC? I can't even remember anymore. Probably from aqua dome

4) Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? LFS (Aqua Dome)

5)Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy?

Was easy as I always lived on a well never had to deal with city water. But I would say pretty easy.

6) Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? Reading books for 2 years. Forums

7) Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Not really. May be for lighting

7) Did you seek help from a LFS? Always when I was new to the hobby, not so much anymore.

8) Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? The Reef Tank, here, Google

9)If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start?

Yes

10) How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start?

Good read section.

DIY videos for rodi and water.

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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 14 years

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? I had 6 years experience in freshwater
  3. How did you find out about ARC? I was a part of Reef Frontiers from 2002-2006 and didn't enjoy the experience so I left forums until 2012 when I joined ARC. I was living overseas and was looking for a connection to fellow hobbyists in the place I knew I was moving to. I found it by web search.
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? I was previously in freshwater and used the same tank for salt. At that time most books are recommending crushed coral with under gravel filters and I set it up similar to how someone would set up a FW tank. The tank evolved based on what was popular on the forums at the time. How else would you learn about new techniques and equipment? I bought some fish from the LFS but they kept dying and nobody was helping me try to solve the problem. At that time cyanide was commonly used to catch fish and I blamed it on that.
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? I had a pretty difficult time with nutrients. I didn't know the cause at the time, but looking back I can see it clearly. I got a lot of bad advice. It also didn't help that some of the common pieces of equipment used today weren't mainstream back then or they were beyond my budget.
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? I learned the most from hours of library reading. Some of the online stuff was pretty bad advice and people on RF were pretty mean, but when a lot of people say the same thing then I tried to absorb it. Printed stuff takes the longest to get updated. I doubt very much that you'll find bio pellets in any book right now, even though it's been common for at least 2 years.
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? I tried, but I was unsuccessful. Maybe I was asking the wrong questions or maybe I didn't understand the problem fully.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? Honestly, I've never been to a LFS that actually tries to help you have a successful tank. They want to make money and people that kill mandarin after mandarin keep them in business. Aside from tank crashes and random diseases that can happen in the best tanks, someone with a successful tank might replace one or two fish per year. It's in their best interest to let you stay somewhere between enthusiastic beginner to experienced novice so that you keep buying livestock or subscribe to their maintenance.
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? I tried Reef Frontiers, which was was more of a negative impact than a positive one. I don't know if people realize how much their words online really affect someone. Forums are good for motivation though. Awesome pictures of corals or fish have inspired more people into the hobby than anyone could count. I learned a lot from Pet Solutions back when they were a smaller company and talked to people one on one. I also learned a lot from Liveaquaria. They post articles about some topics and have great information about fish on their individual pages.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? I don't think that I would have been open to it. I thought that I knew everything when I started and that made it difficult to recognize there was a problem. I also couldn't afford most of the advice that I got. Nobody wants to hear they should buy a bigger skimmer when it took four months to save for the one they have. I often see threads where someone started their very first salty tank and a week later they're giving advice. Someone like that won't benefit from a mentoring program. You would need a person that is willing to be a student and most adults are too independent by the time they can afford the hobby. They also need to be paired with a mentor that fits their personality and has a tank they want to aspire to. A great mentor needs to knowledgeable in diseases and pests and their solutions, as well as, current on advances in the hobby and new equipment. People are thirsty for knowledge and you can bet the mentored will be searching the internet and finding all sorts of things that the mentor needs to be able to answer.
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? I was discouraged by others comments and thought about quitting often, so positive, honest, feedback would have been the best thing for me.
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So all of these are really helpful...

It sounds like there's a definite theme of having a good startup guide published (and more importantly, kept up to date!) on the site.

I stumbled across this video which has some pretty decent suggestions:

A thought that just occurred to me that was inspired by the above video is perhaps we figure out a way for noobs to have access to see some of the member's tanks. The video mentions that one of the best ways to get started is to find 10 systems you like, and find the commonality then replicate that. Perhaps if we had some easy way for noobs to ask to see some of the tanks in town, that would help them out? I'd personally be willing to do that, put my name on a list and say hey, if you want to check our system out and snag some ideas, you're more than welcome to swing by anytime we're home and not busy...

Thoughts? And keep the responses coming! :)

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I'll give everyone my garage code and they can come by whenever to see my tank. Don't mind us if we're eating dinner or watching a movie, just walk right by us and go take a look at the tank. [emoji12]

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2am, you hear some noise... Oh it's just me in my boxers drinking a beer and looking around in your tank with a flashlight... :)

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#1, four months , #2 had a freshwater set up years ago with a high fish count that did very well for the 3 yr i had it #3, looking up Saltwater tank questions last yr and found ARC online , #4 i had to buy used to start #5 alot was ez due to stuff i read a learn fm reading ARC post an looking up online, but had alot of trouble when i tried to add my fuge , my display isnt drilled, an my budget well anyway lol : ) #6 ARC for mo i keep returning to old and new ARC post, #7 Yes #8 some not much mostly ARC and online info #9 i didnt keep tabs but alot where redirect to tap talk to old ARC post on the same question i had, # 10 yes by all means my disability made this start up a bit tough on me but was great full for the help i got a couple fm ARC did come over an help very cool an very kind of them The ARC members ive met and talk all have been real helpful and just great ppl # 11 i couldn't think of much more one could ask for , though my tank still needs to get a horizon return drilled its doing great thanks to ARC , you all rock and someday ill take what ive learned an do a real build, Thank you ARC very much

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? A little over a year.

  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? Directly to Salt
  3. How did you find out about ARC? Google search
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? LFS
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? Easy to start and then everything went to hell
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? Internet articles
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? No, didn't know any.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? Yes
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? Anyone that could answer my current question.
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? Absolutely
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? Many of the "helps" on here and other forums don't seem to "connect" right away. Having someone that will mentor in person would be a big help> Understanding that it is a mentorship and not a problem solving solution to the person looking for help is paramount.
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  1. How long have you been in the hobby now? 3 Months
  2. Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater? FW since I was a little kid
  3. How did you find out about ARC? Google
  4. Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)? Craigslist and ARC only new thing is my lights
  5. Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy? Not too difficult. Just had to learn to be patient. Also, I had no idea how expensive it would be $$$$
  6. Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby? ARC reefcentral BRS and Youtube
  7. Did you seek help from other hobbyists? Of course! Thats why I joined! They are always willing to help.
  8. Did you seek help from a LFS? No, Thats like asking a car salesman with help buying a car...
  9. Did you seek help from websites? Yes Which ones? ARC,reef central, youtube, google
  10. If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start? Absolutely. I know there wasn't a "group" when I started. But ARC was my mentoring program.
  11. How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start? I honestly can't think of a way. The only mistakes I made were me being stubborn to the advise from seasoned reefers. Yall have helped so much! Thanks!rock.gif
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  • 3 weeks later...

How long have you been in the hobby now?

Just started. I've been researching for months, but the tank is still empty.

Did you start in freshwater, or go directly to saltwater?

I like a challenge, saltwater

How did you find out about ARC?

Someone at Aqua Dome suggested I look you guys up.

Did you buy your setup online or at a LFS (Local Fish Store)?

Half and half. Immediate equipment and supplies are bought locally, specialty and specific equipment and accessories are bought online.

Did you have difficulty when first starting, or was it easy-breezy?

I've done a few experiments with water content and maintaining balance super small scale (thanks LFS for tank samples). But I haven't tried anything in the tank yet. We'll see how difficult it will be.

Where did you learn the most on how to get started in the hobby?

Tidal gardens, BRS channel on youtube, lab studies for marine biology experiments and husbandry practices.

Did you seek help from other hobbyists?

Always. Kinda why I'm here.

Did you seek help from a LFS?

Of course! Aqua Dome is a short walk from home. I like to pick their brains and watch the fish XD

Did you seek help from websites? Which ones? A friend has access to a scientific journal for her school, IDK which, pretty convenient to look at housing processes. Tons of google searches.

If you had been aware of a mentoring program before you started, would you have been open to help from the start?

Absolutely! Haven't quite started yet, so it's not too late.

How could we as a community have helped you be more successful from the start?

If you vuys know of anyone who has worked in an aquarium or zoo with the knowledge and resources of perfectly simulating a natural enviornment to the briney buddies with a mind for conservation, that would be amazing!

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