Seth cook Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I would like to start a 20 gallon reef tank can you please tell me how to start one and any tips you have to keep corals alive Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/video/budget-reef-tank/ All the videos in this series deal with setting up, stocking and maintaining a 20 gallon saltwater aquarium. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Best advice is do a ton of research on Fishless cycling Lighting Water chemistry Coral needs Maintenance Unfortunately it's a very detailed process. The more knowledgeable you are the easier it is. Go through sticky threads, TOTM's, members journals. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 On 10/10/2019 at 3:48 PM, Seth cook said: I would like to start a 20 gallon reef tank can you please tell me how to start one and any tips you have to keep corals alive What have you read so far book-wise? Martin Moe's "Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder" used to be standard reading for anyone getting into the hobby and still should be, so that's a great starting point that covers everything. Holy cow would I avoid the online resources until you have some reading under your belt. I know most folks don't read anymore, but I stand by this advice. You can get books FOR CHEAP if you buy used. If you just can't do books, then at least restrain yourself to the materials on advancedaquarist.com, anything written by Randy Holmes-Farley or Craig Bingman and the documents here on nano-reef -- forum stickies as well as the library articles. Please don't try to learn to reef from Facebook or from videos. They could be better than nothing, but are marginal even as supplements IMO. Thankfully books are cheap, as mentioned, and easily attainable....from the top of a Google search, no digging required: The Marine Aquarium Handbook : Beginner To Breeder By Martin A., Jr. $10.50 eBay The Marine Aquarium Handbook : Beginner to Breeder by Martin A. Moe Jr. - Used (Acceptable) - 0982026218 by TFH Publications, Incorporated | $3.99 Used Thriftbooks.com Four dollars!!! His other book is also great. Some other authors to look for: Fenner, Borneman, Riddle, Tullock. Just to name a few! 1 Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 I loved this book when it first came out. Great info for it's time and easy to understand. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 3 hours ago, mcarroll said: I know most folks don't read anymore... I don't believe that to be true. I think people have become lazy/want the quick, easy answer. They don't want to invest a large amount of time/experience to find out the answers like we did when there was no internet. My first saltwater aquarium was a 10 gallon tank with a power filter, undergravel filter and crushed coral. My saltwater bible back then was the Instant Ocean Handbook...I used to read it daily until I had memorized the entire thing and then I applied the information to gain my own knowledge. Those days are long gone...but that is how it was done back then. I learned by attempting to do. I wanted firsthand experience...because, and I still believe this to be true, doing something helps a person retain the knowledge better than simply hearing or reading the answer from someone else. The links I posted are not an end all to how to do a saltwater aquarium...there is much more to learn...but they are a good starting point to reference on what you need (equipment wise) when getting started. 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 On 10/19/2019 at 7:36 AM, j.falk said: I don't believe that to be true. I soooo wish you were correct. And I would do a happy dance if I discovered that I'm wrong! 😆 But the fact that they keep closing up bookstores (I'm in a major metro area and there are NO BOOKSTORES around.) combined with the fact the NO-BO-DY but nobody posts book references anymore doesn't suggest that to be true. (Folks back in the day used to quote Delbeek and Sprung on USENET (and I think even on RC when it first took off) left and right, as well as other books. And that's even with D&S being a huge set of books PACKED with great information. Better than 1000 utube videos. Almost comparable to reading a crapload science journals. So I know folks USED to read because there was ample evidence. The evidence just doesn't seem to be there nowadays. Folks aren't using the info if they're reading it, that's for sure. Whippersnappers!!) On 10/19/2019 at 7:36 AM, j.falk said: Awesome! Never heard of that. (Lotsa used copies out there on A-zon too!! Woot!) Sweet, more reading!!! 😋 Their SeaScope newsletters were awesome....still posted on their site (which isn't very friendly looking....click that "Seascope Index" link for the back issues!), and they still are great. 😎 I had no idea they did another mini-series in the early 2010's!! On 10/19/2019 at 7:18 AM, j.falk said: Haven't checked out any of the "idiot's guides" yet, so maybe I'll check this one out. Also super-cheap used on A-zon. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 Ebooks are the present and future. My son started high school this year and all students are issued an iPad for their reading. No textbooks. To say that people don't read anymore is ignorant. The irony being that you posted this on a forum...a place where people are required to read to gain the information they are seeking. I respect the fact that you do have a lot of personal insight/knowledge into keeping saltwater aquariums and are willing to share it online to help others...but I don't respect you making blanket statements about human beings in general when you have no proof to back it up. You're talking like an old person who is stuck in the past / set in his ways. Things change and the way information is shared has changed. Accept that fact. Just because people don't buy physical books anymore does not mean that people don't read. All of the book stores around me closed up years ago. Why? If I was a betting man, I would place my money on the main factor being Kindles and iPads. Who wants to carry around a pile of books when you can carry around a single lightweight tablet that does the same thing (and more)? 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, j.falk said: All of the book stores around me closed up years ago. Why? If I was a betting man, I would place my money on the main factor being Kindles and iPads. Who wants to carry around a pile of books when you can carry around a single lightweight tablet that does the same thing (and more)? Me I don't trust those f#cking things, a book can mess up a hell of a lot less than technology 1 Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Ratvan said: Me I don't trust those f#cking things, a book can mess up a hell of a lot less than technology Then that is your choice but Ipads and Kindles have been around for years now and aren't going away any time soon. They are the future. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 27 minutes ago, j.falk said: Then that is your choice but Ipads and Kindles have been around for years now and aren't going away any time soon. They are the future. Shame they're not as secure as books plus i'd have to turn off my RFID's which i am not doing Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 3 hours ago, j.falk said: To say that people don't read anymore is ignorant. Ignorant? I assume the intent there was irony, given the discussion. LOL. Trying Again As I mentioned, it used to be that reefers would pretty regularly post what they read and where they read it in the normal course of discussions. If you don't believe me "for whatever reason", you or anyone can certainly go look up posts from the 1990's and early 2000's and see it for yourself rather than lowering the conversation to personal remarks. I'll even help... Lots of examples on this single search for "The Reef Aquarium" from a single group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/alt.aquaria/"the$20reef$20aquarium"|sort:relevance I don't see these types of posts on real books or eBooks these days though. Not even after The Reef Aquarium Vol.3 was released on eBook a few years ago. Infrequent social media references are about the most I see, but that's not the same class of information. In the best cases like advancedaquarist.com they can be very very good, but that site is also very exceptional. (And now mothballed apparently....only up for reference.) It's impossible to know how many folks use only Faceboor and Utoob to learn this hobby, but it seems like a high percentage. If you would like to dig something up that supports the idea that reading is not declining then I'm happy to read it. 4 hours ago, j.falk said: all students are issued an iPad for their reading. No textbooks. Textbooks are a very different market within the book world that is more or less isolated from the real book industry. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/10/21/college-textbooks-are-a-racket/ https://www.edutopia.org/textbook-publishing-controversy 3 hours ago, j.falk said: but I don't respect you making blanket statements about human beings in general when you have no proof to back it up. You also supplied no proof so your statement here makes it seem like you're holding a double standard. My experience is my proof for me, and that's what I was telling you about. I personally saw what it was like then and I read almost daily what it's like now and I can compare the two periods. No great feat....just be alive and reading long enouh. The evidence of that is still out there (see links) for doubters....but if you're a doubter even after reading so many of my posts, but you won't bother to verify or ask, then I really don't know what to say. Maybe block me on your account so you don't need to see my posts? But I'll see what I can find as far as "proof" just for you... Books declining. https://publishingperspectives.com/2018/07/us-statshot-publisher-survey-2017-estimates-revenue/ Then there's this.... Quote Book Stores Industry in the US - Market Research Report April 2019 "Turning the page: Intense external competition is expected to keep the industry in decline" How is the Industry Trending in the US? Total Revenue in 2019 $11bn Number of Businesses 19,673 Average Company Profit Margin Annual Growth 2014-2019 -3.3% Industry Forecast 2019 - 2024 Industry Employment 93,016 Despite a strengthening domestic economy and rising per capita disposable income levels, the Book Stores industry has declined over the five years to 2019 at an annualized rate of 3.3% to $11.4 billion in revenue. This drop has slowed throughout the period, with revenue falling 2.0% in 2019. Even amid intense competition in a declining industry, some small, independent operators with a loyal local following have flourished, as many consumers still prefer print books over e-books. However, the increase in e-commerce sales and percentage of services conducted online has driven consumers to shop for industry products online, forcing unprofitable operators to exit the industry. The trend toward online shopping will keep the industry in decline as e-comm... ...interesting couching on their statements about eBooks though since... ...this next link claims there's no real data on eBooks! Why not? Thanks to the way the eBook sellers do business: they report data to no one.... Another resource.... https://www.idealog.com/blog/changing-book-business-seems-flowing-downhill-amazon/ He also confirms the decline of real books. Seems to repeat that romance novels are the only "hot area" of ebooks, with almost that whole market going to Amazon. But otherwise just indies publishing there...mostly in fiction. He comes up with some guy who does web-scraping for ebook stats who claims the ebook market overall is flat. It's questionable how real data like that is though. I'd suggest reading the whole thing through including the comments at the bottom. At this point it really seems like you came off the cuff with the comments you aimed at me, so I'm going to stop here. I was sincere when I said I'd do a happy dance if I found out I was wrong. And I wasn't saying it based on some whim. What do you say -- bygones? 😉 Quote Link to comment
Reef Aquatics Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 I would highly suggest a book called "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. It was the first book I read when I got into this hobby and allot of people including myself consider it to be the Saltwater bible. It came out awhile ago, but still a useful resource. Bob Fenner is an expert in this hobby and has a website called wetwebmedia.com which is also a great resource. https://www.amazon.com/Robert-M-Fenner/e/B001K810CI/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 3 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 On 10/10/2019 at 3:48 PM, Seth cook said: I would like to start a 20 gallon reef tank can you please tell me how to start one and any tips you have to keep corals alive This thread has tons of great reading suggestions: Chime in with your reef-oriented reading list! 1 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 @Seth cook I'm sorry people hijacked your post about whether not you should read a book... Anyway good luck with it. Just like people said do research. There's NOTHING wrong with online research. I bet you 99% of the people on here get their info from forums and articles. Not reef books from the 90s... Quote Link to comment
Gravity Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 I would recommend watching the bulk reef supply 52 weeks of reefing. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/category/52-weeks-of-reefing These videos cover everything from water, chemistry, lighting, filtration and coral. Then branch out from there based on what sparks your interest. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 On 10/21/2019 at 8:11 AM, j.falk said: Ebooks are the present and future. My son started high school this year and all students are issued an iPad for their reading. No textbooks. To say that people don't read anymore is ignorant. The irony being that you posted this on a forum...a place where people are required to read to gain the information they are seeking. I respect the fact that you do have a lot of personal insight/knowledge into keeping saltwater aquariums and are willing to share it online to help others...but I don't respect you making blanket statements about human beings in general when you have no proof to back it up. You're talking like an old person who is stuck in the past / set in his ways. Things change and the way information is shared has changed. Accept that fact. Just because people don't buy physical books anymore does not mean that people don't read. All of the book stores around me closed up years ago. Why? If I was a betting man, I would place my money on the main factor being Kindles and iPads. Who wants to carry around a pile of books when you can carry around a single lightweight tablet that does the same thing (and more)? Reading is reading, you don't need an actual book to read. Researching online is no less than researching from a book, if anything it's often the most up to date info, whereas books can be out dated information(that's part of evolving) I love my kindle, I can have tons of books, keep what I want, delete what I don't. Saves a crap ton of trees as well as books ending up in dumps. So not only is it convenient but environmentally friendly to go with ebooks. Quote Link to comment
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