What would make reefing easier?

[GetPsyched2124]

It seems frequent in this hobby that new products are being released, or are under development, that improve our beloved displaced ecosystems by through various aspects such as functionality, ease of maintenance, and livestock health. Personally, an automatic frozen fish food feeder would be extremely convenient regarding vacations so that consistent feedings are are not interrupted. inD Creations seems to be doing exactly that.

 

I'm just curious if anyone else has different aspects of the hobby/their reefing experience that have stemmed the thought, "If I had (this), it would make my reef better" or "my tank would benefit from something that could do (that)".

 

For me, the automatic frozen feeder would be something I would use.

 

any other ideas???

[mitten_reef]

The lesser amount of things you have to worry about their failure, the easier it would be - in reality.  convenience is a trap, for the most part.

 

Maintain a system in which you're comfortable dealing with, so that you're likely to "get to it", when it needs to be taken care of.  vs I'll get to it later.  Whatever "it" might be.

[Tamberav]

Actually frozen fish food feeder is exactly what I want because I am away 14 hours on work days. I have been eagerly awaiting one for years and contemplated doing a DIY one. 

 

 

[GetPsyched2124]

7 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Actually frozen fish food feeder is exactly what I want because I am away 14 hours on work days. I have been eagerly awaiting one for years and contemplated doing a DIY one. 

 

 

I had a conversation with a group of my friends about thinking of something that would solve a problem. I told them about the frozen feeder need and had been thinking about trying to make one using a thermoelectric cooler.

[Clown79]

I'd love a digital alk tester, stick probe in water and its constantly being displayed, like the inkbird heater 

 

Preferably an alk monitor where you don't need to mortgage your house.

[Matteo]

if it's easy it ain't fun! 😄 

[Elizabeth94]

22 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I'd love a digital alk tester, stick probe in water and its constantly being displayed, like the inkbird heater 

 

Preferably an alk monitor where you don't need to mortgage your house.

Sort of like the Mindstream. But not $1,000 initial cost and a monthly subscription LOL

[Tired]

A little device that you can put in your tank that tells you ALL your parameters at once. Like those Ammonia Alert badges, except electronic. Bonus points if it's wifi compatible and you can check it on your phone. Temp, the whole ammonia line, calcium, alkalinity, hell, throw in oxygen. If a little clip thing can go on my finger and read how much oxygen is in my blood, someone can invent a device that tests oxygen in water. Probably it exists already.

 

It'd be amazing for public aquariums to have something like that, too.

 

As to the frozen food feeder, that seems very doable. Little bitty freezer you put your auto-feeder inside, long pipe down to the aquarium that the food gets dropped down, some way to close off the pipe between feedings. Stash it somewhere hidden and voila. You could rig it to feed 5 times a day for wrasses and whatnot that really do best with the near-continuous feeding.

[seabass]

You know those robot vacuum cleaners like the iRobot?  How about a mini auto sand bed cleaner?

[Clown79]

15 hours ago, Elizabeth94 said:

Sort of like the Mindstream. But not $1,000 initial cost and a monthly subscription LOL

Exactly😁

[GetPsyched2124]

17 hours ago, Elizabeth94 said:

Sort of like the Mindstream. But not $1,000 initial cost and a monthly subscription LOL

yeah pretty much $1500 for the first year of use. and I don't care to measure Potassium, Carbon Dioxide, or Oxygen.

Me, being the average hobbyist, can't afford that and isn't running equipment that needs to measure those things every 15 minutes.

A sort of mindstream "lite" version for the average reefer would be nice

[Clown79]

54 minutes ago, GetPsyched2124 said:

yeah pretty much $1500 for the first year of use. and I don't care to measure Potassium, Carbon Dioxide, or Oxygen.

Me, being the average hobbyist, can't afford that and isn't running equipment that needs to measure those things every 15 minutes.

A sort of mindstream "lite" version for the average reefer would be nice

Ouch! Ya I think thats a bit extreme for the average hobbyist. 

 

 

17 hours ago, Tired said:

A little device that you can put in your tank that tells you ALL your parameters at once. Like those Ammonia Alert badges, except electronic. Bonus points if it's wifi compatible and you can check it on your phone. Temp, the whole ammonia line, calcium, alkalinity, hell, throw in oxygen. If a little clip thing can go on my finger and read how much oxygen is in my blood, someone can invent a device that tests oxygen in water. Probably it exists already.

 

It'd be amazing for public aquariums to have something like that, too.

 

As to the frozen food feeder, that seems very doable. Little bitty freezer you put your auto-feeder inside, long pipe down to the aquarium that the food gets dropped down, some way to close off the pipe between feedings. Stash it somewhere hidden and voila. You could rig it to feed 5 times a day for wrasses and whatnot that really do best with the near-continuous feeding.

I have always wanted a device that reads nitrate, alk, ca, and sg would be great to add to it.

 

 

[Seadragon]

I'd like to see Amazon streamline the aquatics business and sell us any coral or fish that we want for same-day and overnight delivery.  Incorporate that into our existing Amazon subscription, and if need be, pay a little extra for shipping costs instead of what we have to do now with the $150 orders for free shipping or spending $40 for overnight shipping from other online retailers.

 

While we're at it, create a universal app and system that controls everything.  My current app can control the lighting, return pump, circulation pump (if you buy their brand), and even tells me the current temperature, but let's add an automatic feeder and automatic dosers to that and also add WiFi capability.  Maybe even a webcam for me and the world to view the fish from anywhere.  Live stream it.

 

I'd also like a little robot that can grab rogue strands of chaeto from within my display tank and to sneak up on my Yellow Watchman Goby and scare the bejesus out of him.  Oh, and add to that system a robot that can clean the glass and can be controlled by me with additional HD cameras.  Some of this stuff already exists, but keep it all in the same eco-system and app.

 

Yeah, I'd also like an automatic parameter testing system to tell me on the app what my current parameters are including Calcium and Alk.  Imagine if the app can automatically test and adjust the EXACT dosing measurements for the automatic doser to use.

[Tired]

I don't trust Amazon to handle live animals. They're bad enough about how they treat their workers, can you imagine how they'd treat animals that can't complain to people? Warehouses full of dead fish and aiptasia. 

[Seadragon]

20 minutes ago, Tired said:

I don't trust Amazon to handle live animals. They're bad enough about how they treat their workers, can you imagine how they'd treat animals that can't complain to people? Warehouses full of dead fish and aiptasia. 

 

So do you trust Petco or Petsmart or most LFS?  Or even sellers on eBay or other retailers?

 

There are some good places out there, but I've been to a Petco that had many dead fish in their tanks and BBA on their Anubias and you know what they said to me when I mentioned this?  That it's fine.  Too many inexperienced or minimium wage workers don't even care about the animals under their care.  It's just a job to them.  Where did I get my nuisance cotton candy algae from?  Some seller on eBay.  Fact is, many of us are being ripped off by high coral and fish prices, shipping costs, and other nonsense fees from the very same establishments that could care less about the animals under their care.

 

There's always going to be some "evil" empire in some people's eyes.. not too long ago, it was Wal-mart.

[Matteo]

Just now, Seadragon said:

 

So do you trust Petco or Petsmart or most LFS?  Or even sellers on eBay or other retailers?

 

There are some good places out there, but I've been to a Petco that has many dead fish in their tanks and BBA on their Anubias and you know what they said to me when I mentioned the dead fish?  That it's fine or something to that effect.  Too many inexperienced or minimium wage workers don't even care about the animals under their care.  It's just a job to them.  Where did I get my nuisance cotton candy algae from?  Some seller on eBay.  Fact is, many of us are being ripped off by high coral and fish costs, shipping costs, and other nonsense fees from the very same establishments that could care less about the animals under their care.

 

There's always going to be some "evil" empire in some people's eyes.. not too long ago, it was Wal-mart.

Who's being ripped off? Many of us have VERY positive reviews with online retailers. We also 100% understand the shipping cost. You know it cost like $45 minimum for next day air right? Which is required for our livestock. Amazon would never be able to incorporate that and quite frankly it wouldn't be profitable for them. 

 

It's a completely different industry. 

 

Just because they sell everything doesn't mean they can. I would also say 99% of people on here trust their LFS. With ebay you gotta do your research on the seller.

 

I'd argue $150 gets you free shipping is a great deal.... 

[Seadragon]

17 minutes ago, Matteo said:

Who's being ripped off? Many of us have VERY positive reviews with online retailers. We also 100% understand the shipping cost. You know it cost like $45 minimum for next day air right? Which is required for our livestock. Amazon would never be able to incorporate that and quite frankly it wouldn't be profitable for them. 

 

It's a completely different industry. 

 

Just because they sell everything doesn't mean they can. I would also say 99% of people on here trust their LFS. With ebay you gotta do your research on the seller.

 

I'd argue $150 gets you free shipping is a great deal.... 

 

 

This was discussed in a different thread, but here are some quotes which I have to agree with.  I actually like LA too (online retailer), but things have changed from before till now.

 

 

On 10/22/2019 at 9:10 PM, Tamberav said:

LA can give you pests for sure but I wouldn't worry about that one.

 

LA was loved for it's generous refund policies and cheap shipping. They definitely don't have the highest standards when it comes to pests.

 

On 10/23/2019 at 7:59 PM, Tamberav said:

Tank looks good. LA has went way downhill...and prices way up. Sorry to say. 

 

They should refund you since it was there mistake not a credit! 

 

But at least you got a freebie coral so that kind of helps. It is an acro of some sort....tenius maybe? I am not good at SPS ID. 

 

On 11/10/2019 at 9:43 PM, Tamberav said:

LFS employees often don't know what they have or are selling. They are poorly trained and don't get paid crap. 

 

 

The point is, I'm willing to bet if Amazon bought out an online business that dealt with Aquatics (which I doubt they ever would, but this is hypothetical), they would set a gold standard on what is acceptable.  There are far too many individual sellers online that do not know how to ship corals or fish.  And there are companies that keep raising their prices just because they can.

 

I'd like to see new competition.  There's nothing to be scared of if one of the major retailers enters this arena.  I'd welcome lower prices and higher standards across the board.

[Tamberav]

Fishy Business change their name and policies to try and grab previous LA customers. We will see how that plays out. 

 

I would not trust amazon because their delivery drivers are crap in my area.

 

A person who wants fish that have been FULLY QUARANTINED and treated can find this with Quarantined Fish LLC and Quarantined Marine. You will pay a premium although some of the fish are still cheaper than LA's new prices 🤣

 

For corals, you would need to also pay a premium... from a place like WWC who has very through procedure for corals and pests. Again, you will find their prices to be higher than other venders.

 

Places exist but you can't be a cheap ass about it if you want them to put in the extra work. 

 

 

 

 

[Seadragon]

After spending way too much in this hobby in general, I currently only really trust 2 LFS stores.  There's something about 1-hour delivery, WYSIWYG, and a decent selection that trumps everything else.

[Matteo]

38 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

 

 

This was discussed in a different thread, but here are some quotes which I have to agree with.  I actually like LA too (online retailer), but things have changed from before till now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The point is, I'm willing to bet if Amazon bought out an online business that dealt with Aquatics (which I doubt they ever would, but this is hypothetical), they would set a gold standard on what is acceptable.  There are far too many individual sellers online that do not know how to ship corals or fish.  And there are companies that keep raising their prices just because they can.

 

I'd like to see new competition.  There's nothing to be scared of if one of the major retailers enters this arena.  I'd welcome lower prices and higher standards across the board.

Still disagree with your argument/speculation. Alsoooooo I love Tamberav but quoting them 3 times about ONE retailer isn't really good evidence for your claim. 

 

There are way too many satisfied people on here who use online vendors and LFS. I don't think we would have so many nice tanks if otherwise. It seems like maybe your anecdotal experiences have given you a negative outlook with the norm of where we get most of our livestock? 

[Matteo]

7 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

After spending way too much in this hobby in general, I currently only really trust 2 LFS stores.  There's something about 1-hour delivery, WYSIWYG, and a decent selection that trumps everything else.

This hobby isn't cheap...most are not. 

[Seadragon]

2 minutes ago, Matteo said:

Still disagree with your argument/speculation. Alsoooooo I love Tamberav but quoted them 3 times about ONE retailer isn't really good evidence for you claim. 

 

There are way too many satisfied people on here who use online vendors and LFS. I don't think we would have so many nice tanks if otherwise. It seems like maybe your anecdotal experiences have given you a negative outlook with the norm of where we get most of our livestock? 

 

Name any specific online retailer or seller and I bet you I can find you a ton of negative reviews.  I can even link them for you.

[Matteo]

8 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

 

Name any specific online retailer or seller and I bet you I can find you a ton of negative reviews.  I can even link them for you.

I have been on the forum and in this hobby for a minute... You are out of your mind kid... 

World Wide Corals

https://www.google.com/search?q=world+wide+corals&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&oq=world&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39l2j69i61l3.2088j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

salwaterfish.com

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNQp52b7RkmA1L1J_aUXanViYB5AhA%3A1574121536970&ei=QDDTXe_VOoHV9APml664Cw&q=saltwaterfish.com&oq=saltwaterfish.com&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l9.6902.7271..7492...0.2..0.91.301.4......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i273.hr5YFzIITLM&ved=0ahUKEwjv9azY-_TlAhWBKn0KHeaLC7cQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

 

liveaquaria

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNSAnkwZvCZArIUV4GH8DdJ6KaD7QA%3A1574121555129&ei=UzDTXa2sB8XK0PEP_LuesAI&q=liveaquaria+reviews&oq=live+aquaria&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i71l8.0.0..2289...0.2..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.x_IupAi5kJY

 

vividaquariums

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNSkcXWbYvRW36oHH39K9VRimsxfFA%3A1574121580386&ei=bDDTXaKYF-Xi9AOz8LTgAQ&q=vivid+aquariums&oq=vivid&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i273j0j0i20i263j0i67l3j0l2j0i67j0.1814.2512..4445...0.1..0.112.456.3j2......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i39j0i10i67j0i131.uh8aZC48Xt0

 

Tidal Gardens

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNSVp18wJDHGjINL7hVriraSgWrkjA%3A1574121634977&ei=ojDTXdmdO9XM0PEP1repqAg&q=tidal+gardens+reviews&oq=tidalgardens&gs_l=psy-ab.1.2.0i71l8.0.0..2500...0.2..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.6ee9Iu3KGgc

 

Top Shelf Aquatics

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNSUolzpIdttRCNJmMWY-eIJZcK5WQ%3A1574121654733&ei=tjDTXZWjLNHA7gKQ26KoCw&q=top+shelf+aquatics&oq=top+shelf+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i273j0l9.4084.7584..8882...5.1..0.91.1070.15......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i39j0i131j0i67j0i10j0i22i10i30j0i22i30j0i13.NMGwT1VhRRA

 

NR TRUSTED AND SPONSORED RETAILERS

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forum/143-sponsor-forums/ 

 

Good luck! 

[Matteo]

pretty much every retailer there has above a 4.5 star review with either hundreds or most have thousands of reviews. So please not clog the feed with "onies and twoies" of bad experience. Like I said, been on this forum for a minute and I know WAY TOO MANY who trust their retailers. We even post reviews about them in the Feedback section. Have you been there? 

[Seadragon]

22 minutes ago, Matteo said:

I have been on the forum and in this hobby for a minute... You are out of your mind kid... 

 

salwaterfish.com

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS792US792&sxsrf=ACYBGNQp52b7RkmA1L1J_aUXanViYB5AhA%3A1574121536970&ei=QDDTXe_VOoHV9APml664Cw&q=saltwaterfish.com&oq=saltwaterfish.com&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l9.6902.7271..7492...0.2..0.91.301.4......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i273.hr5YFzIITLM&ved=0ahUKEwjv9azY-_TlAhWBKn0KHeaLC7cQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

 

 

Thanks for the compliment, although I'm sure I'm older than you.  No need to throw any tantrums though.

 

I was thinking about buying from that online retailer you mentioned before, but what stopped me was honestly the negative reviews.  I clicked on your google link, and one of the first review sites that came up was:

 

https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/saltwaterfish.com - 1 1/2 stars.

 

The point is, I'll take my chances with a LFS or a better online retailer than that one.