Vic’s Top 10 Things the Reefing Hobby Should STOP Doing!

[@magas82]

I'm glad I'm local and can get the fish from WWC. The QT process just adds a ton more gear to an already gear intensive hobby. I plainly don't want to store a QT system in the garage and have to set it up and break it down all the time. I am guessing this is a barrier to most people. What we need is medication for ick and velvet that can be administered prophylactically.

[@srob157]

About 15 years ago our lfs recommended lettuce for our fish too. They never touched it. And we weren't terribly successful in our first venture into saltwater. So glad we can get much better advice today. (And that lfs no longer sells saltwater fish.)

[@DGGuaglianone]

6:54 one of my favorite quotes ever. Thank you Ryan & Victor for sharing information and knowledge to new hobbyists for success. Also Than and Jake Adams for providing a complete novice the information to succeed in such a beautiful part of Earth, unknown to most.

[@RandomProjectswithSam]

Its awesome that you get Industry leaders on the channel for these discussions!

[@ManiacalMangoes]

Love these videos! Keep ‘em coming! For anyone reading my comments over time, I finally made it through the ugly phase. My tank is looking awesome and all I mainly did was patiently wait, consistent manual removal and water changes and 2 orders of corals from WWC (which I 🤫 didn’t dip).

[@ManiacalMangoes]

You two are basically The Godfather’s of my tank 😂 BRS videos every night and almost exclusively WWC corals

[@Brucelovesjulie]

#5 is what prevented me from getting into this hobby in the first place. I now "Trust, but verify" :) Except when it comes to Victor, I will always listen to him (And you too Ryan :p )

[@mickdesousa617]

The isolation box build video will definitely be a must watch for me 👍

[@68glp]

Please do the how to build an isolation box video asap!!!! I’m dying to ad fish to my established tank but I worry about it and it keeps me from doing it - if I had the box I’d feel much better about it! Really interested in seeing how you build it

[@federicomanglavite9897]

Agreed we need that "build your own DIY isolation box" video asap!😀

[@bigbowlowrong4694]

I have a softie/anemone tank and only test for salinity. Do water a water change when the inhabitants look like they need it. When I had stony corals the constant parameter testing was the WORST part of owning the tank, glad I’ve left all that behind👍

[@fuffoon]

Opening the bypass on my roller filter has made a positive difference.

[@saltwaterandlime]

#10 has been my hardest struggle. It's so hard to know as a beginner where to place corals at and what corals work well with each other, and knowing from a frag what shape it will everyday grow into.

[@loganmraz3511]

I used to quarantine my fish, not the funnest thing, and I’ve lost many. I as well pay someone to quarantine my fish, and pick them up only 2 hours from home.

[@wes9412]

Awesome vid guys , love you both.. please show me how to build the isolation box. from cutting it drilling it, and what silicone to use. please ... I've learned so much from both of you..

[@christopherm.7310]

Heaters at BRS are 30 bucks?

[@philipmosher7435]

Good video as usual. Really waiting for the DIY isolation box video. That will be very helpful. Thanks

[@josetrochez5982]

Love the content! As always, learn so much. Also, romaine lettuce??? What? First time I hear this. Lmao

[@timothycommo1903]

I used to feed rinsed Romaine to Tangs in the day.

[@bobbyknox9258]

Quarantine for the hobbyist is pointless unless your going to quarantine everything. Corals, fish, snails, crabs, liverock. If you don't do all it there's literally no point

[@MACNTOSFAM]

lol. quarantine live rock?!

[@CherIsmail]

Yes and macro algae if you’re running a refugium and and and…. I do agree with an initial QT as Ryan described but I know that somewhere down the line I’m going to get hit with something so my main goal after the initial QT is to maintain fish health and immune systems with a good diet and water quality.

[@bobbyknox9258]

@@MACNTOSFAM can you guarantee that when you buy live rock it's been fallow for 70 plus days or have they added to their stock level straight from the ocean or where ever it came from. Ick and the eggs could be all over it. Makes me laugh when people do the quarantine thing and they still get ick in the display tank. And they wonder why.

[@MACNTOSFAM]

@@bobbyknox9258 that would not be a quarantine method. going fallow to kill off ich eggs etc is removing any chances of ich re-infecting the fish. quarantine & fallow periods are 2 different methods. lol. i was curious to know how you would “quarantine” live rock. i’ve cured, bleached & cycled (previously live, now dead) live rocks, but have never heard of “quarantining” live rocks. and yes, i’ve done the humblefish method of QT. i believe they asked my permission to use an image i have showing my black molly getting infected with ich.

[@splee9680]

Not true at all to say there's no point. Is ich more likely to be on a new fish or from a piece of coral from a healthy display tank? I have never seen someone get an inch outbreak after adding coral, snails, crabs, or rock. I have seen dozens of people get ich from adding a new fish

[@lukemilne6922]

Can you guys please do a video on what is stability in a reef tank. It's something I've never fully understood but hear all the time. Does stability account for inaccuracies in our test kits, how much change can our tanks tolerate ie Alk drops by 0.5dkh in a week, the next week it's up 0.7dkh, is this bad? Thanks guys appreciate all the content you do

[@lisafoster4468]

I would love it if there was a commercially available acclimation box for those who aren't so handy. But yes, please do show us!! Edit: Sir, nerdy is my constant state of being, LOL!

[@scottandrew3873]

Looking forward to seeing the isolation box video

[@elliottusvolk864]

Just to note... new evidence suggests that H202 dosing is the best QT method and its reef safe. Humblefish and Jessican designed.

[@opethmike]

They're horrible people, and h2o2 dosing is bunk

[@1oona8484]

I can’t wait for the new MXM module. That way I can have my switch box on my apex be a button for the lights to be a “blue for 30 minutes button” for the same reasons you guys listed at the end of reason #3. So much easier than using the app

[@Phangmaster]

golden rules: feed as much as possible into your reef tank WITHOUT affecting water quality. Do NOT quarantine your fish, unless you're willing to really do it properly, which is VERY difficult. This is the job of your local store, it should be their expertise, they should be aware of all the diseases and pests and how exactly to treat them. This is way beyond hobbyists, except the very, very dedicated. Instead, learn to dip your new purchases, this is easy, quick and very safe.

[@urpoche]

A big mistake you make with the Nori is that 80% of Nori is cabbage being passed as Nori. The EU just released a report on this.

[@mteske1]

You can even use Amazon outlet plugs as smart outlets and use phone to turn on and off

[@zozocreek8327]

Awesome video guys

[@leeleecee4689]

This hobby is all about trial and error and how much work you want to put into it. Some people are blessed and it seems like they can grow anything! You can do everything right and still not be able to grow certain corals. I got a friend who can grow every acro you can think of, we run very similar systems, but can’t keep a Trachy to save his life. I can grow some acros but can’t keep stylophoras at all, but I have some beautiful trachyphillias. It’s just trial and error and just love whatever you can get to grow at times lol

[@gb3496]

No, this hobby is NOT about trial and error... These are real, LIVE, animals we are dealing with...

[@lincolntowns1480]

I was dosing ONLy alk for a long time and my tank everything I bought was dying and I had to clue why. Just thought I’d put that here. Dose equal CAL and ALK or your tank will be crap

[@jdmmarcelo10]

Romaine lettuce 😂 what the making a fish salad .. I heard of people feeding cucumbers to tangs also haha

[@Name-ot3xw]

Nicrew lights have buttons up front to adjust color, if you're too cheap to buy a spectrum controller.

[@Whiskeys_Reef]

That is interesting about the CARX with 2 part. Do you mind if I ask why? I have the Super Reef Octopus CR5000D 8" Calcium Reactor, and the Ice Cap Kalk Stirrer which I put 3800 ML of water through per day. That takes care of 99.99% of the demand on my SPS system, and it could easily do 100% with one more click on that Kamoer pump, but I still have the 2 DOS pumps for the BRS Hybrid 3 part + C in place dosing a tiny 10 ML/Day. The reason I left them on there was a tiny bit for trace, but mainly because if I'm out of town and I run out of CO2, or something goes wrong with Kalk, my Trident will let me know and those are very easy to ramp up and get me by. Is there some reason that 2 part reacts with the other methods? Or is it just too complex to be trying to balance all of it?

[@Will40th]

What would help world wide coral adds to there website . Best position for the coral we buy . Since there’s a lot of us that are new to the hobby

[@philcavallini9657]

Kessil has the app on it phone besides the controller u can get for them. I installed them on a clients tank with the app on the phone but no lie, the light registering on the app was a nightmare. Took an hour easily but it was my first time using the app.

[@cloydlaporte9790]

I'm new (after having a tank 15 years ago), and I'm lucky enough to find myself a short distance from WWC where I have bought my waterbox and first few fish. I understand that WWC is not (yet) fully quarantining. But WWC is doing quite a bit -- am I going to gain much from the 10 gallon system Ryan is recommending vs. what WWC is doing for us?

[@MACNTOSFAM]

just be forewarned, just because wwc uses these methods, it doesn’t mean it could also work for you or even applies to you.

[@BRStv]

So true! Every tank setup is a little different and sometimes it takes a little trial and error until you find a system that works best for you.

[@waterlover]

Number one thing the hobby should stop doing is buying expensive corals plain in simple but since they rely on selling expensive corals they won’t speak the truth.

[@senegalus]

number 2, overfeeding; i dont have problems with phosphate and nitrate beeing too high (the opposite) but the only conclusion to handle this problem if you are not many hours at home is to use a automatic feeder...right?

[@BRStv]

Automatic feeders can be great tools if used properly. Small, but frequent feedings benefit many of the fish that we keep in our aquariums. Just start with a small amount, continue to monitor your nitrates and phosphates, and adjust the amount you're feeding as necessary.

[@keg1029]

Ryan… did you ever create the video on how to DIY an isolation box?

[@GeneralGP114]

If I don't have a protein skimmer and preform water changes every week . Is that fine or still to many water changes ?

[@BRStv]

Weekly water changes are a great filtration solution, especially if you don't have a skimmer or much other filtration. It's all about the right balance of filtration methods for your particular tank.

[@TheTrueMitch]

I was at the Georgia aquarium 2 months ago and they had clips all over with romaine lettuce lol

[@Brucelovesjulie]

That's sad lol

[@ILmachiner]

The analogy of the chef has an issue. The issue is the sacred elephant. Lots of people in this hobby follow sacred elephants.

[@stephlamarch9196]

😅 i used to do romain lettuce about 30 years ago😂

[@brandonc2401]

Things the hobby should stop doing… charging so much for corals 😂

[@ReRe-yl6dq]

number 2 contradicts WWCs heavy in heavy out motto they have always said about feeding

[@DhG4410]

It’s probably more geared for newbies that don’t have a heavy export

[@dusk1947]

It’s not a contradiction, but it’s easy to see why that point was missed. They are discussing concepts, not expanding on them. The N and P testing is what clues us in. If your N or P is very high or continually rising, then you don’t have a “heavy-out” at the same level as what you’re feeding. And at a small scale, we may or may not be able to establish a sufficient level of primary producers (things that photosynthesize) to consume a high amount of waste. If you can’t, then it comes down to increased pressure on your filtration and dilution. As a heavy-in approach with insufficient uptake, means you’re just polluting the tank. That’s the underlying point in #2. That's one of the problems with taking advice from a farm. Vic knows what he's doing, his farm shows that plain as day. But, what works on a 4,000 gallon farm with dozens of grow beds and hundreds of fish. Is not always a 1:1 on a small system. The concepts are the same, but the details will miss-match. We can glean lessons, and draw understanding, but we can't create a carbon copy at a smaller scale. Much in the same way you should not base a 4,000 gallon farm on a 100 gallon hobby system. It doesn't work in practice in either direction.

[@mikearagon4357]

And most hobbyists work so aren’t hovering over tanks all day to feed 5 times etc…

[@Yazannreef]

they said feed what you normally feed but just break it up into multiple meals instead on 1 or two big ones. so they are accurate with the heavy input and heavy output.

[@alfredtolentino8614]

What are your thoughts on Titanium Heater life replacement?

[@enricojaun2880]

I started putting duct tape on the cord for new equipment with a start date written on it. I go a little over a year for submersible stuff. A lot longer for lights though.

[@timjohnson3913]

It isn’t intuitive, but Romaine lettuce is actually very nutrient dense. It is way closer to kale than it is to iceberg lettuce. I don’t agree with the reasoning in the video that fish aren’t cows so Romaine is a bad choice. It might be a bad choice, but it isn’t bc lettuce is grown on dry land and fish are in the ocean. Almost any land omnivore or herbivore can eat algae, seaweed, sea asparagus, etc and it is very nutritious. Yet if we followed the fallacious reasoning in the video, one would conclude a land animal should never eat these sea plants, algae, etc.

[@peterdamico336]

Do you know if you can do a brackish water reef tank? I’d like to have a Diamond back terrapin turtle in a coral tank!

[@BRStv]

I'm not aware of coral that do well in brackish water. Generally speaking, we aim for 35 ppt in our coral reef tanks.

[@tayy4123]

I like the newer yest strips that have the alk and dkh but there just a color range not an exact number

[@jamesbroderick3660]

Kessil may not have a built in timer, like other lights. But I’ll tell you one thing. Kessil is more user friendly then AI Prime and other lights. You almost need a college degree to use some of theses lights.

[@BRStv]

The "Kessil Logic" definitely helps take some of the guess work out of setting up the right spectrum on their lights, that's for sure.

[@jamesbroderick3660]

@@BRStv yes sir it dose. It’s great for people like me. Who are not tech savvy. Kessil are more user friendly. Yea it sucks you have to spend an extra 100$ on the controller.

[@annebartells777]

I am not tech savvy. When I was in college, PC didn't exist. It's when we had to walk to school uphill 20 miles both way. Anyways, I'm digressing, Kessel controller was easy for me to figure out how to program. That's a huge plus

[@jamesbroderick3660]

@@annebartells777 yes it is. Kessil lights all the way…

[@grcunning]

back in the 90s i fed romaine lettuce to my tangs

[@Chris58369]

They buying WWC next??? 😅😅😅

[@opethmike]

Stop buying from branded chop shops *cough*

[@UnMinutoViajando]

Customers who make simple errors should not have a marine tank but a cat instead. 😂😊

[@don_chuwish]

Don't listen to advice from someone who doesn't have a long term successful tank that you admire.

[@barryrichards5015]

no, dont tell me what to do

[@blackvisionaryc3868]

Send me $20 bucks🤷🏾‍♂️