What are the Most Common Questions beginners have in our hobby? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Lake]

This club is awesome and the most stressful part for anyone is the HUGE learning curve to get off the ground. My questions for the newest people and most expereinced people is...

What are the most common questions beginners have in our hobby?
What are the most common misconceptions/mistakes veterans cringe at?​

If you have a useful website to help, please post. Once we have a few posts, I'd like to compile a list with some helpful websites, resources and links.

I know we're all like family and like to get distracted on tangents, but try and keep the off topic posts to a minimum.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[.Marshall]

How many fish can I haz!

 

[Xmn reeferX]

What kind of light should I use?
I feel like I see that 2 or 3 times a day

 

[Kevin Lake]

I think the question I see a lot is when someone is cycling a tank for the first time. I see a lot about diatoms, red slime and the ugly brown mats of gunk on rocks and the sand. This is part of the nitrogen cycle (link) and is one of the most basic parts of learning about aquarium biology (all life starts at the microscopic level).

The various living things we find in our tanks...
Algae, Bacteria, Red Slime, Diatoms: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/conditions.html
Bugs & Random Hitchhikers: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchodds.html
Crabs: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchcrabs.html
Star Fish: http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchstars.html

 

[Stoneyj33]

Noob - do I really need to change my water?

Vet- anything to do with lighting...

 

[Fletch]

One thing I wish I would've known more about was the advantages of a sump/skimmer. While I'm doing my huge water changes, I look back and cringe.

 

[acharpenter]

What is an RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized Water) filter and what are the benefits of using it?

http://www.melevsreef.com/why_rodi.html

 

[Kepler]

What are the most common misconceptions/mistakes veterans cringe at?

Overstocking, stocking too fast, using tap water, feeding only (un-enriched) frozen brine shrimp, and worst of all: NOT LISTENING TO ADVICE :rotflmao:

 

[Matt D.]

These are questions I had when I first started:

What does SPS, LPS, NPS and softy mean?
What is a sump?
What is a skimmer?
What is a powerhead?
What is live rock?
What is T5/T8/VHO/power compact/metal halide lighting?
What is a frag/fragging?
Who is your daddy and what does he do?
What should my test parameters read?
What is 2-part dosing?

I'm sure I'll think of more...

 

[noeldokken]

Should I start my aquarium cycling with a damsel.

 

[ironman]

What is a sump?
Should I run one?
How do I plumb it? (should list the different methods, Durso, Herbie, Beananimal etc.)
Should I drill my tank or use an overflow.

 

[Kevin Lake]

What is a sump?
Who is your daddy and what does he do?

One thing I wish I would've known more about was the advantages of a sump/skimmer. While I'm doing my huge water changes, I look back and cringe.

What is a sump?
Should I run one?
How do I plumb it? (should list the different methods, Durso, Herbie, Beananimal etc.)
Should I drill my tank or use an overflow.

It sounds like sumps is going to be a big one!
Sumps by Melevs Reef (Link)
Reef Keeping: Sumps Index (Link)
Reef Keeping: Sumps Part 1 (Link)
Reef Keeping: Sumps Part 2 (Link)
Reef Keeping: Sumps Part 3 (Link)

This is what I have bookmarked - it's a start... There is a LOT of info out there on sumps, and some new people may not read everything. Sometime in the near future, I'll combine everyone's thoughts and resources and work something up into a "resource guide".