Do you think you have enough reefing knowledge to be a mentor on any level?

[revhtree]

Just wondering if you feel like your skills are good enough that you could actually mentor someone new to the hobby or someone looking to learn more advanced techniques!

Could you be a mentor?

What level would best fit you mentorship skills? Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced?

FYI we're not asking people to be mentors, I am just wondering at this time!

 

[Sump Crab]

I would say yes, I can be a mentor. The only caveat would be I need to mentor a person who wants to run a tank the way I do - 100% ocean rock,no sps, no qt, no dipping, no dosing, etc. I could never offer advice on the newer ways of reef keeping. I've been following my version of the Berlin method for about 20 years now with solid success.

 

[Troylee]

Just wondering if you feel like your skills are good enough that you could actually mentor someone new to the hobby or someone looking to learn more advanced techniques!

Could you be a mentor?

What level would best fit you mentorship skills? Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced?

FYI we're not asking people to be mentors, I am just wondering at this time!

I’ll go with good! In between intermediate and advanced haha! I’ve actually got a few locals feet wet and they’re doing well! And a couple on the forums hot me up for advice and so far so good!

 

[brandon429]

I wish people would send me their most messed up reef tank cycles, let me work them, ignore any counter input, they would follow the plan and post the results. I will be fully accountable for their results/I'm easy to find here if bad calls are made.

Looking to work cycle troubleshoots to establish new patterns.

 

[EliMelly]

Definitely not for sps, but I can definitely help someone with the basics get into the hobby. @Slocke helped me get my start.

 

[Naekuh]

Certain corals, and generic setup yes...
Can probably even go as far as hardware on certain items, and pumps / flow dynamics.

Not so much with fish, and reef chemistry manipulation.

 

[Kasrift]

This is a fascinating question. I feel like I've accumulated a lot of knowledge in my reefing journey and spend all day looking at information in my free time, but I'd never say that I'd be knowledgeable enough to be a mentor.

The funniest thing about reefing is that there are a lot of variables, crowd sourcing information or ideas is a great way to ensure that things can be remedied. I think people that use one source of "truth" such as YouTube video guy told me "x y z" or I read this thread, get to laser focused on only one way forward. People find success with many methods, certain things just are unaccounted for (water source may change how many stages in your RODI you need for example, or access to fresh air in a cold state may limit how much you open your windows which could affect the pH), and ecosystems aren't something you can just replicate.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I don't know a lot of the intricate things about the hobby, but I feel like I have a good knowledge on the basic aspects and I'm always willing to help people out in anyway I can

 

[Griev]

I think it would depend on the topic area.

Hopefully any mentor would be willing to share recent tank shots and run a build thread that helps others understand the problems and obstacles they've faced and how they solved them.

I never know what to do with suggestions/recommendations from accounts without any evidence that what they're recommending actually worked for them.

 

[exnisstech]

While I try to help out as much as I can with the knowledge I have accumulated I don't feel knowledgeable enough to be a mentor. Being a mentor would also require me to be somewhat responsible for the outcome of my advice and I definitely don't have the confidence for that.

 

[Doctorgori]

Sorta, but seems the gold standard for God status is “SPS stick head” so in that case: no
I do have a few decades experience but can hardly name a dang coral let alone pronounce it…

….besides, not being a hater, but IMO some of the so called Gods of this hobby hardly are

 

[MoshJosh]

I feel fairly confident that I could mentor someone just getting into the hobby!

 

[AnomMatty]

I think everyone retains the ability to mentor at some level. The ability to recognize where your knowledge base needs improving is the kicker for a lot of folks. The humility in this thread is *chef's kiss* though.

 

[KrisReef]

I'm struggling with the title question:

Do you think (yes)​

you have enough reefing knowledge (could always use more, generally)​

to be a mentor on any level?​

I don't know everything so I can't help GOD fix his reefs, so at least one 'level' is out, so I can't be a mentor on all levels.

Ditto for Chemistry. RHF knows just slightly more than me on that 'level', so there are at least two levels that I can't operate on as a mentor. Someone else is better at that than me.

Following this cascade logically, I think that I can be a mentor for how to think about a reef tank but there are other people who can function as a mentor better than me at all levels so I will let them do the mentoring that God created them to handle and I will just make these kinds of comments when they support a reasonable conclusion.

No one needs a mentor at the bottom level, we can all do that without a mentor.

Mentor "at" or "too" some level, but again it's hard to know who knows what about a subject and often being in the basement is the safest place to operate.

From my basement bunker beneath the riots of humans seeking to establish world peace without an understanding of why their piece is missing and beleive that they can declare they have a piece of peace and they will have it because they did declare it.

I try to help out when I thnk I can.

 

[kevgib67]

I certainly fall short in some categories, fish diseases, equipment and sps. But there are certain categories I feel confident in to mentor, I stick with these to offer opinions and advice and let the experts chime in on the other ones.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Yes 100% but SPS and complex dosing/chemistry is not my expertise! Puffers and inverts are!

 

[Reefer Matt]

One of my favorite parts of reefing is helping others. That’s how I get to meet so many awesome Reefers! I’m always willing to help. Though I don’t know it all (or need to), I usually can find someone to fill in my knowledge gaps if required. Reefers may private message, email, and leave a comment on my forum or YouTube channel if they wish.

 

[CrimsonTide]

When people ask for my advice I give it if I have an answer and tell people to look something up if I don't.

I wouldn't say mentor level yes I would say I will always help someone out if they have questions and tell them how most people would do something or how I've found something easier.

I dont run SPS sticks in my tank so I wouldn't advise on that but I can definitely help someone starting out and I know a few things about having to rip down move and set up tanks as I've done it a few times now moving house and going through a leak.

 

[twentyleagues]

When I hear Mentor I think of one of the people years ago that helped me. He knew what seemed like everything, chemistry, coral names, disease and how to help it or prevent it, lighting, flow, aquascape, that to me was a mentor. I could help someone new starting a tank, get them through the cycle, qt, even probably suggest some equipment and corals. I dont know if you'd call that a mentor, personally I wouldn't.

 

[alain Bouchard]

I could give guidance, answer questions, point to some readings; but I would certainly not tell someone what to do and how. I think the basic of this hobby is learning, most of us who have been in the hobby a decently long enough time are learning almost everyday. If the person start by doing lot of reading like most of us did, than I'd happily try to help him in the way he choose to do reefing.