What Is Something That Is Overrated In The Hobby?

[Reefkeepers Archive]

In this hobby there isn't just one way to success, though some people will try to tell you that. There are many opinions and methods to try, many species to keep and many brands and products to use. And while most of them work well or are nice to keep, some of them aren't as good as people give them credit to be. That being said, what do you think are some of the most overrated aspects of the reefkeeping hobby?


I'll go first


#1: Ecotech vortechs, while they are definitely a quality product, $800 is alot to pay for what is simply a wireless powerhead.

#2: Acans, controversial but favias are arguably much better

#3: Chromis, that school won't last for long.


What's your list?

 

[kyleinpdx]

manufacturer specific apps. GIVE ME OPEN STANDARDS

anything with "ultra" "super" "dragon" etc in the name

the word and emoji (fire/flame)

 

[DIFish]

Those crazy expensive “holy grail”corals-
Under normal lights they don’t look that different from cheaper options and the average non-hobbyist probably finds pulsing Xenia better looking.

Rimless tanks-
They look cool in photos but allow fish to jump, things to fall into the tank, and are more expensive in general.

 

[Thumbster]

Why do you think acans are better than Favia? I just put my first Acan and Favia in the tank a few weeks ago. Just curious.

 

[exnisstech]

I'll get hammered but here it goes. Fleece rollers and UV.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

SPS. If you want something shiny, delicate, branching, expensive, and that doesn't grow much, buy a chandelier. I'll stick to these things, thank you very much. Just as pretty, and they won't give me anxiety when I look away from the tank more than 30 minutes. They also grow more than 1" every year.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Why do you think acans are better than Favia? I just put my first Acan and Favia in the tank a few weeks ago. Just curious.

Acans grow skeleton first and won't encrust on rockwork, plus they only really come in red/orange and are just not my thing, favias are superior.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Those crazy expensive “holy grail”corals-
Under normal lights they don’t look that different from cheaper options and the average non-hobbyist probably finds pulsing Xenia better looking.

Rimless tanks-
They look cool in photos but allow fish to jump, things to fall into the tank, and are more expensive in general.

Agree with rimless tanks, I think that a canopy on an aquarium makes it look 10× better and you just can't do that witn a rimless tank, and evaporation paired with jumping fish isn't fun

 

[SashimiTurtle]

In this hobby there isn't just one way to success, though some people will try to tell you that. There are many opinions and methods to try, many species to keep and many brands and products to use. And while most of them work well or are nice to keep, some of them aren't as good as people give them credit to be. That being said, what do you think are some of the most overrated aspects of the reefkeeping hobby?


I'll go first


#1: Ecotech vortechs, while they are definitely a quality product, $800 is alot to pay for what is simply a wireless powerhead.

#2: Acans, controversial but favias are arguably much better

#3: Chromis, that school won't last for long.


What's your list?

Theybare expensive and I wish someonenwould come out with a clone already, but the only power heads I'll put in my tank are Vortechs. The no 'wires in the tank' is the ticket for me, and until someone else comes up with another pump I'll run them, while complaining about the price.(I still want 2 MP60s to go with my 2 MP40s.)


How dare you blaspheme against my beloved acans! lol... I think they are Micromussa now? Quite possibly my all time favorite coral, but yes, favia can be nice also... I just like the extremely fleshy LPS better. Acans, trachys, scolys, ect...

My over rated, Acropora. They are so expensive, grow so slowly and if you sneeze in the same room your whole tank crashes.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Theybare expensive and I wish someonenwould come out with a clone already, but the only power heads I'll put in my tank are Vortechs. The no 'wires in the tank' is the ticket for me, and until someone else comes up with another pump I'll run them, while complaining about the price.(I still want 2 MP60s to go with my 2 MP40s.)


How dare you blaspheme against my beloved acans! lol... I think they are Micromussa now? Quite possibly my all time favorite coral, but yes, favia can be nice also... I just like the extremely fleshy LPS better. Acans, trachys, scolys, ect...

My over rated, Acropora. They are so expensive, grow so slowly and if you sneeze in the same room your whole tank crashes.

Pretty sure micromussa are a kind of favia!

Also I think ecotech patented their wireless powerhead so I don't think we'll be seeing another one anytime soon

 

[Wasabiroot]

I'll get hammered but here it goes. Fleece rollers and UV.

I agree - they come across as essentially a 300 dollar toilet paper roller with a subscription fee. And most UV units either have: incorrect flow rates, insufficient contact time, and insufficient power to truly disinfect the water. They may aid in motile stages (i.e. when a parasite moves to the free swimming stage) but even then it doesn't get everything.
For me it'd have to be either ICP testing or bacteria assays. Both show lots of promise and I'm sure they have great utility for larger operations, but I don't think the average hobbyist needs to know how many parts per billion of a rare earth metal they have. They are excellent for detecting heavy metal contamination or troubleshooting some kind of unknown issue that is suspected to be contamination, but otherwise 40 dollars a month is a lot of money to tell you about some element that is low and can be replaced with a water change. I also feel that they contribute to fixing an issue that isn't the source of a larger issue, i.e. it's much more likely salinity, nutrient levels, or some other thing causing a problem than say, manganese. Now, if you are dosing and use them to test for consumption, awesome, but they're still super pricy for something that could measure totally different the next day. and the cheaper tests are poor at accurately depicting trace element concentration as their margin of error is as large or larger than the amount detected, lol.
As for bacterial assays, I think they are potentially the next frontier of reefing, but they are still too nascent/new and I feel we don't have enough ways to apply the knowledge we get from them in a manner that offers a tangible benefit. Like, I could send off a sample and find out my microbiome has too much Arcobacter, but what am I gonna do, shrink down to a microscopic size and tell them to leave? Not to mention we don't even fully understand the relationship between the coral holobiont and the bacteria we are checking for - so to come to conclusions and actions from a pie chart seems way too early to me. It seems that while we can control the growth of bacteria via, say, carbon dosing, it is much harder to select for a specific strain that colonizes rock in a way that is adjustable or easily tweak-able. One day, sure, but not at the moment. For me anyways.

 

[Troylee]

Corals under all blue lighting..

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Copepods, the more you add the faster they will solve your algae problems.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Acans grow skeleton first and won't encrust on rockwork, plus they only really come in red/orange and are just not my thing, favias are superior.

This coral is probably extinct now, as I am the only one that I know of who had it. The vendor is no longer in business, but he called it "Snake Eyes acan." It was dark blue with light blue and yellow stripes. I've had red/blue, green/yellow, green/purple red/orange red/yellow... acans come in all colors. I think the variety we had about 5 years ago has shrunk significantly.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Pretty sure micromussa are a kind of favia!

Nope, they reclissified "acans" several years ago. The hobby just calls them acans still.

"Micromussa lordhowensis, previously known as the 'Acan Lord', is a species of stony coral in the family Lobophylliidae. It is a widespread and common[2] coral with large polyps occurring on shallow reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It was originally classified under the genus Acanthastrea, and reclassified under the genus Micromussa in 2016."

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

This coral is probably extinct now, as I am the only one that I know of who had it. The vendor is no longer in business, but he called it "Snake Eyes acan." It was dark blue with light blue and yellow stripes. I've had red/blue, green/yellow, green/purple red/orange red/yellow... acans come in all colors. I think the variety we had about 5 years ago has shrunk significantly.

I've seen some acans that are green before, though pretty uncommon, I have to say my real beef with acans is they won't encrust like favias, I try to keep my corals off the sandbed.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I've seen some acans that are green before, though pretty uncommon, I have to say my real beef with acans is they won't encrust like favias, I try to keep my corals off the sandbed.

They grow more like blastos. They VERY slowly encrust, but grow more in a dome. They do not grow flat over the rock like a favia. BTW my personal favorite favia is candy corn.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

manufacturer specific apps. GIVE ME OPEN STANDARDS

anything with "ultra" "super" "dragon" etc in the name

the word and emoji (fire/flame)

Not complaining whatsoever because I love this piece but this is the ultra favia I picked up from my LFS

 

[Kmarshall168]

Personally cant stand zoanthids, look terrible as a frag and don't get much better as they grow also "high end" can take a leap off a cliff

 

[Gundy]

I'll get hammered but here it goes. Fleece rollers and UV.

Depending on how big your system is, how heavily your tank is stocked and how well these pieces of equipment work within your system will determine their value. I seem to notice people with larger tanks and higher bio loads use these pieces of equipment with positive results. My new 380 gallon tank will be set up with dual uv sterilizers and dual fleece rollers. But my bio load will be extremely heavy due to a lot of fish- and large fish. Both are proven pieces of equipment but not necessarily needed for some and invaluable to others.