Is it possible to "master" reefing?

[vlangel]

I would say that I have mostly mastered keeping the kind of reef I have chosen to keep: a softie/LPS reef with ornamental macroalgae that is home to omnivore fish and some easy inverts. It's easy stuff to keep but my fish live long lives (decade/s) and I have had some of my coral a long time as well.

 

[o2manyfish]

I was trying to think of things that are actually "Mastered" to wit someone could be a Master of. If you Master something you should be able to predict all the possible outcomes, account, and adjust so that you always get the results you intended.

Golfing Masters... Nope. What Golfer can make the same shot over and over again, or shoot the same course with same score over and over again. They are skilled but they haven't mastered it.

Someone Tightrope walking between 2 buildings on a lil steel cable. They do it over and over again....that's someone that has mastered a skill.

Chess Masters -- Yep I'll give it to some of them.

From my perspective Formula 1 drivers are Masters. These guys jump into a car with a 1000 hp. Every weekend they go around a different course in a different country. And when it comes time to qualify those drivers can drive 2.5 miles around 19 turns at up to 215mph. And each time they do a lap they are within 100ths of a second of the previous one. And when you look a field of 20 drivers, in 20 different cars, and the top 10 all went 2.5 miles and did it within a 10th of a second of each other (over and over and over)... Those guys are masters. Try walking in a straight line from one end of your room to the other with a stop watch and see what it takes to do repeat waking across the room and cross the distance each time within a 10th of a second of the last time you walked across the room.....

Mastering a Reef... There are so many factors that you have to be able to acknowledge and adjust for... Can you ever possibly master it? Build 2 identical Reef tanks, Mount 25 identical corals, duplicate every single variable on the two tanks. Are you going to end up with 2 reef tanks that look the same? At the end of 12,24,36,60, 72 months will both tanks have the same inventory of 25 corals in it? Are Coral A1 in tank 1 and Coral A2 in tank 2 going to have the same growth, color, weight - when all conditions were identical.

NOPE.

Our hobby is a living thing. It would be impossible to Master something that is literally always evolving and changing. So many factors quickly alter the direction of parameters within an enclosed environment - And noboby can predict what they are and in what combination they can occur.

You can do your best... But alas.... There is always the next failure or loss at which time you learn something and adjust your situation so that doesn't happen again.

If you are well experienced in this Hobby, and well educated and read.... Who would believe is a Master?

Would it be Sanjay Yoshi, Julian Sprung, Mike Paletta, Andrew Polo Reef, David Saxby.... These are all great reefers and aquarists. But it's not hard to search online and read about the different issues everyone of them has experienced in the hobby.

Andrew of Polo Reef is a great example. Andrew has the means and resources to gather the best people in multiple fields of the hobby and have them collaborate together to maintain his Reef Museum (Museum seems appropriate for the various one of a kind things he has under his care). And Andrew / POLO Reef has an amazing team that shares the journey with Social Media and other outlets. And you know Polo Reef (as a team not a person) is always learning new things, developing new skills, adjusting their procedures to get better and better outcomes for their livestock. Are they Masters, Is there an overall Master... I don't think there can be because they are always having to learn about something new.

Anyone that reads this and thinks I'm throwing shade on any of these people, or disrespecting their experience, knowledge and success - I'm not. Because with most of these people, in person we have talked about our failures and challenges in this hobby face to face and multiple times over the decades we have known each other. (Okay I don't like Saxby so I am throwing shade on him! - But I spent hours sitting across from him on multiple occassions, listening to his bamboozeld ramblings and I don't like him).

Some people are really good at keeping corals and fish alive and healthy. But when you meet someone that says they've never lost a fish or a coral since they started the hobby....That person is not a master. That's someone who hasn't been in the hobby long enough to get salt creep around the edges of their tank.

We shoud all strive to be the best we can for the health of our livestock, but a living thing I don't is something any of us will ever be able to Master.


Just the ramblings and biased opinions of an old reefer who has had many successes over the decades and many heart breaking failures.

Dave B

 

[Lavey29]

In its house?

Man's best friend

 

[TBSB2019]

When you think you have it all figured out, BAM!! WHAT IT THE XXXX IS THIS!!! Or WHAT CAUSED THIS!!!! Or WHY IS THIS DOING THIS?? IT WAS FINE THIS MORNING!!!!!

 

[CHSUB]

Must define “master” and by my definition, yes. I can, in a bowl, keep a fish alive and thriving with a coral and only an air pump indefinitely. While understanding what is happening in that bowl.

 

[rpkneumann]

Master in the sense you achieve a level of confidence, proficiency and can do everything at a professional level ... then that would be "Mastery"
I believe there are people like that, but the majority is like me... let me learn while I'm going ....and not stop. Keeps it exciting.

 

[KrisReef]

I've been in the reefkeeping hobby for over 40 years, and I also ran a wholesale operation for 7 years. After being out of the hobby for the past 10 years, I’ve spent the last year reading on this site and other sources to get back up to speed. I'm diving back in this November, but do I think I’ve mastered reefkeeping? Absolutely not.

To truly consider yourself a "master" in this field, you’d need to master several professions along the way each of which may take a lifetime Here's a list of just a few:

• Marine Biologist: Understanding the complex ecosystems, biological interactions, and life cycles of marine organisms.
• Chemist: Mastering water chemistry, including salinity, pH, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, and trace elements.
• Engineer: Designing and maintaining complex filtration, lighting, and flow systems.
• Electrician: Wiring and setting up controllers, lights, and pumps safely and efficiently.
• Plumber: Managing plumbing for drains, overflows, sumps, and reactors.
• Veterinarian: Diagnosing and treating diseases in fish and corals.
• Nutritionist: Understanding and providing the right diet for all tank inhabitants, from fish to invertebrates.
• Environmental Scientist: Balancing sustainability and understanding the impact of human activity on reefs, both in aquariums and in the wild.
• Aquaculturist: Breeding and propagating species in captivity, contributing to the sustainability of the hobby.

And that’s just a fraction of it. The hobby has evolved dramatically, and as much as I’ve seen and done, there's always more to learn. Mastery, in my opinion, is an elusive goal because the ocean’s complexity is far beyond anything we can fully replicate. Every day is a reminder of just how much more there is to discover and understand.

Yeah, you should have probably mentioned window washer in the list?

 

[timmyrules]

I don’t really think it’s possible to “master” reefing….but I know some people are SUPER good at it, I am not one of those people tho. I find myself smiling at the end of the day if nothing died that day ….but I really do think that there always more to learn.

 

[luis angel]

I believe, just IMHO that if someone has maintained an aquarium for a period of 10 to 20 years, even if they still have many things to learn, I think they should be considered a reefing master, because even if new information comes out and everyone says wow, I didn't know that, that person knew how to keep their aquarium alive and growing without that information, there is always something new to learn but I think that if you knew how to maintain and grow an aquarium without that information you should consider yourself a reefing master, Sincerely a newbie in this beautiful hobby

 

[NeveSSL]

Nope. Too much is unknown.

 

[SunnyX]

Yes.

 

[AetherealKnight]

With time, patience, immortality and a winning lotto ticket one can become the god emperor of reefs ..Not me though

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Yes absolutely they can. Mastering does not mean knowing everything. Just like there is a "master gardener," there can be a "master reefer."

 

[jjjameson333]

Ha!…. Squinty Face……. **** now!

 

[MoshJosh]

While I agree that there will always be something g new to learn, that is true of almost any skill or hobby.

A true master understands that and incorporates that understanding into their mastery

 

[Signalhead]

I'm not sure if you can master anything fully, I am certainly no master at keeping coral. But I think if you can get your fish immune and have them live for their presumed lifespan while never having been infected by anything and all your fish that can spawn in a tank are spawning, you have mastered fish keeping. At least for the fish you are keeping. We can't be masters of fish we have never kept and there are millions.

I am a Master electrician and still get shocked, so I guess I am not the master I think I am.

Get them sparky! I'm retired master electrician and level 3 signal technician, and it gets me once in a while.

 

[zheka757]

I will call some one a reefing master when they can define what RTN and STN is and what truly causes it everything. So far I haven't found or heard of this master.

 

[Paul B]

I will call some one a reefing master when they can define what RTN and STN is and what truly causes it everything. So far I haven't found or heard of this master.

Maybe thats because they never have to deal with that.

 

[zheka757]

Maybe thats because they never have to deal with that.

but is that truly a case? ther is experienced reefer who never had rtn/stn? Florida reefs had rtn and whole team of marine biology graduates have no answer why!

 

[Reef Puncher]

randy hit it on the head. depends on what master means to you. to me, if you mastered it, it means you mastered stability. You have dialed in your tank so that you dont have swings, you know exactly how to dose, to keep it stable and keep everything alive and healthy, and there are no issues that arise that you dont have a handle on, or know how to tackle.

If someone thinks of mastering as you know everything there is to know, then no, there cant be a master. Hell, scientists still dont fully understand the zooxanthellae relationship, i remember reading a study where they didnt have an explanation for something...i dont remember, but my point is there is always more to learn.