Tired of false information

[rtparty]

It would depend on what is in the tank.

Nope

Doesn’t matter if it is all SPS or LPS if it’s dropping 2-3dkh daily. How do we address that drop with just water changes?

Simple answer: you can’t.

Longer answer: technically you could by doing daily 100% water changes but good luck

 

[Thalasstronaut]

I imagine all hobbies are affected by this scourge.

I play guitar and gear reviews videos are as bad as you’re describing. Infomercials that people willingly watch. I used to have a list of adjectives I pulled from guitar pedal videos. “Creamy midrange” and other nonsense.

There’s an extra level of nefariousness with the reef stuff, though, because animals are at stake. If you dupe some poor sap into paying $300 for a reverb pedal, then that’s just hollow retail therapy. If you do it with an aquarium that the hobbyist isn’t prepared to take care of, that’s lives at risk because of irresponsible husbandry.

It’s all just inadequate scratching at spiritual itches. Get the latest wiz bang and then finally your corals will thrive but really you’ll achieve inner peace. If you can shut out the noise and enjoy your life, well you’re practically half way to nirvana.

 

[DoktorZhivago]

He had some good cichlid stuff in the fresh water side if you're into big cichlid tanks. But he's long been a seachem rep and the advice stuff started turning into ads. Once he started talking about denitrification in canister filters because of some seachem product I knew it was all nonsense

 

[jft]

Personally, I no longer trust alot of seachem claims and they NEVER seem to answer their phone anymore, left messages x3 No one ever called me back.

 

[kenchilada]

The internet is full of bad information, including tons of it here on R2R.

Don’t trust anyone unless you’ve seen their tank.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I always try to research any product or brand before trying it out on/in my tank.There is a lot of good and bad information out there.

 

[Sabellafella]

How do water changes keep up with tanks using 2-3dkh of alkalinity per day?

With the addition of two part calcium reactor and kalkwasser of course. I do 25 percent water changes weekly. I would jave to do atleast 80 90 percent every 2 days to keep up with alk demand

 

[rtparty]

With the addition of two part calcium reactor and kalkwasser of course. I do 25 percent water changes weekly. I would jave to do atleast 80 90 percent every 2 days to keep up with alk demand

Missed the point.

The OP is complaining about someone pushing products which happen to be a 2 part type system. Then they want to say they’ve run tanks of all sizes on water changes and QT only.

It would be safe to assume they’ve never run a tank that eats up 2, 3, 4dkh per day.

The most ironic part is complaining about someone pushing products but yet putting their video here on R2R where it’s going to get loads more views now

 

[ca1ore]

Generally, none of this is new news. Whether YouTube, instagram, Facebook, etc., charlatans/frauds hawking some miraculous product or extolling their limited knowledge/experience have always been a dime a dozen. All that is required is a reasonable grasp of English and a smart phone ….. and they’re an ‘expert’. My advice has always been to ignore all of them. Fortunately places like R2R have a significant number of folks who are actual experts.

 

[littlefoxx]

The bigger problem (aside from downloading TikTok in the first place) is that people go to TikTok for anything other than looking for the next Darwin Award winner.

Lol this 100%

 

[BeanAnimal]

this is a very controversial topic

but I’m tired of it… people/influencers?.. trying to sell “magic potion” products to reefers that have no idea what they are talking

It is a story of the chicken and the egg.... which came first, the snake-oil salesman, or the snake oil? Both predate reefing by few year at least.

 

[Sabellafella]

Missed the point.

The OP is complaining about someone pushing products which happen to be a 2 part type system. Then they want to say they’ve run tanks of all sizes on water changes and QT only.

It would be safe to assume they’ve never run a tank that eats up 2, 3, 4dkh per day.

The most ironic part is complaining about someone pushing products but yet putting their video here on R2R where it’s going to get loads more views now

The best anyone can do is take all the information that's out there, and actually form an understanding of what common ground everyone with successful reefs share.

At the end of the day, not just with aquariums but with all aspects of marketing. It's marketing LOL. Problem with our hobby is nothing is consistent with how we "build" our biometrics. Two part may work better for someone then just water changes. Vice versa

I have respect for anyone and anyone taking there time out to educate the community. We also got some fundamental knowledge help from the company's who price gouged us to death.

What i find pretty upsetting is the newer guys that pull products to promote often times are just guinea pigged. For the sake that it's free. I think for what it's worth, that's more of an issue then a hobbiest taking their advice in a negative fashion. Since often times the promoter doesn't know better

 

[EuphyllinOHk]

The information ecosystem has a number of problems. It is absolutely flooded with competing forces and ideas. You almost have to come into the information ecosystem pre-inoculated in order to parse out the good and the bad, but a vast majority of people just don't have that inoculation or the heuristics to do so. Accurate information tends to get outcompeted by better presented information and so you get common myths like the inch per gallon "rule" or the seachem prime ammonia "tricks". Well substantiated articles by Randy or Jay, for example, will tend to get outcompeted by overly self confident influencers who can pump out bunk info over highly curated b-roll.

It's difficult to explain; it feels cynical and circular to try to map out. This sort of content will always have some place in the information ecosystem because there's no real, practical way to eradicate the reasons why it can exist. It's kinda like vermetid snails or aiptasia - you can mitigate it at best, with best practice, once it's loose.

 

[Michael71]

I think before anymore criticism of the op in this thread happens. All reefers need to remember that their tanks/ecosystems are different. I dont doubt that a tank shown in sabellas post which is stunning would definitely take supplementation to maintain. It is packing so many flourishing sps corals in such a comparatively small water volume compared to a natural environment that it would be impossible to accomplish without supplementing trace elements and alk. On the flip side. I kept a lps and soft coral dominated tank by doing 20% water changes weekly and had great growth and extension on all including clams, etc with the salt mix i was using. I didnt dose. Polymate said it well, you have to monitor and see what your tank is telling you. Responsible hobbyists do their research first, set their tank up hopefully based on a stocking plan that happens over time, not overnight. Cycle their tank properly, make sure your biologic filtration, however you accomplish it is sufficient, be cognicent of over feeding and excess nutrients and at least have a rudimentary understanding of water chemistry and the needs of the inhabitants of the tank as they stock. My next build will have a controller, dosing equipment, etc and it will be in place in advance as i plan on doing more sps corals, but it will not be turned on until the tank needs it. I expect it will be a good 6 months of research and planning before i even fill the system. This hobby is expensive, one way or the other. You can try to cut corners but ultimately success is based on close monitoring and small incremental adjustments as your system matures and the changes are needed. Ultimately we all need to remember its no different than having a dog. We are responsible for providing the best environment we can for the living things we choose to keep and that means educating ourselves responsibly.

 

[Dom]

How is the contents of a tank relevant to water changes keeping up with 2-3dkh demand? They can't, in any situation I can think of. Please elaborate

I misread your statement.

I was thinking that a FOWLER would do well just on water changes. But I agree; any tank that has that much alkalinity consumption would require supplementation.

 

[Dom]

Nope

Doesn’t matter if it is all SPS or LPS if it’s dropping 2-3dkh daily. How do we address that drop with just water changes?

Simple answer: you can’t.

Longer answer: technically you could by doing daily 100% water changes but good luck

Lets not be in a rush to crush. As I said; I misread. It said ALK but I was reading Calcium.

 

[areefer01]

Some of us may feel bad about the climate today hobbyist face. There is a lot of information new hobbyist have to sift through to find truth. Doesn't matter what the platform is the information is there and the challenge is to find the right narrative with unbiased slant. Exhausting. Even here some provide information because they like what they hear or read or participation vs actually using the product.

Not much different than when our parents grew up staying outside all day playing cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers or something along those lines. Come in when the street lights are on, etc. We learned by clubs, books, and failures. Not by asking chatgtp, siri, alexa, co-pilot, or forums. USENET was used but more so to communicate.

Ramble aside reefs take years to form and I don't believe that is reflected in social media. Instant bling is the new norm...

 

[Reefer Matt]

FWIW, I use Seachem Reef Fusion 1&2 on both of my sps tanks. It’s definitely one of the most expensive ways to dose two part, but I have failed trying to dose BRS 2 part, etc. because of the high alk demands of my tanks. But I see it as an acceptable cost based on my results. But definitely not the only way to go for a healthy tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, I use Seachem Reef Fusion 1&2 on both of my sps tanks. It’s definitely one of the most expensive ways to dose two part, but I have failed trying to dose BRS 2 part, etc. because of the high alk demands of my tanks. But I see it as an acceptable cost based on my results. But definitely not the only way to go for a healthy tank.

How did you fail with the BRS two part due to high alk demand?

 

[Reefer Matt]

How did you fail with the BRS two part due to high alk demand?

I couldn’t keep up with alk demand. I tried mixing sodium carbonate and bi carbonate to the point of saturation (even heating rodi water on the stove), but it wasn’t enough to realize any savings versus the Seachem product because I had to dose a lot of it (I get wholesale pricing). Trying another product while my tank was swinging in alk didn’t work out well. My sps tanks draw about 1.5-2 dkh of alk a day. Basically a lot of coral in smaller tanks. (50 and 75 gallon). Limewater is not an option I am willing to explore either. I’m wondering if caustic soda might be a better choice as an alternative.