What are your reefing red herrings?

I learned the last fact the hard way. Chasing pristine water quality lead me to dinoflagellates. What fixed it was getting away from Chemi-pure and just using regular carbon and shutting down the super effective refugium and going without. Since doing those things I have brighter coral coloration, better polyp extension, more coraline algae growth. Seems like spending more money isn't always the best idea in this hobby.

"aww..I remember those days" Got me with that one! Alex is the reefing bro reefers need but don't deserve!

It seems to me there are two extremes in reefing. The purists who freak out at every little thing that pops up in their tank and those who like a good bio-diversity (even if that includes some pests). Being part of the latter I can't imagine the stress the former must feel.

This is such a true video. I just set up my new 225 gallon tank. I transplanted fish and some coral from my old system and now just leaving it alone. It looks horrible. But I know from stting up so many tanks over 20 years to just leave it alone. As long as major parameters are in line leave it be. All I can do is mess things up by fiddling with it. Great video.

I used to not like you because I thought you were strange.. but you literally give the best advice about the hobby. I’ve become a huge fan of yours!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! As a beginner when you see beautiful videos and picture perfect photos, it makes you feel not adequate. Reality is when you stop searching perfection, well actually you tank look good. Control parameters and let it be!

I'm 6 months into the hobby and before I got the tank wet I would stay up late researching as much as I could my brain was literally frying lol but I completely agree with not chasing perfection as I have taken things slowly due to money lol and have found this approach so much more stress free (don't get me wrong if I had more spare cash I'd have a full blown reef by now lol) love your videos 👍

Alex have watched a lot of your videos and can't thank you enough for all helpfully guides I have been worried about my corals not growing for a few months now but watched this and am now just waiting for the time when grow like crazy

Always love your insights and agree with ALL on this video!

I really appreciate all your videos on this kind of topics! I didn't know about the coraline algae, that's a pro tip! ❤️ Thanks

I more thing that I've learned and would love to add is obsessing over various dosing methods, is Kalk enough, will 2 parts raise the salinity and kill everything, all these staff, unless every inch of your have a tank filled with coral, and you are skipping water changes for months, nothing to worry.

Oh Alex. You’ve done it again. Gr8 video. My red herring has to be chasing the perfect numbers. PAR, ph, no3….etc, these numbers are RANGES and as long as my numbers fall within these ranges, who cares! But I guess as long as there’s magic elixirs to sell, the numbers will be chased

So good! So funny! Can't think of any - dosing bacteria maybe LoL

Great vid, agree with every part 🙌

Thanks for the overall theme of this video. Watched your videos as a newbie day one and here am a year and a half in and I couldn’t agree more keeping calm overall key. Sweating your all when it it’s 7.8 and not 8.0 is not the key. Whole video well said and thank you! 👌🏻

Well said! I'm only 4 years in but your sooo right about all the panic we do in the beginning 🤣

Wonderful! Right on point

Absolutely spot on! 👍

literally make me laugh out loud. Always good content. 👍🇬🇧

"Leave it the f alone" basically. Thank you, i needed to hear this. :D

You are the Finnbarr Saunders of the reefkeeping world.

Excellent. Thanks

Good balanced thoughts. Us newbies tend to overreact, which is never good!

Great video, well done (Y)

Great video.

100% agree on growth. Some just take time

This was an excellent video! My red herring is to not chase parameters. I have a new tank (not quite 2 months old) I have decided to do weekly water changes, test parameters every 2 weeks and just let it establish itself. Kind of a hands off approach so far. Looks like crap cuz its in the ugly stage and some days I wonder why I am doing this but I am hoping it will get better and I will actually get to enjoy it some day lol

That tank at 3:20 just wauw. Do you remember which lights on this?

Great video as always Alex, You know that fish that dives, have u got a new one or is it an old clip?? 😀👍👍

I see you have afighting conch! What do oyu think about him as a good clean up crew member? My two are th eonly snails that I really think make a difference. I only had astra and nassarisus in my small tank and full of algea until I removed one of two of my fighting conchs and he ate all the algae off every frag plug I placed on the sand bed!

Hi, can u share your light spectrum parameter numbers and the timing?

I have a 32 gallon bio cube that i bought for $600 but with all the upgrades I put into it it's worth $1500, I don't like the sand at all it gets into the fliters and my corals just take to long to grow with the sand , so I removed the sand and I noticed a huge growth on my green star pollyps and my blue spotted red mushrooms they just started to blow massively also all of my hammer corals have grown smaller heads, all levels have been so good since the sand has been removed I haven't even checked them in 2 months... I also have a 55 gallon red sea with sand that does just great so I think sand in certain tanks with certain filtering could and could not be a problem I have ups and downs with ph in my red sea but it's never to concerning. All I dose my tank with is iodine fuel and mircroverts and my corals just blow up Really good video

i was craving some sort of algae in my reefer 350! 6 months later just coraline alage and growing acropora.

One thing that wasn't explained well in this Video: Pests are not Parasites. Pests can be anything that is multiplying fast: Aptasia, Bristle worms, Hydroids, Spiral Tube Worms, amphipods or even Xenia. They can be irritants but need to be distinguished to real parasite like Zoa spiders, montipora eating nudibranchs ect. In that case you need to act fast.

i am sorry, can i ask, if planted tank pro LED is usable on marine tank?

Yes, Fantastic video. Too many, including myself at the start, set our expectations to the super curated social media posts. However, those aren't the every-day reality of the majority of Reef tanks. The Reality is a far less glamourous or idealized system that does in-fact grow corals and support reef life, but with far far more blemishes. Or needless fixations that people should ease into, rather than rush. For instances, I was fixated on needing "the best" light's and so I had Radion's before even putting fish in the system.... Instead, I could have saved stress on my initial budget and easily started with compact fluorescent bulbs at the start given the sparse biology in the tank; and then moved into higher end lighting as I acquired more demanding corals. I'm not saying that should be the order of things, but I am suggesting the systems don't not need to be 100% before you start it. You can build it over time, if you do your homework. But, when we're new, we rush. I personally adore that Lighting debate however, but that's a fragment of studying and working with photosynthetic organisms professionally. There are subjects we gravitate to, and I'll probably be one to sweat and debate lighting minutia indefinitely. Part of the fun, can be in debating other reefers. So long as we all understand that most lights will grow corals, and what we're debating are small or minor differences.

”I remember those says”😂😂

What's the little wrasse at 5:33 called!? Right-center of the screen

Alex I’ve been trying to find the video you done where you show your water storage containers and after the link to the containers you have purchased.

Its a good feeling when you come out the other end and stop worrying.

Thank you Alex! There is so much to consider before I take the 'plunge' Being in a wheelchair, I'm going to need the entire kit & kaboodle to be as automated as possible, if you have any details on how a wheelchair-bound person can get into the hobby as easily as 'current ' tech allows, please advise! I don't wish to spend £1000's on a tank and giving it up for being too difficult VBW x

Love the puns 😂

I subscribed because the bald joke made me laugh👍👍

Maidenhead Aquatics, Fair Oak at 3:20?

Ahh the haircut joke is spot on…ohh the days…maybe the only reason I love Gha is the memory of days gone.

👍

Bristleworms give me the creeps but try not to worry about them

Sorry, but you can add soft coral on day one of your aquarium, no problem at all.

i love saltwater tanks. just dont have space for more bigger tanks

Expensive Automatic top off electronics. My bucket, gravity and float valve does all that for $10

Now I finally shaved my head... so do I Alex ;)

What I don’t care about: HOB anything

At 3.10 mark I was assuming I'd see a Butt image like you used to in old videos.. do that kind of editings more often

I remember haircuts

My tank is about 3-6 months months old and I am starting to get a bit of brown algae (not diatoms as far as I can tell) all over my tank and I couldn't be happier. Free food for my CUC (not that they seem to do anything really) and as far as I am concerned, an ecosystem shouldn't look immaculate. A lot of reefers will disagree with that, but in my opinion if it isn't doing any harm and is helping my livestock and keeping nitrates and phosphates in check.... I just don't see an issue. I am a new reefer but have been in freshwater for about 6 years now, just my two cents.