It's just a fad

Hey Mark,

Aloha,

The time is coming where I will be able to supply hobbyists with locally grown reasonably priced LR and coral.

The concern that spawned this thread has to do with things in general, something that has been increasingly on my mind. New hobbyists can get concerned with hitchhiking pests and rightly so. Twenty years ago there were two commonly recognized pests, Hair Algae and Aiptasia. Life was easier back then after GARF introduced us to Snails and Hermits to control algae, plus our tanks had not yet reached a point where they could effectively grow coral and anemones. Aiptasia were rare.

Along came the Flatworms, followed closely by Majano. Just as reef aquarium life was becoming more fun with the growing list of propagated coral and Bangaii Cardinal breeding, it also became a little more complicated. Red Bugs were next and with the popularity boom of Zooanthids we started finding zoo eating Nudibranchs.
Enough reminiscing.

My point is this: We know how to recognize and deal with these pesty things. Let's not let our worry keep us from encouraging the myriad of useful and fascinating organisms that we can keep in our living reefs. Gone are the days of sterile white marine aquarium. Hello to the wonderful  natural reef with the amazing color and variety of little creatures and algae that "pop up" on new LR.
Naturally, along with the good comes a little bad. The living reef is like this.
Here is a common tidepool in Hawaii.

To me that is beautiful because it's a natural ecosystem.

Tulip Anemones, so desirable at the time(circa 2005), but later to be known as the dreaded Majano.

Mark Peterson wrote: This attempt by some hobbyists to completely avoid pests via quarantine and treatment is not natural. It's also a ton more work and like I said, takes a long long time to have a good reef. Those tanks end up with recurring problems in reaching a stabilizing balance of the biological processes. For example a tank that is in this mode is left defenseless by an accidental mishap such as a power outage. Problems are compounded by the hobbyists attempt to keep their tank "sterile". I believe that as with other fads in the hobby that have come and gone over the years, the pendulum will eventually swing back to the ecology of the natural reef.

Having a box of saltwater sitting in a home with a ton of electricity all around it and in it...with tons of money going toward it...and people cutting up animals is not natural. We're combining corals/fish/inverts/etc. from all around the world...we're taking them out of their natural habitat and are forcing them to live together. Last I checked, the US (and other countries) do not allow foreign seeds/plants/whatever into the country...and people have to go through health checks. Dogs/cats/etc. have to go through quarantine. Smallpox anyone? The dreaded Kudzu that was tame in Japan and took over the South?

There is STILL no in-tank cure for Montipora-eating nudibranchs or Acropora-eating flatworms. Controls sometimes work...but most people who've invested thousands of dollars and even more of their time are not willing to gamble on what *might* work.

I've never had these "reoccurring problems" of which you speak...and my tank certainly isn't defenseless. My tank is far from "sterile"...it has all sorts of stomatellas, several species of mini brittle starfish, limpets, chitons, all types of pods, collonistas, collumbellids, you name it. This method has worked excellently for almost 7 years...and my tank thrived even during a NINE DAY POWER OUTAGE. I also moved my entire system (corals, fish, and all) across 2,000 miles...and it was all so healthy that it survived sitting on Delta's tarmac for FOUR DAYS in the summer. I've never claimed my method is the only way, but I do strive to educate people that there are other alternatives. Some of us cannot risk our livestock to ich or AEFW or whatever. I can sleep peacefully at night...go to a crazy job...and know that I won't come home to a nightmare.

Please respect other methodologies than yours. Other ideas are proven to work. I do not disrespect your pursuit of natural treatments (as long as they are not touted as a cure without proof.) Please do the same for others.

18 yrs and going strong.

Edited by DLindquist - June 14 2013 at 9:30am

AcroNem wrote: ...it isn't one huge group of lists that must be followed to the letter. An aquarist should know how their tank behaves and care for the animals in such tank how they have found works best. Although advice by any aquarist Is almost always valuable, discarding anothers' way of thinking and their way of maintenance on a tank is rediculous.

+1 Well said.

I don't know how many people follow Chingchai's tank in Thailand, but his tank is in my top 3 favorite tanks of all time.  Ching doesn't use live rock, solely because of pests.  He pulled out all of his live rock and replaced it with fiberglass rock.   I actually don't know anyone else who does this, but he uses fiber glass in all of his tanks.  Pretty cool to see what alternatives are out there.  I thought I'd just share.  

Edited by love2skiutah - June 13 2013 at 8:57am

This hobby continues to evolve over time.

One reason I joined this board and visit frequently is to gather info amd seek advise. Its a great place to do such. Everyone, and I do mean everyone has good input. Experience is valuable. I embrace it. Thanks to you all.  

I for one love these types of threads.  I've often said the only way for a fight to break out is to have two parties who care.  I can see here that the statement is up held.  Everyone who has commented cares greatly for thier little ocean.  I've valued Mark's advice in that his ways fit better into my budget but on the same hand I've used many methods described by other more "aggressive" or "hands on" reefers.  I think there is a happy middle for me.  Thanks everyone for contributing.