Encyclopedia forum

This isn't a topic to advertise an already existing or will-be-coming-into-existence website. I've been browsing this forum, as well as other ones for a while now, and haven't really come across very viable information regarding all the questions I had about reefing. I'm still a beginner reefer, but I was astounded to see how LITTLE information there is about everything. I thought it would be cool if there were a forum out there that had topics on everything, from fish to coral,to experiments, pests, and products. These topics would include reefers' experiences with all of these aspects of reefing; NO speculation, just definite facts on what has and hasn't worked for them. What I'd want to see when I go on a forum looking for a fish would be the following...

-Name, Scientific name
-Diet
-Preferred water parameters
-etc..

For a pest like aiptasia, the following info would be useful.

-What has worked to get rid of it
-What hasn't
-What it attacks/eats
-Any cases of it being beneficial to the tank

In summary, it would be cool to go to this hypothetical forum and find EVERYTHING you needed to know if you looked something up. All information would not be found from googling, it would be from reefers' experiences. I've been so frustrated with the lack of information that I've considered making such a forum website. I'm here to see what people think about this idea and if they would use that forum frequently.

 

Welcome to 3reef Zero_Dude.

In a perfect world that would be wonderful. The problem as I see it is that each tank has it's own personality dictated by size, equipment, livestock choices. It's safe to say that in this hobby there are many ways to skin a cat.

An example would be my tank, I run no filtration except a sponge to catch particulate matter. This tank is dominated by SPS and a nano, while this set up would not work for everyone it works for me.

Water chemistry, and equipment design and function to some degree are really the only constants.

There was a time when I preferred the scientific names to common names but I have become lazy and find it easier to convey information using the common names.

I hope you find what you're looking for, but expect to sift through a lot of misinformation and personal experiences that may not prove factual to your tanks personality.

 

To support that point, this method most certainly did NOT work for me.

 

Welcome to 3R!

Renee and I do something similar in our care/how to articles...they are a compilation of bona fide scientific facts combined with practical experience, both positive and negative.

It's really not all that hard to find that kind of info, and the various forums are a good start, altho there may be some specific sites that cater more closely to a specific topic/fish/critter. For instance, there are sites specializing in predatory species, cephalopods, sharks/rays, seahorses, etc.

As Coralline mentioned, it's all about sifting thru lots of info, or finding a person you trust and going with it. To be honest, I think one learns more by doing the research themselves as opposed to having the answers "spoon-fed" to them...

 

And then there's awesome threads like this too, which summarizes a lot of opinions and draw some lines on commonality: http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/whats-important-successful-tank-108699.html