This is a must-see for anyone considering a reefer. It should be a sticky on the UA-cam reefer video list. Honest, informative, frank...the whole truth. I was hooked with the 52 weeks series and learned so much. It's because of that and other BRS videos why I'm sticking with my FOWLR because I don't have the resources (time, money) to dedicate to this hobby to that higher level. Thanks Ryan for your excellent education and effort in supporting this area of the salt-water community!
Great presentation. After being in and around the hobby for about 15 years now (on and off). I’d have to say the biggest problem I’ve noticed is power outages. It blows my mind that so many people can think of everything and will spend any amount on all equipment and livestock but are not able to be prepared for a power outage or get prepared after it happens. If the power goes out and you don’t have a generator then you might just need to drop what you’re doing and get down to harbor freight and get one since you procrastinated. If you can’t run a generator where you are then you shouldn’t even start a tank to be honest. It’s the first thing you should think about before even picking a tank size.
I agree, but how much would it cost for a padmount auto-start generator? How much fuel capacity required? 10k AU? 20K? Man im already having to accept spending 10K on tank equipment/livstock alone. Apart from a 1.5ft cube tank i had running for nearly a year back in '97 (no aircon and no chiller, summer heat killed it), ive been on/off planning a decent sized reef tank for over 20 years. Im 42 and still havent done it. I think youre right but i dont have the means to pull this off. Its like an insurmountable impractical mission thats going to cost MEGA $$$, and assuming i can control / manage when im on holidays, auto feeding when im at work, etc, let alone the dreaded long term power failure (few yrs ago we were power out for 3 days This is 1st world suburb of Sydney! not some backwoods place). Maybe i just need another nano tank but with a chiller this time. Long power outage? well im screwed but at least its not a 6ft. A UPS will only last minutes. (Ive had 4ft & 6ft freshwater fish tanks, but thats a piece of piss compared to coral. Given water volume & non freezing conditions they could handle ambient temp and no circulation for that long. Theres no comparison with how intolerant coral is.)
Very knowledgeable about what we reefers supposed to be exposed of by mentally, yes this hobby is not for faint hearted... I learned my way the hard way so do the others. Our support for you MR RYAN of BRS. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Jesus Christ loves you infinite, as long as your goal is to always care for the fish and coral then you will not be at enmity towards God as a "hobbyist". If our heart is stone when they perish at our hands then we will also perish. God Almighty created us to care for these animals and protect them, make this your greatest priority my friend. Bless you
Key points specially at 20.59 for those who like and want large huge systems...if you are putting 20-30k you better make sure you are taking care of it for the rest of your life..Reefing is good but should be enjoyable. Thanks Ryan wonderful presentation..i know how you feel when i did my first ever presentation at Niagara Falls Coral Show i was somewhat nervous too...Great job.
Nice job Ryan!This was a great lecture with lots of energy and great information and the psychology behind creating a healthy and beautiful environment for our pets. “Bravo” 😉
I think if i had to pick 2 things that really made my experience better this time around was 1.) A battery back up, because Iowa loses power all the time. My power was out over 9.5 hours last week due to a construction company hitting a power pole. Good tool to have! And 2.) Knowing that fluconazole gets rid of 99% of GHA problems new tanks suffer from. Wish i would've had BOTH of these things in the past!
When I had my shop, I would tell my customers to find a guru and method that makes sense and has documented long term success and DO THAT! Stay the course and keep that tank using that method, do NOT change methodology midstream. If you find another method you want to try, set up a new tank to test that method. I was able to produce some long term fish/reefers. My shop has been closed for eleven years now and I'm still getting updates from my old customers; most of them with great success. Great vid.
I started with a 130L tank thinking I'd upgrade when I learned enough to keep a big one. Well...... 13 years later and I still have the same tank and don't think I could handle the challenge (knowledge or financially) of anything bigger.
This is a great video. I am actually in to process of selling off all my livestock in my 100G to upgrade to hopefully my last tank. This tank has been up for almost 5 years and overall been quite successful but my biggest mistake was buying cheaper corals that grow fast. Over 5 years that meant I have a nice looking tank but not the quality or types of corals I want and little room for growth left. I think thats something a lot of reefers do in early tanks. We want results so we buy easy to grow corals which in the long run (5+ years) can backfire. I also made the mistake of gluing to much of my rock work together. I never have rock slides but now I cant easily remove rocks that have pests or are just overgrown with things like Zoas. I have a laundry list of things I did right for health and growth but wish I would have down differently. I will say planning and having a vision is so important for success but for myself that meant a lot of trial and error to find out what I can actually support and not getting discouraged because things aren't turning out how I saw them in my head 6+ months ago.
My current tank is 16 years old built into my home and integrated with electrical and plumbing .....I just lost my 24 year old tridacna derasa it was like losing a close friend .....
I have failed 6 times over the past 10 yrs always something different but always learn from my last mistake and doesnt happen again you can follow everything to a tea... but there is always something and you either give up... or you start back up and i can say... MAMA DIDNT RAISE NO QUITER...
I just can't justify (nor have the balls) to restart it. Seems once you try to restart stuff bad things happen. Only a full system crash would justify a restart at this point. Took me 10 years just to get all the equipment I need for the this 450 gallon (6 tank system). There are many things I would design better for sure to make a cleaner and more serviceable system. It's already pretty automated do to my work travels in the past. Longest away was a month living in southern France.
I have about 10 years experience of reefkeeping, 30 years of fishkeeping in general and am currently a year into my dream tank and its going along well (not without hiccups of course) This is without a doubt the BEST video I have ever watched on UA-cam The passion you speak with expecially when talkign about your losses is really inspiring! Cant tank you enough guys (pun intended) I struggled through my early years and was lucky to have some great LFS here in Sydney But now I rely heavily on your videos for keeping me informed and keeping me motivated
Ryan nailed this one, you are keeping the hardest to keep pet ! You can be in this hobby for 20 years and still learn things and have problems. And.... just when your having success , something without warning will RTN on ya, but the same coral next to it won't. It's an amazing hobby, that is perceived as easy. I had a $10 wall timer stick on and fry my corals on the first holiday in years, the little bastard knew how to jam it to me! Every time I have a problem I get more determined! After 10 years my tips are, any change you make, make only one change every three months! Test alk test alk test alk, keep it solid. Small consistent water changes! Find your tanks maximum flow, light and nutrient import export limits. Run a small amount of carbon , toxins are invisible! Lowish phosphate, but 5ppm nitrates. And....... keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible, wash your hands in RO water too. Redundant pumps and battery backup as Ryan says, $300 to save 10,000
Ive never seen people refer to it completely as an easy hobby. However there are ways of breaking things down and somewhat ranking them in how easy they can be. I like to push people into this hobby who are on the fence as they think its hard and i break it down like this, Fish only aquariums are generally easy with an asterix, Soft coral reefs pretty easy with an asterix. LPS tanks no we are getting slightly harder, Mixed reef without SPS is the same boat and SPS dominant or Mixed with SPS is extremely difficult. I Asterixed FO and Softies for one particular reason and thats the fish themselves and with softies is making sure you have the fish which will not munch on the corals. The reason i say the fish in FO is becuase as we all know certain fish are absolute pains for disease and parasites. Tangs in particular aswell as certain butterflies and Angels. However fish only can be very easy to look after if we stick to clowns, dottybacks, gobies, Inversts etc. As at this point you mainly monitor the standard nitrogen cycle. LPS and SPS obviously gets increasingly difficult for reasons we all know well and thats the monitoring the big 3 compounds in which Hard corals flourish but also the stability of the aquarium. Mastering all this takes alot of time and alot of attention. This is also where the expensiveness of the hobby really comes in as we start spending money on better powerheads, lights, skimmers, Aquarium controllers, ATO's etc. We try making our job to maintain the aquarium much easier on ourselves and this is where the expense starts coming in. But my general rules are FO and Soft reef tanks generally are pretty easy, and require some basic knowledge in aquarium keeping to be successful. Beyond this further research and funds will be warranted.
i point that out several times. when people always tell me to do a weekly water change, they are being unrealistic. that means a person needs to spend 30mins to 1 hour to clean their tank every week! if the hobbyist is on travel most of the time for their profession, pay someone to maintain it or your expectations should be different compared to someone who maintains their tank frequently. fit the hobby to your home & lifestyle
You’re the scariest , yet most informative, and most inspiring reefer in this community. I listen to you every day on my commute. I’m 8 months in. Thank you for all you teach us!!
Thank you for the great video and all your help I know I have learned alot from your past videos. And looking forward to more. Keep up the good work. THANKS 👍👍
The thing that caused me to quit was the unreliability of the now out of business stores that I bought from . . . I bought an acrylic all in one piece tank. I had some of the most beautiful fish . . . many of which were not supposed to dwell peacefully -- they did for me. The came to me and trusted me as pets, but one morning the tank had died and most of the fish did with it. The problem I solved over the years after getting a computer and watching many, many UA-cam videos, was not replenishing the water that evaporated. I did my changes, but not a single person who sold me the setup or the fish, etc. said one think about it. So, ignorance is not bliss. I really enjoyed the tank and wish I could do another one, but retirement is not always financially kind, so I watch and study UA-cam and enjoy the success of others . . . but if the opportunity to ever get back into such a hobby occurred again -- with all the many years I have been exposed to the internet and the lessons of others . . . I think I could do a pretty good job . . . hopefully.
totally love the "Mentality of Good Enough" comments. Great puppy analogy. I've had a number of tanks over the last 20years, the current 60G build has taken me 4 months in planning and patience and water goes in July. Aiming for zero (or close to), loss of livestock.
The part of the story I don't like is that the little boy gave up looking for his puppy after an hour. He didn't put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy's gotta think 'You got a pet. You got a responsibility.' If your dog is lost you don't look for an hour then call it quits? You get your ass out there, and you find that ****ing dog!
Spent lots of years perfecting freshwater planted tanks and then I decided to try saltwater. 3 years strong on my first reef. Almost every single original inhabitant is live and well today :)
Awesome video and presentation Ryan. I know some youtubers who do not quarantine fish/corals and do the pop and drop method and it ticks me off watching these reefers set themselves up for only failure. Thank you again for this video. I hope all of UA-cam watches this and changes there ways of reefing!!!! 👍👍👍👍
Had biocube fowlr for 7 yrs, took the plunge and went 75 gallon mixed reef. My biggest mistake was the deep sand bed, it's too much maintenance. Berlin method next tank
I have a 720L filled with Malawi and rare WC fishes. But always dreamt of having a saltwater tank. But all the maintenance and tech you need scare me to get into it. But luckily there are many nice tanks out there to look at :)
Reefing has many many hurdles. Sometimes you trip and fall, ultimately you're on the other side, maybe with a bruised/scraped knee but on the other side. 23:00 for instance, i have a monti frag that yesterday i noticed a monti eating nudi on it along with the aptasia i was there to kill. So naturally i took it out of the tank, cut a chunk of frag plug so the aptasia came off with it, and dipped for the nudi. Luckily that's the only monti in that tank and I have the means to quarantine it, leaving the system fallow for a while before doing things the right way.
I didn't have 40 mins free to watch this but after the first few minutes i quickly realised the information contained had greater value than what was originally planned before hand. Thank you sincerely for investing your knowledge and wisdom in the way you do to inspire and help people like myself. : )
The hardest? Well how do you define hard? You don't have to walk it daily like a dog. You don't have to feed it small farm animals like Buramese Pythons. It doesn't require it's own property like a horse would. Don't get me wrong, it's hard, I know. But honestly my dog eats up at least 2 hours a day, while a decent bunch of reefers have a big problem with changing a filter sock every 2-3 days.
I couldn't love your dedication to your pets any more! Thank you for driving it home that these are pets and we are responsible for their lives! You are a great role model!
I have a question that I hope you can help with. If planning to build a 10+ year tank Glass or Acrylic? I have heard glass tanks may need the silicone redone after 10 years. Im sure that time varies depending on quality of the tank, size braced or rimless. I understand that Acrylic yellows over the years taking away the clarity not to mention it can easily be scratched when cleaning. I have seen many opinions and stories but not a lot of info on the types of tanks. What do you think the actual life of the BRS160 will be? Do you think it will last 10+ years?
I had two nano tanks cook when the cobalt neotherm heaters failed within days of each other. Both heaters were about 4 years old. I agree with him on the adding a backup heater controller. Learned that the hard way (twice...)
I have to say that Ryan is one of my TOP go to person or group of people (BRS group) because not only that he has a business and his job is to sell us items BUT he goes beyond the study and knowledge of this hobby and shares many topics with statistics and data. One error though. 4:47 You say that “you are a 15 year Reefer and started in 2014.” That would mean that it’s 2029? Hahaha Solid presentation. Good job Ryan.
Man I hate you lost those fish. I know exactly how you feel. I had a 10 year tank. I lost most of it the exact same way about 3 weeks ago. Gfci tripped right after my wife left to come visit me for the weekend (I work out of town). Lost all my fish and all but a few lps corals. Moving what's left into a 30 cube till I can build my next 10 year tank in the new house we are looking for right now. Something to take away I guess is that we will be building our 10 year tanks together. I'll forsure be following.
You madecalot of good points #brs hands down best info love you guys and the time work & effort you put in trying to help people that's y brs is my go to for everything thanks for this man.
Great speach! Just 2 tiny points. Slow down a bit when talking. Try imagery or something instead of reading aloud the longer bullet points. It makes it even more memorable. Then it's a 100% 👍
Approaching 20 years in the hobby and still learning. Just about two years about I set up my “dream” tank. 200G, all the tech I wanted. Got it cycled and running well... for a few months. Until I had the worse crash I’ve ever had. Really hurt at the time. What made it worse was my wife’s reaction. It wasn’t that she was upset with all the money spent and lost. Her telling me how sad she was because of how defeated I seemed hit me hard. So hard that I actually took the year off. I let the tank run, kept the fish alive and focused attention elsewhere. Sometimes the key to maintaining a tank long term is being able to step back and accept that the hobby has cycles of good and bad. It isn’t always perfect but you can overcome :)
Awesome video for a 6 month reefer 1 year freshwater junkie. Question though about the aipastia. I bought a used tank, probably 1-2 years old, and I have aiptasia, is it worth selling all contents, and go the route of all "clean" rocks corals/ reboot the tank?
Thank you Ryan, team BRS, and R2R for all of this valuable experience and information! Without all of you I don’t think that my Reef would be looking as good and as healthy as it is today. You all have made it possible for me to “Get the Most Juice for the Squeeze “ it’s my favorite new saying! “Is the juice really worth the squeeze” Thank you again and PLEASE keep the videos and updates coming. Good luck on your new tank build it’s going to be Epic ... 😎👏💪👍😎
I think the good enough mentality is good idea to prevent constant optimisation that is in general blind changes at the detriment of stability. It’s not a good idea when applied to it’s alright if fish or coral die once in a while.
Tell em like it is brother! We have collectively killed enough things in this journey. Kudos to you for giving the tough love to reefers new and old. There are fewer and fewer excuses to fail with the information and equipment available nowadays. I feel much more guilty over any loss I have now than I did years ago when the success rate was much lower because of all the challenges we had back then (20-30 years ago). There is a new level of responsibility at play that most money hungry vendors would never dare state straight up like you just did. Mad respect. BRS customer for life!
Yes will love to see a 10 yr build. Always learn from mistakes and keep pushing. Cant wait I'll try along with you new house myself 2yrs in. 1 yr tank spa dominate. 2 more tanks to set up.
Great video Ryan, you did a fantastic job setting up the goals and engaging the audience. It was awesome meeting you at Reef palooza with my wife and we look forward to your new Home tank setup. Cheers on adding another video! Ryan + Randy + BRS forever!
Damn cool to see you still making videos. Been watching for years, though you focus on salt water much of your lessons can be applied to fresh water. Thanks for posting.
Great presentation Ryan! When I saw it was gonna be 41 minutes long, I was like, 🤔 but I couldn't pass to watch. We've all had failures on some level but we love this "hobby". I just hope I still have the strength to move a magnet cleaner across the glass of my tank when I'm 90 years old. 😄 So yeah, a lot of us are in it for the long haul too. Keep 'em coming, always something to learn and Thank you.
Excellent video Ryan. I havent been in the hobby 5 years yet, but have followed for years gathering knowledge. I finally jumped in with hith feet and all is going well, thanks to the info I've gotten from you and your team, as well as a few others. I cant thank you guys enough.
I’m already into 3 years of reef keeping. Large variety of marine fish now across 6 tanks. Have been keeping tropical fish for 53 years and maintain 9 freshwater tanks. Many are now 20 years or more old. Keep it going guys and gals.....awesome. Great job Ryan!
What a good video.. I love your transparency. I've been in the hobby for over 10 years and still have never achieved a ten year tank... good stuff dude!
Great video as usual. Awesome job abs look forward to learning more as I go. Thanks to all of you it’s encouraged me to proceed and not let it be overwhelming lol
Very well said and a refreshing talk. The great thing is how much the equipment needed to succeed is so much better now than when I started 18yrs ago (for the most part).
@Kevin spacey Not sure which equipment you feel I'm referring to (I've ran a 7 yrs system just like you before moving) but in general nearly all equipment has improved in quality and reliability (t5 HO's didn't exist in reefing 18yrs ago). What ph's do now for performance was nothing more then hopefully weekend modification projects we did for fun. Additionally the science and methods are not in the same universe as they were back then.
This is a must-see for anyone considering a reefer. It should be a sticky on the UA-cam reefer video list. Honest, informative, frank...the whole truth. I was hooked with the 52 weeks series and learned so much. It's because of that and other BRS videos why I'm sticking with my FOWLR because I don't have the resources (time, money) to dedicate to this hobby to that higher level. Thanks Ryan for your excellent education and effort in supporting this area of the salt-water community!
Great presentation. After being in and around the hobby for about 15 years now (on and off). I’d have to say the biggest problem I’ve noticed is power outages. It blows my mind that so many people can think of everything and will spend any amount on all equipment and livestock but are not able to be prepared for a power outage or get prepared after it happens. If the power goes out and you don’t have a generator then you might just need to drop what you’re doing and get down to harbor freight and get one since you procrastinated. If you can’t run a generator where you are then you shouldn’t even start a tank to be honest. It’s the first thing you should think about before even picking a tank size.
I agree, but how much would it cost for a padmount auto-start generator? How much fuel capacity required? 10k AU? 20K? Man im already having to accept spending 10K on tank equipment/livstock alone. Apart from a 1.5ft cube tank i had running for nearly a year back in '97 (no aircon and no chiller, summer heat killed it), ive been on/off planning a decent sized reef tank for over 20 years. Im 42 and still havent done it. I think youre right but i dont have the means to pull this off. Its like an insurmountable impractical mission thats going to cost MEGA $$$, and assuming i can control / manage when im on holidays, auto feeding when im at work, etc, let alone the dreaded long term power failure (few yrs ago we were power out for 3 days This is 1st world suburb of Sydney! not some backwoods place). Maybe i just need another nano tank but with a chiller this time. Long power outage? well im screwed but at least its not a 6ft. A UPS will only last minutes. (Ive had 4ft & 6ft freshwater fish tanks, but thats a piece of piss compared to coral. Given water volume & non freezing conditions they could handle ambient temp and no circulation for that long. Theres no comparison with how intolerant coral is.)
Very knowledgeable about what we reefers supposed to be exposed of by mentally, yes this hobby is not for faint hearted... I learned my way the hard way so do the others. Our support for you MR RYAN of BRS. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Jesus Christ loves you infinite, as long as your goal is to always care for the fish and coral then you will not be at enmity towards God as a "hobbyist". If our heart is stone when they perish at our hands then we will also perish. God Almighty created us to care for these animals and protect them, make this your greatest priority my friend. Bless you
Key points specially at 20.59 for those who like and want large huge systems...if you are putting 20-30k you better make sure you are taking care of it for the rest of your life..Reefing is good but should be enjoyable. Thanks Ryan wonderful presentation..i know how you feel when i did my first ever presentation at Niagara Falls Coral Show i was somewhat nervous too...Great job.
Well said ....i.spent 30k and have had my same tank running 16 years now
Nice job Ryan!This was a great lecture with lots of energy and great information and the psychology behind creating a healthy and beautiful environment for our pets. “Bravo” 😉
The passion is great. I feel if my tank crashes, I am letting Ryan down personally with all the information he has provided.
I think if i had to pick 2 things that really made my experience better this time around was 1.) A battery back up, because Iowa loses power all the time. My power was out over 9.5 hours last week due to a construction company hitting a power pole. Good tool to have! And 2.) Knowing that fluconazole gets rid of 99% of GHA problems new tanks suffer from. Wish i would've had BOTH of these things in the past!
When I had my shop, I would tell my customers to find a guru and method that makes sense and has documented long term success and DO THAT! Stay the course and keep that tank using that method, do NOT change methodology midstream. If you find another method you want to try, set up a new tank to test that method. I was able to produce some long term fish/reefers. My shop has been closed for eleven years now and I'm still getting updates from my old customers; most of them with great success.
Great vid.
I started with a 130L tank thinking I'd upgrade when I learned enough to keep a big one. Well...... 13 years later and I still have the same tank and don't think I could handle the challenge (knowledge or financially) of anything bigger.
Thanks Ryan!
It is great to hear the fire he brings to this hobby!
This is a great video. I am actually in to process of selling off all my livestock in my 100G to upgrade to hopefully my last tank. This tank has been up for almost 5 years and overall been quite successful but my biggest mistake was buying cheaper corals that grow fast. Over 5 years that meant I have a nice looking tank but not the quality or types of corals I want and little room for growth left. I think thats something a lot of reefers do in early tanks. We want results so we buy easy to grow corals which in the long run (5+ years) can backfire. I also made the mistake of gluing to much of my rock work together. I never have rock slides but now I cant easily remove rocks that have pests or are just overgrown with things like Zoas. I have a laundry list of things I did right for health and growth but wish I would have down differently. I will say planning and having a vision is so important for success but for myself that meant a lot of trial and error to find out what I can actually support and not getting discouraged because things aren't turning out how I saw them in my head 6+ months ago.
Glad that I found this video! A must-see!!!
My current tank is 16 years old built into my home and integrated with electrical and plumbing .....I just lost my 24 year old tridacna derasa it was like losing a close friend .....
Thanks for sharing this!
Great video and Great job presenting. You and your companies contributions to this hobby cannot be understated.
Best video ove seen since I started a year ago.
I have failed 6 times over the past 10 yrs always something different but always learn from my last mistake and doesnt happen again you can follow everything to a tea... but there is always something and you either give up... or you start back up and i can say... MAMA DIDNT RAISE NO QUITER...
My current system is hitting 13 years after moving a previous 8 year system.
I just can't justify (nor have the balls) to restart it. Seems once you try to restart stuff bad things happen. Only a full system crash would justify a restart at this point. Took me 10 years just to get all the equipment I need for the this 450 gallon (6 tank system). There are many things I would design better for sure to make a cleaner and more serviceable system. It's already pretty automated do to my work travels in the past. Longest away was a month living in southern France.
Why stop at 10?
I have about 10 years experience of reefkeeping, 30 years of fishkeeping in general and am currently a year into my dream tank and its going along well (not without hiccups of course)
This is without a doubt the BEST video I have ever watched on UA-cam
The passion you speak with expecially when talkign about your losses is really inspiring!
Cant tank you enough guys (pun intended)
I struggled through my early years and was lucky to have some great LFS here in Sydney
But now I rely heavily on your videos for keeping me informed and keeping me motivated
Ryan nailed this one, you are keeping the hardest to keep pet ! You can be in this hobby for 20 years and still learn things and have problems. And.... just when your having success , something without warning will RTN on ya, but the same coral next to it won't. It's an amazing hobby, that is perceived as easy. I had a $10 wall timer stick on and fry my corals on the first holiday in years, the little bastard knew how to jam it to me! Every time I have a problem I get more determined!
After 10 years my tips are, any change you make, make only one change every three months! Test alk test alk test alk, keep it solid. Small consistent water changes! Find your tanks maximum flow, light and nutrient import export limits. Run a small amount of carbon , toxins are invisible! Lowish phosphate, but 5ppm nitrates. And....... keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible, wash your hands in RO water too. Redundant pumps and battery backup as Ryan says, $300 to save 10,000
Ive never seen people refer to it completely as an easy hobby. However there are ways of breaking things down and somewhat ranking them in how easy they can be. I like to push people into this hobby who are on the fence as they think its hard and i break it down like this, Fish only aquariums are generally easy with an asterix, Soft coral reefs pretty easy with an asterix. LPS tanks no we are getting slightly harder, Mixed reef without SPS is the same boat and SPS dominant or Mixed with SPS is extremely difficult.
I Asterixed FO and Softies for one particular reason and thats the fish themselves and with softies is making sure you have the fish which will not munch on the corals. The reason i say the fish in FO is becuase as we all know certain fish are absolute pains for disease and parasites. Tangs in particular aswell as certain butterflies and Angels. However fish only can be very easy to look after if we stick to clowns, dottybacks, gobies, Inversts etc. As at this point you mainly monitor the standard nitrogen cycle.
LPS and SPS obviously gets increasingly difficult for reasons we all know well and thats the monitoring the big 3 compounds in which Hard corals flourish but also the stability of the aquarium. Mastering all this takes alot of time and alot of attention. This is also where the expensiveness of the hobby really comes in as we start spending money on better powerheads, lights, skimmers, Aquarium controllers, ATO's etc. We try making our job to maintain the aquarium much easier on ourselves and this is where the expense starts coming in.
But my general rules are FO and Soft reef tanks generally are pretty easy, and require some basic knowledge in aquarium keeping to be successful. Beyond this further research and funds will be warranted.
i point that out several times. when people always tell me to do a weekly water change, they are being unrealistic. that means a person needs to spend 30mins to 1 hour to clean their tank every week! if the hobbyist is on travel most of the time for their profession, pay someone to maintain it or your expectations should be different compared to someone who maintains their tank frequently. fit the hobby to your home & lifestyle
Thats a good opening xD
Il have to remember to do that if i am asked to speak publically haha
I have a 15.5 year old softcoral tank , only stripped down once to take out the substrate .
This is an awsome video. Great info!
You’re the scariest , yet most informative, and most inspiring reefer in this community. I listen to you every day on my commute. I’m 8 months in. Thank you for all you teach us!!
Thank you for the great video and all your help I know I have learned alot from your past videos. And looking forward to more. Keep up the good work. THANKS 👍👍
The thing that caused me to quit was the unreliability of the now out of business stores that I bought from . . . I bought an acrylic all in one piece tank. I had some of the most beautiful fish . . . many of which were not supposed to dwell peacefully -- they did for me. The came to me and trusted me as pets, but one morning the tank had died and most of the fish did with it.
The problem I solved over the years after getting a computer and watching many, many UA-cam videos, was not replenishing the water that evaporated. I did my changes, but not a single person who sold me the setup or the fish, etc. said one think about it. So, ignorance is not bliss. I really enjoyed the tank and wish I could do another one, but retirement is not always financially kind, so I watch and study UA-cam and enjoy the success of others . . . but if the opportunity to ever get back into such a hobby occurred again -- with all the many years I have been exposed to the internet and the lessons of others . . . I think I could do a pretty good job . . . hopefully.
yes, i will watch that tank,
totally love the "Mentality of Good Enough" comments. Great puppy analogy. I've had a number of tanks over the last 20years, the current 60G build has taken me 4 months in planning and patience and water goes in July. Aiming for zero (or close to), loss of livestock.
The part of the story I don't like is that the little boy gave up looking for his puppy after an hour. He didn't put posters up or anything, he just sat on the porch like a goon and waited. That little boy's gotta think 'You got a pet. You got a responsibility.' If your dog is lost you don't look for an hour then call it quits? You get your ass out there, and you find that ****ing dog!
Spent lots of years perfecting freshwater planted tanks and then I decided to try saltwater. 3 years strong on my first reef. Almost every single original inhabitant is live and well today :)
Awesome video and presentation Ryan.
I know some youtubers who do not quarantine fish/corals and do the pop and drop method and it ticks me off watching these reefers set themselves up for only failure.
Thank you again for this video. I hope all of UA-cam watches this and changes there ways of reefing!!!! 👍👍👍👍
Had biocube fowlr for 7 yrs, took the plunge and went 75 gallon mixed reef. My biggest mistake was the deep sand bed, it's too much maintenance. Berlin method next tank
I have a 720L filled with Malawi and rare WC fishes. But always dreamt of having a saltwater tank. But all the maintenance and tech you need scare me to get into it. But luckily there are many nice tanks out there to look at :)
Reefing has many many hurdles. Sometimes you trip and fall, ultimately you're on the other side, maybe with a bruised/scraped knee but on the other side. 23:00 for instance, i have a monti frag that yesterday i noticed a monti eating nudi on it along with the aptasia i was there to kill. So naturally i took it out of the tank, cut a chunk of frag plug so the aptasia came off with it, and dipped for the nudi. Luckily that's the only monti in that tank and I have the means to quarantine it, leaving the system fallow for a while before doing things the right way.
One of the best presentations I have ever watched about the "truth" of the hobby. Well done Ryan!
I didn't have 40 mins free to watch this but after the first few minutes i quickly realised the information contained had greater value than what was originally planned before hand. Thank you sincerely for investing your knowledge and wisdom in the way you do to inspire and help people like myself. : )
Great job Ryan, the work you and the people at BRS are doing is invaluable. Keep up the good work.
I really liked this video compared to others because you didn’t sound so monotone in this
Haha.. I am the owner of the tank at your 7.55 minute there. Thanks for featuring my tank! =) I laughed a little when you comment on it.
@@BRStv I have been watching your videos and found them very helpful and you put so much effort in sharing with the community. Good work!
This was a really well done lecture. Like didn’t expect to sit here for it all but here we are at the end.
The hardest? Well how do you define hard? You don't have to walk it daily like a dog. You don't have to feed it small farm animals like Buramese Pythons. It doesn't require it's own property like a horse would. Don't get me wrong, it's hard, I know. But honestly my dog eats up at least 2 hours a day, while a decent bunch of reefers have a big problem with changing a filter sock every 2-3 days.
Hardest meaning both the acquisition and application of knowledge combined:)
I couldn't love your dedication to your pets any more! Thank you for driving it home that these are pets and we are responsible for their lives! You are a great role model!
Great presentation Ryan!
Whats the name of the TV show Ryan does? Hashtag experts tv?
I have a question that I hope you can help with. If planning to build a 10+ year tank Glass or Acrylic? I have heard glass tanks may need the silicone redone after 10 years. Im sure that time varies depending on quality of the tank, size braced or rimless. I understand that Acrylic yellows over the years taking away the clarity not to mention it can easily be scratched when cleaning. I have seen many opinions and stories but not a lot of info on the types of tanks. What do you think the actual life of the BRS160 will be? Do you think it will last 10+ years?
@@BRStv thank you very much
Ryan rocks! greetings from the u.k
I felt that you’ll probably be back in three years
Crab McJones is my go to guy. :)
A great watch, you're so easy too listen to. Keep up the good work.
I had two nano tanks cook when the cobalt neotherm heaters failed within days of each other. Both heaters were about 4 years old. I agree with him on the adding a backup heater controller. Learned that the hard way (twice...)
Sorry to hear that, that's incredibly rough to have two heaters fail back to back like that
Ryan, you are an exceptional individual.
Solid presentation Ryan.
I have to say that Ryan is one of my TOP go to person or group of people (BRS group) because not only that he has a business and his job is to sell us items BUT he goes beyond the study and knowledge of this hobby and shares many topics with statistics and data.
One error though. 4:47 You say that “you are a 15 year Reefer and started in 2014.” That would mean that it’s 2029? Hahaha
Solid presentation. Good job Ryan.
conquering*. not concurring. lmao
Absolutely, positively great presentation!
Awesome first talk! Packed full of great tips!
Awesome presentation!!
Man I hate you lost those fish. I know exactly how you feel. I had a 10 year tank. I lost most of it the exact same way about 3 weeks ago. Gfci tripped right after my wife left to come visit me for the weekend (I work out of town). Lost all my fish and all but a few lps corals. Moving what's left into a 30 cube till I can build my next 10 year tank in the new house we are looking for right now. Something to take away I guess is that we will be building our 10 year tanks together. I'll forsure be following.
Bravo! Your mentality mirrors mine. I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge and excellence. What a boring Life it is wallowing in mediocracy.
What is the attraction or benefits of having a L shaped tank?
Mainly a visually unique presentation with tons of length for swimming space 🙂
You madecalot of good points #brs hands down best info love you guys and the time work & effort you put in trying to help people that's y brs is my go to for everything thanks for this man.
Great speach! Just 2 tiny points.
Slow down a bit when talking.
Try imagery or something instead of reading aloud the longer bullet points. It makes it even more memorable.
Then it's a 100% 👍
Approaching 20 years in the hobby and still learning. Just about two years about I set up my “dream” tank. 200G, all the tech I wanted. Got it cycled and running well... for a few months. Until I had the worse crash I’ve ever had. Really hurt at the time. What made it worse was my wife’s reaction. It wasn’t that she was upset with all the money spent and lost. Her telling me how sad she was because of how defeated I seemed hit me hard. So hard that I actually took the year off. I let the tank run, kept the fish alive and focused attention elsewhere. Sometimes the key to maintaining a tank long term is being able to step back and accept that the hobby has cycles of good and bad. It isn’t always perfect but you can overcome :)
Awesome video for a 6 month reefer 1 year freshwater junkie. Question though about the aipastia. I bought a used tank, probably 1-2 years old, and I have aiptasia, is it worth selling all contents, and go the route of all "clean" rocks corals/ reboot the tank?
Thank you Ryan, team BRS, and R2R for all of this valuable experience and information! Without all of you I don’t think that my Reef would be looking as good and as healthy as it is today. You all have made it possible for me to
“Get the Most Juice for the Squeeze “ it’s my favorite new saying!
“Is the juice really worth the squeeze”
Thank you again and PLEASE keep the videos and updates coming. Good luck on your new tank build it’s going to be Epic ... 😎👏💪👍😎
I think the good enough mentality is good idea to prevent constant optimisation that is in general blind changes at the detriment of stability. It’s not a good idea when applied to it’s alright if fish or coral die once in a while.
Great presentation
Tell em like it is brother! We have collectively killed enough things in this journey. Kudos to you for giving the tough love to reefers new and old.
There are fewer and fewer excuses to fail with the information and equipment available nowadays. I feel much more guilty over any loss I have now than I did years ago when the success rate was much lower because of all the challenges we had back then (20-30 years ago).
There is a new level of responsibility at play that most money hungry vendors would never dare state straight up like you just did. Mad respect. BRS customer for life!
Yes will love to see a 10 yr build. Always learn from mistakes and keep pushing. Cant wait I'll try along with you new house myself 2yrs in. 1 yr tank spa dominate. 2 more tanks to set up.
Great video Ryan, you did a fantastic job setting up the goals and engaging the audience. It was awesome meeting you at Reef palooza with my wife and we look forward to your new Home tank setup. Cheers on adding another video! Ryan + Randy + BRS forever!
Damn cool to see you still making videos. Been watching for years, though you focus on salt water much of your lessons can be applied to fresh water. Thanks for posting.
Great presentation Ryan! When I saw it was gonna be 41 minutes long, I was like, 🤔 but I couldn't pass to watch. We've all had failures on some level but we love this "hobby". I just hope I still have the strength to move a magnet cleaner across the glass of my tank when I'm 90 years old. 😄 So yeah, a lot of us are in it for the long haul too. Keep 'em coming, always something to learn and Thank you.
Excellent video Ryan. I havent been in the hobby 5 years yet, but have followed for years gathering knowledge. I finally jumped in with hith feet and all is going well, thanks to the info I've gotten from you and your team, as well as a few others. I cant thank you guys enough.
Preach!
32:01 Never plug your return pump into GFCI for that reason.
I’m already into 3 years of reef keeping. Large variety of marine fish now across 6 tanks. Have been keeping tropical fish for 53 years and maintain 9 freshwater tanks. Many are now 20 years or more old.
Keep it going guys and gals.....awesome.
Great job Ryan!
Great presentation Ryan, big thnx to you and the team at Brs for the work load you all put back into the community and hobby
You Rock bro?
Great video guys .....love all the BRS videos and staff....I wouldn't have had the years of success with out you
What a good video.. I love your transparency. I've been in the hobby for over 10 years and still have never achieved a ten year tank... good stuff dude!
Man
Great video as usual. Awesome job abs look forward to learning more as I go. Thanks to all of you it’s encouraged me to proceed and not let it be overwhelming lol
Join a Reef club. They are a blessing. Share and learn.
Very well said and a refreshing talk. The great thing is how much the equipment needed to succeed is so much better now than when I started 18yrs ago (for the most part).
@Kevin spacey Not sure which equipment you feel I'm referring to (I've ran a 7 yrs system just like you before moving) but in general nearly all equipment has improved in quality and reliability (t5 HO's didn't exist in reefing 18yrs ago). What ph's do now for performance was nothing more then hopefully weekend modification projects we did for fun. Additionally the science and methods are not in the same universe as they were back then.
Ryan, man that was awesome- you were on fire bud! What a great presentation!👍🙏
I remember him saying that he would do this a few years ago after they moved the 40-gallon breeder out of his house!
Nice job, Ryan. And ... very helpful talk.
Can not possibly write thank your enough!
helpful words for every one in the community..
I am going to start in the hobby, and your video was awsome!!
Time to add Ryan to the next club presentation :)
Good job Ryan. Thanks for the insight.
That was really awesome Ryan. Great job!
Excellent presentation thank you!
looking forward to the awesome journey!!!
Love it, puts it all together 🤜🏾
Great presentation!!! 😊🎉🎉🎉