When are you not considered a newbie?
- Thread starter Crustman
- Start date
It's When I SAY You're Not!!!
Seriously, it is when you feel you have your tank under control and can deal with the various problems that may befall it. No matter how skilled one is there are always questions to be asked and material to research. I see most Newbies that are active in RC move over to the Reef Discussion in a year to two years. Yet, even over on that forum there are a ton of questions that probably should be asked over here. The same goes for Advanced Topic.
Seriously, it is when you feel you have your tank under control and can deal with the various problems that may befall it. No matter how skilled one is there are always questions to be asked and material to research. I see most Newbies that are active in RC move over to the Reef Discussion in a year to two years. Yet, even over on that forum there are a ton of questions that probably should be asked over here. The same goes for Advanced Topic.
loosecannon
New member
As soon as you know everything !
By that definition we can close down the other forums and everyone can post here. 
eyesinthedrk
New member
though in the presence of greatness such as waterkeeper paulB, farley and the others i will alwayse feel like a newbie,
but.... when im at the LFS and i hear a guy talking about buying 2 perculas, a power blue tang, a mandarin, and two green BTAs, i ask "hey so how long have you been in the hobey?" their response is "since febuary" i cant help but think to myself "F'ing newbie"
so i guess its all relative
but.... when im at the LFS and i hear a guy talking about buying 2 perculas, a power blue tang, a mandarin, and two green BTAs, i ask "hey so how long have you been in the hobey?" their response is "since febuary" i cant help but think to myself "F'ing newbie"
so i guess its all relative
Sure would. When I first got into the hobby actinic lighting, submersible powerheads and bio-wheel filters where just being introduced. No matter where you stand at present, something new is always coming out.
Assuming that is possible, then you go straight from newbie to expert?
I guess to me a true newbie is someone new to the hobby with little or no experience. Once you have some experience and accumulated some knowledge you are not really a newbie to the hobby anymore, but you are not an expert either. I think the key here is HOBBY which is keeping saltwater creatures in a container. We are not talking about becoming god or mother nature. That would be like saying you are not a pro basketball player until you never miss a throw.
I think I understand the point you guys are trying to make though.
I understand there is always something new being developed and new understanding to the hobby, but at some point you have to be able to claim some experience in the hobby, don't you?
I compare this hobby to any other hobby out there. Sure you can almost always get better or learn something new but can you really say Rembrandt was a newbie to art? What about a surgeon with 25 years experience? You would call him a newbie to surgery? I wouldn't call you a newbie. Could you learn something new from someone else that makes you better at this? Sure you could if it is out there.
I guess this is a philosophical perspective you guys are talking about and comparing yourselves to nature and I guess I cannot argue with that. But I still believe there are education and experience levels in this hobby to consider that differentiates someone who just brought a tank and filled it with water two weeks ago and someone who has maintained a 20 year old successful reef tank. I'd rather get my advice for the later newbie.
On that I disagree. If the tank is a burden then you never progressed past the Newbie stage. Being an experienced reefer means you find new pleasure in your tank as it progresses. Hopefully, without the pains that you incurred when you first set it up.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
I think Tom isn't telling the truth about when he got into the hobby, when he got into the hobby tanks were made of stone
I agree to what Tom is saying, when I joined RC (with 15 years of experience under my belt already) and posted a question in the Reef Discussion forum and I was directed to post in the New to the Hobby forum... But, I wasn't new to the hobby!!! Now, after 3 months of being a member I understand how this site works. My point being, it's misleading to label a forum as NTTH and ask questions about a tank that has been running for 5 years. However, you have a better chance of getting your questions answered here than RD.
It's true I see tons of posts in the Reef Discussion forum that don't belong there.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14684690#post14684690 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sisterlimonpot
I think Tom isn't telling the truth about when he got into the hobby, when he got into the hobby tanks were made of stone
well actually ive seen some photos of victorian england with open top stone aquariums, so i agree with you there:lol:
