The Learning Curve, or the Learning Rollercoaster?

[newfound77951]

So in 6 months I have gone from knowing next to nothing about planted tanks to having 3 of them, learning all the way. I made a lot of the usual beginner mistakes (and I started with a high-light tank, which of course everyone says not to do) then I got the hang of it, everything was great, plants happy, fish happy. Then, just when I thought I had everything under control, WHAM, green water hits. Fixed that, thought everything was under control again. Then green spot. Fixed. Then various deficiencies (still fixing those). Then melting (still melting). Now more algae (fixing). Just in the past three days I've learned about 10 new vital tidbits from other AA members. And now I'm back to "Wow I have so much more to learn!"

Sometimes I think the learning curve is more like a rollercoaster....just when you think everything is under control, you're on another wild ride!

 

[fish_4_all]

All we have to do is figure out how to train our plantsa to use exactly what we dose, fight the algae with fists of furry and get our fish to eat every plant, algae and diatom that doesn't belong. And I don't even have high light!.

 

[Jchillin]

(and I started with a high-light tank, which of course everyone says not to do)

Told ya, it ain't easy eh?

Seriously, I've always felt that no matter how much we think we know, there is always room to know more. Gotta love it.

 

[Glenc]

Yes, it is a wild ride! I don't know if it ever slows down much, not with high light. If you can get and keep your tank at a nice cruising speed your doing great. Keep dodging and overcoming the obstacles, if you get bored, you can always throw on more light!

 

[czcz]

I think we all learn differently. I think of those steady moments as plateus, because it takes a lot of learning to get there. Then beating the next algae as moving up the learning curve. Then there's the goal of' making lants look sweet, aquascaping, and so on. I've only been in the hobby since Winter '04, but I'm pretty sure the learning curve doesn't end anywhere The internet has really opened things up: there's guys who've been doing innovative things for 20 years, and only now have this platform to share ideas. Then there's those guys trying something new. There's so much to learn in this hobby... its like brain excercise.

One of the coolest aspects of this member-base is we're so eager to learn, and we teach each other, and we keep advancing. And the coolest part is people don't give up on plants anymore. They have tools and advice to figure it out and keep great tanks. And so many give new ideas and bring new stuff to the table. And there's gurus who want you to suceed and lend their time.

Plus, come on, how'd you feel the first times you saw pearling? How about when you nurse back a hard plant? Or sat, watched your tank for a while, and just grinned ear to ear?

Said it before, but man, perfect hobby.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

So in 6 months I have gone from knowing next to nothing about planted tanks to having 3 of them, learning all the way. I made a lot of the usual beginner mistakes (and I started with a high-light tank, which of course everyone says not to do) then I got the hang of it, everything was great, plants happy, fish happy. Then, just when I thought I had everything under control, WHAM, green water hits. Fixed that, thought everything was under control again. Then green spot. Fixed. Then various deficiencies (still fixing those). Then melting (still melting). Now more algae (fixing). Just in the past three days I've learned about 10 new vital tidbits from other AA members. And now I'm back to "Wow I have so much more to learn!"

Sometimes I think the learning curve is more like a rollercoaster....just when you think everything is under control, you're on another wild ride!

I look at it this way. Low light is like a Merry-Go-Round, with very little ups and downs. Then medium light is like your slower roller-coasters, a few more ups and downs, but managable. Then high light is like some of the most wicked roller-coasters, with turns you don't know are coming. Then for Ultra-High light, like my 75G? Well, it's like trying to jump into a NASCAR during the middle of the race, LOL. But once you learn the system, it's actually quite managable. And for the minimal algae I have in my 75G, it just means a perfectly healthy tank. It's minimal green algae. And to think my algae problems I had, I thought I'd never conquer it. But with all I learned from members in this forum, as well as experimenting on my own, it's the most lush planted tank I've done, and I can sit in front of it and just think, "WOW". Now what's my next step? LOL.