Meeting topics for newbies?

[SandJ]

I am always blown away by the speakers and topics covered at the meetings. And I know the officers and members put a tremendous amount of work into this club. A big thank you to all of you :0)

 

I was wondering if something could be added to the meetings... Maybe during social time before the speaker, we could have a short (30 mins to a hour) lecture on some of the basic topics of the hobby. Or if someone wanted to volunteer to do a small workshop on a topic one weekend (it could be recorded and made available on the site also). Topics could include:

 

Skimmer setup

coral identification

sump setup

using test kits

setting up a quarantine tank

Fish disease and treatment

identifying common tank inhabitants-and are they good or bad

lighting

RODI units (changing filters, sanitizing, booster pumps)

aquascaping

how to cycle a tank

Keeping an aquarium log

Safety while working with your tank-what are the dangers and how to minimize them

clean up crews-what is really needed

Plumbing-basic tools, parts and do's and don'ts

 

Even after being in the hobby for a year and a half, I know there is so much more for me to learn. And it would be awesome to learn how to do things the right way from the start lol And yes, there is lots of info here, online and videos on YouTube, but to actually get hands on experience or be able to ask questions would be a lot more fun :0)

 

And I understand the meetings are already packed full and run great as they are set up so this may not be possible. But just though I would throw the idea out there just in case. 

[Squishie89]

I think this sounds like a really good idea.

[AlanM]

I agree. I like it. We have done tank drilling demonstrations in the past. Drilling was my first big bout with nervousness when getting into the hobby. I can be slow to understanding too, so it took me owning a skimmer and running it before I figured out what it did. Skimmer 101 would be nice. RO/DI setup and operation is also a good one.

[treesprite]

Things that will make the hobby stay enjoyable without becoming a burden or source of stress.

 

I think a lot of beginners quit when they find themselves doing a lot more work than they expected, or worrying a lot about things that don't need to be so worrisome.