Question How much has LUCK played a role in your success?

[ReefRap]

This topic was inspired by a post from another hobbyist in a Facebook Group.

How much has LUCK played a role in your success?

When I think back on all my years of keeping aquariums, I am struck by how much good luck I've had.

I've made (and will continue to make) stupid mistakes, from not dipping corals and quarantining sick fish to--and this is probably my biggest vice--changing something when everything is running fine (like adding or taking away equipment, changing/adding more supplements, trying different filtration methods or media... the list goes on... and on).

Yet, despite all my stupidity, I've had way more successes than failures. Somehow, despite my stubbornness, laziness, and ignorance (I am admittedly not the brightest LED in the array) I have managed to be more successful than guys and girls I know that are way more skilled at being a reefkeeper than I am.

So I guess my question is: does luck have anything to do with it? Do you think you've had good luck as a hobbyist in spite of your own efforts to self-sabotage?

Sound off below!

 

[homegrowncichlid]

I can't think of a single thing that I did that was lucky. The only successes were due to trial and error, or reading about it. HEH, OK if I was thinking about luck, it would be when I was 10, found a clam at the beach, took it home, knew it needed salt water to live, and LUCKILY, had an empty 10 gallon tank, and crushed, green, glass gravel. Unfortunately, I didn't know it needed to be under the water, and the water wasn't deep enough to submerge the clam. Heh Luck? or was it the first in a series of life-long trials.

 

[ReefRap]

I can't think of a single thing that I did that was lucky. The only successes were due to trial and error, or reading about it. HEH, OK if I was thinking about luck, it would be when I was 10, found a clam at the beach, took it home, knew it needed salt water to live, and LUCKILY, had an empty 10 gallon tank, and crushed, green, glass gravel. Unfortunately, I didn't know it needed to be under the water, and the water wasn't deep enough to submerge the clam. Heh Luck? or was it the first in a series of life-long trials.

For me, the best learned lessons--the ones that really stick--are the ones I learned through my own carelessness, laziness, ignorance, etc.

I am an avid reader, so I consume as much content on the hobby as possible! I think the hardest lesson to learn beyond dialing in calcium and alkalinity has been to know that there's a point where you have to stop meddling with things and just late nature take its course. I think that's why a lot of hobbyists develop multiple tank syndrome. They knew better than to mess with a system that is already rocking & rolling, so they decided to start a new project to scratch the itch!

What about dodging disease, reef pests, heater malfunctions, tanks busting, or a bad batches of something?

When each of us rolls the reef dice, does the universe favor some players and drop a load of detritus on others? It seems like some hobbyists never catch a break and are dealing with one problem after another.

You think it's just the odds of the game we're playing and the obstacles they encounter are random?

 

[reefman]

luck will not be in your favor if you plan to be a reefer long term. is like gambling in casino.

 

[Paul B]

I think luck plays a big role in this. Sometimes a fish jumps out and with luck, sometimes it doesn't. Some tanks unluckily crack or your Grand Kids put soap in your tank.

Some times something rots and your lights fall in your tank, or a hurricane shuts off your power for a week.

Luck plays a role in many things that we have no control of.
I have been mostly lucky with my tank for 50 years. Luck doesn't always last forever but neither do we.

 

[ducati335i]

Some luck.. but the better question would be how much bad luck! I’ve had 18 tangs big and fat along w other 20+ fish all die from velvet.. it’s the devil…
I’ve had an auto top off go out day before a europe trip,
Heaters kill coral and fish…
Luck I’m not sure about.. I now do a fail safe for a fail safe, qt everything, and enjoy.
meanwhile no one in my family really looks at it except me, lol fml

 

[geldof]

I mean, there is bad luck... such as a power outtage when on vacation. BUT... is that really bad luck or lack of a 'worse case scenario' plan. I can trace all of my mishaps back to lack of preventative measures or preparedness, all accept the rando invert that gets eaten by a fish and things like that. To a certain extent, nature will take its course, in a reef system. Even when I have random acros melt down, I don't blame the acro. I do my best to think through what may have caused the issue. 9 times out of 10 there is an answer. That one time, is where my lack of knowledge got the best of me. Could be something as simple as corals that don't get along or a doser getting stuck in the on position. Still my fault. Either way, this is a HARD hobby, especially when you get into SPS, but that is part of the challenge and fun. When it isn't any more, I'll move to easier coral or close the tank down.

 

[nanoreefer22]

What success? Didn't even know that was possible...

 

[Humblefish]

Luck is a real thing...