[Squisher]

Well thanks for that. But I am the one who's fortunate to be here and as a noob to planted tanks really appreciate the wealth of knowledge shared. I started back into aquarium keeping(after a near decade hiatus after reefkeeping burnout) thinking I'd have some nice freshwater fish and a few live plants to keep them happy/healthy. Now I find myself heading deeper and deeper into the plant side of things. I really feel like it's making and will continue to make freshwater a much more fulfilling and fun hobby for me. I was concerned I might be a little underwhelmed with keeping freshwater as I very much enjoyed the learning and technical side of reefkeeping(didn't enjoy the inevitable failures and expenses though lol). Now I'm finding there's a whole other side to freshwater that I never imagined or knew anything about.

As I setup co2 over the holidays I may find I have some questions but one thing I've developed by always being a forum user is a decent ability to search over forums(I use google to search forums instead of the forum search functions, mostly). And this place has a vast database of info. That said, I still very much enjoy keeping up to date on the new and ongoing topics too. For me forums are the best of both worlds. A library and a coffee shop all in one.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

I re-entered the planted aquarium hobby this winter (had scaled way back for about 16 years).

This Fall/Winter, I did a small fishroom and started 2 build threads here on these forums. (SonoranDesertFishNook BuildThread and SonoranDesertFishNook InitialFloraFauna). I'm covering everything from construction, plumbing, electrical, glass cutting, DIY Controller, equipment selection, plant selection, fish selection, etc.. The scant number of views and interest (maybe 4 responses?) have blown me away. No one is interested at all.

My take? No one enjoys reading through detailed build threads. Perhaps, no one wants to see anything explained ad nauseum or ask for clarification. Folks just want to see photos... which are easier to post and view on other platforms (instagrams/facebooks,pinterest).


Eventually, I maxed out at the 100 photos you are allowed in the gallery (yeah, the build thread has 100 fotos)... became a Gold Member to increase that limit... contacted moderators, which escalated to Administrators .. nothing. I can't post photos. No response from administrators. So, I guess my last post was last week on that build thread.

My take? The ownership, PetGuide, is slow to do the minimum to help the forums survive by responding to paying members who are contributing content.


So there's my little anecdote to shed light on What Happened to the Forum over Last 7 Years. Man I'm disappointed. I really like this forum.

 

[Reginald2]

Most of the activity is gone to places like Reddit and instagram I think. It is unfortunate that a lot of newcomers to the hobby are fooled by these "3-month old, final update" tanks on social media and get discouraged if they don't get the same results. I believe that the hobby is threatened by influencers that push flair over long term stability of an aquarium.

This is what I value here. If i need to know something (and I usually do). I want it to come from someone who's been tinkering around for a while, not someone sponsored or churning content.

Plus, I like looking at all of y'all's fish tanks.

 

[Scully]

I re-entered the planted aquarium hobby this winter (had scaled way back for about 16 years).

This Fall/Winter, I did a small fishroom and started 2 build threads here on these forums. (SonoranDesertFishNook BuildThread and SonoranDesertFishNook InitialFloraFauna). I'm covering everything from construction, plumbing, electrical, glass cutting, DIY Controller, equipment selection, plant selection, fish selection, etc.. The scant number of views and interest (maybe 4 responses?) have blown me away. No one is interested at all.

My take? No one wants to read through detailed build threads. No one wants to see anything explained or ask for clarification. Folks just want to see photos... which are easier to post and view on other platforms (instagrams/facebooks,pinterest).


Eventually, I maxed out at the 100 photos you are allowed in the gallery (yeah, the build thread has 100 fotos)... became a Gold Member to increase that limit... contacted moderators, which escalated to Administrators .. nothing. I can't post photos. No response from administrators. So, I guess my last post was last week on that build thread.

I've throughly enjoyed your threads, even though I haven't posted in them. I think there are a small number of active members that actually read through most everything. They just don't comment all the time.

I highly recommend creating an Imgur account(Used to use photobucket, but they really screwed the pooch awhile back making a ton of useful content on other forums I frequent completely useless), downloading your images to there, and then inserting them into your thread via the image button. It would be a shame to lose your content IMO.

 

[Grobbins48]

I've throughly enjoyed your threads, even though I haven't posted in them. I think there are a small number of active members that actually read through most everything. They just don't comment all the time.



I highly recommend creating an Imgur account(Used to use photobucket, but they really screwed the pooch awhile back making a ton of useful content on other forums I frequent completely useless), downloading your images to there, and then inserting them into your thread via the image button. It would be a shame to lose your content IMO.

Yup, I use imgur and more often tapatalk to host my photos.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

I've throughly enjoyed your threads, even though I haven't posted in them.

I highly recommend creating an Imgur account, downloading your images to there, and then inserting them into your thread via the image button.

Thank you. It's fun doing them.

I've had those Image services...always end the same... you have pay in the end or all of the links go dead... then you have to fix all of your posts to point to the new place where your pictures live. Nothing is free. So, If I'm going to pay to host content, it made sense to reward thePlantedTank.net by subscribing.

Turns out... I didn't have to subscribe. Per their Subscriptions.. Galleries are unlimited for everyone.

https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...08599&title=Screenshot_2021-01-11_160905c.png

Only, unlimited means 100. Apparently I can still upload upwards of 95mb of photos (which is allot because I tend to save them quite small... < 200kb) But, I'd like them organized as Galleries for the sake of being able to locate them in an orderly fashion... Hopefully an Administrator will contact me so we can get to the bottom of their policy.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

The Administrators were helpful. They did take a bit to respond (a bit more than a week), but when they did, they had the problem resolved to 100% satisfaction.

They mentioned there was an issue in the back end... and they had to modify a bit of code to fix the Gallery limit issue. Very grateful to both the Moderator and Administrator for following through to resolve the bug.

Positive outcome! Encouraging for the future of thePlantedTank.

So, I was able to update one of my build threads today...

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmmm....maybe the forums could do with a little bit of PR love as well. A bit more publicity here, a touchup there....

I'm ok with social media, although I agree that it's not the best for asking questions. The way things are listed, it's hard to keep track of answers, etc. At the same time, forums need to either adapt or die. There're a few new ones, but wherever I turn, there's very few younger members. Attracting them would be nice, but that also means tolerating my generation's language nuances and what we prioritize. Thiccc shrimpy bois and all.

 

[dlogan]

Hmmm....maybe the forums could do with a little bit of PR love as well. A bit more publicity here, a touchup there....

Yes, it would be crazy if the site got a big upgrade in functionality and design.... even crazier if it was VERY soon..... ;P

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

There is an application called NextDoor. Folks who live in HOAs etc... often use it for communicating. It's a bit Facebook like in how you work with it... but it does support Subjects quiet well.

I've been in contact with the developers of NextDoor (they are located in the bay area of California) to ask if they would consider modifying the App/Service for Clubs, etc... to develop a product that would meet those needs. Such an app would kind of be a blend of Foroums/Facebook/Instagram.... from a User standpoint. But, from an Administrators standpoint, it lends itself to organizing information by topics very well. Each time I send the request, they always state my idea has merit, it's something they want to address, they will get back to me soon to pursue the topic...... and then nothing.... It's become kind of an annual thing where I've sent the same letter out to them in 2018, 2019, 2020. Haven't done one for 2021... and won't....

Yes, it would be crazy if the site got a big upgrade in functionality and design.... even crazier if it was VERY soon..... ;P

So dlogan, we wait with bated breath to see what your team is up to. ;P

 

[dlogan]

So dlogan, we wait with bated breath to see what your team is up to. ;P

Not MY team, but I have it on good authority that "soon" is actually SOON.... as in.... this week! (barring any unforeseen technical apocalypses). To the future! :wink2:

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

Not MY team, but I have it on good authority that "soon" is actually SOON.... as in.... this week! (barring any unforeseen technical apocalypses). To the future! :wink2:

Good stuff!