Can't speak about saltwater communities, but in my experience there are no really good freshwater communities. They all have major drawbacks. Plenty of old members willing to dispense bad advice because, I can only guess, they feel they must be seen answering everything. And an abundance of new members just as willing to regurgitate advice about something they just heard about 10 minutes ago and don't really understand yet.
I've also noticed that the rest of the community rarely corrects these members because they carry weight, so everyone just assumes they know what they're talking about.
The result is you get misinformed with shoddy advice.
For aquariums, your best bet is to pick up some books and read it straight from the leading sources, and then supplement it with a bit of forum-browsing to understand the more current and modern approaches and equipment a little better.
Baensch Aquarium Atlas Volume 1 is a great place to start.
If it's planted tanks you're into, there's loads of great people on aquatic plant central.
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