What Is The Average Life Span Of A System In Our Hobby?

[TruRacr314x]

I have been following a thread on my local club's forum that prompted me to pose this question to the OP. I regularly read arguments/debates about how long a certain piece to the reef puzzle will sustain itself without needing replaced or rebuilt. People make decisions during their build or purchases based on this. The thread I'm referring to on my club's forum was about substrate. It turned into the whole DSB, SSB or Barebottom debate. Soooo...a DSB may need an overhaul several years down the road to remain beneficial, but what are the odds a tank/system makes it to this point? Can it reach this point before it's time for an upgrade, shutdown, move, downgrade, major overhaul or just plain exit from the hobby?

What is the average life span of a reef tank/system these days? This can be based on your actual experience if you've had multiple tanks over the years...or can just be a gut feeling from watching forums. My guess would be the average/mean to be pretty low...like 1.5-2 years. Am I crazy...do most tanks survive longer? Or maybe I am guessing too long? I know we all have the best of intentions, but we've all watched the cycles. There are plenty of tanks around that have survived many years...but these days, I believe this to be the exception to the rule.

Keep in mind, this is just a poll..I'm not saying we should shift our thinking to planning a tank that lasts 2 years...or should we? :tongue:

 

[FarmerTy]

My last one lasted 3 years before I upgraded. It has a 2-3" sandbed. It was predominantly SPS.

I think it all depends on the type of system you run too. I can see keeping a simple softie/LPS setup for 5-10 years without having to do much maintenance at all but keeping a full on sps system for that long I think would be much more difficult because of all the things that can go wrong during that time.

 

[vlangel]

I have a 4-5 inch sandbed and this tank has been up for 2 years. I moved this sand bed from my 90g tank which had been up since 2004. I worked for a LFS that has put in many DSB in their customers tanks. Many of those systems are 10 years old or older now and still working well.

 

[Reef Junky150]

Before I moved my system was up for 9years. Hope to have up for the rest of my life [emoji225] of course one day I dream of having a larger dt than my 150gal but it is nice and I'll probably keep it until it deteriorates

 

[-Logzor]

The average reef aquarist will probably not be limited by the lifespan of the system itself, meaning; individuals at the beginning or mid-term of their reefing career are usually upgrading, tearing down, or making dramatic changes to their system. So it's unlikely that the biological systems in the aquarium will become obsolete. The end-of-life scenario occurs in long-standing systems and is usually attributed to the deep sand bed. I'm not certain if the result is a tank crash or if the general healthy of the system goes downhill. What occurs, it's dubbed "Old Tank Syndrome".

To be quite honest I'm not sure Old Tank Syndrome is real or myth. Regardless, I feel that the BB system is sustainable long-term, due to simplicity of the system and fewer variables that might cause tank crashes or biological dysfunction. I depend on heavy skimming and feeding in my system, there is no sandbed to filter, nor is there a sandbed to cause problems. I know a handful of advanced aquarist that steer away from the DSB or completely avoid sand to begin with for this exact reason.

There are plenty of examples of systems that have had DSB's in place for years. Are these grown out SPS tanks with massive colonies? Usually not, they are softie tanks, fish only, or with a handful of LPS. I think the idea is that the DSB is a "ticking time bomb" of sorts that may or may not go off. If they do, the SPS will be far more sensitive and more heavily documented, since the hardcore SPS hobbyist are more invested in the online forums. Thus, Old Tank Syndrome.

 

[Reef Junky150]

My sand bed is 11 years old 3-4".

 

[mainereefer]

with a deep sand bed most people think its is "set it and forget it" but I have found after about 3 years without proper maintenance a dsb will start to produce hydrogen sulfide.("old tank syndrome")
by proper maintenance I mean regularly vacuuming the top 1/2" of sand to remove larger organics and replacing about 1/3 of the dsb every couple years

if someone with a dsb says "I dont have hydrogen sulfide in my tank" their sand bed isnt working and they need to do some research...
hydrogen sulfide "swamp gas" is what is left after the bacteria brake down organics as far as it can be broken down the only way to get rid of it is to manually remove it

because this poll is for the "average" life span I say 2-3 years because most people dont do the reaserch and just listen to what others say.

 

[TruRacr314x]

Just to clear things up..I believe my question is being misunderstood. The potential life span of a well maintained system has been documented and debated numerous times. I'm simply asking how long tanks are typically set up these days? If you took 10 tank threads off of this forum and averaged their actual life span (time from setup to breakdown or major overhaul)...what would that be? It's certainly not 6+ years...

 

[whixley101]

My current system(240g) has been up and running for three years. My last tank(180g) was taken down after 10 years. I think that the age of the owner has a lot to do with time frame of system operation. I know I was constantly upgrading systems in my teens and early twenties trying to keep up with the latest trend or standard. Your question is tough to answer because it has many variables and very subjective.

Cole


Sent from my iPad using REEF2REEF

 

[FarmerTy]

That'd be a hard question for any one person to quantify. In a horrible analogy for it, it would be the same as asking someone how many average hugs do your friends get per day? Asking people who don't have direct association with the data you want is just asking for a best guess.

I think if you want a true answer to your question, a poll asking how long your longest system has been setup would give you a better idea once you collect all the data points and run some averages.

Sorry, was not using the example to be a smart *** but just trying to demonstrate the separation the people you are questioning have with the actual information.

 

[mainereefer]

in that case when I first started with reef tanks for the first 4-5 years I would change my setup every year.sometimes a softie tank with agressive fish, sometimes a lps with mix of fish,I gave up on most sps lol. after that I figured out what I liked and how I wanted to run my system.

my 180g was up for 4 years then "old tank syndrome" this year. any coral that i had in the sand bed when I cut it was filled with black smelly crud(hydrogen sulfide) now I run a bb system with containers of sand in the sump every year or so i will change out a container with fresh sand. should never have a problem like that again. soplan for the new setup is to last 10+ years.

I think your poll will get varied results, depending on how long a person has been in the hobby....

 

[TruRacr314x]

in that case when I first started with reef tanks for the first 4-5 years I would change my setup every year.sometimes a softie tank with agressive fish, sometimes a lps with mix of fish,I gave up on most sps lol. after that I figured out what I liked and how I wanted to run my system.

my 180g was up for 4 years then "old tank syndrome" this year. any coral that i had in the sand bed when I cut it was filled with black smelly crud(hydrogen sulfide) now I run a bb system with containers of sand in the sump every year or so i will change out a container with fresh sand. should never have a problem like that again. soplan for the new setup is to last 10+ years.

I think your poll will get varied results, depending on how long a person has been in the hobby....

Thanks for the input...and I think your personal experience has proved my point. If you averaged the life spans of your tanks, it would probably be only a couple years? I agree...there are many variables, some uncontrollable...

That'd be a hard question for any one person to quantify. In a horrible analogy for it, it would be the same as asking someone how many average hugs do your friends get per day? Asking people who don't have direct association with the data you want is just asking for a best guess.

I think if you want a true answer to your question, a poll asking how long your longest system has been setup would give you a better idea once you collect all the data points and run some averages.

Sorry, was not using the example to be a smart *** but just trying to demonstrate the separation the people you are questioning have with the actual information.

I think your analogy is a bit off, but I see your point. It's not totally subjective though if answered honestly...I can tell you about how long many of the people's tanks in my club have lived. It doesn't have to be exact...but I see a lot of tanks come and go in under a year. I would not want only people's longest running tanks as this doesn't show the true nature of the hobby...only life spans of experienced reefer's tanks.

My current system(240g) has been up and running for three years. My last tank(180g) was taken down after 10 years. I think that the age of the owner has a lot to do with time frame of system operation. I know I was constantly upgrading systems in my teens and early twenties trying to keep up with the latest trend or standard. Your question is tough to answer because it has many variables and very subjective.

Cole

I couldn't agree more...age and position in life has a lot to do with it. Experience as well...


I'm not looking to get any scientific data or even anything that matters. I just thought this would be a fun poll to show how rough our hobby can be in the early stages. I'd say the chances of a person's first few tanks lasting more than a few years is pretty low. The reasons for why are endless...and often uncontrollable. You can have the best of intentions for a reef that you plan to have for 10 years....but a year later you change jobs, have a child or move and boom...down comes the tank. I would imagine as age increases, the chances of longer life spans goes up to some degree as well.

 

[ritter6788]

My display is 6. I've had other tanks though that lasted average 1-1.5 years before I sold or traded them. I just don't do well maintaining more than 1 tank. My 75 will be six in a couple months and I've had some of the fish and corals in there since it was set up.

 

[moulton712]

I really wonder how many of us have had A tank, A Serious tank for 10+ years. I've been in the hobby about 3 years, I've had 2 tanks set up for 1 year max before changing, upgrading, etc. I've had 5 tanks total with 2 running now. So my tanks haven't lasted that long. No crashes.

some people are in the hobby and have "simple" tanks and others simply quit before the tank quits. Some have 3 corals, others have 300 corals. Some have 300 coral in a 40 breeder. Some feed a pinch a day some feed a pinch an hour. There is no way anyone can have data that can answer your question. Sometimes this is part of the fun of the hobby.

 

[Oscaror]

2-3 years before you get really annoyed
and then you upgrade

 

[rock_lobster]

I am pretty certain it is a complete myth. Tanks die of old age because hobbiest get bored or tired(no water changes, sand maintenance, etc.) and then blame the crash on "old tank syndrome". Its not like it takes years for hydrogen sulfide gas to form it could very well form right in the first few months...

 

[TruRacr314x]

I really wonder how many of us have had A tank, A Serious tank for 10+ years. I've been in the hobby about 3 years, I've had 2 tanks set up for 1 year max before changing, upgrading, etc. I've had 5 tanks total with 2 running now. So my tanks haven't lasted that long. No crashes.

some people are in the hobby and have "simple" tanks and others simply quit before the tank quits. Some have 3 corals, others have 300 corals. Some have 300 coral in a 40 breeder. Some feed a pinch a day some feed a pinch an hour. There is no way anyone can have data that can answer your question. Sometimes this is part of the fun of the hobby.

Why would you say that nobody would have the data? I didn't mean did this to be a serious discussion...but the data would be very easy to collect if you cared. Everyone would simply list out each tank they've owned and start/end date (or approx time tank was running before a major restructure). Average them out and you have a pretty good answer. Tank inhabitants..equipment...size...none of that really matters.

As I said, this is note an to be a complicated question...just a simple thermometer for how long we truly sustain a given system before moving on to the next or restructuring it. I think sometimes we get too caught up on making decisions on things with our systems during the build and fool ourselves that we expect to keep it running for 5+ years when that is far beyond the average. That is, if 5 years really is beyond the average. I have to think it is..

There are many systems on here that have hit that mark...but I think they are in the minority. I've only been active in the hobby for a few years now...so I'm not trying to act like I am any expert here. But to ask a different question...overall, how many people that entered the reef hobby...stay in the hobby for more than 2-3 years? I see far more people rush in and disappear than I do people sticking it out. I'm sure our opinions vary by location...as maybe the area another one of you live is mostly comprised of experienced long term reefers and few newbies coming in.

If nothing else, I'm enjoying hearing the feedback from everyone!

 

[TruRacr314x]

I am pretty certain it is a complete myth. Tanks die of old age because hobbiest get bored or tired(no water changes, sand maintenance, etc.) and then blame the crash on "old tank syndrome". Its not like it takes years for hydrogen sulfide gas to form it could very well form right in the first few months...

That very well may be true. So..why should a person starting their first tank (whether it be a biocube, 55g or 180g) be concerned with possible long term problems with a DSB? Will their first tank actually last that long?

 

[moulton712]

Why would you say that nobody would have the data? I didn't mean did this to be a serious discussion...but the data would be very easy to collect if you cared. Everyone would simply list out each tank they've owned and start/end date (or approx time tank was running before a major restructure). Average them out and you have a pretty good answer. Tank inhabitants..equipment...size...none of that really matters.

As I said, this is note an to be a complicated question...just a simple thermometer for how long we truly sustain a given system before moving on to the next or restructuring it. I think sometimes we get too caught up on making decisions on things with our systems during the build and fool ourselves that we expect to keep it running for 5+ years when that is far beyond the average. That is, if 5 years really is beyond the average. I have to think it is..

There are many systems on here that have hit that mark...but I think they are in the minority. I've only been active in the hobby for a few years now...so I'm not trying to act like I am any expert here. But to ask a different question...overall, how many people that entered the reef hobby...stay in the hobby for more than 2-3 years? I see far more people rush in and disappear than I do people sticking it out. I'm sure our opinions vary by location...as maybe the area another one of you live is mostly comprised of experienced long term reefers and few newbies coming in.

If nothing else, I'm enjoying hearing the feedback from everyone!

Data yes, but it's just data with huge variance

 

[-Logzor]

That very well may be true. So..why should a person starting their first tank (whether it be a biocube, 55g or 180g) be concerned with possible long term problems with a DSB? Will their first tank actually last that long?

I think the choice for a new hobbyist should come down to aesthetics and ease of maintenance. If you like the look you will be more likely to take care of the system verses shutting it down. I know there are a variety of opinions regarding maintenance of BB vs. DSB but I personally believe that BB is much easier. With enough flow it stays very clean.