How easy is keeping a saltwater reef aquarium for you?

[revhtree]

Ever heard the term "green thumb" in reference to people who can grow things? Maybe you have have the term "blue thumb" in reference to people who saturate coral photos with blue light!

Today though I want to use the term "Blue Thumb" to describe people who find keeping a reef tank easy!

What about you? How easy is it for you and what do you think contributed to your knack for saltwater aquariums?

image via @irwin_fletch

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Haha. This is a trick question! I find it pretty easy to maintain my Reefs until I all of the sudden have issues that make things difficult. Anyone of us can get stumped at any given time in my experience.

 

[Billldg]

Wasn't to bad until I got the sps bug, how it is a little bit more challenging, but still fun.

 

[cracker]

This is a good poll . Some go well other aspects not so. I can keep lps easily on the other hand Iv'e always had algae issues & sps is jut beyond my grasp. I have issues with keeping my reef tank stable . I understand the concept & proper steps but. Now fish I have done well with for many years .

 

[pdiehm]

growing corals is a struggle, has been, but I think I have the lighting aspect figured out.

 

[WVNed]

So far it has gone exactly as expected. But I haven't had it up long enough (4 months) to matter yet.

 

[TheHarold]

When its going well, 20 minutes a week is more than a tank needs. That can go for over a year- just everything supper happy. But when there is a problem, things can go south quickly and it demands a lot of time/work.

 

[Subsea]

In my early reef days, 1971, I choose easy to maintain corals that could be left unattended and thrive. Minimalist best discribes my use of natural filtration and no other equipment but lights & pumps.

After 47 years, I can say it’s still fun. For certain, I am passionate about the hobby.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/wet-salty-for-christmas-2017.428100/

 

[Crabs McJones]

I think it all depends on what stage in you're reef keeping your at. A newcomer might say it's very difficult. Someone with a few years under their belt might say its hareasy or hard. But a seasoned veteran of reefkeeping, stuff comes easily to them, they do say easy or hareasy. For me I know it was this exact scenario. When I started out it was hard. But as I learned the ropes and got into a groove things started getting easier

 

[Oshengems]

The first month was stressful mostly because of the anxiety of getting things wet and going, after that 2-3 months of more anxiety wanting to put things in maintenance pretty low since it was just riding out the cycle, But after that it was smooth sailing testing every 2-3-7 days and random water changes,this was easy as well since only 5-15g is pretty easy when doing the heavy maintenance, cleaning pumps and sump skimmer etc. Every 2-3 months.

I recently came up with AEFW and things have changed since I had to remove them creating a rack clipping scrapping looking dipping monitiring but on the bright side I’m learning a bunch of new things and I’m being more hands on in the tank for the next 6-7 weeks, but after thats over back to regular schedule testing and random water changes..... AND DIPPING! Any and every coral I get lesson learned

 

[MTBake]

Like most others, I've had my ups and downs for sure. The low points usually coincide with a major life event that causes the tank to take a backseat for other priorities.

All in all, I don't find this hobby difficult. Just a bit pricey. It's sooo worth it though.

 

[Smite]

Growing corals? Easy!

Defending against algae, pests, fish diseases while financially backing my sps addiction? Not so easy. ...

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Ever heard the term "green thumb" in reference to people who can grow things? Maybe you have have the term "blue thumb" in reference to people who saturate coral photos with blue light!

Today though I want to use the term "Blue Thumb" to describe people who find keeping a reef tank easy!

What about you? How easy is it for you and what do you think contributed to your knack for saltwater aquariums?

image via @irwin_fletch

Took a year to figure out simple, still fine tuning, but easier now

 

[adtravels]

Been in the hobby off and on since 2000. ICP testing has been the game changer with me. I have also got more patient as I have aged (not much though)

 

[erk]

This hobby is a challenge. Sure, individual parts of it are easy, but adding it all up, it becomes an enjoyable test of one's abilities. I left the freshwater planted hobby because I just wasn't challenged enough and I became bored. I still enjoy those tanks, but it doesn't capture my attention or amazement like a reef tank. There is always something new to learn.

 

[jtl]

I think it is a difficult hobby. Difficult on many levels. The time commitment to having a healthy and clean tank. The chemistry of getting conditions optimal for growing corals. Having the acquired knowledge to get there and then staying there.

 

[Geebs19]

I think it depends on what you are keeping. Fish only, sofites, LPS, SPS. Right now I have a few fish and euphylias and its pretty cake. I better go knock on wood for saying that haha.

 

[DMG Reef]

I had to choose "easy". But only because I had a 125 gallon reef in the mid '90's. Now that was hard reefing! I can't believe the number of fish that died on me in just a few weeks. I suspect many were caught using cyanide. When I decided to get back into reefing about 5 yrs. ago, I was amazed at the advancements that have been made which makes it all so much easier. I still have my 6 original fish which are 4 1/2 yrs. old now. And many of the corals I added 4 1/2 yrs. ago are still going strong. Lighting is better and far more diverse. Testing is easy. Dosing pump is wonderful. There are too many improvements to list. So much easier these days!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I had kept FW aquariums for years prior to converting to salt. When I did, the swap over wasn't all that much of a change for me as I started with a fish only setup. I just had to get accustomed to having more parameters to watch for. So at first it was fairly straight forward. As time progressed I got more and more ambitious and the challenge level has certainly gone up. Two years in and I am running a full mixed reef and it is much more challenging than when I first started. So I would say definitely HAREASY since I just took the plunge into SPS and have a whole new set of challenges with them compared to softies and LPS.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

Haha. This is a trick question! I find it pretty easy to maintain my Reefs until I all of the sudden have issues that make things difficult. Anyone of us can get stumped at any given time in my experience.

I’ve had many tanks over past 22 years of Reefing and I don’t believe even one of them I would consider easy. Average time up for a Reef for me is around 4 years. Had one for a 9 year stretch. Through all of them I at one point or another had Major issues that became sooo incredibly frustrating I questioned continueing. Dino’s can test anyone’s patience. It’s kinda a good thing I have ADD, for I quickly forget the bad times and jump in head first all over again. I am a true addict. I recently kicked a ten year battle w pain meds. I almost forgot about all that til just mentioned. Haha. Back to the Reef. Got some issues rt now to deal with, but I’m on it. The biggest disasters happen when you don’t address a problem due to lack of time or catching it because tank takes backseat. Gotta stay consistent and most all issues are at bay