How long did it take until you had a FABULOUS or MAH-VEL-OUS reef tank?

[Morbo]

I love seeing beautiful, filled in, fully-stocked reef tanks (who doesn't right?). I know patience is key in this hobby, but I want a FABULOUS TOTM right now!

Seriously though... My little corals are growing, mostly, so I'm happy. But my tank looks so barren. It's only been 6 months so I'm not surprised.

I see people that spend tons of money on larger colonies to get that "immediate" gratification. I can't bring myself to do that, because I know how quickly things can go wrong; then you're out all that money, not to mention the loss of livestock/coral.

How long did it take for you to have a FABULOUS or MAH-VEL-OUS reef tank?

 

[Alchameth]

Right there with you... I have over 40ish frags I'm looking forward to filling out over the next few years.

 

[Tired]

I'm about 10 months in on my pico, but it's a pico, so little frags take up more space comparatively.

You want something to take up some space semi-fast, that's not too expensive or difficult? Get some relatively well-behaved macroalgaes. Codium and halimeda tend to not cause much trouble (fast growth, going sexual, that sort of thing), aren't terribly expensive, and look nice. Gracilaria is niceish depending on what you get, but herbivores will demolish it.

To help your corals grow out nicely, make sure your nutrients are reasonable. If they get too low, things starve. You want nitrates over 5ppm, generally, and phosphate probably at least 0.03ppm. Higher of either works just fine. High phosphate in particular is absolutely fine- even dozens of times higher than the baseline. All it does is possibly encourage algae, it doesn't poison corals or anything.

 

[Morbo]

You want something to take up some space semi-fast, that's not too expensive or difficult? Get some relatively well-behaved macroalgaes. Codium and halimeda tend to not cause much trouble (fast growth, going sexual, that sort of thing), aren't terribly expensive, and look nice. Gracilaria is niceish depending on what you get, but herbivores will demolish it.

In my previous tank years ago I bough a bunch of really nice macro from a fellow Boston Reefers member. I knew the tangs/etc. would eat it, but I wasn't prepared for how fast they did so!

Within 2-3 days it was all gone... we're talking I think $60-80 worth, a small box full of different types (was a great package/deal). Dang fish didn't even thank me.

 

[Tired]

Oof, ouch. Yeah, you gotta pick calcified and otherwise distasteful algaes if you want them to not be eaten by tangs. The ones I already mentioned are probably good, and fire fern might also work. It's pretty durable, doesn't seem tasty.

 

[X-37B]

Here is my 120/40 breeder at startup, 6 months, and now 15 months.
Already removed 2 colonies as they got to big and I needed the room for others, lol.
Obvious light change was done 2 weeks ago.
All from 1-3" frags

This is what my back wall looked like before I added 2 urchins.

 

[jeffrey750750]

Took my 60 cube about 13 to 14 months to become stable when I was completely happy with it

 

[KrisReef]

In my previous tank years ago I bough a bunch of really nice macro from a fellow Boston Reefers member. I knew the tangs/etc. would eat it, but I wasn't prepared for how fast they did so!

Within 2-3 days it was all gone... we're talking I think $60-80 worth, a small box full of different types (was a great package/deal). Dang fish didn't even thank me.

I've had so many dates did the same thing, long time ago.

Speaking of time, wait a year or two and if parameters are good you will be cutting frags to sell or give away. Corals in tanks take time to mature but once they start growing, look out!

On the flip side, it only takes a few minutes to bring home a pest that will destroy a 10 year old coral tank inside of a couple of months. It will make you wish you still just feeding tangs, let me tell you!

Good Luck, you can do this. You got the time!

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Im at the 2yr mark with my first tank (40b) and it is so full i had to start two more. Another 40b and 25 lagoon, haha.

 

[footgal]

Tank just turned 8 months old! It’s a 20 gallon. All the euphyllia started from 1-2 heads and all the zoas from 2-4 polyp frags. All the SPS from tiny little 1”-2” frags. This is my grow out tank because I have coral nippers in some of my other tanks and the tiny frags don’t fare too well. Actually my favorite tank... I love how it’s always rotating out corals (coral gets big, it moves into the big tank, coral gets sick/damaged and it moves back).