How long does it take a tank to “mature”?

PhreeByrd · Jan 18, 2020

TVV said:
you have an excellent point. However,
I feel there is a distinct difference between "maturing" and "evolving". Maturing with respect to an aquarium I feel is when it is at a state that doesn't require constant intervention to sustain/replace life and the livestock have "adjusted" to their environment. Of course in a relatively small containment with respect to the ocean, water stability and the elements to enhance growth need to be maintained. "Evolution" is the continual changing of the livestock to this environment i.e. growth and multiplication, eating habits, battle for real estate within the system.

I see your point, but I'm not sure it's completely applicable. The livestock isn't actually changing. Only its relative populations are changing. And in my experience, these changes seem to be never-ending.
My doctor (kindly) tells me I am maturing. I don't think I've ever heard him say I'm evolving.

H3rm1tCr@b · Jan 18, 2020

Mine took over a year. It's around two and a half years old or something, maybe three. I don't remember. All I know is that when I decided that my tank was mature I could actually have success with coral. And the little things like worms and copepods exploded in proportions. I think it really depends on the tank. My logic is when your coral are growing, you have a little algae, and a mature sand bed filled with microfauna the tank is mature.

BuBBly FiSh · Jan 20, 2020

I knew my tank was mature when coralline algae started to grow all over everything, All my parameters started to stabilize and I was able to grow chato

zalick · Jan 20, 2020

MTBake said:
Coralline algae the size of half dollars growing on the glass that isn't cleaned is a decent indicator, imo.

Edit;

I've always looked at this in perhaps an old school kind of view. But if the tank can't grow coralline algae, then it will not support coral. If this was 15 years ago and the tank was started with the live rock available back then, I'd say give it 2 weeks and toss some coral in there to see how it does. It's totally different with the dry rock most have to use today. It takes a long time if starting with all dry rock and sand. Took my last setup about 18 months to see any kind of coralline algae growth on the glass or rocks.

Yup. My tanks in the 90s seemed to grow coralline overnight almost from day 1. You almost couldn't screw it up.

My current 300g just started really growing coralline after 4 yrs. Starting with pretty sterile rock and running a ULN system seemed to slow things way down. Once I abandoned ULN, this started growing better.

will25u · Jan 20, 2020

I’m gonna chime in with a totally uneducated response, but we have a bad habit of being lax in the proper husbandry department. Like we’ll go months without a water change in a 30 gallon and nothing looks bothered at all and we feed heavily twice a day. I think a tank is mature when it can handle that.

waterskiguy · Jan 20, 2020

That is a question you could ask 100 different people and get 110 different answers.
It really would depend on the tank and how it was started, what’s in it, where it came from, what equipment you’re using.....
I started a tank, 3 months ago, with 80lbs of mature (5 years) love rock amd about 60 lbs of bleached and acid bagged rock. I feel kike it will probably mature faster than a tank that was started at the same timeframe,
With fresh dry rock or even cured live rock. BUT, I also don’t feel like it will he truly matured for another 10-15 months. Even though everything is growing like crazy, it still isn’t as stable and I’m definitely fighting low nutrients. There are also those who feel like they can out a bottle of something in their tank and have it mature in 2 weeks.

rfgonzo · Jan 20, 2020

Years ago It would take a few months when cycled with true LR like Fuji.

Nowadays with the crap rock we start out with. It can take years. I have one tank right now that's been running for a year and a half, still not ready.

drblakjak55 · Jan 21, 2020

A tank is mature when its ecosystem can support itself. ATO keeps salinity stable. The fish food and poop feed the coral and the resident bacteria take care of the rest. 90g mixed reef. 3 yr old. I dose nothing. Water Change 20% monthly. Turkey baste sand and rock crevices monthly. Went through the GHA phase, the Dino phase. Basting the extra nutrients into the water column and out the mesh until the ecosystem catches up. Vodka very helpful in helping bacteria do their job

Bells>Waimea · Jan 21, 2020

I don't know about the whole "coralline means maturity" thing.

I have a 20g nano this go round. Skimmerless, no carbon/gfo, just some filter floss, marine pure, LR rubble and a tiny little fuge growing chaeto.

I have coralline growing at the 3 month mark of being wet after starting with dry rock. Nice to see it, but the tank is far from mature.

Someone earlier in this thread said something along the lines of "the water is clearer, like its not even there". This is a distinct memory I have of my last tank and when i considered it mature. Rock is thriving/colorful, everything does great, and you barely have to touch it or fiddle around.

Because everyones systems are different, it's impossible to put a time frame on it.

I think this is a "you'll know it when you see it" kinda thing.

Sailingeric · Jan 22, 2020

When it got a real job and moved out?

. I think when you have aged live rock and the uglies don't show up any more.

Bradley Creek Reefer · Apr 14, 2020

H3rm1tCr@b said:
Mine took over a year. It's around two and a half years old or something, maybe three. I don't remember. All I know is that when I decided that my tank was mature I could actually have success with coral. And the little things like worms and copepods exploded in proportions. I think it really depends on the tank. My logic is when your coral are growing, you have a little algae, and a mature sand bed filled with microfauna the tank is mature.

zalick said:
Yup. My tanks in the 90s seemed to grow coralline overnight almost from day 1. You almost couldn't screw it up.

My current 300g just started really growing coralline after 4 yrs. Starting with pretty sterile rock and running a ULN system seemed to slow things way down. Once I abandoned ULN, this started growing better.

what does ULN mean, I’m kinda new.

BeMoto · Apr 14, 2020

Robs Reef 250 said:
what does ULN mean, I’m kinda new.

ultra low maintenance

SDK · Apr 14, 2020

BeMoto said:
ultra low maintenance

ULN is ultra low “nutrients”....

Copingwithpods · Apr 14, 2020

It's one of those mysterious things like dejavu, cattle mutilations and alien abductions, if your asking you're not there yet and when you get there you'll know sorta thing.