Twofold question here, and I would love some discussion!
1) How long does it take before a tank is considered established?
2) How long before a reefer is considered experienced?
What factors contribute to these answers? How much coralline the tank has? How many tanks a person has? Do you have to own a tank to gain experience? Certainly the predominant factor is time, itself, but time alone doesn't account for everything. I've seen people that have had successful saltwater tanks for over five years consider themselves novices and others who hurl some live rock and coral colonies into a nano tank on day one and have the tank thrive for years. There are some notable people on this forum whom I am not entirely certain weren't culturing corals in their living room since the dawn of creation...
Personally, I consider myself a complete novice. I've been researching corals and proper tank parameters for years, but only started up my first tank in August, which I would consider to be extremely young, far too young for corals at least.
With nearly every part of this hobby being anecdotal in nature, I'm sure everyone's opinions will be different. To be honest, thats one of my favorite parts about this hobby. Thanks for reading my novella and sharing your opinions! Here's my favorite "fish" enjoying his hermit crabs. He's the only one in the house who watches the tank more than I do.
1) How long does it take before a tank is considered established?
2) How long before a reefer is considered experienced?
What factors contribute to these answers? How much coralline the tank has? How many tanks a person has? Do you have to own a tank to gain experience? Certainly the predominant factor is time, itself, but time alone doesn't account for everything. I've seen people that have had successful saltwater tanks for over five years consider themselves novices and others who hurl some live rock and coral colonies into a nano tank on day one and have the tank thrive for years. There are some notable people on this forum whom I am not entirely certain weren't culturing corals in their living room since the dawn of creation...
Personally, I consider myself a complete novice. I've been researching corals and proper tank parameters for years, but only started up my first tank in August, which I would consider to be extremely young, far too young for corals at least.
With nearly every part of this hobby being anecdotal in nature, I'm sure everyone's opinions will be different. To be honest, thats one of my favorite parts about this hobby. Thanks for reading my novella and sharing your opinions! Here's my favorite "fish" enjoying his hermit crabs. He's the only one in the house who watches the tank more than I do.