How to achieve STABILITY?

[Paul B]

It comes with age. The age of the set up and the age of the Hobbyist. :)

I don't remember when my tank reached stability but I know it was after a few years. At least 5 or 6 years.

At over 50 years old it is certainly stable now and I don't have to test, dose or tweek medicate or quarantine.
We also should not "battle" anything. Hair algae, cyano, flatworms, bubble algae and Godzilla are all normal, natural things that occur in a healthy tank from time to time even mine.

Eventually we learn that our tanks, and the sea run in cycles. Some last a few months and some a few years. Most people don't keep a tank long enough to see this so they add chemicals or try to remove chemicals to stop a cycle.

I have found that if algae wants to grow, it grows, just as it does on every healthy reef in the sea. I also have seen cyano on very remote reefs in the world.

Algae and cyano grows everywhere and if it didn't there would be a problem. There is algae in our corals and it needs to be there so if we try to kill all the algae, we kill the corals.

Also, the medications we add for disease prevention or cures are all poisons just as algae-sides are.

Tanks, after a few years take care of themselves, as long as we abstain from adding things to try to short circuit the natural cycle with chemicals. :cool:

Notice, this little bleeny is pregnant as all my female fish are and the algae doesn't seem to give her the horrors. She finds enough food on that one rock that she rarely needs to eat the food I feed. Saving me money :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Gumbies R Us]

For me, it has been to keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. Only mess with your tank when you have to mess with it.

 

[Fenral]

Do you remember what you had for dinner on the 29th of November? Good, neither do I, writing down everything on an excel spreadsheet will help explain a lot. From food to lighting times you can adjust (tweak) your very own unique system. Please give it a try.

Yeh turkey… oh and more turkey :)

 

[kevgib67]

For me - stability means:
1. Alk: between 8.5 to 9 dKH
2. N & P: non-zero
3. Temp: within 1-2F
4. Salt: between 1.024-1.026 SG
5. Budget: between $1-$2k per month :)

That’s pretty much it.

How do I get a failed to load badge? I want one!

 

[backbayreef]

How do I get a failed to load badge? I want one!

lol - oh that OG Holy Grail badge? Very rare and you need to reach an extreme mental instability state to get one. I managed to get a frag from one of the mods. ;)

 

[Fenral]

lol - oh that OG Holy Grail badge? Very rare and you need to reach an extreme mental instability state to get one. I managed to get a frag from one of the mods. ;)

Mental instability … / checks to see if bakbay is part if reefers anon…

 

[Cool tangs]

Consistency is key in all aspects.

Do your maintenance.

Test your tank often.

As for nutrient export, find a method that works for you and stick with it. Adjust feeding ratio, foods and export method as needed. Trend your test results and have a range. If your having algae issues generally phosphates are the worst for it not nitrates. Don't rule out utilitarian fish such as tangs for algae management.

 

[Cool tangs]

It comes with age. The age of the set up and the age of the Hobbyist. :)

I don't remember when my tank reached stability but I know it was after a few years. At least 5 or 6 years.

At over 50 years old it is certainly stable now and I don't have to test, dose or tweek medicate or quarantine.
We also should not "battle" anything. Hair algae, cyano, flatworms, bubble algae and Godzilla are all normal, natural things that occur in a healthy tank from time to time even mine.

Eventually we learn that our tanks, and the sea run in cycles. Some last a few months and some a few years. Most people don't keep a tank long enough to see this so they add chemicals or try to remove chemicals to stop a cycle.

I have found that if algae wants to grow, it grows, just as it does on every healthy reef in the sea. I also have seen cyano on very remote reefs in the world.

Algae and cyano grows everywhere and if it didn't there would be a problem. There is algae in our corals and it needs to be there so if we try to kill all the algae, we kill the corals.

Also, the medications we add for disease prevention or cures are all poisons just as algae-sides are.

Tanks, after a few years take care of themselves, as long as we abstain from adding things to try to short circuit the natural cycle with chemicals. :cool:

Notice, this little bleeny is pregnant as all my female fish are and the algae doesn't seem to give her the horrors. She finds enough food on that one rock that she rarely needs to eat the food I feed. Saving me money :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Whilst the tanks getting stable, the feet are getting wobbly ;)

 

[kevgib67]

lol - oh that OG Holy Grail badge? Very rare and you need to reach an extreme mental instability state to get one. I managed to get a frag from one of the mods. ;)

I believe I qualify, my mental instability is at a totally different level. Thank @bakbay !

 

[backbayreef]

I believe I qualify, my mental instability is at a totally different level. Thank @bakbay !

My reef tanks keep me sane - so if that's stable, I'm stable.

Back to stability: I've found that the less I muck with my tank, the more stable it becomes. I used to kill sooooo many corals by changing water every weekend, without really testing my parameters. The game changer for me was the Trident. I'm just too busy (okay, lazy) to test religiously. As long as my alkalinity is within range, I'm good. Things stopped dying. Yes, I can always get better coloration & growth later but at least stability means no more dead skeletons, no more melting softies/LPS, etc. Proof: my 125g went 6 years and moved, 175g went 4 years w/o a WC then we moved, 60g went 7 years and got upgraded, current 150g will be 4 years next month, 93g mixed/Haddoni tank will be 2 years, and the 450g is going on 3mos -- zero water changes!

So to sum it up for me: maintain alkalinity within range and stop changing water! That's what worked for me the last ~2 decades.

 

[Fenral]

My reef tanks keep me sane - so if that's stable, I'm stable.

Back to stability: I've found that the less I muck with my tank, the more stable it becomes. I used to kill sooooo many corals by changing water every weekend, without really testing my parameters. The game changer for me was the Trident. I'm just too busy (okay, lazy) to test religiously. As long as my alkalinity is within range, I'm good. Things stopped dying. Yes, I can always get better coloration & growth later but at least stability means no more dead skeletons, no more melting softies/LPS, etc. Proof: my 125g went 6 years and moved, 175g went 4 years w/o a WC then we moved, 60g went 7 years and got upgraded, current 150g will be 4 years next month, 93g mixed/Haddoni tank will be 2 years, and the 450g is going on 3mos -- zero water changes!

So to sum it up for me: maintain alkalinity within range and stop changing water! That's what worked for me the last ~2 decades.

Errghh - water changes can be your friend! But they have to closely match what you have in your tank.

It is not really just about an absolute stability - it’s about keeping the rate of change within what the life your supporting can tolerate.

 

[feline]

Patience and time, it takes time to really mature.

 

[backbayreef]

Errghh - water changes can be your friend! But they have to closely match what you have in your tank.

It is not really just about an absolute stability - it’s about keeping the rate of change within what the life your supporting can tolerate.

While I do agree that WCs can help but corals do adjust to their environment. It can be your friend when you've exhausted all other methods. Most reefers (my young-self included) don't know how to test or got bad test readings. I'm not advocating no WC for everyone -- this has worked great for me.

 

[Fenral]

While I do agree that WCs can help but corals do adjust to their environment. It can be your friend when you've exhausted all other methods. Most reefers (my young-self included) don't know how to test or got bad test readings. I'm not advocating no WC for everyone -- this has worked great for me.

Fair enough god knows the guess the color game is fun enough that i have my 13 year old doing it…

 

[backbayreef]

Fair enough god knows the guess the color game is fun enough that i have my 13 year old doing it…

lol - I believe that's part of my problem since I'm red/green colorblind! Thank goodness for Hanna & Trident now :)

 

[Fenral]

lol - I believe that's part of my problem since I'm red/green colorblind! Thank goodness for Hanna & Trident now

Milwaukee + Hydros​

Taps foot… release the Maven already …(they should have saved the kraken name for something else - lord knows …)

 

[WAfrican]

Less is more in this hobby. Find a routine and stick to it and give the tank time to find its balance... Then and only then make changes and only one at a time with time to re stabilize and balance before making another. Huge swings will usually come from tinkering constantly. I measured my daily feedings, dosing, ATO, water parameters etc for months until I found a balance and now can make changes based on the overall health of the tank and have an idea of the short and long term outcome without fear.

 

[backbayreef]

Milwaukee + Hydros​

Taps foot… release the Maven already …(they should have saved the kraken name for something else - lord knows …)

I do have Hydros on the 93g Lagoon and hoping to get the Maven as well. However, with less than 50% success rate on the Trident NP, I'm not hopeful on the Maven result either. Will be interesting...

 

[mdpitts]

Real Ocean Live Rock for the win!

I've been reading up on this and am determined to buy a Tampa Bay Live Rock pack next time I set up a system. It is kind of expensive for me but I've been really struggling with my second tank (40b set up in April). I don't like the look of live rock but I hate the crap look of "the uglies" too.

 

[backbayreef]

I've been reading up on this and am determined to buy a Tampa Bay Live Rock pack next time I set up a system. It is kind of expensive for me but I've been really struggling with my second tank (40b set up in April). I don't like the look of live rock but I hate the crap look of "the uglies" too.

Why not put some dry rocks in your first tank's sump and wait 2mos? What's what I do -- use the LR from one tank and propagate / seed other tanks. The BBs are in the rocks right?