Laws of Reef Keeping

[Dom]

Recently, I came across a thread related to an Anemone’s appearance and suggested the lack of tank maturity as one of a few possibilities. I was surprised to learn that some perceived this point of view as a “canned answer”. And the response left me to think; just because an answer is canned, does that make it bad advice?

We all started out as newbies in this hobby. And the spectrum of skills those of us who participate in the hobby have is a broad one. Personally, I would rate myself as and advanced beginner to low intermediate.

During the ten or twelve years I’ve been in the hobby, I’ve accepted certain rules. I like to think of them as the “laws of reefing”.

One of those laws is that a tank must be a minimum of twelve months old before it is considered “mature”. I’ve come to accept that to mean: a tank’s ability to operate with minimal fluctuation to water chemistry.

Another law I have accepted is that there are certain inhabitants that should not be added to a tank that isn’t adequately matured. And Anemones can be counted among them.

I view Anemones as the meteorologist of the reef tank, and find that they respond to subtle changes in water quality. This allows us to identify unfavorable water quality trends before they become a problem, and I think every reef tank should have one.

Unlike fish, inverts and other inhabitants that move through the water column, Anemones become one with the water.

As I observe my Anemones, I watch them wring themselves out of all water and deflate down to the point where they look like chewed bubblegum wads. And as the lights begin coming on, they inflate themselves with fresh tank water, topping off to full inflation late in the afternoon. In my opinion, taking on water internally is what makes them so sensitive to its quality.

In conclusion, while “canned”, I don’t believe providing such feedback is bad or unhelpful, particularly where people who are new to the hobby are concerned.

Thank you,
Dom

 

[sde1500]

particularly where people who are new to the hobby are concerned.

I think this is a key point. It is canned, and it isn't super great. Because it isn't descriptive. People so often go "oh tanks too new for a nem" move on. Why is it too new? Is it the tank or the tank keeper that is the problem? If you ask me, its the keeper. I feel that I could start a new tank tomorrow and first thing post cycle add a nem and it will be mostly fine. Why? Experience. Canned responses not explaining to a new hobbyist why it is that way tend to not help advance their experience.

 

[Greybeard]

Well stated... with reservations

For every law you can come up with, I can come up with a someone who successfully circumvented that law.

Mostly based on experience... as sde1500 stated.

I've certainly seen happy, healthy anemones in a new tank... Heck, I bet you could take a brand new aquariast, hand him a rock covered in Aiptasia or Mojano nems, and he could probably keep them happy and healthy

 

[LiveWire]

For every law you can come up with, I can come up with a someone who successfully circumvented that law.

Mostly based on experience... as sde1500 stated.

I agree with this as well. Especially now that we have advanced automated technology that will keep parameters in check as well as advances in fish breeding/coral propagation. I believe there are some "Laws Of Reefing" that need to be updated because of said technology.

 

[Dom]

I think this is a key point. It is canned, and it isn't super great. Because it isn't descriptive. People so often go "oh tanks too new for a nem" move on. Why is it too new? Is it the tank or the tank keeper that is the problem? If you ask me, its the keeper. I feel that I could start a new tank tomorrow and first thing post cycle add a nem and it will be mostly fine. Why? Experience. Canned responses not explaining to a new hobbyist why it is that way tend to not help advance their experience.

Excellent point.

So what you are saying is that it isn't the point of calling the tank immature, but the failure to expand on it.

And I also agree with experience being important. I added a Nem 4 months into a new tank and it split in less than a year.

So I guess it would be correct to say that it isn't the maturity of the tank but the maturity (experience of) the keeper which is more important.

 

[SDK]

So I guess it would be correct to say that it isn't the maturity of the tank but the maturity (experience of) the keeper which is more important.

It's both, although an experienced keeper is better prepared to mitigate the shortcomings of a less mature system. Well cared for tanks absolutely become more stable and forgiving as they mature...

 

[Mical]

This is a double edged sword. Yes I agree an experienced aquarist could get away with a nem in a new tank. But usually those who are coming to this site about their anemone woes are usually fairly new and have been mislead by their LFS or by their desire to have a nem & not doing their research. IE: the guy who buys 6 tangs for a 29gal tank... I don't make the assumption that the OP is inexperienced, but it becomes obvious when questioned on params, etc.. and instead of thrashing the poor soul, I try to educate them - that's what we're all here for right?

 

[Dom]

Thank you to all who participated in this intellectual round table discussion.

 

[reefwiser]

Hobbyist will always think that something is possible. The animals pay the cost. Patience to keep an a Aquarium. Is the Law that many fail to keep. Everyone was a fast way to a beautiful aquarium. When many times it takes years of problems to get that “perfect” tank

 

[S2G]

There's always exceptions to every rule but I'd say 9 out of 10 times it's better to have a mature tank. I feel the same way about mandarins & copperbands. I think most people add a cleanup crew too early and way too many at once.

 

[brandon429]

Bio-spira works great

I just started a new tank a little over a week ago. I started with all dry rock and new sand. I added a bottle of Bio-Spira and put fish and coral the same day. Never saw any ammonia and fish and coral seem healthy.

www.reef2reef.com

anemone on day one, dry rock

 

[SDK]

With diatoms starting one week in, and no updates since. Let’s see this tank in six months before we start touting it as some sort of success story....

 

[brandon429]

agreed we need to meet those milestones with it for sure, at least its something to track.

The old adages of waiting are simply dying out. Im not saying its good bad wrong Im saying its following moore's law but for reefing timeframes lol.

good or bad, our hobby is speeding up like data as I see it...if he pulls it off at 6 mos/ 1 yr, he opens new options which people do want. Im going to stay as active as possible in offering options to help him break the law not to cause strife, but its to test and set new boundaries.

its neat to be able to validate or invalidate new directions by getting into the mix somehow, his insta setup really caught my eye considering thats a decent instant fish bioload as well. at least its a working example to track....

 

[SDK]

Agree it’s good to track and get data. I don’t think it’s an old adage vs new on this though. It’s just a choice, and you can make life easier on yourself with some patience. You can also elect to go fast if you are willing to deal with the complications.

I would say it seems like an old adage because the ones who are more patient and deliberate tend to stay in the hobby longer and have more long term success.

Hence the dynamic of “old” reefers on here trying to pass along hard earned experience to impatient people. Many of whom will be out of the hobby in a year.

 

[brandon429]

I agree he's treaded into nearly uncharted territory we're going to try and push it though just to see. I like these discussions he can tell the bar is set by him, set high, and he needs to come through. that is awesome and I thought he was pretty well planned out vs just the haphazard throw together option.

Macna will set up insta tanks to show their $12 K anems, but nobody is leaving them there six months right/the test is on

 

[WVNed]

The real problem I have with these adages is there is so much variability in how tanks are started now.
It's not really how long that matters but if certain things have happened that determines a tanks maturity.
If everybody started with the same things a time schedule would be more useful.
I have seen many tanks on here that look like a slice of moonscape after many months.

 

[S2G]

I do agree things have come a long way especially with accelerating the cycle. There also seems to be a fad of disregarding old knowledge though. People seem to expect a 100 page scientific report for everything.

 

[Thales]

I really dislike 'laws of reefing' or 'reefing recipes' because they seem to be a placeholder for actual information, and that leads them into situations they don't have the ability to troubleshoot. People want easy answers and I think that isn't a helpful way to go.

 

[mikeintoronto]

Much of the information on these boards is newbies teaching newbies. They want to share the new found knowledge and end up regurgitating information for which they have little experience and state it as fact without understanding the intricacies. This propagates misinformation. A number of experienced hobbyists tend to ignore the boards or only lurk to see if anything is new. I’ve heard it argued that it is the responsibility of experienced hobbyists to help the new, but frankly many are not in it to be teachers. They just want to practice their hobby. And therein lies the problem; newbies helping newbies.
Countless experienced hobbyists transfer anemones from old tanks to brand new ones without an issue. They don’t talk about it because it’s just a regular day. The reason is, and it’s already been mentioned, the hobbyists are experienced. So waiting a year for a tank to mature has more to do with the hobbyist maturing than the tank. On that same note, mature newbies may also have a lot of success because they will plan out the entire hobby before starting so when the time comes, they know what’s going on.

 

[Mical]

Hobbyist will always think that something is possible. The animals pay the cost. Patience to keep an a Aquarium. Is the Law that many fail to keep. Everyone was a fast way to a beautiful aquarium. When many times it takes years of problems to get that “perfect” tank

How many times have you read "I added x amount of fish yesterday, I acclimated them and my params were perfect. I woke up this morning and a/couple of fish are dead." And they are asking for help. Another so called rule of reefing - adding to many fish too soon.