More Time = Better Reef? Does more time reefing equal a better reef tank?

[revhtree]

We've all seen them! AMAZING REEF TANKS! Not at my house of course! We've talked about the equipment, the chemistry, the practices to achieve one of these "amazing" reef tanks but how does time factor into it all? I mean if you have it mostly automated wouldn't you spend less time? But if you have more time are you constantly tinkering and just keeping things a little out of whack? Let's talk about it today!

Do you think that if you had more time to spend with your aquarium that you would have a better reef?

@Reefer350Lighting 's beautiful reef!

 

[MarshallB]

Im working from home due to covid so im always doing something with the tank. Is it helping? Probably not. But hey the sump sparkles and there is never even a spec of algae on the glass.

 

[dbowman5]

i spend at least an hour daily next to the glass. does that count? filling ATO reservoirs, topping off the tank that has none, emptying skimmer cups, feeding, and scraping glass takes an hour or two per week. add an hour of testing and RODI/SW make up maybe adds up to 9 hours total if i get to count gazing as an activity. if I want a better reef it is not the amount of time i spend daily that does it; it will be the amount of days i spend waiting, that will improve it.
that, and money.

 

[Futuretotm]

scientists say that the number of hours spent on tank is directly proportional to wife's mood,
they did not find a correlation with tank health.

 

[Crustaceon]

Factoring how much time it takes me to clean the panels, refill ato & kalk reservoirs and make/change 1g fresh saltwater daily, averaged out over the week, I’d say I spend about two hours per week working on my tank.

 

[Treefer32]

Great question! I find the tank relaxing, the fish shenanigans hilarious at times. My Tang gang drama is just funny. It never fails day after day. Three tangs battle for ownership of two tunnels in the rocks. They realize they can't guard both at the same time, so a new tang takes ownership of the second one, then the original tang switches tries to fight off the second tunnel, then they just keep exchanging places, flaring their fins, tails, and even going so far as to place themselves crosswise in the tunnels to block fish from swimming through. What's funnier is I have a dragon wrasse that lives in the sand under one of the tunnels. He comes out and fights all the tangs off...

So, does time watching, "As the tangs swap" count as tank time? heh. That said, I recently removed my skimmer due to over maintenance... I had pulled the whole thing to clean it thoroughly and couldn't get a union cap to loosen, ended up breaking the whole pipe of the skimmer. However, the side effect of this was simplifying my sump setup... I haven't put the skimmer back and haven't noticed only minimal negative consequences (on a 350 gallon system.). In fact some of my corals have since gotten more color and look healthier and are growing faster now. No algae outbreaks either!

The only negative outbreak is increased algae growth on the glass. That part is annoying. but, otherwise nothing else, My ATS seems to keep up with any increased nutrients. I'll take it!

I feed twice a day now instead of once before, I do more water changes. 2-3 times a week instead of once. Only 20 gallons at a time. Semi Manual AWC???

Monitoring Alk more than usual probably, but, that's about it. I find I spend more on stuff... This week ordered some bacteria supplements to see if I can get rid of some diatoms I have. Put more powerheads on the tank, and now with the skimmer gone I have more room in my sump to put in a filter sock or two, so, I am going to try to build custom filter sock holders to see if I can get that to work. Just constant tinkering to try to improve things. Probably make some things worse in the process.

 

[Quietman]

Well, if you count daydreaming, surfing websites (R2R), cruising online reef shops and supply, watching YouTube vids, talking to my wife and visitors....you need much higher ranges (maybe days instead of hours).

Basic keep the lights on stuff?...maybe two hours now. Been as high as 6 to 8/week or more when battling whatever disaster my tank and I experienced during the maturing/learning process.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I see a big difference in the question you asked, "How much time do you HAVE to spend..." vs how much time I like to spend.

If this hobby is more work that you have to do, rather than work that you do because you enjoy it, you may be in the wrong hobby!

 

[sp1187]

only thing on auto pilot on mine are lights on and off.
my tank is in the basement, perpendicular to the flat screen.
and most nights and weekends (non- hunting season) that's where I spend most my time.
so I make RODI 5 gallons at a time and dump that into a 4og brute. add salt.
do top offs. water changes weekly. feed the kids. add frags. move frags, clean the glass. save upside down snails.
hmmmmmm..... guess I get more exorcise than I realized.

 

[Treefer32]

I see a big difference in the question you asked, "How much time do you HAVE to spend..." vs how much time I like to spend.

If this hobby is more work that you have to do, rather than work that you do because you enjoy it, you may be in the wrong hobby!

I like this Ron, I like the tinkering aspects of the hobby. I don't like seeing the fish / corals suffer aspect if things are going wrong. That part is devastating, but part of the lifecycle. But, I agree, the maintenance should not be seen as a lot of work. I've got a lot of automation in place, If my water is all mixed to the right salinity, I can change out 20 gallons of water in under 5 minutes. I have a ATO that monitors water levels of both; the RODI 75 gallon bin and the sump. Auto fills both. My only maintenance is truly testing and feeding the fish. And I'm looking to get the auto frozen food feeder as soon as it's available. Primarily because I plan to be doing some form of traveling this summer! (I hope!)

 

[revhtree]

hey realize they can't guard both at the same time, so a new tang takes ownership of the second one, then the original tang switches tries to fight off the second tunnel, then they just keep exchanging places, flaring their fins, tails, and even going so far as to place themselves crosswise in the tunnels to block fish from swimming through.

HAHA!

 

[dbowman5]

scientists say that the number of hours spent on tank is directly proportional to wife's mood,
they did not find a correlation with tank health.

I think inversely proportional is more correct. the better her mood the less time i would spend on the tank. Just Sayin'

 

[don_chuwish]

Since you made me think about it I was amazed to admit probably 6-8 hours per week. Mainly because I just tend to fiddle around rather than setting a plan and doing specific tasks quickly. I'm a permanent work from home person and it can be a distraction - as can R2R!
But I don't necessarily think that spending more time DOING things is always good. Spending more time paying attention to what is going on in the tank is certainly good, but constantly changing things can be detrimental.

 

[swee10]

I chose other a.k.a. more than my wife would like.

 

[takitaj]

Probably spend 4-5 hours a week (it adds up) doing reefing chores, etc. Between preparing foods, cleaning, changing media, testing and other miscellaneous things. I do have a lot of time on my hands though. It would most likely be 2-3 if I was working or had kids.

 

[RedReefer]

I have a seasonal business so in the winter time I spend more time, 2 to 3 hours a week. During the summer, I probably only spend an hour a week or less according to what my work schedule is. I can definitely say this winter I’ve got my tank looking a lot better and I’ve learned a bunch of new info. I’ve also had a little extra time off due to the economy. I have enjoyed the extra time with my reef!

 

[Treefer32]

HAHA!

I guess I'm glad I accidently built two tunnels. They'd probably kill each other if there was only one to fight over. This way the aggression is spread out.

 

[Auquanut]

I see a big difference in the question you asked, "How much time do you HAVE to spend..." vs how much time I like to spend.

If this hobby is more work that you have to do, rather than work that you do because you enjoy it, you may be in the wrong hobby!

^^ This exactly!

 

[design.maddie]

10mins per feeding, 2 feedings a day, is 140 minutes just for feeding. Testing maybe 30 minutes a week, RO/DI 5hrs (requires attention without a float valve) cleaning glass, monitoring skimmer another 1 hr per week. 9+hrs I think

 

[Mike from TN]

I voted 11+ hours.
Im retired and have some health issues. Basically a “home body” with lots of time to “tinker” with the tank.
Water gets tested every other day.
Salinity gets checked with refractometer and topped off with RO/DI daily.
Glass gets cleaned in & our daily.
Floss gets changed weekly.
All othe media with the exception of “bio” gets replace 2X / month.
Light fish feeding 2X daily.
Coral feeding every other day ( broadcast for SPS, target for LPS ).
Dosing and lighting are automated.
All systems (pumps, etc.) get a functionality check Am & PM.

WAY too much time on my hands but come Springtime, I start working my land again.