Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

[hart24601]

I don't really disagree, but in a way couching it like that is a little like asking if you "still beat your dog". It presupposes the wrong thing....that going slow is "bad" or "for beginners".

I think this connotation or whatever is what makes this one of the hotter topics.

What about thinking of the whole situation differently like suggested in post #49?

Seems to me there are potentially lots of good reasons to select going slow no matter the experience level.

I think perhaps a bigger issue is that "slow" is subjective and applicable to many different areas. Are we talking about initial cycle before adding any live stock? What is slow in that context? If one is doing a fishless cycle by definition of that process it's complete when all the ammonia you dose that day is reduced to 0 along with nitrite. Is that process by default "slow"? Does it matter if you try and speed it up with bacteria if you can still dose ammonia and have it eliminated (and nitrite) overnight? Once this happens would it be slow to only add one fish and not several? In this context wouldn't going slow be potentially detrimental as the cultivated bacteria wouldn't have enough food to eat with one small fish and die off and then when adding more there could be potential ammonia issues? Plus buying fish one at a time means each goes into QT which hopefully a person sticks with but as we all know they might let one slip past.

Not only with the initial cycle, but adding coral can become confusing on what one interprets slow as. Does slow mean add softies 1st then LPS then SPS? A year for each type or what? Or try one coral variety (aka birdsnest) at a time and for how long? 1 week? 1 month? Try one acro frag for a couple months before trying another acro frag and so on?

My only point with the post is to show how open fast and slow are subjective and as you gain experience you begin to get a feel of how those terms may be applicable to your individual systems rather than just try and take advise from strangers on the internet whom may not have any more experience and yourself just parrot the information and in fact may have very unhealthy systems. I am of course NOT talking about you! Just about the difficulty of sifting information on the internet in general.

 

[jwhann6]

I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and hearing about everyones experiences. Personally, learning to "take it slow" has been one of the most difficult/rewarding things I've learned in this hobby.

I started keeping a FOWLR tank 8 years ago when I was only 16, that tank did okay, but I didn't do enough research and jumped in faster than most recommended. I then started a tank in college about 4 years later, with that tank I promised myself I would do a significant amount of research, read as many books as I could and take my time. It paid dividends and was the best decision I made in the hobby. I've taken the same approach with my current set up and things have been going great for awhile now.

For reference, my current setup is ~20 gallons and houses a blue-green chromis, a few thriving euphyllia coral, a birdsnest and a few zoas. Its 14 months old and only now am I considering adding my final fish, a yellow clown goby.

Thus, from my experiences I am definitely in the "take it slow" camp, but that stems from learning from past failure and most importantly from research. While "nothing good happens fast in a reef tank" is so true, I'd also lobby that research is just as important. So thanks R2R for giving us a place to share our experiences and help others avoid mistakes we've made.

 

[mcarroll]

Personally, learning to "take it slow" has been one of the most difficult/rewarding things I've learned in this hobby.

Great anecdote! Right up my alley, in fact!

 

[jwhann6]

Great anecdote! Right up my alley, in fact!

Thank you @mcarroll !

 

[Stigigemla]

Well I have a bit different aproach to starting a tank. I must confess I have problems in selling it to beginners but for upgraders it often works.

Begin with deciding what You want. Then check up what it excludes. I have always wanted a pair of clown triggers but after reading I realize it would mean a tank of at least 30 feet and despite that one of them will probably be killed so I have to give up that. Any kind of crab or shrimps will also be impossible.
I love wrasses and inverts. That means 2 tanks. Sexy shrimps and Cirrhilabrus in the same tank is impossible. The usual Chromis virides and LPS is also a bad choice. The Chromis just loves high flow. In a high flow tank they stay together in a school. They dont grow that big and keep more slender in their body shape. And they are like their on speed. Or if You have them like that at home You will think they are on valium in Your local shop. The same is for most fishes from the upper outside of the reef. But you can´t keep most LPS in a flow like that. Thats another choice to do.
I also love the shy Nemateleotris and Ptereleotris. They are possible to combine with Pyjama cardinals or Zoramia leptacantha wich are more in the open. But this means a calm tank with less flow and preferably with a bit less light. Otherwise the fishes will be shy.
That will mean 3 different tanks for me.
And I already have a 66 Gallon Damsel tank. 4 different species - 3 plankton feeders and one algae eater. Pomacentrus moluccensis is a big mistake from me. I ordered talbotis but my wholesaler fooled me and I didn´t check before adding them to the tank. The algae eating damsels are a lot more territorial. 13 Damsels of 2 to 3 inches.
This tank has good light and SPS. I believe I will add Chromis retrofasciata and Chrysiptera parasema if I get the moluccensis out.

After deciding the fishes it is time for the inverts and corals.

When You know the lifestock it is time for the aquarium, circulation, light, skimmer and filtering.

If You just let dead rock clean itself in a bucket with starter bacteria the stone is cycled when You add it to the tank and You can begin to stock the tank the first week. I recommend about 1/5 of the intended fish stock and wait at least 2 weeks before the next fish. Corals doesnt do that much to the startup of the tank so just select carefully. It is important to begin the stocking soon because otherwise the bacteria will die off and You will have to cycle again when You begin to stock the tank. Bacteria is the reefers best friends.

 

[FishGuyBri]

I'm glad I learned not to go slow or fast- go at the pace of nature. Let your tank and your testing tell you when and what to do...

 

[120reefkeeper]

Great thread and comments! Some awesome advice is found within this thread!

In today's high speed society, instant gratification is the norm anymore. IMHO a reef tank turns that on its head. If you don't slow down then you'll usually pay the price. Ultimately there are things that we don't understand and that's ok. It's Natures way and I don't think we need to have all the answers.

 

[mcarroll]

I kinda like to think that nature does have all the answers, and that we're capable of detecting those answers if we take the experience as a journey vs an end-point to achieve in X amount of time.

I think that capability is even one of our ecological specialities as Humans, but it's sort of vestigial in our society.

BTW, "answers" are just patterns. Nature loves her patterns and we're one of them! There are amazing examples of the patterns we've detected over time....just for one that fits our theme: like when Polynesian navigation allows ocean crossings without a fixed point in the sky to follow.

 

[Stigigemla]

I saw a documentary where the teacher in Polynesian navigation draw different star configurations in the sand. So they use the stars. But when it is cloudy they find their way anyway. There is a diffraction pattern after the waves brakes against an island and with a lot of training that is possible to see.
Such patterns are now used to try to predict where monster waves can occur.

 

[mcarroll]

Right....according to the story as-told, the distinction that confounds (or confounded) Westerners was the lack of a fixed point in the Southern sky. (i.e. the North Star) I guess the Souther Cross was used similarly, but wasn't considered the same for some reason.

So being able to deal with an uninformative sky was the real trick!

 

[HolisticBear]

In today's high speed society, instant gratification is the norm anymore. IMHO a reef tank turns that on its head

BRS had a great comment that you should look at individual's tanks when filtering all of the recommendations available. Related to the topic of 'going slow', I also look at the age of the tank. Lots of beautiful 1 year old tanks, far fewer 2-3+ year old beautiful tanks. I suspect more of the great older tanks subscribe to 'going slow'.

One could spray the money hose and have a beautiful tank in short time, but is it still working a year or two from now? Those threads on R2R that show a great tank over a multiple year period are invaluable.

There is common saying in SW development proj mgmt, "9 women can't make a baby in a month"

 

[mcarroll]

There is common saying in SW development proj mgmt, "9 women can't make a baby in a month"

LOL! Love that one.

 

[Betty1964]

I have learned an easy way to force myself to go slow (because I wouldn't if I didn't stick to this constraint). I use the TTM of quarantine for the first two weeks and then transfer to my 55 gallon holding tank for the last two weeks before the final move to the display tank. Since my TTM tanks are only ten gallons each, there is very little way to rush this. There is only so much space in a ten gallon tank and overstocking, even for 72 hours, will result in staggeringly high nitrates. Additionally, I have another ten gallon tank just for coral and invert quarantine. Again, a ten gallon tank only allows so much play.

The other rule of thumb I follow almost religiously is that I buy my fish smallest (or shyest) to largest. Before adding another fish, I make sure the ones I have added already have set their boundaries and have their homes. It is easier for them to defend their territories if they are comfortable in them for a bit before a new guy moves into the neighborhood.

 

[Frederick Edwards]

I would also like to give the go slow method a thumbs up. About six years ago I had a fish only and then decided to try my luck with reef. I failed miserably. To make a long story short I quit. Now I am getting back in the hobby and have realized that I quit due to lack of knowledge and patience. Mostly Patience.

 

[mcarroll]

Well, I guess we've been resisting the need to SLOW DOWN for longer than I guessed.

How's this passage strike anyone?

"[...]Be moderate in your desire of dominion. Do not overcrowd your Tank. It is far better to have it but half occupied at first, and to add to its population from time to time, than, by too eager desire to see it filled, make it a Black Hole of Calcutta, and mourn over a host of corpses, the wreck, perhaps, of a single night."
--Philip Henry Gosse, A Handbook To The Marine Aquarium, 1855

 

[mcarroll]

I set my tanks up fast and skip the cycle phase with old cured fiji live rock but i stock my tanks slow and i have lost very few new fish. tanks take a little while to balance out and every time you add a fish it needs to re Balance itself. I have a lot of patience and don't like issues. I believe fish should be added slowly but coral frags dont put out must waste so can stocked pretty fast if the tank is stable enough. Impatient reefers are out of the hobby as fast as they filled their tank.

I tried to like this post twice, but it wouldn't let me. Thanks again for the post!

 

[Donovan Joannes]

The only good things that happens overnight is winning the lottery!. You can start filling your tanks with livestock and corals immediately but do expect some harsh comment when asking for help in public forums.

 

[mcarroll]

LOL

 

[Sir Chris]

There's a lot of fast growers. Leathers some LPS and some SPS by other SPS growth standards.but nothing good happens fast. And that like 2 days fast. Slow going means take ur time and don't make rash decisions when that coral ur worried about is closed up. But it low light and lowish flow enough for movement. Don't movemit then move it then change its tanks. That's all stress. So slow going is 2 multiple topics...

 

[revhtree]

Good topic bump!