TOP 3 Ingredients for an amazing Reef Cake...tank! What's yours?

[RobB'z Reef]

Top 3 for me were lighting, flow and stability. I think you can infer chemistry from that.

 

[MightyMO]

I chose lighting, chemistry and flow. Although all the things on that list are important...

 

[LRT]

Could only pick 3 so I went with-

Maintenance and proper testing/kits.
Stability. If its stable and not broken. Let it roll and enjoy the show!
Patience and time. I seem to have very little of both but trying to get better at leaving well enough alone!

Would have chosen lighting next. I just barely hung my new lamp and it's already doing wonders.

 

[Kjeldh]

For me Lighting, Chemistry and Stability. Those are paramount for SPS

 

[Nhjmc]

My picks: Stability, water chemistry, patience and time. Was surprised so many people (when can only pick 3) chose lighting as one of their choices (which yes is very important but if you don't have stability most importantly you got nothing worth having a good light for in my opinion anyway).

 

[Nhjmc]

That's a good point guess I didn't think of that.

 

[Buckster]

Proper Lighting, Water Flow, Chemistry but Aquascape is needed for an amazing reef tank! You need certain parameters to have it function but other aspects to have it to be "AMAZING"

 

[ReefGeezer]

I already voted and replied, but something else just crossed my mind (yea, yea.. short trip, I know)... While stability, maintenance & (SOME) testing, and time & patience are always needed. The ingredients list changes from there as the tank matures. Initially, things like substrate and filtration are necessary ingredients. As the tank matures and the organisms grow in the system and their densities increase, they begin to use the available nutrients. As this happens, the need for filtration and nutrient management performed by the substrate decreases and things like light and flow become move up in priority.

 

[Eraygunz]

T

MMMM I love cake!!

Cake is good unless you forget some of the main ingredients. Then it's not going to be so good! I remember one time just after Tonya and I had gotten married, she was still a teenager, she made us a peach cobbler that looked good on the outside but the taste told a different story. She had forgotten to add the sugar! Thankfully we've had plenty of sugar over the last 23 years so all is good!

The same can be said of reefing! If you want an amazing saltwater reef aquarium you have to get the ingredients right! Not all reefs, like cakes, are going to look the same, taste the same, be the same so therefore some of the ingredients may differ. BUT there are some base ingredients that if skipped will end in a reef tank that isn't healthy and is downright bad. So with that in mind today I would like to hear from you in our question of the day!

1. More than 3 are needed but what do you think the top 3 ingredients are for an amazing reef tank?

2. What does an amazing reef cake, I mean tank, look like to you? What do you envision?

Top three
Money, time, patience not necessarily in that order.

 

[ca1ore]

Curious that only 6% of people said livestock. Hard to see how one could have an amazing reef tank without fish, inverts or corals .....

 

[Steve F]

Maitence and testing are the precursor to most of the categories that were rated before it. I don’t care if it is accomplished manually or automatically. Nothing gets added to my reef without being tested except water changes. 25 % every 2 weeks. Works for me and I am 80,and have had saltwater tanks since the late 1960’S.

 

[Apropor]

Light, water chemistry and maintenance. Good maintenance usually results in stability.

 

[Tony Tanks]

Have have a water leak in my 425 gallon tank for over three weeks . All I run at this time is lighting and two powerbeads . I normally do a 100 gallon water change every week. I haven't done a water change and everything ( fish and corals ) still doing well.

 

[Doglips56]

I chose other because they’re all important- hard to choose the top 3!

 

[Alanna102499]

Wow! Looks like I’ve learned something around here! I picked, lighting, water chemistry & stability. Percentage wise the top 3! Yes indeed I’m learning! Love me some R2R!

 

[Bushmaster]

If only it came with a light

 

[GlassguyKraig]

1. More than 3 are needed but what do you think the top 3 ingredients are for an amazing reef tank?
Stability in king. "Maintenance & testing", and "patience & time" are needed to create stability. We can all buy different ingredients from the list and make a great cake. These three however, are required regardless of the rest of those chosen, and must be supplied by the reefer.
I agree and chose the same 3 leaning way more to maintenance then testing

2. What does an amazing reef cake, I mean tank, look like to you? What do you envision?
Unfortunately, not mine... yet. There are many here on RC though. I'd hesitate to pick one at the risk of diminishing the rest.

 

[JeepinReefer]

I chose maintenance and testing instead of lighting, but otherwise I'm right on track with R2R with chemistry and stability.

 

[DxMarinefish]

1-Proper Lighting - Stands on its own, but is influenced by others on the list (Water Flow, Water chemistry, Aquascape, Livestock,


2-Water Flow - A must have for corals and inverts, even fish, which is influenced by Aquascape, Substrate. It influences Filtration and Livestock, Lighting.


3-Water Chemistry - We are keeping water as the medium all life exist in. If you don’t know the chemistry, Stability is not achievable. You need Maintenance and Testing to know, Patience and Time to understand and adjust as needed, Filtration to clean, Livestock / Aquascape affect and are affected by it,

 

[Shaveen]

I think patience and time should be the third top.