What Are The Reef Keeping Best Practices?

[BiggestE222]

Know that this is NOT a one size fits all hobby and there will be many different opinions but what do you consider your reef keeping best practices?

For me, a best practice is the 10% weekly water change. (Thinking about to switching to every other week due to rising costs.). Know that there many reefers that don’t change water but curious to what are the best practices for no water changes?

Anyway, hope you will post your best practices and I’m looking forward to learning something new!

Test alk and cal every 3 days. Could afford an apex and trident. Just don’t think all the cheap looking gear is worth it since I have a PH controller. A Hanna KH checker and Red Sea Calcium test kit. I do a 20% water change every 8-12 days. Just to keep sand bed and sump clean of detritus.

 

[schooncw]

Adding bottled miracles and freaking out over the smallest things are rampant in this hobby. When leaving it alone will give the same effect.

The "magic" bacteria in a bottle people drive me nuts, especially the ATM Colony crowd.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

Just PAY ATTENTION to your tank!

 

[BanjoBandito]

NO FEAR AND NO BUDGETS.

 

[brandon429]

1. never test for nitrite dont own the kit or you'll be tricked into a buy somehow
2. keep your sandbed clean
3. prepare your tank using fish disease preps from the actual fish disease forum. if you don't your fish are more likely to die than to live 50 years in the same tank. by using examples from the fish disease forum, you get open honest patterned feedback on your tank's likely outcome by skipping common preps and you get to see in patterns for pages what methods were used to fix folks who skipped initial preps (their tanks were redone the right way, as they should have started)
4. after cycling is done, retire ammonia testing for the reef as it will self control just fine and if you don't quit testing for ammonia, then like #1 be prepared to be tricked into a re purchase out of fear along the way. if you own a tuned, calibrated seneye then its ok to measure ammonia and nobody gets tricked by a tuned seneye. they get peace of mind that all reefs control ammonia just fine, during and post cycle. all reefs, not just some. (any type of large crash such as ten fish dying from velvet does not count, you cannot prevent a crash in those scenarios with or without a test kit)

one of the most important keeping tricks you'll ever learn and master for longevity is the ability to take apart a reef and clean it from the sand to the top, a rip clean, without causing a recycle. there are hundreds of threads on this. the rip clean can be used to beat invaders in one pass, or move homes, or make tank upgrades/handling and relocation moves workout perfectly. if you have a smallish reef, know how to deep clean it for max lifespan. You'll know when the time comes to run this method, the tank will tell you by how it looks. reefing in 2021 is NOT about sitting back, hands off, taking whatever comes your way

force your reef to comply physically; you dont have to coax it. make it do your bidding. Be opposite from back seat reefing of the past, be controlled and in control and proactive and never hesitate to make your reef do what you want.