What separates aquarists with thriving tanks vs those that are falling apart?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I've seen quite a few home aquariums and they always seem to fall into 2 buckets - thriving or crashing.

Why do you think this is? What is the successful reefer doing that the crashing reefer isn't?

My Guru puts it this way. Key to success, the patience of Job

 

[pickupman66]

Ill have to go along with @Paul B on this one. IMO, one of the most simple things you can do for your tank is to watch it. I am not in the Famously successful range by any means, but I think that consistency is probably the biggest key here. Constantly tweaking lighting programs, element levels and coral placements can impact your success over the long haul. My current tank is 4 years old. It just runs. I change the water every 6 weeks or so when I can remember. I am now having to dose again because I am getting back into SPS after a 4 year break.

Ive been in this hobby a long time. I have seen many things come and go.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Wow, gorgeous Montipora growth. Any issues with the zoa's shaded below?

Thanks!

Palythoas, purple people eater's, red kind. No, they seem to be fine and multiplying.

Top down of the red montipora capricornis:

 

[PanchoG]

+1 with @Paul B, STABILITY is the key. Reefs are always better when you are not constantly moving water parameters, filtration, lights, etc.

I should say most of us learn this the hard way though.

 

[Paul B]

That fireclown near the copperband is 27 years old and he hates it if he thinks I am going to test or tweek anything. As long as he and all the rest of the paired fish are spawning and the corals are not turning to snot, there is no reason to test anything. There is also hardly any reason to change water more than 3 or 4 times a year unless you empty your vacuum cleaner in the tank. Salt water is very stable as long as you don't mess with it.
I also can't ever see a reason to add tree stump remover, Prizapro, Rowaphas, Zeo whatever it is, or medications. I see no reason to dip anything in anything. Salinity is close to something we perceive to be somewhere in the ocean but not exactly. Nitrate and PO4 measurements are not that critical neither is some algae, cyano or flatworms. Temperature is over rated and can be in a wide range. Not boiling.
Long quarantining kills more fish than Starkist tuna. Lack of bacteria and parasites are the biggest cause of tank crashing IMO.
A protein skimmer is a great invention. New tanks look lousy and always will. I like Noobs, they intrigue me.
I recently moved this tank 60 miles to my new home. It needs more coral and rocks, I will get to it.

 

[Yvonne Wong]

The secret to a successful reef tank is diligence. I spend at least 15 minutes each day looking at the animals, feeding them, and quick check at essential equipment. I do weekly water change with water parameters monitor.

 

[leptang]

I really do wonder what the difference is?
My first tank, it was 8 years old before i broke it down when i moved a 1000 miles away

And now my newish tank...??? Yes Im serious
Really debating if there really is a difference!

 

[reefwiser]

A very thin line between success and failure. Not every one has the answer and it takes a lot of slow movements to keep things in a stable state. An even that might not be the best aquarium but at least you are not having things die with out knowing why. I have learned the a tank is a journey and there are many forks in the road. An at every turning point there is a decision to be made. An some times we make the correct one and some times we don't.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Stability is key. The most successful reefers maintain very stable parameters, lighting, flow. Instability causes stress, stress weakens livestock immune systems, weak immune systems lead to sickness, death, and eventual failure.

Do research on every aspect of reef aquarium keeping that pertains to your setup. Always know the impact of everything you do and/or add to your tanks. Is that new coral suitable for your level of involvement with your tank? How is the demeanor of that new fish/invert? Will it terrorize the other inhabitants or nuke the tank if it dies?

Attention to detail, being observant, and learn your tank'. More often than not, just the simple act of taking 10 or so minutes everyday and just watch your tank. Look at every coral, every fish, the sound of your equipment etc. Learn their behaviors, if there's an issue in most cases you will spot it very early and the chances of success in resolving it are much higher than if you do not know what everything is supposed to be doing.

Maintenance, always do that. Just because that pump has been running perfectly for 4-5 months doesn't mean that it will continue to do so for another 5 months. You would be amazed at the bio-film build up that takes place in a return, skimmer, or wave pump motor in a very short period of time. Take a couple hours every 3-4 months and pull out each piece of equipment and give it a good cleaning and inspection. Not only will it help ensure the pump will continue to run properly, but will give you the opportunity to spot worn parts early on and get replacement parts before they fail at 2:30 AM on a Saturday morning.

Above all else, patience. If you are one for instant gratification, or are wanting immediate results, this is not the hobby for you.

THIS! I don't quite understand the chemistry, the only time I have really struggled and had massive loss is when I attempted to dose. Not a good out come. I don't test water incessantly.

I do however look at my tank every day, I check my fish, I check on my sump. My 2 worst mistakes:
1. Dosing. Remember, minimal grasp on the chemistry
2. Not noticing the pump was clogged on my protein skimmer. ;Dead

Pay attention to your tank. All the expensive equipment in the world can't replace your eyes and ears.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

@Paul B , I love you! Haha

 

[Gareth elliott]

Sucess is in the eye of the owner and what your goals are with the tank. A thriving sps tank, a fowlr with no losses, or clown anemone tank with multiple splits are all successes. Buy what meets those goals and matches your maintenance schedule. Any tank is a living microcosm so never really going to be complete and constantly changing.

Dont buy fish expecting their temperaments to be the one off model citizen, the average aggression or dietary habits of a fish are going to be what you get.

Most importantly any loss is only failure if you dont learn from it

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

I disagree with this statement. I’ve done nothing but research, planning and doing everything “by the book” and splurging on top notch equipment I cant keep an Acro alive for more then a month at this point.

Read my blog on Facebook, advanced aquatic solutions, pubic fb page for sps success. I’m happy to discuss with you.

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

There’s a few things to consider. I’ve documented the items on my blog “advanced aquatic solutions” fb page.

 

[WVNed]

Start simple. A few happy animals will give you a great deal more satisfaction than a tank stuffed with sick and dying ones. It's amazing how much you can keep happy doing almost nothing. I now think that 80% of the stuff talked about here doesn't matter to the average reefer with the average tank.
If you want to have an SPS dominated tank with all the whiz bang get 2 damsels and a few hardy corals and keep them alive for a few years. People that drive Formula 1 still first learned to drive in their dad's old car.

My tank is now 4 1/2 months old. This is where the patience part comes in.
Reefs aren't plunked down by God. Thy are grown like a garden.
LPS, SPS, a nem, a gorgonian, shrimps, fan worms, 12 fish, snails, hermits.
The exciting part is to see what it looks like after a year or 2.

 

[Paul B]

@Paul B , I love you! Haha

Thats Great. I need all the Love I can get.

Success in this hobby is easy to gauge. If you have a fish and it dies from anything but old age, you failed with that fish. Not the wholesaler, not the shipper, not the collector or the guy in the canoe who rowed it to shore, but you. Corals live forever so I assume we are all failures with them unless they live long enough for you to die of old age.

I didn't have any success with these Ladies, but they agreed to pose for a picture which made me happy.

 

[VSVP bet]

From my experience I think filtration really matters. My system is 5 years old, and it almost runs its self. Aside from checking on corals, feeding my fish, and scraping algae, I really dont do much. My SPS grows like crazy. I credit my success to my oversized fuge, abundance of live rick, and deep sand bed. I know that there are some people that believe sand houses nitrates/detritus, but my SPS grow like weeds, and I cant remember the last time I checked for nitrate/ammonia, because everything always looks healthy.

I also run NO chemical filtration (chemipure, gfo, carbon, nothing). I also have not done a water change in 2 months or so. I dose 2 part.

 

[BOWHUNTER4250]

180 up for 5 years , just took it all down to set up a 300 !! had many ups and downs , lost a ton of corals from pests and over reacting to changes ..... best advise is to keep hands out of tank and keep your Alk as STABLE AS POSSIBLE !!! corals are very adaptable but NEED STABILITY ! its when your Parameters are up then down then stable then up and down again , corals first go into protection mode , then if things don't stabilize they get stressed to the point they start to slowly die , then we panic and over react and cause other things to go out of balance

 

[rkpetersen]

Love that this thread has turned into a photo thread!

This tank has been up and running for 18 months. Mixed reef, becoming increasingly sps-dominant.

8 months in on this one. Mixed reef again, anemone and clownfish dominant. Clowns were just added recently, only just starting to accept the BTAs.

 

[BOWHUNTER4250]

Love that this thread has turned into a photo thread!

This tank has been up and running for 18 months. Mixed reef, becoming increasingly sps-dominant.

8 months in on this one. Mixed reef again, anemone and clownfish dominant. Clowns were just added recently, only just starting to accept the BTAs.

BEAUTIFUL TANK !!!!

 

[rkpetersen]

BEAUTIFUL TANK !!!!

Same back at ya!