How satisfied are you with your reef?

mike werner · Jul 23, 2018

As I sit tonight watching my tank I thought,am I completely satisfied with my reef?my answer to that question is no,i don't think I have ever been completely 100% satisfied.i think if I was I would get bored of it.i'm always looking for ways to improve what I already have as I think most reefers are.
we all strive for perfection and few attain it but I believe we all want it.
What would you like to do now or in the future to try an achieve your version of a "perfect"reef?for me I just want more and more corals to fill that want.i'm fairly happy with my fish but always seem to see that one more fish I would love to add but can't have for various reasons.so please chime in and let us know what you would do or like to do to improve your system.i hope we can have some fun with this one.
oh and if you give your tank a 10 PLEASE share a pic.we all gotta see those tanks!i'm a 6.

Crabs McJones · Jul 23, 2018

I like this question. I gave my rating a 5 because like you said, I'm happy with my reef, but I dont think anywhere near 100% satisfied. Theres always room for improvement, room for more coral, coral that needs trimming back, maintenence, ever improving equipment and technology upgrades ect
..

MiamiRice · Jul 23, 2018

I'd say a 5 as well because I want/need so much more space! I'm just wrapping up a build on a nuvo fusion 30L https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/miamirices-im-nuvo-fusion-30l-build-thread.419897/ and I'm already feeling cramped, mostly in regards to fish. It's my first *real* tank getting back into the hobby after a hiatus for about 6+ years and I didn't realize how much I'd fall in love again (or how much the industry has advanced with tons of new tech). I have plenty of room for coral in this tank, so in order to make all the time & effort I put into this system worth it, I'm going to focus on getting really high-quality frags and prove to myself that I can effectively grow them out. Once that is accomplished and I have no room to maneuver new pieces into the system, I'll upgrade - hopefully that will be less than a year

WVNed · Jul 23, 2018

I am completely satisfied with how mine has turned out. I will certainly add things in the future to continue the adventure.
I have always been a watch a few things grow reefer. Seeing pods 1cm long with a flashlight in the dark last night was exciting.

andrewkw · Jul 23, 2018

This is a tough one to answer. On the one hand I am very satisfied with my reef. 99% of my corals are doing well, I'm keeping a very wide variety of species, from pom pom xenia, to rhizotrochus typus. I don't have many acros but the ones I do have are growing. The fish I have are healthy and my overall reef as a whole is very enjoyable to watch on a day in day out basis and I am not fighting parameters, algae or anything else. Looking at it from the positive side I'd say 9/10. I need a few more corals to completely fill everything in and a few more fish.

From the other side, I have too many corals that are not my first choice and no means to get rid of them (live out in the middle of no where not enough people to trade with). There are so many other corals I want but have great difficulty getting them due to location. My tank is way too narrow 18" front to back. My sps grow really slow, there are tons of other fish I'd love to put in the tank, tons of other fish I previous owned I'd like to own again. It's not a big enough tank to satisfy me indefinitely and other then fine tuning I'm not really challenged by it. I'd say 6/10 from this. Which I suppose is pretty good because even from the negative side I'm pretty happy. I'll split the difference and go on the positive side and vote 8.

hwntunda · Jul 23, 2018

No matter how happy I am at the time with my setup I always find something about it that I want to change or improve. Maybe if I move a rock a little or planning to place a frag “there” but then decide to move it after it’s been secured. I think no matter how much we like our tanks presently, we’ll all or at least most of us will never be 100% satisfied. Oooohhh look at that new light!......

cancun · Jul 23, 2018

I am probably at a 7 or 8.....I always wish I had a bigger tank! LOL! I am pretty happy with my LPS, they look good and are growing. I am happy with my fish, but it is hard to resist the temptation to add just one more. Especially when you see a beautiful rare one. I have no more room in my tank for anymore fish or corals.....so I am ready to sit back and enjoy. But like others said, we are never 100% satisfied. At least most of us! LOL!

iDeath · Jul 23, 2018

I'm always at 5. I feel I can do so much better. Even though people love my setup and corals... it just doesn't seem to be where I want it. Alas... perhaps the grass is just greener on the other side or we are all crazy perfectionists. Could be a lil of both.

sghera64 · Jul 24, 2018

Do “we” really believe we control all that happens in our reefs? If so, there will always be discontent.

If we believe we provide a relatively sustainable environment and instead observe how nature adapts and settles in to it, then we might just simply be amazed at what happens instead of frustrated at what we were not able to “make it do” for us.

ndrwater · Jul 24, 2018

I think we always look at our tanks and see a way to improve it. New coral, that one fish we always wanted, whatever.
Kind of an interesting question after all. Our local club just did a tank tour and mine was on it. I had many reefers say how great it looked and how inspired they were with my success. That said, I look at it every day, and am kinda.... Well.... Thinking of a total revamp. The Corals have grown so well, they are crowding each other to the point of chemical warfare. But.... There is something definitely satisfying in having a tank with many mature colonies.
You can always be inspired by someone else's creation. I know I am.
If you want to see what some of us do here in SoCal, check out this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/scmas-tank-tour.425916/
Mine is the 2nd tank, but I'm definitely inspired the others on the tour. Different ideas in scape, equipment, lighting, all what makes this hobby different and enjoyable for us all.

cancun · Jul 24, 2018

sghera64 said:
Do “we” really believe we control all that happens in our reefs? If so, there will always be discontent.

If we believe we provide a relatively sustainable environment and instead observe how nature adapts and settles in to it, then we might just simply be amazed at what happens instead of frustrated at what we were not able to “make it do” for us.

You are so right! Well said!

Ron Reefman · Jul 24, 2018

I down sized from a 120g & 40g pair of tanks to just the 40g cube. I have way more coral than I can keep. The rocks are as full of small colonies and frags as they can hold. I have a 2'x6" frag rack and it's also full, but I don't have any place on the rocks to put them! As soon as my new sump/refugium is dialed in I'll move the frag rack to the refugium. This tank was tied into the sump of the 120g tank that I sold which is why I'm adding a new one. Oh, and I have some breeding rock flower anemones so I've had great fun working with them. Started with several adults and have had 2 spawning events. First one about a year ago and the dozen survivors are now about the size of a quarter. The second event was just a couple of months ago and I have at least a dozen new babies (maybe more, they are so tiny I find new ones all the time).

ca1ore · Jul 24, 2018

Around an 8 - always room for improvement. I've generally been of the view that my tanks go through three phases: under-grown, about right, and over-grown. Unfortunately 'about right' seems to not last for very long. 9 months in and I'm knocking on the over-grown door already.

mike werner · Jul 24, 2018

ca1ore said:
Around an 8 - always room for improvement. I've generally been of the view that my tanks go through three phases: under-grown, about right, and over-grown. Unfortunately 'about right' seems to not last for very long. 9 months in and I'm knocking on the over-grown door already.

that's a great looking tank.i hope some more members will share some pics as well.

ZoWhat · Jul 24, 2018

As soon as Jennifer Aniston does tank maintenance for an hour ....as I sit and watch... then I'll be 100% satisfied

.

4FordFamily · Jul 24, 2018

Happy but never content! I have some work to do!

madweazl · Jul 24, 2018

I went with a seven; I'm happy with the growth and coloration of the inhabitants but placement has been an issue. Ideally, tabling corals would have been down low and in front while things like stags would have been in the back. Additionally, contrasting colors should have been placed adjacent to one another to provide more impact. I'll be more cognoscente of these things in the next build.