Name the top way to healthy tanks

Coralguy777

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Im looking to setut up a few tanks give me your best method for a healthy tank please
 
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-change your water, on schedule and religiously for the first few yrs anyway
- don’t slack on testing, esp Alkalinity 2-3x week minimum
- wipe the hell outta your equipment, esp. under the sump. Keep the salt spray off!
- cheap stuff on Amazon won’t last or will shock you
-don’t get too complex; drip kalkwasser, et
- get hanna Alk (DKH), ULR phosphate, and HR Nitrate …other kits opinions may vary
-pick your numbers and stick to em
- plan a exit strategy for fish that get large
 
Awesome alot of your ideas i definitely do and lol yes the cheap its do shock you 100%
 
Awesome alot of your ideas i definitely do and lol yes the cheap its do shock you 100%
you might wanna keep bumping this as you will likely get some good advice….
one more thing: NAIL down and I mean NAIL down your alkalinity consumption trends, I mean MASTER it for stability. Also get a good top off strategy, before ATO’s were invented, we manually topped off every other day, as changes in salinity means changes in all other params…
and again, keep all that junk underneath wiped down, if for no other reason than you are paying attention to under the tank as well
 
Budget for an AWC system or semi-AWC. Lugging buckets around becomes more and more of a hassle as time goes by and eventually people will start skipping or forgetting to do water changes.
 
Only feed live or frozen foods, nothing dry.
I don’t entirely agree with this. I think it’s fine to supplement live or frozen foods with occasional dry pellet food, if only to get the fish used to something else.
 
Im looking to setut up a few tanks
IMO start with a single tank for 6mos until you develop husbandry skills.

There is a TON of researching and reading for you to do in the Sticky Threads in the New To Saltwater discussion section
 
I would work at mastering consistent parameters one at a time.

need to pick targets (lots of options on this) for
Alk
Cal
Temp
Salinity
PH

your choices for these should align with your tank goals, I.e. Fowler, mixed, sps, softies, accelerated growth ect.

Then pick a plan for each one with the basis of the plan being to keep things the same from day to day hour to hour.

I say start with one and work on it and really test and think about things like what will happen to my perfect alk after a water change if I don’t test the new water before it goes in?

most people start with salinity and temperature then go to alk and cal and then start looking at PH and trace minerals and every other thing. Try to master each one then move on.

try not to fiddle to much which can be hard with everything in the trade now 100% adjustable like led lights and pumps it makes more sense to move one coral then change the flow or lighting for your whole tanks

Unfortunately not every coral/fish/invertebrate that you like will have a place in your tank. Try not to force something in that really doesn’t fit. Research things before you buy them and add them. Make sure they fit in your ecosystem.
 
They are your tanks and your money. Do your own research and through trial and error find what works best for you. If you read these threads you will quickly realize there are 100 ways to get to the same end result and 100 people arguing you are wrong and they are right even though the end result is the same. That's how conspiracy theories get started... Go the BRS tv route and just come here for the banter and horror stories. Lots of solid information there.
 
My best advice is to have a plan and stick to it.
Master the big 3 + SG.
Pick your parameters and focus on keeping them in range.
Have all your equipment before you put water in your tank.
Try and visualize what you want your system to look like in 2 years.
Done right you can have a fully grown in reef in that amount of time.
Check my build thread for more info.
 
you might wanna keep bumping this as you will likely get some good advice….
one more thing: NAIL down and I mean NAIL down your alkalinity consumption trends, I mean MASTER it for stability. Also get a good top off strategy, before ATO’s were invented, we manually topped off every other day, as changes in salinity means changes in all other params…
and again, keep all that junk underneath wiped down, if for no other reason than you are paying attention to under the tank as well
Great advice for ATO.
I have ran ATO systems since the 80's, before you could buy them, lol.
MASTERING alk as you put it, is the key, to having a long term stable system. Good advice!
 
Water changes (best way IMO to get rid of hydrophilic stuff detrimental to corals).
Testing.
Redundancy, if any one or two pieces of equipment fail the systme won't crash.
Consistancy (not static, reefs are dynamic and things are constantly changing).
Research.

My long term successes sarted coming back in the 90s when a brief conversation with the director of an infectious disease department of a local hospital started me thinking about bacteria and looking at processes in reef systems holisticly. Since then what I've seen and read has only enforced those ideas. Reef ecosystems are very complex.

Recent research has shown the various forms of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) have conflicting roles and some forms will kill corals a lot faster than nitrates or phosphates. An excellent introduction to this subject is Forest Rohwer's book "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" (kindle ~$10, paperback ~$17). Additionally, some sponges play a critical as recyclers in reef ecosystems and process DOC incredibly fast, 1000X faster than the bacterioplankton in the water. Here's some links to research and some videos you may find informative. SOme of the papers need to be purchased to read the entire papaer but just the abstracts will give the gist of the findings if you don't want to purchase them:


Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 1

Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 2

Elemental Analysis of Skimmate

Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water

Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals

Amino acids a source of nitrogen for corals

Urea a source of nitrogen for corals

Diazotrpophs a source of nitrogen for corals

Context Dependant Effects of Nutrient Loading on the Coral-Algal Mutualism

An Experimental Mesocosm for Longterm Studies of Reef Corals

Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

Phosphorus metabolism of reef organisms with algal symbionts


Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Indirect effects of algae on coral: algae‐mediated, microbe‐induced coral mortality

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism.
Coral DOC improves oxygen (autotrophy), algae DOC reduces oxygen (heterotrophy).

Role of elevated organic carbon levels and microbial activity in coral mortality

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity
Algae releases significantly more DOC into the water than coral.

Pathologies and mortality rates caused by organic carbon and nutrient stressors in three Caribbean coral species.
Starch and sugars (doc) caused coral death but not high nitrates, phosphates or ammonium.

Visualization of oxygen distribution patterns caused by coral and algae

Biological oxygen demand optode analysis of coral reef-associated microbial communities exposed to algal exudates
Exposure to exudates derived from turf algae stimulated higher oxygen drawdown by the coral-associated bacteria.

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.

Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching

Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
(here's an argument for maintaining heavy fish loads if you're carbon dosing)

Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton

Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.

Allelochemicals Produced by Brown Macroalgae of the Lobophora Genus Are Active against Coral Larvae and Associated Bacteria, Supporting Pathogenic Shifts to Vibrio Dominance.

Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides.

Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals.

Biophysical and physiological processes causing oxygen loss from coral reefs.

Global microbialization of coral reefs
DDAM Proven

Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate, Fig 3

Ecosystem Microbiology of Coral Reefs: Linking Genomic, Metabolomic, and Biogeochemical Dynamics from Animal Symbioses to Reefscape Processes


Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponges. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.

And since we're discussing favorable and not so favorable bacteria here's a paper looking at how different corals and polyps are influencing the bacteria in the water column.
Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
 
Last edited:
Water changes,
Testing
Redundancy, if any one or two pieces of equipment fail the systme won't crash.
Consistancy (not static, reefs are dynamic and things are constantly changing).
Research

My long term successes sarted coming back in the 90s when a brief conversation with the director of an infectious disease department of a local hospital started me thinking about bacteria and looking at processes in reef systems holisticly. Since then what I've seen and read has only enforced those ideas. Reef ecosystems are very complex.

Recent research has shown the various forms of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) have conflicting roles and some forms will kill corals a lot faster than nitrates or phosphates. An excellent introduction to this subject is Forest Rohwer's book "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" (kindle ~$10, paperback ~$17). Additionally, some sponges play a critical as recyclers in reef ecosystems and process DOC incredibly fast, 1000X faster than the bacterioplankton in the water. Here's some links to research and some videos you may find informative. SOme of the papers need to be purchased to read the entire papaer but just the abstracts will give the gist of the findings if you don't want to purchase them:


Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 1

Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 2

Elemental Analysis of Skimmate

Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water

Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals

Amino acids a source of nitrogen for corals

Urea a source of nitrogen for corals

Diazotrpophs a source of nitrogen for corals

Context Dependant Effects of Nutrient Loading on the Coral-Algal Mutualism

An Experimental Mesocosm for Longterm Studies of Reef Corals

Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

Phosphorus metabolism of reef organisms with algal symbionts


Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Indirect effects of algae on coral: algae‐mediated, microbe‐induced coral mortality

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism.
Coral DOC improves oxygen (autotrophy), algae DOC reduces oxygen (heterotrophy).

Role of elevated organic carbon levels and microbial activity in coral mortality

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity
Algae releases significantly more DOC into the water than coral.

Pathologies and mortality rates caused by organic carbon and nutrient stressors in three Caribbean coral species.
Starch and sugars (doc) caused coral death but not high nitrates, phosphates or ammonium.

Visualization of oxygen distribution patterns caused by coral and algae

Biological oxygen demand optode analysis of coral reef-associated microbial communities exposed to algal exudates
Exposure to exudates derived from turf algae stimulated higher oxygen drawdown by the coral-associated bacteria.

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.

Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching

Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
(here's an argument for maintaining heavy fish loads if you're carbon dosing)

Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton

Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.

Allelochemicals Produced by Brown Macroalgae of the Lobophora Genus Are Active against Coral Larvae and Associated Bacteria, Supporting Pathogenic Shifts to Vibrio Dominance.

Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides.

Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals.

Biophysical and physiological processes causing oxygen loss from coral reefs.

Global microbialization of coral reefs
DDAM Proven

Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate, Fig 3

Ecosystem Microbiology of Coral Reefs: Linking Genomic, Metabolomic, and Biogeochemical Dynamics from Animal Symbioses to Reefscape Processes


Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponges. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.

And since we're discussing favorable and not so favorable bacteria here's a paper looking at how different corals and polyps are influencing the bacteria in the water column.
Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
Interesting info on sponges.
My current sytem has 50% live rock and is covered in sponges under all the rocks.
I have always used live rock, since the 80's, and feel its why I have had great success over the years.
 

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