AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
At what point does a tank not become new/is established? Because all I keep hearing/seeing from multiple people is “omg your tank is so new or it’s going to crash etc.” and not necessarily about me at least now.
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- Thread starter AydenLincoln
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ZoWhat
10K Club member
A tank is mature inside a few months when all the LR is covered with different strains of nitrifying bacteria. Usually has a dark tone to it but not infected by nuisance algae
Any tank pics I see on here that show LR that is still whitish... or covered with GHA... has not matured to the point where the LR is fully cured.
One is hurrying things up and just blowing thru cash forcing corals to live in a tank where the LR hasn't even been fully cured.
The foundation to reefing success is the quality of how mature your LR is. PERIOD
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Any tank pics I see on here that show LR that is still whitish... or covered with GHA... has not matured to the point where the LR is fully cured.
One is hurrying things up and just blowing thru cash forcing corals to live in a tank where the LR hasn't even been fully cured.
The foundation to reefing success is the quality of how mature your LR is. PERIOD
.
livinlifeinBKK
5000 Club Member
Usually after several months or so a tank is considered mature but there's no exact amount of time and it depends upon different factors...it takes this time for parameters and the microbiome to stabilize...signs of a mature tank are coralline algae and a self sustaining population of copepods among other things
coralreefer123
Active Member
Often people that see dino or Cyanobacteria blooms use that as a reference for tank age (sometimes accurate, sometimes could mean other parameters are off if the tank is older). A mature tank will have coralline algae on the glass, backs, rocks etc. that an indicator of a mature tank.
CoralB
5000 Club Member
Once you get past the uglys and your parameters are stabile and in range . By this time your substrate has enough of the good bacteria to handle the bio load in your tank . Your rock should be cured at this time and ready for livestock . In my experience without seeding the filter and or using live rock and sand usually takes 3-4 moths . You can cut the time by using already cured rock in tank and filter . Also even though you’ve cycled and cured the rock and substrate and are able to add and be successful in adding fish and coral my opinion is that a tank really doesn’t fully cure til about the 8 month to a year mark . A lot of your success with this hobby is by being patient and stable .
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Just another girl who likes fish
It's a continuum. Over the first month or two, 2 parts of nitrogen cycle are established -converting ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate. It can take many months (depending on a lot of factors) to establish denitrifying which is converting nitrate to nitrogen gas. A fourth part of the nitrogen cycle is nitrogen fixing, which is more complicated than I can explain here.
Then there is the "algae cycle". Most tanks started with most or all dry rock will go through various stages of different nuisance algaes over the next 6-12 months. Diatoms, green algae, dinos, and cyano can be seen during this time. The appearance of diatoms during the cycling phase of a tank is absolutely normal, and you need not take any countermeasures. As a rule, the diatoms are crowded out by green algae a few weeks later, which is crowded out by other algaes, and so on.
During this first year or so, other bacterias and archaeas also become established in the system and help form what we usually think of as a "mature" tank.
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AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
I am in the algae/ugly stage now!
fishmonkey
Active Member
That can be a open ended question. But imo a tank never stops maturing. It’s an ecosystem in itself and the longer it goes on the more biodiversity you have. But just because it’s old doesn’t mean it won’t have its own problems. Apparently there is “old tank syndrome” but I don’t know too much about that. Older tanks with owners who are consistent in their methods have an ecosystem that over time has adapted to its environment and creates stability. Things always change but stay the same. It’s kind of a paradox.
And some tanks mature faster than others depending on certain factors. Refugiums, bio media, live rock, copepods, bacteria and other things provide maturity to an ecosystem. I think the best piece of advice is to find a good system and stick with it. If you want to change something do it very slowly and not often because it changes the whole ecosystem and causes instability and unwanted effects.
livinlifeinBKK
5000 Club Member
Don't worry it'll pass...how old is your tank?I am in the algae/ugly stage!
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AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
I know looking forward to it! Almost 2 months.
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Just another girl who likes fish
Yes, that's a good time to start meditating, lol! It can be hard to not add a bunch of coral (fish are generally ok, if you go slowly so the nitrifying bacteria can keep up with the increased bioload) that might be adversely affected by the different algaes.I am in the algae/ugly stage!
livinlifeinBKK
5000 Club Member
Yeah, that's expected...how are the rest of your fish btw? I remember you posted about having ich on one of your fish
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AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
Great!
I believe it was velvet though that flared up from bringing the fish home. I was going to quarantine the rest of them but then I realized I didn’t want to stress them out unnecessarily so now I’m just going to wait a few months before adding new fish and have been dosing vitamins.
fishmonkey
Active Member
Check out this article https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-other-way-to-run-a-reef-tank-no-quarantine.573/Great!
not all people agree with this method but I think it has some good insights
livinlifeinBKK
5000 Club Member
Good to hear! I doubt it was velvet though because of just how agressive it is... usually when one fish gets it it spreads extremely quickly and can kill half your tank in 24 hours...ich on the other hand isn't so fast...just to be safe though if you happen to notice any weird behavior or spots on the others post ASAP because time is one thing you don't have if it does happen to be velvet...you seem to be staying pretty on top of things by asking questions on here!Great!
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AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
Yes definitely. I will be quarantining and treating them if I do but it’s been almost a week and no signs/symptoms and I’m thinking/hoping it’s going to stay that way.
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AydenLincoln
Pufferfish lover!
Oh it’s Paul B lol who is clearly one of the most successful people in this hobby and has the oldest personal reef tank on here.
J1a
Well-Known Member
I have a somewhat different perspective compared to most. Hear me out.
The hallmark of a matured tank is to have a diverse and healthy ecosystem. Pods, nematodes, algae, bacteria etc. In the absence of this biodiversity, that's when nuisance algae takes over. Where do these microorganisms come from? Of course, live rocks , if you use them. If not, from the corals and other marine life which we Introduce.
Therefore, if a reefer has good understanding of managing water parameters, heavy front-loading of coral is extremely effective to rapidly establish a healthy biome. The "ugly" period can be much reduced, and the aquarium will mature much faster.
The hallmark of a matured tank is to have a diverse and healthy ecosystem. Pods, nematodes, algae, bacteria etc. In the absence of this biodiversity, that's when nuisance algae takes over. Where do these microorganisms come from? Of course, live rocks , if you use them. If not, from the corals and other marine life which we Introduce.
Therefore, if a reefer has good understanding of managing water parameters, heavy front-loading of coral is extremely effective to rapidly establish a healthy biome. The "ugly" period can be much reduced, and the aquarium will mature much faster.
HuduVudu
2500 Club Member
@AydenLincoln The tank doesn't become mature ... YOU do.
When you start to grasp some fundamental concepts then what you can get away with a tank increases dramatically.
I wouldn't worry what people think. I would just focus on the lessons that the tank will naturally teach you. At some point YOU won't be new.
When you start to grasp some fundamental concepts then what you can get away with a tank increases dramatically.
I wouldn't worry what people think. I would just focus on the lessons that the tank will naturally teach you. At some point YOU won't be new.
