Secrets to a Successful Reef ?

[SPR1968]

One of the key elements to keeping a successful reef tank is keeping the water parameters stable and within a tight range of readings that are acceptable to the corals and fish. If you can do this you should do well.

The inhabitants don’t like changes to their water so ‘ideally’ you should use auto dosers to maintain the foundation elements so they don’t fluctuate to much, especially alkalinity.

You need enough methods in place for nutrient removal to keep within acceptable limits

You should test weekly to pick up any problems before they become a problem, like the low alkalinity.

The majority of all my corals are from frags and have grown over a period of around 3 1/2 years and they grow like crazy these days

Think of yourself as just ‘a keeper of water’, if you keep it correctly your on your way to doing well. If you neglect it in anyway, the inhabitants will tell you so very quickly

 

[Ranjib]

Keep it simple. Start slow, have patience and go with tried tested method. For me these things boiled down to:
- Consistent and regular water change
- ATO
- Good light
- Good flow
- Low bioload,
- Slowly grow out: Start with softies (after a month of tank being wet). move on to lps (after three months) and then finally add sps (around a year after). Add good light/flow along the way.

Read, research everything before doing.

 

[SDK]

Good advice here for the most part. I would add that I would stay with lower light corals in that tank. With everything else being perfect, it may be possible to sustain easy SPS high up, but I would not try it with that lighting and no skimmer. Get soft corals thriving first and then maybe try a stick when your levels are consistently better and you see coralline growth.

I’m not sure what fits in that brand of tank, but a skimmer would not be a bad investment, especially if you are thinking about sps.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is a hobby that requires Patience, research and minor chemistry.
There is nothing Fast when it comes to reef aquaria and you have to take it slow as it is worth the wait.
Chasing parameters is one of the biggest enemies of reefkeeping. Additionally, if it is believed that one can get away with the cheapest equipment, they will have the cheapest quality tank.
I always suggest to buy the BEST equipment you CANNOT afford. It will pay off tenfold. Additionally, Invest in GOOD, in fact GREAT test kits as False Readings can take your whole tank down.

 

[C. Eymann]

Best "secret" I can share is : consistency, in all aspects

 

[Terri Caton]

The tank I’m running is the fluval evo 13.5 and I’m also running the stock lights coming with the system. Although not strong, I’ve seen people such as Corey Willard manage to even grow hardy SPS with these lights. The photo was taken with the lights at 1% blues. There may be an issue with my lighting schedule but I am currently running on full spectrum for 7.5 hours and then 1% blues for the rest of the time, along with sunrise and sunsets between.

Tank Set Up
-Fluval Evo 13.5
-Stock hood and lighting
-Stock return pump
-Hydor Koralia nano powerhead
- Old Italian glass Aqueon heater( Gets the job done)
- Sump filled with random sponges and chemi pure blue ( sump needs definite work)

I don’t keep up with tests as often as you should. Last I tested 2 weeks ago ( I’m working on it)

- ALK = ( was 6.1 , bad salt brand 8.4 DKH
- Cal = 445
- Nitrate = 2
- Phosphates = 0.1

Im trying to get things to finally stay stable after fighting with low alkalinity for the past several months. Hopefully things will even out soon and I can finally fill the tank with coral.

If Corey Willard has the same tank as you and you love his results then copy what he did! Don't take shortcuts when growing corals.
Water, water, water. It's all about the water and having a real ecosystem develop. Without great water nothing else matters. Unless you are growing Zoas, softies, etc. Then you can get away with water not being perfect.

Also, maybe start with easy corals until your water is super stable?

I haven't been doing this long but I have learned a Lot. Why? I have a professional reef tank mentor Not cheating, just smart.

 

[cvicente]

I started my first saltwater tank in 1983, today they are still a mystery to me. Although they look simple, reef aquariums are extremely complex micro ecosystems. Reef tanks are dynamic and everchanging. Light, water motion, temperature, chemical speciation (more important than the so called "parameters") species compatibility, coral holobiont, microbiota, etc. play a major role in a reef tank. This is an everlearning hobby, there is no finish line at the end. My humble advise, learn first, execute second. One modification at a time, see results and evaluate. Achieving a "stable" reef will take several years and requires constant supervision, not constant tinkering. Build a well designed system, take care today of every aspect that might fail in the future, consider redundancy. Buy good equipment, not cheap nor expensive, just good. Read, and when you think you are finished read more. Learn about reactions and interactions within your system. Simple systems are less prone to failure. A nano reef tank can be as complex as a larger system.

 

[waterskiguy]

My opinion, from my experience, is to keep it simple and go slow.

First, I would get a skimmer. I’ve had a system run without one and it never went well. A lot of people will tell you how they don’t skim, but I wouldn’t recommend it for someone a year Into the hobby. That’s a whole different ballgame.

Second, take the chemipure out. You can combat the issues you’re having without it. It usually causes more issues in the long run. My opinion. Do run some good activated carbon in your sump. It polishes your water without any of the negative impact.

Third, Water changes are your friend. With your smaller water volume, you can combat the majority of the problems you’ll encounter by doing steady weekly water changes. For now, this should keep your nutrients low and your parameters in check. Until you get more coral that have a higher demand, this will keep everything stable. No reason to dose anything right now.

Check what you’re feeding your fish and how many fish you have. When I slowed down to what my fish were actually supposed to consume, my tank had some remarkable changes. Remember that their stomachs are very small. If you have 3 fish and feed them a cube of food a day, most of that food is going to waste and cause nutrient spikes. I feel like the main cause of nutrient problems comes from over feeding.

All in all, take things slow, keep it simple and do as much research as you can before you go making changes to your system. It’s really easy to get caught up in throwing a symptom solver at your tank without treating the actually problem. When I stopped doing everything but feeding my fish twice a week and keeping up with water changes and emptying my skimmer cup, my tank took on a whole new level of growth and enjoyment.

Then you can start worrying about what you’re going to grow in your tank.
This is only my experience m, through research, trial and error. There really isn’t one right way to run a reef. Start simple and slow to see what works for you.
Good luck and happy feeding.

 

[King Turkey]

Crabs

 

[Jon Fishman]

Nanos are tough. Do you test your parameters? If so, stop.....

You should be able to run a basic tank on water-changes alone..... and have several healthy coral

 

[Dempsey941]

Keep your hand out of tank.

 

[Paul B]

I am not going to give you any advice about your tank because you do need to find someone with a tank you like either in person or on this forum and follow them. Many people ask questions here but if you ask fifty people the same question you will get 60 different, conflicting answers. Find a long lived, nice looking, healthy system and follow them.

You can't for instance quarantine some things and not quarantine others. You can't allow algae to grow and at the same time try to remove it all. You also can't run a natural system and vacuum out all the detritus.

Certainly don't try to take everyone's advice as you will go nuts and crash your system. For instance, I run a reverse undergravel system and I wouldn't recommend that (not out loud anyway)

 

[ReefHomieJon]

Keep your hands out of the tank....

Then how do the coral get in? Lol

 

[george51349]

Plan for the improbable.

 

[karlandtanya]

I've had 2 reefs; one in 1995 that I lost due to an ice storm (5 days without power) and one I started up a few years ago. I'm definitely not an old hand, so I won't give any specific advice; only general "grumpy old man" stuff I've learned:

1. Backup any critical system. (duh)
2. PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. If you make a change to additives, dosing, new corals, new fish, lighting, rock, whatever...WAIT a week to a month (depending on what you messed with) before making another change or assessing the results of the change you just made.
3. Related to patience--beware of shiny objects: Like that psycho-funkadelic acro you've never heard of before, that wifi-linked tank management and control system you just plug in and everything is perfect, that new technique or home-brew additive that will make your corals grow 10x overnight, etc. The new, shiny, awesome, and the latest greatest thing, it might just be all it's cracked up to be. But it usually isn't.
4. Don't chase numbers. If your critters are healthy and your parameters are reasonable, don't try to make your numbers "perfect".
5. Housekeeping:
   1. Don't overfeed.
   2. Change your bulbs regularly; they fade and you don't notice. Maybe LEDs are different; ask somebody who knows or use a meter every month and track the numbers.
   3. Clean the wet side of all pumps regularly; use vinegar or muriatic acid (not the low-fuming stuff; it's got additives in it. Wear goggles. Do it outside; the fumes are nasty.) Rinse vigorously with RO/DI before putting it back into service.
   4. If you have a medium or shallow (not deep) sand bed, vacuum it as you do water changes. Deep sand beds may benefit from vacuuming or not; I don't know; I don't have one.
6. Keep it clean:
   1. Use RO/DI water and good salt.
   2. Wash your hands then put on gloves.
   3. No smoking (or any other source of airborne contaminants)
   4. No windex; use vinegar or RO/DI to wipe your glass/plexi.
7. Read the forums and learn who has good advice (RHF, for example) and who's talking out of their a**.

 

[Cory]

Id also add to simplify your system as much as possible. My entire sytem runs off of one pump and one heater. And one light. I like it this way because i know whats wrong and why with equipment. Recently there is a lot of magnets rusting and killing all their sps because of high tin and zinc. With my pump its external. There isnt any magnet in the tank or electrical wires to get chewed on by an urchin. I like this sort of simplicity.

 

[Whasmack]

1. Patience & persistence
2. Keep up with weekly 10% water changes!! No excuses here.... Just do it.
3. Maintain steady parameters. Alk, calc, mag, n03, p04 - at a minimum!
4. Find a methodology of export & stick with it - whether is bacterial, refugium, Berlin, Triton, etc.
5. Go slow. Only bad things happen quick. Don't rush to a solution whether it's lighting, photoperiod, nutrient export / import.
6. Quarantine. If you can't - dip Everything!! Even if you can't see a pest, you could spend months fighting it in the future.

 

[DSC reef]

Nanos are tough. Do you test your parameters? If so, stop.....

You should be able to run a basic tank on water-changes alone..... and have several healthy coral

+1 my wife had the same tank, no skimmer, no testing and weekly 5 gallon water changes. Tank flourished nicely.

 

[brandon429]

Bulletproof reefing via self assessment:

Read the first several pages of the nuisance algae forum, every thread in depth. See the starts, interims, wins and losses, note patterns

What were common themes in the invasions?

Did you notice entrants using mainly a hands off or hands on reef philosophy before the invasion, as they described the ramp up?
(Hands off=adjust water and wait hands on=do something directly to the invader, or to the tank to force a result)

Which is more prevalent in invaded tanks, a hands off or hands on philosophy?
*How many people were managing nutrients BEFORE the invasion? Can you find total tank invasions in both high and low nutrient settings?

Discuss times where you saw a clean up crew fix a tank from that forum. How many examples of cuc- fixed tanks did you see in your pages read?

What's the most common invasions we are likely to see? Are they restricted to new tank syndrome, at the start, or are the invaders expressing in tanks across all ages?

Can you find anyone who adhered to the new tank uglies phase (an excuse to try hands off no work all luck reefing) and their tank never undid that phase? how is your tank going to get designed after considering the questions and how others started their tank, managed the interim, and either won or lost?

Should all advice givers be required to do restoration work in that forum?

To be bullet proof in reefing, reverse engineer the behavior and design factors that are repeating patterns in loss / invasion threads. be prepared with a plan before you start based on actual patterns of outcomes, not idealized ones.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I wish there was secret but it take times and good practice, its a skill to be a good reefer. Focus on mastering one skill at a time. First become good at keeping Fish, Then soft corals, Then SPS. Focus on become good at testing and dosing for 2 part so it becomes second nature. Overtime all these skills will pay off by you just knowing the tank without doing much at all. Focus on husbandry and making things simple and most importantly source from good vendors