Secrets to a Successful Reef ?

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karlandtanya said:
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**.
Click to expand...

This is GREAT advice!!!
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Another thing is there is no such thing as a perfect reef. Overcoming and learning from problems have helped me gain more confidence keeping SPS. It becomes simple once you figure out your SPS will encrust and grow and you have some ideas on how to harness your tanks, flow, lighting, and parameters.
 
As many others have indicated already, I would first focus on keeping good, stable water parameters consistently.

  • You mentioned you're struggling with low alkalinity. Make sure you aren't having issues with your test kit giving you incorrect readings.
  • Once you rule that out, try to target parameters that match the salt you are using. Given that you have a small nano, you should be able to handle most of your nutrient export through water changes, but you'll want to make sure your new saltwater parameters (temperature, salinity, alkalinity) match your tank's pretty closely. You might need to switch salts to make it easier as many salt mixes (like Reef Crystals) have elevated parameters.
  • I'd highly recommend an ATO to help with salinity stability and you might want to look into a cheap temperature controller like an Inkbird for heating/cooling control. Temperature stability is just as important as salinity.
  • Are you using RODI water? If not, either invest in a RODI unit, buy it from your LFS, or at the very least get some distilled or RO water from your grocery store.
  • Test your water regularly. Focus on keeping some of the more important parameters (temp, salinity, alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate) as stable as possible. Frequent testing can help you figure out your tank's personality such as:
    • How fast are nitrates and phosphates building up in the tank? It looks like your nitrates are in check but you probably want to get your phosphates down below 0.10 ppm. You can do that through lighter feedings, GFO, Phosguard, or many other methods.
    • How fast is alkalinity being consumed in your tank? If your alkalinity is extremely low you'll need to address that with larger, more frequent water changes with a salt mix that has elevated alkalinity. Try to keep it above 7 dKH and then see how fast it's getting used up. Odds are you can keep it stable with weekly water changes and a good salt mix.
  • Related to testing, keep a log of your test results. I use Aquarium Note and it allows me to see trends over time.
  • As others have indicated, be patient after making any changes and only make one change at a time. Don't adjust your lighting, adjust water flow, add a skimmer, add GFO, etc all at once. Do one thing at a time and see how your tank reacts. Changes take time to manifest and tell you how they are affecting your tank's overall stability.
  • Related to being patient, don't overreact. I had that problem at first and started to realize that the tank and corals especially go through phases. One day they might look unhappy and the next they're back to looking perfectly happy. You don't always have to react if something looks off unless it's something like your fish is dying on the sandbed or ALL of your corals look rough at once.
  • When placing or moving corals, give them a chance to get used to their new spot over a few days or weeks. If they still don't look happy after that adjustment period, considering moving them to a new spot. Again, patience is key.
  • Be consistent with your husbandry! Skipping a day turns into two days, which turns into two weeks and before you know it your tank is out of whack. I use Aquarium Note and have reminders for all sorts of husbandry tasks like changing filter floss, emptying/cleaning the skimmer, cleaning the rocks/sandbed, water changes, testing parameters, etc. Get a maintenance rhythm and stick with it. Your tank will adapt to your rhythm which will lend itself to further stability.
Try not to get frustrated! It may take a little while to turn the corner, but once your tank hits that level of stability it will get much easier and you'll start to see the coral growth that you're looking for. Best of luck to you!
 
As above - forums (not this one) can be riddled with terrible advice, mentor if you can. For me, I started with BRS youtubes - the 160 series, then WWC/BRS hybrid. Watch all those videos, pay attention and don't stray with your own independent thought and variations, and you will surely be successful to at least intermediate level. Then once you know what your doing you can start to stray and expirement. Youtube is king - BRS as I said, Fish of Hex, ReefDudes, anything Tidal Gardens and you should be set. Reef2Reef of course is brilliant - put more weight on the responses of people with huge reaction scores over those with very little at the start until you learn who the real gurus are
 
Well apart from what has been said. I'd say enjoy the ride and take many photos. Sometimes I forget that a few months to a year or so before, I had white rock and sparse dots of coral and I was maybe happier then than now because it was new and exciting and the possibilities were endless.
Later when you have enough coral to start dosing 2 part and you are teetering between not enough nutrients and elements or a little too much and realize that it was somewhere in between your shifts that made your tank look great but youre not sure exactly where; that's when you'll start pulling your hair out.

Enjoy the ups and downs and don't forget that, Acros are just one way to have an amazing tank. I've seen some truly epic tanks here that were mainly softies and lps and just a few choice Monti caps and digis to bring them off.

Just.... enjoy the ride and if you're losing your interest, help a new reefer. You'll fall in love with it all over again.
 
muzikalmatt said:
As many others have indicated already, I would first focus on keeping good, stable water parameters consistently.

  • You mentioned you're struggling with low alkalinity. Make sure you aren't having issues with your test kit giving you incorrect readings.
  • Once you rule that out, try to target parameters that match the salt you are using. Given that you have a small nano, you should be able to handle most of your nutrient export through water changes, but you'll want to make sure your new saltwater parameters (temperature, salinity, alkalinity) match your tank's pretty closely. You might need to switch salts to make it easier as many salt mixes (like Reef Crystals) have elevated parameters.
  • I'd highly recommend an ATO to help with salinity stability and you might want to look into a cheap temperature controller like an Inkbird for heating/cooling control. Temperature stability is just as important as salinity.
  • Are you using RODI water? If not, either invest in a RODI unit, buy it from your LFS, or at the very least get some distilled or RO water from your grocery store.
  • Test your water regularly. Focus on keeping some of the more important parameters (temp, salinity, alkalinity, nitrate, phosphate) as stable as possible. Frequent testing can help you figure out your tank's personality such as:
    • How fast are nitrates and phosphates building up in the tank? It looks like your nitrates are in check but you probably want to get your phosphates down below 0.10 ppm. You can do that through lighter feedings, GFO, Phosguard, or many other methods.
    • How fast is alkalinity being consumed in your tank? If your alkalinity is extremely low you'll need to address that with larger, more frequent water changes with a salt mix that has elevated alkalinity. Try to keep it above 7 dKH and then see how fast it's getting used up. Odds are you can keep it stable with weekly water changes and a good salt mix.
  • Related to testing, keep a log of your test results. I use Aquarium Note and it allows me to see trends over time.
  • As others have indicated, be patient after making any changes and only make one change at a time. Don't adjust your lighting, adjust water flow, add a skimmer, add GFO, etc all at once. Do one thing at a time and see how your tank reacts. Changes take time to manifest and tell you how they are affecting your tank's overall stability.
  • Related to being patient, don't overreact. I had that problem at first and started to realize that the tank and corals especially go through phases. One day they might look unhappy and the next they're back to looking perfectly happy. You don't always have to react if something looks off unless it's something like your fish is dying on the sandbed or ALL of your corals look rough at once.
  • When placing or moving corals, give them a chance to get used to their new spot over a few days or weeks. If they still don't look happy after that adjustment period, considering moving them to a new spot. Again, patience is key.
  • Be consistent with your husbandry! Skipping a day turns into two days, which turns into two weeks and before you know it your tank is out of whack. I use Aquarium Note and have reminders for all sorts of husbandry tasks like changing filter floss, emptying/cleaning the skimmer, cleaning the rocks/sandbed, water changes, testing parameters, etc. Get a maintenance rhythm and stick with it. Your tank will adapt to your rhythm which will lend itself to further stability.
Try not to get frustrated! It may take a little while to turn the corner, but once your tank hits that level of stability it will get much easier and you'll start to see the coral growth that you're looking for. Best of luck to you!
Click to expand...
I have been in and out of this hobby since the mid 1970's and i can testify to the fact that this is some sound and awesome advice!!
 
Nutramar Foods
No additives, automatic water changes daily of approximately 3% give or take.
 
Tons of good advice as always here. It can make a new reefer's head spin (it did mine). The "keep it simple" approach is what kept me from giving up. One step at a time. So the OP's tank is 1 year old and has not progressed as hoped. I was there about a year ago and this is what I did. This post isn't how to build a spectacular reef but to merely share how I made it past this point. There are undoubtedly many in this scenario. This is just the next step to get some confidence.

Keep it simple:
Use a quality salt and do regular water changes
Check salinity and alkalinity (don't need to worry much about the rest yet)
Add easy to keep fish and corals (I recommend mushroom corals or other softies)
Be patient and enjoy
 
I came from the tropical side, so my blanket approach in dealing with problems was always massive amounts of water changes. It took me a long time (much longer than it should have) to suck it up and get testing and logging the results to figure out how much water I actually should be changing and what my tank was doing parameter wise and where the problems could be. Stabilizing my electricity/light/temperature/maintenance-schedule also helped a lot. It doesn't help to try and attempt weekly water changes if you can't keep to that schedule at all. I sorted out my scheduling by making water changes as easy as possible (ran a pipe through the wall with a pump directly to my mixing tank to make water changes a few minutes and not hours). The rest come with time. I have been running 2 or 3 years now, and I only now feel that I have a grip on my tank.
 
Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
-There is no emphasis on live rock these. Get quality established live rock and you will avoid much of the instability that comes with newer reefs.

-Light your tank with a blanket of light. One puck led fixture does not cover a big space evenly. Get several. If price becomes an issue, change from over priced mainstream brands, or consider going with an ATI T5 (which will blow away most LED for 1/10th the price).

-Water Change at regular intervals.


These 3 things make reefing idiot-proof.
 
Robert_Popa_918 said:
I’ve been in the hobby for only roughly a year now and have been running into constant problems since day one. A year later and my nano reef still has only 2 coral inside. My confidence is still very low and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to have that lush reef filled with corals that I’ve always dreamed of. The biggest issue I believe is that I’ve always chosen the cheapest method possible for anything in this hobby. Given all this said, what are your guys tips to running a truly successful reef filled with lush corals?
-Thanks, Rob
05F3B440-506A-4E47-B5F6-78FE88E4E4C4.jpeg
Click to expand...

Been in the hobby on and off for 30 years. By and far the #1, IMO/IME, is good quality live rock.
 
jackson6745 said:
-There is no emphasis on live rock these. Get quality established live rock and you will avoid much of the instability that comes with newer reefs.

-Light your tank with a blanket of light. One puck led fixture does not cover a big space evenly. Get several. If price becomes an issue, change from over priced mainstream brands, or consider going with an ATI T5 (which will blow away most LED for 1/10th the price).

-Water Change at regular intervals.


These 3 things make reefing idiot-proof.
Click to expand...
Just add “lots of water motion” to this list and we have ourselves a winner! Dosing all-for-reef also makes things really easy. I also find feeding a lot (for all the biodiversity on your quality live rock, and of course for your corals) makes a huge positive impact.
 
AS
Don't give up, every problem is a lesson. These "problems" will help you learn what works and what doesn't. It can get frustrating sometimes, but eventually you'll hit your stride. I've at aquariums for 34 years now and still have problems :-).
 
Patience, a lesson too many learn the hard way. Quarantine everything, so much easier to treat in a smaller volume. No you cannot quarantine too long (no honey the quarantine is not an additional display tank....) find a mentor, perhaps a local reef club (check here, ask at your lfs, check social media for one) so many good people willing to help. start simple, resist the urge to add just one more or add quickly (again, patience, that good deal will come around again.)
 
Take 95% of what you see and read on these forums and throw it out with the water change :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Stop listening to everyone and start listening to someone. Finding that mentor will save you tons of time, money, and headaches.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
rtparty said:
Take 95% of what you see and read on these forums and throw it out with the water change :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Stop listening to everyone and start listening to someone. Finding that mentor will save you tons of time, money, and headaches.
Click to expand...
Truth. I would focus on people with at least ten years of experience. It takes 5-10 years to get good at anything, and 10+ to master it (not subject to debate, this is a very well researched subject in humans).
 
Robert_Popa_918 said:
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.
Click to expand...
I'd stay away from the chemipure in a tank that little, there's too much aluminum in that stuff. That's what my issue was for awhile.
 
I was out of the hobby for about 10 years, and about 3 years ago, jumped back in. I figured I was going to go as high-end as possible and automate the as much of the tank as possible. In all honesty, has been the worst experience of my reefing life. I have never had a tank so many weird things, with zero explanations. I sent out water tests, everything fine, all parameters are solid, flow perfect, you name it, everything was right, but I would have random bleaching events and random massive die off. It wasn't until after the 2 year mark of the tank, did it start to settle. I think it has to do with not have actual live rock to start with, and using the fake stuff. It takes a long time to get all the microorganisms going and working together. Time, is what I believe a decent reef needs. You can't rush it, it does what it wants when it wants.
 
WWC
But cheap livestock in the beginning and not fret over every little thing. Keep throwing mud at the wall until something sticks. Find a mentor. Remember it's a hobby but respect the living things also, They are in your care.
 
I've been in the game since 2000.Took a break for a long while. I've seen a lot of changes.Keep educating myself on that long break, im a nerd.Got back in game 2022.Still have that wet thumb.

Do a lot of research, stay consistent no quick changes.What I've found out in my journey of saltwater is if it's not broken don't fix it.Mother Nature will adapt.When you have good baseline and stability.Dont do Jack lol, leave good enough alone..Set another tank up if you want change

"It is the way"
 
BRS

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%

  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%

  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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