What does reef tank "stability" mean to you?

[cdw79]

This feels like an incredibly dumb question and one that I have held back on asking, but I feel like I should get some better understanding here.

People often talk about the importance of waiting until a tank is stable to take on harder to keep coral in particular, and understandably so. But I'm not sure I really understand how to know when things are "stable," per se. My Apex tends to keep the Ca, Mg, and Alk in an acceptable range based on the dynamic dosing, but from the way more experienced reefers talk about it, it seems like stability has more involved than that? Is it more of a question of nitrate and phosphate levels? Coraline growth? Success with more challenging corals as a sign of it? What, technically, is "stability," and what's the best way to tell? What can be done as reefers to help get a tank to be more stable?

Hopefully this at least kind of makes sense. I am hoping to take the plunge into Tridacna clams soon, once I finish slowly increasing my PAR, but all the advice I've heard always comes back to stability, so I'm trying to get a better sense of what that looks like and what I can do so I don't rush anything.

Any rules of thumb to determine when a tank is stable, advice to help facilitate the tank becoming more stable, etc are much appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[G Santana]

Stability for me meant hitting the 1 year mark.
My 130 gallon went through a roller coaster of algae breakouts and a bout with high nitrates and then stability hit.

The tank is algae free and my big 3 N03, P04 and Alk are where I want them to be for months now.

Stability is hard initially for those that start with little to no live rock. In the late 80s I started the same tank with several hundred pounds of live rock and I NEVER had an algae break out of any kind for 8 years.

This time around I had to build and recreate the biodiversity of live rock over time.

My dead rock is now starting to get encrusted with coraline algae and the tank looks good.

Time and patience in this era of jumpstarting a tank on bottled biology!!!

 

[roggy23]

Stability for me meant hitting the 1 year mark.
My 130 gallon went through a roller coaster of algae breakouts and a bout with high nitrates and then stability hit.

The tank is algae free and my big 3 N03, P04 and Alk are where I want them to be for months now.

Stability is hard initially for those that start with little to no live rock. In the late 80s I started the same tank with several hundred pounds of live rock and I NEVER had an algae break out of any kind for 8 years.

This time around I had to build and recreate the biodiversity of live rock over time.

My dead rock is now starting to get encrusted with coraline algae and the tank looks good.

Time and patience in this era of jumpstarting a tank on bottled biology!!!

How did you recreate your biodiversity?

 

[vetteguy53081]

For me - Its when you can spend much time enjoying your tank than working on it due to steady levels and minimal maintenance

 

[G Santana]

How did you recreate your biodiversity?

It started with two bottles of Fritzyme 9 and 2 tangs, I had an instant cycle with no amonia. Then I got a fistful of chaeto from my LFS and the pods exploded in the tank.
Then I got a few small rocks from my LFS and I went slow, still going slow.

My biggest problem was when my nitrates literally blew up to 78, I Vodka dosed over 12 weeks and my algae problem went away and nitrates are 7 today. I also used Vibrant during that time.

I hope this helps, but as many refers here know, there are many ways to skin that cat.

 

[mehaffydr]

I think I would define stability when all parameters CA, ALK, MG, PO4 Nitrates, Salinity, Temp. Are kept stable.
During the first few days weeks months just getting a good feel for these parameters and what it takes to keep them stable.
There are always things that a new reefer is nit ready for like seasonal changes Getting a A+TO set up and working consistently, Dosing and adjusting dosing as tank matures.
Often you will think you have it because things are consistent for a few weeks and then BAM something goes a little off the charts.
Learning how to prevent and anticipate and deal with these things is Key.
The trouble is that no one can tell you what and when you will need to adjust what you are doing you just need time to understand the tank.
This is why most experienced reefers will tell you it takes at least a year to really get in a good rhythm.

 

[Reefnewb]

That’s a hard question to answer because every tank is different. Biggest factors being starting with live sand and rock vs dry rock. To me my tank is mature enough to call it stable once i have to start scraping coraline algae off the glass.

 

[Idech]

To me my tank is mature enough to call it stable once i have to start scraping coraline algae off the glass.

Not to me. I started having coralline on the glass and my parameters aren’t stable yet. Magnesium tends to go down and alkalinity tends to go up. I’ve yet to find the perfect formula to keep everything stable.

I suspect that coralline taking over the rocks is consuming a lot of magnesium. So as long as it’s got places to grow, magnesium will tend to lack. I’ve also noticed swings when I add new corals.

This is all new to me so I’m probably not very good at figuring this out yet. It will come with time. But until then, I can’t consider my tank stable.

 

[ClownSchool]

Manual dosing on a tank less than a year old makes answering this question almost impossible.
Every water change over 5%, sump/filter cleaning, chaeto removal, or fish/rock/coral addition can have a significant impact.
Coralline growth will cause a change in ratios between the two parts of a two-part additive. Seasonality will effect evaporation and even pH. my tank’s in the living room and just closing the fireplace flue caused my pH to drop almost a full point (8.3 to 7.4).
So, the short answer is, “I don’t know, but I’m learning everyday.”

 

[Reefnewb]

Not to me. I started having coralline on the glass and my parameters aren’t stable yet. Magnesium tends to go down and alkalinity tends to go up. I’ve yet to find the perfect formula to keep everything stable.

I suspect that coralline taking over the rocks is consuming a lot of magnesium. So as long as it’s got places to grow, magnesium will tend to lack. I’ve also noticed swings when I add new corals.

This is all new to me so I’m probably not very good at figuring this out yet. It will come with time. But until then, I can’t consider my tank stable.

When I’m talking stability I’m not really talking about alkalinity or other elements like calcium or magnesium. I’m talking about biological balance and nutrients. It’s up to you to stabilize alkalinity and calcium. Also I’m not sure how your alkalinity is rising since you would have to dose it to raise it. Coraline algae uses alkalinity and calcium to grow. If you’re not dosing then my only guess would be that your water change water is much higher in alk than your tank is.

 

[sixty_reefer]

To me stability is achieved once your biological filtration reaches maturity, tank nutrition will take a big role in achieving maturity faster or slower.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

For me - Its when you can spend much time enjoying your tank than working on it due to steady levels and minimal maintenance

+1 steady levels for me. Maturity to me is when the owner has been with the tank long enough to understand what trend it is in at all times. Going from wondering what will happen next to controlling the tanks next move.

 

[Garf]

Reef tank stability to me is when I’ve built a stand that doesn’t wobble.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Stability applies to all things "reefy". Alk, temp, and salinity might be the big three, but everything else matters also. Changes to stuff like water change schedule; lighting; flow; nutrient and dissolved organic carbon levels; and food input also affect the reef.

Oh... and if you have SPS... changing shirt colors may have negative effects.

 

[Timfish]

Sounds like the point of some self appointed guru's hype for why thier method is the best. Stuff is in constant flux in every reef system and letting your guard down and thinking everything is "stable" usually leads to problems.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Sounds like the point of some self appointed guru's hype for why thier method is the best. Stuff is in constant flux in every reef system and letting your guard down and thinking everything is "stable" usually leads to problems.

Stable doesn't mean the tank is running itself or can be ignored. It also means that the Reefer has learned how to take care of the tank as needed to maintain that stability. That becomes easier as the tank matures, but never becomes unnecessary.