who had a successful reef tank first go round?

zxet · Sep 21, 2016

First tank started it last October only real loss I had was my bowsers. Other then that it's been flurishing. Just a couple of my corals and a full tank shot

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reeferfoxx · Sep 21, 2016

Still up and running!

Douglas Geprge · Sep 21, 2016

I have no pics of it anymore, but I took my time planning and my first salt tank was a 30 gallon that I built into a reef over the first year and it flourished great for 5 years. It's now been upgraded to the 75 gallon I now have for 2 years and going strong.

Tristan · Sep 21, 2016

My 10g nano was my first tank and I never had any major algae problems and all my corals are thriving. Granted that it's mostly a softie tank. But I'm only 13 so it's an accomplishment. Been up for little over a year

DanConnor · Sep 21, 2016

Yeah, my first real reef was some time in the 90s and was quite nice until it caught fire while we were on vacation and burned until the breaking tank put it out.

Shaun Sweeney · Sep 22, 2016

john.m.cole3 said:
If you were like me, my first tank is what I considered my "learning tank". Not to say that I'm not still learning the intricacies of this amazing hobby, but some people have a knack for reefing. I want to know whose first tank grew coral, looked nice, and didn't have any major problems.

Pics if possible!

I got luck and avoided any serious crash. My big problem was underestimating how long my halide lights had been in use so I lost a few colonies before figuring it out. Had some crazy close calls ... like overdosing NoPox.

Steve Tobias · Sep 22, 2016

At what point can one assume their tank is successful? What are the metrics for such an assumption? I started my first tank 11months ago and yet I cant help but wake up first thing in the morning head straight over to the tank and verify that to the best of my observations everything is still alive!!! I am like a nervous parent!!! The horror stories I have read and listened to are frightening!!!

john.m.cole3 · Sep 22, 2016

Success should always be measured subjectively IMO. We all grade ourselves differently and are usually our own worst critic. For me, seeing coral growth and no illness in fish would a success.