You should have a reefing routine! Do you have a preventative maintenance process?

Peace River · Jul 21, 2023

You should have a reefing routine! Do you have a preventative maintenance process?

Amazing tanks don’t just happen. There are often the outcome of hard work and attention to detail over a long period of time. Certainly, choosing the right equipment and making good livestock choices help, but preventing and overcoming problems in the tank is also a factor. One way to avoid or navigate reefing challenges is to establish and follow a reefing routine. Preventing problems before they happen is better than finding a way through those problems. Sometimes this can be testing water parameters, doing consistent water changes, observing the health of fish and corals, and performing regular maintenance on pumps, lights, dosers, probes, and more. The results can be tracked on paper or in an app and looking for trends in the data can be helpful. Many reef keepers have found that having a plan and sticking to that plan is important to establishing a successful reef. Do you have a preventative maintenance process that you follow? Tell us about your reef routine and share any tips that you have for the community.

Photo by @TUSI

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com

"Our mission is to help save the reefs by providing the highest quality live reef foods for every aquarium - from small biocubes to mid-sized reef aquariums, to giant aquaculture facilities" @Dinkins Aquatic Gardens

vetteguy53081 · Jul 21, 2023

I have a routine but its not always on point. For me its more preventative than requirements but what makes my system successful

kevgib67 · Jul 21, 2023

Every Sunday is wc day and the last Sunday of the month is a deep clean.

Reefer Matt · Jul 21, 2023

I have some kind of maintenance to do everyday on my tanks. Water changes are monthly, but vary depending on nitrate levels.

shwareefer · Jul 21, 2023

I use the Aquarium Note app on my phone. The reminders work great because I get a phone alert the day of. Great for the ADHD mind.

codenfx · Jul 21, 2023

Mondays is when I feed corals, I do water change at least once a month, carbon every 2-3 weeks. Anything else I do based on what it looks like such as the filter floss, skimmer cup, trimming chaetos, cleaning glass, etc.

steveschuerger · Jul 21, 2023

I spend an hour on average most days doing look overs, light cleaning, and adding amendments on a loose schedule. I try to do a WC about once a week, but there have been periods where I skipped a week. Feeding fish is at least a light feed every day, and since I broadcast feed, the corals get a bit as well. Otherwise I just like to hang in front of the tanks to start the day.

Treefer32 · Jul 21, 2023

I've been maintaining a 340 gallon / 75 gallon sump system for 6-7 years. I have everything in my Head.
SUnday - Tuesday dose Chaeto grow and Red Sea A, B, C, D trace elements
Friday - Sunday pick a day to clean algae turf scrubber
Friday - Sunday pick a day to clean front glass
Friday - Sunday refill dosing containers for alk and Calcium 2 part
Every 2 weeks Clean sides and back glass on the weekends
Dose Phosphate E manually every 2-3 days
Do 40 -50% water change every 4-6 months. December / January and July / August
Every 12 Months in October - November replace all four T5 bulbs
Once a year ICP test (Dec / January prior to water change)
Once a quarter thoroughly clean all 4 gyres and MP40s as needed (Citric Acid soak)
Monthly test for friction on ATO foam floats and clean away any calcium buildup
Weekly clean Overflow teeth
Tuesday / Wednesday every week test Alk, Phosphate, and Nitrates
Every 6 months or when I feel like it clean out skimmer cup and neck (hose drains to a 5 gallon bucket with a full optical monitor to shut the skimmer off if the skimmate collection is full.
Replace RO Filter cartridges once a year
Replace DI resin 3 times a year.

The biggest thing that drives me nuts is how fast algae grows on the glass!

Identify projects to improve the overall System for the winter

- Replace one of the four gyres that the magnet has scoring and is intermittently functional.
- Add High wattage UV to alleviate any ich / fluke break outs
- With the UV will be annual maintenance to replace the sleave, seals, and bulb
- add fish - (slowly removing agressive fish so I can repopulate with smaller groups of fish)
- Continue adding coral (always an open spot for new corals!)

shakacuz · Jul 21, 2023

i try to be proactive, but my tank is coasting along. could definitely be better.

Gumbies R Us · Jul 21, 2023

I check my tank everyone morning, midday, and at night and address any issues if I see them arise

design.maddie · Jul 21, 2023

"Other"

I follow a regular routine that changes every month or so because I am always trying new ideas and approaches.

Danny McElroy · Jul 22, 2023

I use the Apex Calendar Events to stay on top of everything, just don't like the idea of risking a failure that could be prevented.

Turkey head · Jul 22, 2023

I have a pretty regular schedule. 65g AIO tank. I’m using an Apex to monitor and control some of the basics. I do a weekly water change on Saturday or Sunday depending on what’s going on in my life. I have regular alerts to check various other things. I have an alarm to deep clean my skimmer etc. it works well for me. I have a busy personal life and it makes a big difference to set alerts. Other than that, I look over the the tank daily for corals that look upset fish health etc.

vlangel · Jul 22, 2023

I have a routine maintenance but it's not hard and fast a certain day of the weekly, but it takes place every week. I do a weekly water change and clean the glass. If the ornamental macroalgae need pruned then I do that as well. I learned as an aquarium tech that longevity of tanks is maximized with these measures.

design.maddie · Jul 22, 2023

vlangel said:
I have a routine maintenance but it's not hard and fast a certain day of the weekly, but it takes place every week. I do a weekly water change and clean the glass. If the ornamental macroalgae need pruned then I do that as well. I learned as an aquarium tech that longevity of tanks is maximized with these measures.

I agree with you. Having a checklist is fine but sometime just having a set time of day that you just look over everything once is enough to avoid most issues in the hobby.

MrGisonni · Jul 22, 2023

Friday is water testing. Alk, Mag, Ca, phosphate and nitrate. Sunday is 10% water change and trace elements dosed by hand. Carbon and rowaphos changed monthly along with a cleaning of supplemental flow pumps. Weekly adjustments of AFR dosing on the pump as my reef continues to grow.

Narideth · Jul 22, 2023

I'm in front of one of my tanks practically all day so I have eyes on it multiple times daily, probably more than I should considering I'm working!

Water changes are the big thing I try to stay on top of as well as topping off/filling the ATO. Measures that are helpful in maintaining stability primarily. I check the filter floss every couple of days and clean/change it as needed. In the beginning I did a lot of testing, but I find I test now when I see something looks off, and occasionally just to verify things are still in balance. A mixture of winging it and preventative schedule.