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08/06/2013, 10:49 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 356
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How long will it last
How long will a healthy reef tank last? I just broke down a 36 gallon tank to up grade to a 150, I could not believe how much stuff was in the sand under the rocks! Tank was running fine, had a small algae problem but nothing to stress about. Tank was about 18 months old and everything was growing well, but the detritus under the rocks was crazy. So does anyone brake they're tank down and change sand? Do you just let them run till they crash?
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08/06/2013, 11:38 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,037
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Its all about maintenance and equipment used. I ve seen 20 yr reefs still going strong. All the extra waste you found could be from low flow , this gives uneaten food and fish waste to collect , and feeding habits , to much or food they wont eat , and over stocking , in a reef tank its about the coral so a few fish is alright but to even the minimum after time can be bad. Its all about finding the happy medium.
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08/07/2013, 06:37 AM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: New Port Richey, Fl.
Posts: 37
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08/07/2013, 07:43 AM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: upstateny
Posts: 2,504
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Old tank syndrome 2-3 years. Diversity of life maxes out at about a year, species climax and things go south. Sandbeds are aweful nutrient sinks, you won't find many old systems that house corals requiring excellent water quality using sandbeds. Yes, there are old systems with sandbeds and success is a subjective term. The more you are in tune with getting rid of N's and P's, and their sources the longer the tank will thrive.
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Back from the dead! Current Tank Info: 140 dt reef |
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08/07/2013, 09:58 AM
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#5 |
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Dogmatic Dinosaur
 Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Boulder, CO
Posts: 6,256
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It depends on how you maintain it. Most healthy tanks have sandbeds, but all of your long term successes have had maintenance by either replacing sand, cleaning it or both. If you just let the junk sink into the sand, it will eventually get too clogged to function (paraphrasing). If you keep the sand fresh and clean, the bacteria mass will easily keep nitrate under control and exchange phosphate with the aragonite to also keep phosphate under control - there are many, many multi-year tanks with sandbeds that are plenty healthy. The key is to slowly and methodically clean or replace sand over time.
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08/07/2013, 01:49 PM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 356
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When replacing sand do you need to cycle it first or just add slowly?
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08/07/2013, 04:24 PM
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#7 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 6,912
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Dunno about 2-3 years. That link is actually old, that tank is over 40 years old now and still going strong.
Compared to that tank, my tank is young at 3 1/2 years. Have a 3 inch sandbed, heavy bioad. SPS corals have grown so much I've been fragging them and giving them away. I plan to keep it running until it crashes, which hopefully will be never.
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Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam |
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