Reefer's Rules

[reefgeezer]

I thought the following might help those new to the hobby as they were planning their set-up. The rules are not intended to tell anyone what to do or how to do it, just to provoke more thought.

REEFER’S RULE #1: Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.
Patience is an absolute requirement for establishing and maintaining a healthy reef tank. You will be waiting for something to happen from day one, and you'll probably live to regret every short cut taken.

REEFER’S RULE #2: Commitment is required.
Establishing and maintaining a healthy reef tank has always required a rather high commitment. Reef tanks just cannot be kept for long without a lot of elbow grease, time, and money... lots of money.

REEFER’S RULE #3: Change is the enemy.
Stability is the key to maintaining a sustainable and amazing reef. That stability extends to every part of the environment, measurable or not.

REEFER’S RULE #4: The KISS rule applies… sort of.
The requirements for keeping a reef tank are not simple, particularly if you want it to flourish in the long term. The goal is to keep the system as simple as possible without impacting its ability to meet its requirements.

REEFER’S RULE #5: Systems must be set-up for the long run.
Many systems can work for a while. However, reef tanks take a long time to establish, and corals grow slowly and aren’t truly impressive until they grow into larger colonies. “A while” is just not long enough.

REEFER’S RULE #6: Reef keeping is as much an art as a science.
Processes and equipment can be employed to remedy just about any undesirable condition that occurs in a reef tank. That's the science of the hobby... and also the easy part. The art of reef keeping involves balancing the outcomes of the processes and equipment employed to produce conditions that allow the desired inhabitants to flourish.

REEFER’S RULE #7: There are few absolute right or wrong methods of running a reef tank
Many combinations of variables, some obvious and some not so obvious, determine whether a method will work for any particular system. The reef keeper has to be able to weigh the potential positive and negative outcomes of methods against the system's particular circumstances when deciding which ones to employ.

REEFER’S RULE #8: If you buy cheap, you’ll buy twice.
Reef tanks are equipment intensive. If you plan on keeping your reef long enough to see the fruits of your labor, make sure you buy quality equipment that will operate effectively for long periods of time without fail.

REEFER’S RULE #9: If maintenance is difficult, it won’t get done often enough.
Place components that require frequent maintenance within easy reach and provide for isolation of the components requiring removal for maintenance. Automation that reduces frequent and repetitive tasks is also a good idea. Planning your maintenance tasks and schedules should be a high priority when planning your system.

REEFER’S RULE #10: You must understand how light affects the tank and select the appropriate lighting.
Understanding the make-up of light, how it functions in the reef environment, how corals use light, and how different methods of lighting function is absolutely required.
REEFER’S RULE #11: You must understand how the carbon-hydrogen balance cycle works before you can successfully maintain a reef tank.
No other process in the reef keeping hobby is any more important and at the same time so misunderstood as the relation between pH, alkalinity, and the calcification process in the reef tank. Designing and maintaining systems without understanding and including provisions for control of this process is a major reason people fail in this hobby.

REEFER’S RULE #12: Understanding the relationship between nutrient levels and system health is absolutely required.
It is not as simple as just driving nutrient levels in the reef tank to zero. Understanding the nutrient levels required and how to keep them there is an absolute requirement for a successful reef tank.

REEFER’S RULE #13: Testing… It’s Part of the Commitment
Personally performing required tests, particularly when the system is maturing, is part of the commitment. Performing these tests is not difficult or time consuming.

REEFER’S RULE #14: Chemical products advertised to solve problems only mask bigger problems.
There is probably a product available that claims to fix any problem you might have in a reef tank. These products either don’t work or cover up the root cause of the problem until something worse happens.

[nmotz]

This is excellent, thanks!

[kw22]

Enjoyed reading these

[Xavibear]

Nice read.

[ca1ore]

Addendum to rule #3 - if you must make a change, particularly an equipment or plumbing change, don't ever do it right before you go on vacation.

Addendum to rule #8 - in addition to avoiding 'cheap', decide what size tank you think you will want .... And then go up one size.