JB NY
Active member
So I wanted to put this thread out as a sort of public service announcement. Reading some of the threads the last few months, I keep seeing whole tank issues that I think are avoidable when keeping an SPS tank.
IME if the person keeping their tank has been doing a good job, then the 2nd year of an SPS tank seems to be the sweet spot for the tank. Around the second year everything sort of comes together, all the corals generally start to do really well, the tank is flourishing, color and growth really seem to be spectacular. I think that this gives a sense that the tank is bullet proof, and the "I can do no wrong" mentality can creep into ones mind. By the second year the tank is still capable of absorbing a tremendous amount of abuse, meaning over feeding mostly, but also flow and lighting are still able to work at their optimal and are not yet impeded by the success of the tank.
I write success of the tank because it seems that as the next year rolls in corals grow larger and choke off flow in the tank, light gets shaded from corals at the top and lower placed corals can suffer. Feeding regimens that were pretty much dumping in large amounts of food in the tank all the time start to slowly shift till suddenly nuisance algae starts to creep its way into the system.
All of these factors leads the person one day to realize that their tank is headed into a bad direction. Changes are suddenly made to many different things in the tank at once, feedings stop, lights schedules change, water flow is played around with. Suddenly the tank becomes a very unstable place and the whole tank starts to fall apart. So what I am trying to write here is that we need to be aware of what is going on in our tanks and watch things very closely in the 2nd year as the tank starts to take off. Understand that you might need to get in the tank and clip some corals or monitor nutrient levels a little more even though the tank looks to be doing the best it ever has.
Hopefully this makes sense to you and you are able to keep your tank running smoothly and looking great for years to come. Long term success is the goal and the more we know, they better success we can have.
IME if the person keeping their tank has been doing a good job, then the 2nd year of an SPS tank seems to be the sweet spot for the tank. Around the second year everything sort of comes together, all the corals generally start to do really well, the tank is flourishing, color and growth really seem to be spectacular. I think that this gives a sense that the tank is bullet proof, and the "I can do no wrong" mentality can creep into ones mind. By the second year the tank is still capable of absorbing a tremendous amount of abuse, meaning over feeding mostly, but also flow and lighting are still able to work at their optimal and are not yet impeded by the success of the tank.
I write success of the tank because it seems that as the next year rolls in corals grow larger and choke off flow in the tank, light gets shaded from corals at the top and lower placed corals can suffer. Feeding regimens that were pretty much dumping in large amounts of food in the tank all the time start to slowly shift till suddenly nuisance algae starts to creep its way into the system.
All of these factors leads the person one day to realize that their tank is headed into a bad direction. Changes are suddenly made to many different things in the tank at once, feedings stop, lights schedules change, water flow is played around with. Suddenly the tank becomes a very unstable place and the whole tank starts to fall apart. So what I am trying to write here is that we need to be aware of what is going on in our tanks and watch things very closely in the 2nd year as the tank starts to take off. Understand that you might need to get in the tank and clip some corals or monitor nutrient levels a little more even though the tank looks to be doing the best it ever has.
Hopefully this makes sense to you and you are able to keep your tank running smoothly and looking great for years to come. Long term success is the goal and the more we know, they better success we can have.
I'm just now entering my second year with my big tank and noticing the increased stability. I have a really bad habit of making changes too big for some corals to handle so this is a lesson I need to drill into my brain before I need to fix something again.
