Tank Maturity and SPS Coral Growth

[alexander_ktn]

I can't really say much about systems that start out with lots of dry rock - I have always used live rock exclusively and so do most people here (maybe a few single pieces of dry rock, but most have all live rock).

I'm not saying people are doing it wrong, I'm just saying that I have so far never had a single problem with adding sps as the first corals and that is ofc not after a year but earlier. Would I add a $500 priced colony as the first coral? Surely not. But I had no problem with adding Seriatopora, Montipora, Porites and Acropora frags in tanks that are at the beginning (and in this case end) of the "hair algae phase" when the water parameters are okay and kept stable.

 

[Paul B]

Might be the other way around - those tanks with no problems get to be kept longer

It could be but I feel that many of the problens people have with their tanks is because of what they are doing. When I used to add Kalik, test everything and religiously do water changes, I had all sorts of problems. Now for the last 25 years I never get a problem, I am not sure if it has to do with the age of the system, the bacteria I add from the sea or the fact that I hardly even touch the tank except to feed it and clean the front glass.