This is always happening?

[tamarindthai]

i am new to this hobby,,,after in to this hobby for a few years,,what i always heard are algea problem,taking the tank down,completed rebuilt within 2-3 years,,then 2-3 years later rebuilt again,,that what this hobby is all about?

 

[Dr B]

This hobby is definitely not about redoing your tank every 2 or 3 years.
If the tank is setup properly, and has propery husbandry there wont be any need to do redo your tank every few years.

What I think you may have heard about is some DSB(deep sand bed) problems. People say that a system setup around a DSB should replace their sand every few years, which would cause the need to tear the whole tank down and re-do it. Others say it is a ticking time bomb and just a matter of time before your tank gets algae problems and crashes.

The other thing you may have heard this from is Ron Shimek, who advocates that you should replace your LR every few years because it absorbs heavy metals and will become toxic to your system.
There are plenty of healthy tanks out there that are well past the 2 and 3 year mark. If you take care of your tank, and set it up properly in the first place you wont have problems that require a tank tear down and restart.

 

[NaH2O]

One thing I have noticed - as people gain knowledge, they realize some things will have to be done differently for a long term tank. Tearing the tank down and setting up again to fix issues or keep future issues from occuring. Sometimes, maybe a hobbyist gets bored with what they currently have and wants to change it for a new look.

 

[Witfull]

after i did the DSB experoment i found out exactly what DSB really stood for "dumb son of a b%^#" ,,,LOL. the nice thing about taking it apart is the redoing of things as Nikki said, plus a tank is art and you can change the picture when you chose.

 

[wrightme43]

I think Nikki hit the nail on the head. Its a oppertunity/excuse to redo your tank and the excitment and fun that goes with it. One of the best feelings in the world is creating a living system with balance and beauty. Please don't base your perception of this hobby on a build and tear down system. My friend has a tank that has been up and running for 7 years. It just takes experince and time to build the system you always wanted. Steve

 

[Angelscrx]

If you are not adding water with heavy metals and using good maintenance habits I don't think this tear down thing should be an issue. Can you imagine what the aquariums would have to go through if they had to do that in all of their little display tanks? I hear a lot of different opinions on DSBs but I haven't had a problem, but then again mine isn't even a year yet. And my 29g was set up less than a year before I upgraded to the 55g. Like Nikki said most people get bored and want to upgrade or their animals get too big for their tank. I can't wait until I have that problem.

 

[tamarindthai]

thank you guy,,keep on coming i love to hear more,
dang

 

[mojoreef]

Dang in keeping an reef aquarium, the most difficult thing we have to do is to keep the tank from going euthrophic (sp?). All things is the wild grow and/or flourish in an area that is skewed for its liking. If you are having algae blooms then your tank parameters are skewed for the conditions that are more conducive for it to grow. So the battle boils down to keeping your water conditions skewed away from those parameters and making the conditions more to the natural enviroment of corals.
So many folks now days are going for what they percieve as natural, with a ton of divercity and feeding all sorts of different kinds of foods, running filtration systems that cannot handle the bioload placed upon them. To much set it and forget it to.
Just concentrate on your water quality and skew it to what corals like and they will grow and algae will not.

Mike

 

[aquariumdebacle]

Hair algae need love too! why's ervyone so down on algae? there is nothing wrong with a stinking cespit of green goo! Low maintence, cheap never goes otta whack just find creatures that live in it

 

[Angelscrx]

Hair algae need love too! why's ervyone so down on algae? there is nothing wrong with a stinking cespit of green goo! Low maintence, cheap never goes otta whack just find creatures that live in it

Hahahah that is hilarious.

 

[tamarindthai]

more,,, keep on coming.
dang

 

[Witfull]

a perfect tank is boring...rip it apart and start over...lol. most of us cant afford another tank and all that goes with it,,,so we play and tinker with what we have.,,its more of a hands on underwater playpen than a visual centerpiece.

 

[MikeS]

The only constant I have observed in this hobby is this....there are no constants

Each one of our tanks is unique. And what works for one person may not work for another. One persons success is another persons disaster, and vise versa. My reef tank is just passing the 4 year mark. I have the same LR I started with, and I have a DSB. My tank has never been healthier, coral is growing rapidly and all my parameters check out great.

Does this mean my method is the best? No...

Does this mean my method is even correct? No...

It means that my tank is responding well to the environment I created. I hope it continues to do so. But there are no guarantees....my DSB could "explode" tomorrow...OR I could go another 4 years with minimal problems.

That's the tough part about giving advice in this hobby. Your tank is probably a lot different than mine.....what I find successful could be a disaster in your tank....

hope my rambling post made sense...

MikeS

 

[tamarindthai]

a perfect tank is boring...rip it apart and start over...lol. most of us cant afford another tank and all that goes with it,,,so we play and tinker with what we have.,,its more of a hands on underwater playpen than a visual centerpiece.

thanks for cheer me up,,i like it

 

[wrightme43]

Mike hit it dead on. Dan send us a picture of the "green cesspit" I bet a frog fish would be just as happy as he could be. ROTFLOL!!!