snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Does old tank syndrome really exist? Is it a condition which is brought on by aquarist error, equipment going bad, not enough nutrient export, or perhaps even microfauna populations decreasing? What makes a new tank a new tank and a mature tank a mature tank? What forces decide that a mature tank is now an "old" tank? If there is such a thing as old tank syndrome, how does one avoid it? Discuss...
Here are my thoughts:
New tanks - 0 to 1 years old. The tank is still going through mini-cycles and you are still adding livestock and taking away. Microfauna and flora are building up and reproducing and has not quite yet reached it's peak.
Mature tanks - 1 to 10 years old. The tank is no longer going through mini-cycles and everything stays stable and constant. You are no longer adding fish or taking away inverts. Everything seems content and happy without your intervention what-so-ever. Some corals may die and others may thrive, depending on how your tank "settles in." Just as with some corals dying and some thriving, the same thing happens on a micro-scale. Microfauna and flora have gotten used to your tanks conditions. Some have died away and others have thrived.
Old tanks - 10+ years old. While these tanks have been set up and ran for more than a decade, the basics of it has still stayed the same. Some equipment has been replaced, other equipment added. The corals propagate very well and grow like no other. The routine maintenance on these tanks is down to a science. Microfauna populations adjust to the needs of the tank very easily, and can respond quickly if something goes wrong. However, when a tank is so used to the common every day things, when it comes across a problem, it may react to it differently than if it were a new tank or a mature tank.
How do you avoid old tank syndrome? I'm going to answer this in list form:
1. Add a cup of live sand from another aquarists tank to introduce new microfauna and flora into your tank.
2. Add a new coral with a piece of live rock to introduce new critters to the tank.
3. Stir the shallow sandbed a little by adding nassarius snails.
4. Re-stock your clean up crew with different and varying types of snails, hermits, astrina stars, algaes, worms, sponges, etc.
5. Take care of your equipment. Replace parts that need to be replaced. Soak some in vinegar and clean, clean, clean. Replace burnt out equipment, or faulty equipment. Make sure everything works properly and is safe, basically.
So, what are your opinions? Is there such a thing? How do you avoid it?
Here are my thoughts:
New tanks - 0 to 1 years old. The tank is still going through mini-cycles and you are still adding livestock and taking away. Microfauna and flora are building up and reproducing and has not quite yet reached it's peak.
Mature tanks - 1 to 10 years old. The tank is no longer going through mini-cycles and everything stays stable and constant. You are no longer adding fish or taking away inverts. Everything seems content and happy without your intervention what-so-ever. Some corals may die and others may thrive, depending on how your tank "settles in." Just as with some corals dying and some thriving, the same thing happens on a micro-scale. Microfauna and flora have gotten used to your tanks conditions. Some have died away and others have thrived.
Old tanks - 10+ years old. While these tanks have been set up and ran for more than a decade, the basics of it has still stayed the same. Some equipment has been replaced, other equipment added. The corals propagate very well and grow like no other. The routine maintenance on these tanks is down to a science. Microfauna populations adjust to the needs of the tank very easily, and can respond quickly if something goes wrong. However, when a tank is so used to the common every day things, when it comes across a problem, it may react to it differently than if it were a new tank or a mature tank.
How do you avoid old tank syndrome? I'm going to answer this in list form:
1. Add a cup of live sand from another aquarists tank to introduce new microfauna and flora into your tank.
2. Add a new coral with a piece of live rock to introduce new critters to the tank.
3. Stir the shallow sandbed a little by adding nassarius snails.
4. Re-stock your clean up crew with different and varying types of snails, hermits, astrina stars, algaes, worms, sponges, etc.
5. Take care of your equipment. Replace parts that need to be replaced. Soak some in vinegar and clean, clean, clean. Replace burnt out equipment, or faulty equipment. Make sure everything works properly and is safe, basically.
So, what are your opinions? Is there such a thing? How do you avoid it?
