Life Expectancy

[jroescher]

What is the life expectancy of a reef tank? Assuming you don't make any major changes, how many years will a tank last before things like, for example sandbeds, start to fail?

[Troy Valentine]

Decades... With proper biodiversity. But I'm not sure most hobbiests will like the look of a system when it ages,(5+yrs) so they will start all over again. Just my opinion....

[kkiel02]

I think the reefer's interest in the tank goes before a properly maintained tank would. It also depends on everyones setup. I have a shallow sand bed in my fuge and display so that shouldn't go bad really. The rock wont go bad. My skimmer and ATS are easy to maintain so my nutrient export is covered there. What else are you worried about? I think a DSB would have a life span as it would eventually restrict the flow going through it which is why I veered away from it.

[Big_Pun]

Decades... With proper biodiversity. But I'm not sure most hobbiests will like the look of a system when it ages,(5+yrs) so they will start all over again. Just my opinion....

I was waiting for Troy to chime in ..."old tank syndrome" ive seen stuff a lil after one year start to happen. nitrate spikes weird algae but hard to say it's due to age. but proper husbandry like vacuuming sand if your running a display sand bed. even tearing down fuge and taking a wet dry vac to clean out accumulated diatoms helps also.

[Troy Valentine]

For me the hobby has taken on a whole new form. Everything in the system is very healthy and growing faster than ever. I've got corals that are over a decade old. I don't even worry about them anymore they are just fixtures in my tank. Now it has become my ability to wait out different forms of algae that make their way into my system. And they are all cyclical. They are just filling a void. If I just let them grow unmolested they will eventually disappear on their own. But if I try to hurry the proccess It will cause more problems. For me its like arguing with my wife: It might feel good at the time, but in the end she will have the last laugh. So I just don't argue.
So I guess it depends on whether or not the hobbiest wants to deal with algae.......

[Kristy]

I had an interesting conversation with Ping about mature tank syndrome (wish he was on regularly to comment on this) and we came across a great article on it a couple years ago. I'll see if I can find it and post it later.

[Troy Valentine]

Pete and I have had many early morning conversations about this topic. I really miss him......

[Pennies2Cents]

Pete where are you..... :(

[Kristy]

This is not the article that I was looking for. But, while trying to locate it, I came across this interesting discussion by Eric Borneman and Ron Shimek that seems to address several issues applicable to this discussion.

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/borneman_mankin_shimek.html

[alton]

My 200 was close to 11 years old before I took it down and sold it. Sometimes I would neglect water quality and it would show but a couple of water changes, a little phosban and it was back on track. It was a piece of cake compared to my first year with my 300. Sometimes I wish I never would of upgraded, because I hate dealing with the new tank syndrome especially when you are dealing with 300 gallons.

[Europhyllia]

"What Would Troy Do?"
I am trying to be more patient and think in terms of that

[allan]

Early morning meets with coffee and doughnuts. And a big white dog with large soulful eyes peering around the corner at us.

[cbianco]

I think the life expectancy is, as long as you expect it to live.

Although things do happen that are out of our control, I often wonder how many bad things are tied to burn out, laziness or just life getting in the way?!?

I would imagine that someone who is consistently interested in their reef tank over the years will manage to keep it alive.

JMO.

Christopher :)

[Europhyllia]

I think the life expectancy is, as long as you expect it to live.

Although things do happen that are out of our control, I often wonder how many bad things are tied to burn out, laziness or just life getting in the way?!?

I would imagine that someone who is consistently interested in their reef tank over the years will manage to keep it alive.

JMO.

Christopher :)
so true wise one ;)

[Texreefer]

I would say a reef will last as long as you want it to!!!
35 years and counting on this reef
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=727454

[Troy Valentine]

His tank has always interested me. His system is now over 40yrs old, and the corals are small, healthy but small. He has successfully limited his bioload by keeping his corals small, and not letting them grow to their potential. He is very smart to know the limitations of his filtration capacity, and work within that. That might be the key to an old system.

[cbianco]

I would say a reef will last as long as you want it to!!!
35 years and counting on this reef
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=727454

Here is the current page for that thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1711320&page=63

Looks like that tank will never die! Lol.

Christopher :)

[Europhyllia]

Oh I like that tank! It has macro in it!!!

Wouldn't it be hilarious if in a few years it all came full circle:
to eliminate nitrate especially in older system you can:
a) use bacterial additives
b) get this and that reactor
c) not feed your fish
d) use some kind of absorbing media
or.... e) stick some macro algae in there!