What makes a healthy reef??

I feel like the answer to this is very controversial. We test for everything we possibly can and buy the test we beleive to be most accurate but what do these numbers really mean? There are so many variables to account for, so many things we can not or do not test for, and so many different types of setups where different numbers would either be preferred or thought of as as nuisance.

I believe a healthy tank is one where everything seems healthy and grows/eats/etc. We shun a lot of algae growth but really isnt that part of a natural ecosystem? Not that it should overrun the tank but for a tank to be absent of anything but coralline would certainly not mimic a natural ecosystem. I still consider myself a novice at SW but feel that we sometimes place to much importance on a test result rather than what we see going on in the tank. I do think we need to test and it helps greatly in troubleshooting problems and also making sure things are fairly stable which allows us to prevent problems before they occur but should we freak out when the result isnt exactly what we were hoping for?

My tank has only been set up for 4 months now and I believe it to be healthy. I have 3 fish that eat and are active and do not seem to have any disease or injury. I have a few different corals, the xenia has doubled in size the past 2 months since I got it, the ricordia yuma have expanded to a much larger size than what they were in the store and appear very healthy, and I have some green clove polyp coral and 2 acan frags and after less then 24 hours the GCP is fully expanded and 1 of the 2 acan frags is inflated nicely and puts out the feeder tentacles whenever the lights go out. The second frag has not yet expanded but is not bleached nor does it look unhealthy. I have coralline starting to pop up everywhere on liverock, powerheads, and heaters but also have some unidentified red algae on the rocks that showed up awhile ago and is slowly going away. It is not cyano and coralline is actually growing on top of it now. There is also a small maybe 1-2inch patch of cyano on a rock and the normal green/brown algae that needs scraped from time to time on the glass walls. The pod population has exploded and there are all diferrent kinds of little worms, hermits, and snails thriving. Test results show some nitrates and I do use tapwater and no skimmer or fuge.

What do you consider to be a "healthy" reef ecosystem?

 

Let's see some pics of your tank it sounds like it looks great. I like seeing other tanks.

 

I do very little testing and add very little to my water, I do my weekly water change of about 5-10% and honestly if it was all the test thats taken to tell us wither our tanks are healthy or not, I don't know, I don't do them. but what I do have is Corals with great growth,Polyp extension and color, my tank is free of pest as far as i know, I have no unwanted algaes growing in my tank thats not under control, my fish are healthy. My tank is healthy.

 

Well, our tanks are glass boxes in a living room with creatures from all over the world. TBH, nothing about that is like a "natural ecosystem"... But it doesn't matter.


I agree with your definition. As long as the fish are fat, the water is clear and pleasant looking and the corals are growing and well colored and this system stays consistent: then that is healthy. I really think the key to healthy with our ecosystems is consistency. Even if it's consistently testing at numbers we may consider subpar... IME a tank that is consistent but below the numbers we strive is better than a tank with perfect parameters some of the time.

 

I only bring up the point of testing because with all my FW experience I almost never tested except for during startup and cycling. When I started performing test for things besides pH my father always told me he never tested for any of that stuff and did fine for 40+ years.
I do test my SW tank often and keep a log because I am new to this and if something goes wrong I want to be able to look back and see my results, when I did my WC and how much/often, what new equipment I added or took off, etc to see where it might have gone wrong. I test msotly pH kH and nitrate but once in awhile throw in an ammonia and nitrite test to make sure thigns are where I think they are. I have never tested phosphates and just purchased a CA and Mag test, not sure if I needed to but figured it doesnt hurt.

Dredfish if you want to see pictures you can click on my sig thread where I have pictures from startup through a week ago. It is not to impressive yet still pretty new which is why I still say Im a novice but so far I have not had any real problems and everything has goen a lot easier t han I had originally thought it would

 

100% agree, there is NOTHING natural about any aquarium no mattter the size but we can strive to make it as close to nature as possible which is are main goal. I think consistantly is key depending on species, fish from surge zoens where tides change water parameters quickly multiple times a day obviously dont care about stable conditions as much as fish from the deep sea but it never hurts to be consistant.

 

Even if it means to be consistent with the surge... But wild swings in parameters are bad for every fish we keep. And a WHOLE LOT more so to corals. If you keep a reef tank, consistency is the single most important factor to long term success imo.

We don't actually keep fish from deep waters or from surge zones for the most part. We get a large proportion of our fish from the same place our corals come from.

 

This is a very interesting topic with no real correct answer in my opinion. Some very valid points have been made thus far but some reefers really have totally different goals when it comes to organisms they want to keep happy and healthy in their glass box of water. For example the goals of a reefer with a softie tank a would be a bit different than a reefer with a sps dominated aquarium. Either way the term that seems to come up the most when talking about success in reefing is stability. Primarily in the big 3. (Alk, cal, mag) of course to anyone with a successful reef tank that's old news. Lol but when that balance is maintained growth is suprisingly fast in my experience. I find success in my aquariums when I look back at pictures I had taken months before and seeing noticable growth in my corals. Nothing is as justifying as seeing a frag grow into a colony. This feeling really seems to keep veteran reefers going and their tanks beautiful.

 

IMO and in this order

1.understanding the needs of the animal (par temp, diet,light)
2.consistency
3.time

 

Water changes I would say easy way to keep it healthy