What Has Kept Your Tank Going For a Long Time

[Gumbies R Us]

When I see people post they have tanks going for 20+ years, I am always fascinated they have kept a tank going for that long. I'm wondering if something or what have you done in particular to keep your tank going for such a long time

 

[AydenLincoln]

@Paul B Is the best person to answer this!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Quite a few guys on here that have some tanks that they've kept going for years. Excited to see this discussion unfold.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I keep adding water and the pumps keel going so idk what I'm doing right. Lol
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Keep*

 

[Roatan Reef]

I'm newer to saltwater, but I've had Freshwater for over 18 years, and once you get it running and right, it stays that way. I've set up multiple friends and family Freshwater Tanks over the years without fail, and even have them breeding in 6 months....it then becomes a thing..you almost can't explain it...it's a fascination...the same with Saltwater.


I went through ugly phases, lost fish, coral etc, but once your tank starts stabilizing and doing good, corals growing, maintaining fish etc. .its a whole other fascination of life that you can't get enough of...and we literally stare at the tank day and night!

 

[Panky]

Me with my daily battle with Dino’s

 

[gbroadbridge]

When I see people post they have tanks going for 20+ years, I am always fascinated they have kept a tank going for that long. I'm wondering if something or what have you done in particular to keep your tank going for such a long time

Money

 

[UK softy bloke]

Money

Not always, I'm not rich and I've had my soft coral tank 18 years. I think sticking to a routine and using the same products and not changing anything suddenly helps.

 

[Ef4life]

Regular maintenance

 

[Alex Costa]

Good practices and discipline.
Mine is starting its 7th year.

 

[vlangel]

My tank is also starting it's 7th year but some of the lifestock and all the rock is 20 years old. I have a cabbage leather that is still from the 90s.
Having maintained tanks for customers of the lfs that I worked at, the key to longevity is a disciplined maintenance routine. Not even over the top maintenance but regular water changes go a long way to keeping water quality in bounds and creating a stable environment for the livestock.

 

[Dburr1014]

Not jumping everytime something doesn't go right.
Small moves, steady the ship.

 

[JTP424]

Positive outlook/mentality. Doing it for a reason you like.
I'm still fairly new, but had an overflow last night, ruining the floor and the basement ceiling.
Cleaned it up, going about my day. Going to do what I can. Celebrate the victories and the misfortunes.
As far as funding goes, think of it like gambling, if I can't afford to lose this, shouldn't do it...

Embrace the Chaos.

 

[Delatedlotus]

I have a two tank system has been set-up for 26 or 27 years and counting. A 90 gallon and a 120 gallon with a 100 gallon sump 3/4 full. Right at 145 lbs of live rock, (the good stuff you cant hardly get any more).. Each rock came individually bagged in sea water.! Not spray painted purple, or shipped in news paper either.. lol. With a 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 inch very, very fine sand bed. I have sold a-lot of fish though these tanks a-lot and corals as well, just a over whelming staggering amount. And it keeps chugging along. Dino's yes at times, green hair a few times. Clean up crew a must, added pods off and on over the years.

The real bottom line secret is my diatom filter, take that to the bank! How can you ever have a tank for years, and years without one? I will never know.... This is NOT a theory either, it is the fact. Vortex Interspace went to of business, I want that patent !!!!. Best tool for fowler and reef tanks ever.. A sadly but forgotten fact. This is kind of cool as well,

My Iwaki 100r pump has ran 24/7 for 26 plus years straight! I bought it used to begin with! Never hade a problem with it ever. Until last fall, come to find out a $8.00 bearing went out. In the mean while I did buy a new one from BRS $462 (ouch) and plan on having the bearing put in the old one. No other pump will ever last that long!!!

I do maintenance sometimes I mean this... You have to do maintenance at times with very few water changes here. But when I do things just sprout up and I get something new growing or added to the tank. It's kind of weird, tube's, stars, ect..ect.. I didn't check my water chemistry very much for years as well.. Not as much as I check now, I got a Apex just last fall as I have never had one before.. "Love it just" just more **** to watch... lol Reef on addicts... lol

 

[FranklinDattein]

Trained eyes, discipline, stabilityand something new regularly to keep the motivation up. This formula keeps me going for 25years

 

[Philip Chin]

I believe weekly water changes

 

[fish farmer]

When I see people post they have tanks going for 20+ years, I am always fascinated they have kept a tank going for that long. I'm wondering if something or what have you done in particular to keep your tank going for such a long time

I'm not quite right in the head.

I had a 120 gallon fowlr going for 20 years until my client wanted it gone.

My current reef is 12 years, but is a mix of rock that I've kept wet in various systems since 2000. Some of those were more fowlr systems when my coral keeping was lax.

 

[dennis romano]

I have a reef tank that has been running for over twenty five years. I firmly believe in the KISS method, no testing, no dosing. Filtration is the original wet dry. Every week, I do a 10 per cent water change. There are hard and soft corals that are over twenty years old, gorgonians and sponges around ten and a Banggai cardinal approaching eleven.

 

[Nano sapiens]

When I see people post they have tanks going for 20+ years, I am always fascinated they have kept a tank going for that long. I'm wondering if something or what have you done in particular to keep your tank going for such a long time

Whether large or small, I think you'll find that the answer to your question is typically the same: KISS and regular maintenance.