so how sensitive are our systems really?

[Aquattro]

My temps have swung from 79 to 89 daily for a summer. My salinity has hit 1.030 for a month. I've got rusted hose clamps in the sump going on 4 years. I've put my arms in the tank while covered in paint/oil/asst muck. I left lights on 48 hours. My skimmer shut off for 2 weeks. My CO2 tank drained into the room over a 6 hour period. I've used tap water without regard for chlorine. I test annually, needed or not.
All these things and many more, and the tank was rock solid. An established tank, and even a new tank well tended, are very rugged things.

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

My temps have swung from 79 to 89 daily for a summer. My salinity has hit 1.030 for a month. I've got rusted hose clamps in the sump going on 4 years. I've put my arms in the tank while covered in paint/oil/asst muck. I left lights on 48 hours. My skimmer shut off for 2 weeks. My CO2 tank drained into the room over a 6 hour period. I've used tap water without regard for chlorine. I test annually, needed or not.
All these things and many more, and the tank was rock solid. An established tank, and even a new tank well tended, are very rugged things.

theres a few on your list i do reguarily , like work the other day i was working on my bike changing its chain full of grease and i stepped into the room for a break just to see a frag knocked over i reached right on in there to put it baqck in place lol didnt think about it at the time but could have been the last day of my system

ok so you all may remember me posting last year or year before about the dumb mistake i made? well basically i laid my 5g bucket of coral rx dip after use right next to the 5g bucket of ATO water , went away and came back later to realize that the tank needed a top up and bam ....5seconds later i ralized i just made a huge mistake...dumped the bucket of coral rx right into my sump lol

i did the usual freak and pull hair while cursing , i kicked the sump i believe in an attempt to turn back time lol anyways no negative effects , infact all algae dided shortly afterwards....ive kinda always wanted to do it again lol

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

An established tank, and even a new tank well tended, are very rugged things.

I totally agree. Those that constantly muck around in their tanks and add all kinds of different crap to combat a problem are the tanks that usually have the most problems.

[kien]

In general I agree with the ruggedness of mature tanks, but it also partly depends on the inhabitants. Some are simply more sensitive than others.

I've had my current tank for about 5 years now and I think I've about done it all. Temp swings up to high 80s, lack of water change for 3 summer months! Expired lights (2 years old), skimmer less for over a month. Too lazy to fix a busted RO unit so I used tap water in my ATO, temp drop down 60s for 24 hours due to power outage.. The list goes on! While I have lost corals and a few fish along the way this tank hasn't yet completely crashed despite all the calamity (and occasional poor husbandry). The bio system seems to have remained somewhat stable/hardy I think. I have corals, fish and inverts still trucking along since day one of this tank.

(Pretty sure I just jinxed myself and will find a tank of death tomorrow morning)

[kien]

Originally Posted by Madreefer

I totally agree. Those that constantly muck around in their tanks and add all kinds of different crap to combat a problem are the tanks that usually have the most problems.

+1.

[Proteus]

I've had a long road of learning. Made and make all the numbers mistakes and had red bug and aefw. Now my tank is pest free and stable I'm going to try don't buy anything and leave the tank alone approach. And so far so good I have pieces coloring up in the last week.

[MarkoD]

i use to never do water changes, didnt run zeo, rarely tested the water, dosed with a splash of this and splash of that. and the 180 gallon tank i had did amazingly.


Now i have a 70 gallon tank, weekly water changes, running zeovit, testing water every few days, precisely dosing everything. and nothing but problems. UGH

[hunggi74]

I've been away two weeks and have a tank sitter that is only responsible for feeding my fish. I've got a dendro colony that hasn't been fed for this whole time. I changed GFO and carbon before I left. Asked her to dose A and B daily but who knows if she did or not. Tank is a year and a half old and params have stabled off since April. I'll find out firsthand how stable and durable tanks can be lol

[Dearth]

I went 2 months without a water change had no issues at all everything grew as soon as I got back onto regular 2 week water change had 2 coral up and die. I find the less I do with my tank the better it runs the second I start making changes I start losing coral

[darkreef]

Not leaving it alone? When I forget about that space in my house it seems to thrive.
I think humans are the cause of tank crashs... I over react and seem to do more damage.