What is a "matured" reef tank?

[mrhasan]

Well this is going to be a very interesting topic to discuss

In many articles, it is suggested to wait for six months to over a year in order for the tank to mature before putting anything that is considered moderately difficult in the hobby, like SPS, anemone and starfish.

To me, if I can achieve a stable system from the first day (consistent temp and salinity, proper dosage for the big three, proper lighting and so on), I don't see the reason for waiting a year to put in, say, an SPS. I can understand waiting for few weeks to tweet things up and I can also understand a new hobbyist taking time to learn about the system and taking things slowly. But I don't see the point of waiting for an experienced reefer for the tank to "mature". Overall, I struggle to see the reason behind associating a timeline with the maturity of the tank. To me, it seems more like the wait is associated with the reefer becoming matured (for taking care of the tank) than the tank itself.

Would be great to see the point of view of others. Hopefully won't start any ugly debate

[iamfrontosa]

I think mature in terms of biological filtration. Maintaining the big three is easy in my opinion.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by iamfrontosa

I think mature in terms of biological filtration. Maintaining the big three is easy in my opinion.

I completely forgot to write about bio filtration, good point!

Using cured live rock would address that plus there are products out there that works great. If you wait for a year and then suddenly dump 1 fish per 10 gallon of water volume, the parameters will get thrown off no matter how long you wait for the tank to mature but then again, I may be wrong. To grow biological filtration, adding inhabitants slowly over time makes more sense (to me) than waiting for the arbitrary maturing time.

[whatcaneyedo]

As a general rule I like 1 year. Algae, bacteria, microfauna etc go through cycles and take time to build up and stabilize to match the bioload of the tank which continues to increase as the live rock cycles followed by the addition of fish and inverts. To me achieving a mature and stable system is not about constant temp, salinity and major trace element dosing, and intense lighting... its algae, bacteria and microfauna. Now if you can get matured live rock from an established system you can cut down on that time but for someone starting from scratch with rock fresh out of a shipping cooler its going to be a waiting game.

[Dearth]

You can put fish, coral and inverts in almost immediately after cycling the tank as there are foods and additives that can be used to keep these alive however to me a matured tank is one where a copepod population is alive and thriving as they for many are the base foods for so many things if your tank can support a healthy population of pods without having to continuously reseed with pods you have a mature healthy tank IMO.

[Delphinus]

I consider it more a guideline rooted in "best practises."

It is not a magic number that poof, after 6 months your tank is ready for say anemones. But a person setting up a new tank might be gung ho to add anemones or other really sensitive critters (and remember the definition for "sensitive" in this context really means "they die easily and sometimes for no apparent reason") it is better that they give their tank some time to truly establish enough biological capacity towards resiliency because there are a lot of things going on that you don't always see and this can increase the risk towards some of those creatures. So by advocating a wait for 6 months you're hedging the bets in favour of more success. Also if the aquarist in question is a newby they can use that time to learn and padawan themselves up in the meantime and honestly that journey in itself can be a lot of fun (I just love reading about how someone new to the hobby talks about how awesome it is to look in a tank and then be surprised by some kind of new copepod or whatever that they hadn't seen before.).

Anyhow in my opinion though a tank hasn't really settled into its mature character until the 6 month mark. Doesn't mean I woudn't keep stuff in it before then but I do expect to see the odd algal bloom here or cyano there or diatoms ... it's like each "thing" needs to have its moment and crest, and once all those are done the tank is in a more steady-state situation and you can have a little more predictability that way.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I've done "instant reefs" before by simply moving live rock from one tank I'm tearing down into a new one I'm setting up. However, I usually have multiple tanks set up at any one time, so I have an "insurance" factor built-in in case something goes wrong, like a nutrient spike or bad algae bloom. So yes, using mature live rock from an existing system can cycle your tank, but there's always a small chance of die off (like sponges from being exposed to air during the transfer). I would NOT call any of these "instant" reefs mature right away.

A mature reef is one that is no longer in danger of going through the normal growing pains or has already experienced and gotten past issues like diatom or algae blooms that is quite common for newly set up reef tanks. Rather than applying the term "mature" to a specific time frame, to me it means the tank has already stabilized, corals are growing well, and there is a growing biodiversity as arthropods, copepods and/or live mysis are now breeding and multiplying in the rockwork and/or sump. And yes, how soon one reaches that stage of tank maturity has a lot to do with the reefer's experience, but it will still take time for everything to settle out and stabilize.

[gobytron]

Your tank is not mature until you've successfully fought off Aiptasia, Hair Algae and Cyano or Dinos'.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by gobytron

Your tank is not mature until you've successfully fought off Aiptasia, Hair Algae and Cyano or Dinos'.

And heater issues apparently

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

... Algae, bacteria, microfauna etc go through cycles and take time to build up and stabilize to match the bioload of the tank which continues to increase as the live rock cycles followed by the addition of fish and inverts ...

Although everyone has stated very good info on why, and I agree with all they've written, I think Russell hit it on the head first.

Raied I don't think you fall into the 'newbie' category by any means Bud.
Mature, in this case, applies to your tank, not your knowledge/skills.

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

And heater issues apparently


Although everyone has stated very good info on why, and I agree with all they've written, I think Russell hit it on the head first.

Raied I don't think you fall into the 'newbie' category by any means Bud.
Mature, in this case, applies to your tank, not your knowledge/skills.

I'd agree.

You're just not a seasoned reefer until a piece of equipment has failed and caused a significant issue.

Might even go so far as to say you're not a seasoned reefer until something beyond your control has decimated your tank and forced you to start from scratch.

If you pick yourself up, dust your equipment off and keep going, you're in the club.