Does tank age (beyond cycling) matter when keeping SPS coral?

[Lebowski_]

I've read some wildly different opinions.

Many hardcore SPS guys in my area say the age of the tank is key to healthy SPS. I've also seen tank journals on this very site with very healthy Acros within the first few months (post tank cycle).

 

[The_Paradox]

I add sensitive inverts, acros, sponges, etc usually around 6 months. I usually go by 60 days post “ugly” phase if I have 60 days consistent tests. There have been times it went quicker there have been slower times. I personally see no point waiting longer if your rocks are seasoned, ugly phase is behind you, and tank is stable.

 

[Aaron75]

The importance will always be stability. And a mature tank will be more stable than a new tank. Maturity is typically considered to be around the 6 month mark.

 

[MoshJosh]

I am not sure "matters" is the right word. I think it is absolutely possible to add SPS, including acros, to a new tank (after cycle). That said, sensitive corals SHOULD do better with stability, and an older tanks SHOULD be more stable. Older tank may also have micro organisms that a new tank doesn't (or at least not in large enough populations to make a difference).

 

[vetteguy53081]

A stable environment is best scenario for sustaining SPS coral.

 

[Lebowski_]

I am not sure "matters" is the right word. I think it is absolutely possible to add SPS, including acros, to a new tank (after cycle). That said, sensitive corals SHOULD do better with stability, and an older tanks SHOULD be more stable. Older tank may also have micro organisms that a new tank doesn't (or at least not in large enough populations to make a difference).

Well said!

Love learning from all the vets on here.

 

[MoshJosh]

Well said!

Love learning from all the vets on here.

I'm no vet so take my opinions with a grain of salt ahaha but thank you!!!

 

[The_Paradox]

Think this goes without saying, but always good to canary test. Once you think you’re ready, throw some BS cheap coral of whatever type you like in the tank and see how it does before dropping 500+ per frag.

 

[90's reefer]

It really depends how you start your system.
Use live rock from another system and no cycle. Add corals based on your experience.
I have done this numerous times.
Stability is paramount.

 

[Borat]

Yes, maturity is very important. Once you added Dr Tims and a few other chemical additives to your new tank, you should wait for at least 3 days before rushing to LFS and starting to add lots of clownfish, blue regal tangs (aka Nemo fish) and high grade SPS corals.

Then when neighbour Bob comes around - you can humiliate him by having more expensive corals and more fancy fish per square inch of your tank space.

 

[srobertb]

Yes. Next question. Sorry. Kidding (mostly).

SPS is a blanket term much like “granite countertop” when in reality my kitchen countertop is a mix of 5-10 different materials including granite and quartz and biotite and the list goes one. My outdoor granite countertop is actually onyx…and that’s a whole ‘nother pedantic can of worms. Yet the receipt for both says granite and I bought it from a granite dealer.

SPS covers a lot of ground here. Something like a bubblegum digi, birds nest, or stag horn is considered an SPS and would probably grow in table salt and tap water with you stirring it a few times a day vs some other acros that will die if you look at them wrong. What will REALLY bake your noodle is that you can have fantastic growth and the coral will turn brown. Is your noodle baked yet? No? Well then ponder this: No two tanks are the same. What works for one will not work for some and the reasons extend beyond lighting and flow.

Would I stick a rare wild deep water acro in a 6 month old 60g budget tank that I’ve packed full of tangs and clowns and every $20 frag I could find on day 1? No. I don’t like killing things or wasting money and that’s a good way to do both. Would I stick it in a 3 month 60g well budgeted tank with a pair of clowns? Getting closer to a yes.

I love metaphors as you can plainly see. Think of your coral like a freight train. It takes tremendous amount of effort and stable force over time to get it up to speed. Once it’s up to speed, it will run well. If it goes too fast, it will crash. If it has to suddenly stop…well you get the idea.

A year old tank is matured and stable. Partially because science and chemistry but also partially because you have matured. You’ve got a system, you have stability, you have intuition; you aren’t changing lighting and pumps and sticking your hand in the tank 3 times a day.

Let’s keep going:

I don’t like killing things. I hate it. Yes I have killed fish and coral due to lack of knowledge and hubris and even impatience. But I have learned from my mistakes and more importantly I have weighed the anecdotes of others to temper my own flaws and become better at it. I would say I am now successful.

I am thoughtful about whether or not I have created the best situation for anything living under my care, from crotch goblins to peppermint shrimp, and encourage others to do the same.

Yes people do it. It is not best practices. It is not what is best for the living creature in your care.

But…it won’t be difficult to find at least one person on here who gives you the answer you want

 

[Lavey29]

You can add any coral anytime you want once the tank has water and lights. Now, will you be able to successfully sustain that living animal in an unstable new tank environment with various ugly phases occurring the first year? I think highly skilled experienced reefers have better odds then the rest of us who would just be throwing money away on SPS frags. I tried a few simple easy SPS at 8 months with no success. After a year my tank really transformed and stabilized for me with lots of coralline. Slowly added SPS and didn't lose anything. Now have 38 frags that have grown into colonies at the 2 year anniversary for the tank. Stability is key.

 

[bushdoc]

I had large mixed reef tank, which I had to brake down due to majano infestation, but before that, montis, sps, chalices were thriving there. Tank was 8y/o. My new tank is established on mixture of Marco Rock,Aussie Rock and TBS rock and is now 8m/o.
Hammer, duncans, zoas, euphylias are thriving there, but so far my attempts to introduce sps or montis failed.
I will wait few more months and try again.
Chemical parameters are stable, I am not playing with lights or flow, so there must be something different. I have a feeling that microbial biom is the important factor.
If only our snake oil manufacturers provide me with that secret bacteria in the bottle I need!

 

[HomebroodExotics]

I’ve added sps as soon as 2 months in a new tank. Possibly could be done sooner without a problem. It mostly depends upon your skill level and methods for running a reef in my opinion. I just wait until the tank looks “right” to me which has taken experience to learn. However the longer you wait the better chance of success if you’re new and inexperienced. There’s a lot of things that have to be worked out first such as lighting, flow, and proper parameters. The faster you get those things correct the faster the corals will thrive.

 

[Dburr1014]

100%. It depends on the reefer and his experience.
New reefers have a learning curve and the tank has a curve also as far as microbiome and such.
Experience reefer will start with actual live rock from an old system or from the ocean, thus being able to add SPS right away.
So I voted one year but that's not necessarily true. There's a lot of factors that go into it, but if somebody is new to Salt were to ask me when to add SPS, I would say wait a year.

 

[Lebowski_]

Yes, maturity is very important. Once you added Dr Tims and a few other chemical additives to your new tank, you should wait for at least 3 days before rushing to LFS and starting to add lots of clownfish and high grade SPS corals.

I skipped Dr. Tims and added LR from a fellow reefers tank - have heard Dr. Tims is a good solution, though.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I started from scratch with a brand new tank, sand, artificial rock, etc. 7 days after putting water in the tank, I added 4 Acropora frags. Over the next month, I added 6 Maricultured Biota Acropora colonies.

The tank age helps if you're not extremely good at reading your tank and knowing how to, and not to, respond. The worse issue I had was the ugly phase that I was able to knock out completely in a couple of weeks.

I will say that around the 4 month mark, the tank just changed for the better. You could just see it and parameters started to settle in, etc.

If you're not really, really good at water chemistry, lighting, flow, additives, etc. then definitely wait and let the tank get established. However, someone could start SPS in a 3 year old established tank and still kill them because they can't keep their Alkalinity stable. It's the small things that lead to disaster.

 

[ScottB]

It is possible to add SPS within weeks of start up. I spent a few years helping my LFS do just that for new build customers. It is more expensive to do "insta-reef" but we did it many times. In the build I link below, the client paid over $2,200 for live rock alone. In my experience, all live rock is the only way to go instant. We added fish as soon as the tank made it to temperature and corals a week or two later. I waited on some of the SPS. Odd;y, the only thing that didn't take was the "indestructable purple stylo" lol.

Yeah, there are some losses to be expected. And yeah, there are often some mild ugly phases to get through, but it is entirely doable.

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[Wasabiroot]

I've never tried to before about a year in. I'm sure if you're on top of everything, are diligent about monitoring, etc you would be able to, but there are so many changes happening in a new tank that it would be "hard mode".

 

[Troylee]

Keep up with water changes and you’ll be fine.. also stick to home grown acros for the first few months for great success… wild and maricultured are very finicky and get the best of even experienced reefers..