Signs of good health reeftank

grayae4 · #1 12/27/2007, 05:03 PM

things you might see in your tank that tell you your doing the right things.

McTeague · #2 12/27/2007, 05:07 PM

Coralline algae growth, animals not dying...

Shooter7 · #3 12/27/2007, 05:12 PM

Yeah, things not dying is always a good one...

I'm happy to see small sponges start to appear in the rock, pods reproducing, corals coloring up well and growing, coralline growth, lots of filter feeders showing up, etc...

grayae4 · #4 12/27/2007, 05:17 PM

noticed small sponges come and go is that normal

SaltyDr · #5 12/27/2007, 05:28 PM

yes

Canarygirl · #6 12/27/2007, 05:35 PM

speaking of sponges coming and going, I noticed my two main sponges shrink down to almost nothing the other day, then come back almost to normal 24 hours later. What don't sponges like that would make them shrink up? (Oh, am I highjacking again?

sorry....)

grayae4 · #7 12/27/2007, 05:36 PM

why do the small starfish never fully develop/have hundreds of snails will they ever get larger(have 3 huge turbos)

InvaderJim · #8 12/27/2007, 05:36 PM

My tank has become populated with really tiny feather dusters lately. Sump included.

sundancer · #9 12/27/2007, 05:42 PM

Feather dusters here,too. I think you will know that you have a healthy,balanced tank when the amount of time spent on maintainence gradually decreases. More problems=more time.

grayae4 · #10 12/27/2007, 05:43 PM

mine are tiny red feather dusters

sundancer · #11 12/27/2007, 05:49 PM

Red ones here,too.

Canarygirl · #12 12/27/2007, 05:51 PM

red fans, not stalks, right? All of my mini-dusters have white fans. I want some red ones!

grayae4 · #13 12/27/2007, 05:54 PM

only have the red ones in sump . very small-

Paul B · #14 12/27/2007, 06:59 PM

I removed my RUGF once after the first 25 years and it was just full of those red feather dusters.
You should see all sorts of tiny things crawling all over the rocks, you may need a magnifying glass.
You should also see tiny worms.
As was said, not dying is good. Most reef fish should live between ten and fifteen years.

Mini Me6 · #15 12/27/2007, 07:09 PM

I noticed two small clams growing along with new snails on my glass. (very tiny)

Canarygirl · #16 12/27/2007, 07:18 PM

Quote:

I removed my RUGF once after the first 25 years and it was just full of those red feather dusters.

BTW, what does "RUGF" stand for?

Sk8r · #17 12/27/2007, 07:19 PM

mini brittle stars [lots]
bristleworms in decent abundance [1 per gallon, imho]
lots of mini dusters
random sponges
stomatellas
dove snails [colonistas]
coralline
fat but not obese fish
shy fish willing to come out [I'm a great fan of tanks where nobody is afraid to come out: they live there, after all, and shouldn't have to hide in their own home.]
clam happily extended and growing scutes.

greenbean36191 · #18 12/27/2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

why do the small starfish never fully develop/have hundreds of snails will they ever get larger(have 3 huge turbos)

The stars reproduce by splitting or dropping arms, so they're constantly short. The snails are either adults of small species like rissoids or Collonista or juveniles of larger species which are very tasty to fish.

McTeague · #19 12/27/2007, 09:42 PM

Quote:

BTW, what does "RUGF" stand for?

Reverse flow undergravel filter, not used much these days...

ACBlinky · #20 12/28/2007, 12:49 AM

Live rock that's teeming with life (pods, sponges, worms, algaes, etc), undetectable N and P, corals with good polyp extension and colour, fish that are fat and interested in what's going on around them - signs of a healthy tank aren't too hard to spot, they're basically the opposite of what you'd see if you were experiencing problems

Paul B · #21 12/28/2007, 06:20 AM

Quote:

BTW, what does "RUGF" stand for?

Yes, reverse undergravel filter, not used by anyone but me.

And I'm still using one after 37 years

zotzer · #22 12/28/2007, 08:45 AM

My micro-dusters are all light pink....very girly!

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