What is the average life of a salt water reef tank?
I dont mean the inhabitants living in the tank or the tank itself, I mean the average lifespan of the sand, rock, nitrifying bacteria, etc. In other words, does there ever come a time where the tank has used up its cycling potential to the point where you have to start completely over again?
Sand and rocks dont ‘wear out’ as such. And bacteria multiply and die off all the time. Mechanical things like filters and lights could wear out and need to be replaced, heck you could even transfer everything to a new tank if that wore out (started leaking).
If it’s maintained correctly it’s life is as long as you want it to be. A bit like asking how long a lake or river will last really.
Ian
January 10th, 2010 at 2:03 am
Not really. There are people that have had tanks running for 20+ years. There is a point where you want to upgrade your technology, such as pumps, filters, etc, and possibly replace your tank due to silicon wearing out. If you keep the tank stocked, then it will continue to go through the process of the nitrogen cycle.
January 10th, 2010 at 7:26 amReferences :
as long as waste ( nutrients for the bacteria) is produced the reef will stay alive, in nature for millions of years .
January 10th, 2010 at 7:50 amReferences :
Any maintained tank will last as long as the hobbiest. The only time you’ll have to do any serious changes are when the tank gets so old you need a new tank (I’ve seen 50 year old setups, so this is a while down the road) or if you want to change a lot of the system hardware. In general, most people get out of the hobby way faster than they would have any reason to do a major overhual.
Again… this is based on a well maintained tank.
January 10th, 2010 at 8:00 amReferences :
15+ years in the hobby
In nature they can stay allive for millions of years.Or ive heard.
January 10th, 2010 at 8:22 amReferences :
I know of 35 year old reef systems,that don’t have the benefit of modern gimics,like protein skimmers,and they are thriving. The question has the same answer as how long does a reef last? As long as we take care of them.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:11 amReferences :
Sand and rocks dont ‘wear out’ as such. And bacteria multiply and die off all the time. Mechanical things like filters and lights could wear out and need to be replaced, heck you could even transfer everything to a new tank if that wore out (started leaking).
If it’s maintained correctly it’s life is as long as you want it to be. A bit like asking how long a lake or river will last really.
Ian
January 10th, 2010 at 9:16 amReferences :