Has anyone had their tank for 5+ years?

[brccoins]

I've got a 55 reef that has been set up for a few weeks now and the service guy came to clean my tank this morning. He said that of all the hundreds of tanks he's managed throughout the years nobody has had one last for more than 5 years without at least one massive die off that kills every living thing in the tank. According to him it is impossible...it's going to happen sooner or later.

My question is can I prevent this if I keep on top of everything? I think it's kind of ridiculous to expect to replace everything at least once every 5 years not to mention the incredible waste of aquatic life that would go along with it. Your thoughts please.

[RamPuppy]

yes it can be prevented, there are some 20 year old tanks here on reef central, some even older than that i think, though, I can't remember...

perhaps the tanks crash because the service guy isn't very good at his job.

[Worldwithin]

I was able to easily keep my tank up and running for over 7 years before I crashed it due to poor maintence practices. My parents had theirs for at least 10+ years that I can recall before they took it down because they didn't have the time to put into it anymore. It can easily be done with effective maintence, and proper husbandry. If you don't over-populate your tank, and keep it well loved, I can easily see it lasting a lifetime.

:fish1::hammer:

[dc_909]

I have had mine for 5 years, but I have moved it 4 times. I had one "massive" die off that killed all my zoas, but left everything else.

[Travis L. Stevens]

Check out Paul B's 35 year old tank. I don't know if he's had any "Massive Die Offs" or not though (I don't think so at least)

[brccoins]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9514733#post9514733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RamPuppy
yes it can be prevented, there are some 20 year old tanks here on reef central, some even older than that i think, though, I can't remember...

perhaps the tanks crash because the service guy isn't very good at his job.

That's what I figured. In about a month I will start maintaining the aquarium myself and I plan to keep it healthy for well over 5 years.

[Snowboarda42]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9514892#post9514892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brccoins
That's what I figured. In about a month I will start maintaining the aquarium myself and I plan to keep it healthy for well over 5 years.

Yeah i was gonna ask why you have someone else maintaining your tank. It reminds me of rob schnider from deuce biggalo.

Speaking of deuce...

[AZDesertRat]

My 90G went over 14 years before I sold it complete and still going strong. My current one is over 3 now and as stable as can be. All it takes is a little regular maintenance and disasters can be avoided.

[beaglelax]

i have had my 75g going for 6 years now with no die offs , other then me changing the aquascaping and adding or minusing equipment nothing has gone wrong, i have 2 original fish from the start and many that have come and gone becuase they out grew or werent working out with the tank mates.

[oldschool reef]

15 years, still waiting for "crash":rolleyes:

[Satori]

Yeah, I would fire the guy who brags that he's killed every tank he's worked on... :lol:

[erendon]

120 Gal for 6 years ang going strong. In fact I just bought a 180 because my corals are growing nicely! No problems here.

[HoopsGuru]

January 2002 - 30g reef.

Regular maintenance on a DSB based tank. Monthly or every two months 10-20g water change and 0 supplementation. It is mostly soft corals like GSP, Xenia, mushrooms, etc. There is no biological reason why things would suddenly turn into a disaster if you don't have a catalyst (lack of changes, power outtage, etc.). Seems like the guy has an excuse for his potential failures.

[kappaknight]

Maybe the tanks he work on all have DSB's? Even that can be a stretch...

[drummereef]

I have had my tank about 10 years. I can't say that the tank hasn't gone through many changes over its time, but it has been running that long. The amount of changes in the hobby have been tremendous thats for darn sure. :)

I have kept a DSB since I started, btw.

[tangyreefer05]

I'de say that when a tank crashes theres lots of reasons but long term wise probably to due the owner not being as devoted and not maintaining the reef aswell as they should. Think of how many people setup a tank, and after 4 years just arn't into it as much anymore, a lot of that is to do with the weekly and almost daily tinkering/maintenance you do with aquariums.

So don't let the guy scare you, all he does is clean the tank right no service, is this worth the $?

Patience and a lot of research goes a long way. You'll be fine as long as you don't forget about the tank, it wont crash unless you let it

[DrBegalke]

i've had tanks for more then 5 years...

[supervdl]

Aren't most crashes more a result of some unforseen external desasters such as power outages, pump failures, something happened while being away, leakes etc. There should not be too much of the "it is five years - time has simply run out" problems like with an old car if you keep up with your regular maintenance.