[Nanook]

Many folks become "experts" and develop a Zen-like approach after a few years. They get cocky and don't test as much, they lose track of their chemistry, or they lose interest in their tank and their observation skills suffer. Many take time off during the summer and neglect their tank. Many rely on auto-topoff devices that can fail...risky.

If you have due diligence and good husbandry, along with a backup plan in case of the unexpected things that happen, you can be a bit safer. No guarantees that a tank can not split, or something spawns that destroys everything.

Good ideas for preventing tank disasters:

Get a generator for power failures, either an automatic one, or one that you are there for when the power goes out.

Get a reliable tank sitter when you leave town that can check on the tank every day, not just a family member with no experience.

Keep your heaters on controllers so they don't fry your tank as they are unreliable, but the controller is reliable. Use several smaller heaters instead of one big one, just in case.

Auto topoff disasters happen all the time, make sure you have failsafes in place. I use manual topoff.

Do not overstock your tank with fish! Every closed system is striving for homeostasis. Fish will kill each other off for territory, may take a week, may take 2 years. Everything is fighting to survive!

Spend a lot of time reading, get good at chemistry.