What does Reef Tank Mean

[StrongBad]

So as the topic says, what exactly makes a tank a reef tank as opposed to a tank with live rock? Does it mean that the tank has coral and anemone's? I ask because I was just reading a classified post that asked "if the tank is pre-drilled (reef ready)".

 

[Andos99]

Seperate the two words and say it really slow. "Reef" "Tank"

Reef = A strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises to or near the surface of a body of water.

Tank = An enclosed, heavily armored combat vehicle that is armed with cannon and machine guns and moves on continuous tracks.

Oh wait, thats not right!! Shoot, I guess I don't know either.....

 

[StripesTheEel]

A reef tank is just a FOWLR + inverts, corals, anemones and the like.. this generally means more $$$ and alot more equipment like MH, skimmers, fuges, sumps etc..

 

[fishfreek]

Technicly if you have a FOWLR and you add a coral your tank is a reef tank. Now thats on the gross technical aspect. There are other more significant factors that make a reef tank a reef tank. High output lighting is required by the corals and other inverts that are often kept in reef tanks so a tank with regular florecent lighting and corals while might be classified a reef tank wouldnt really be a 'reef tank'.

Also most of us whom have reefs use sumps, refugiums and other forms of filtration that require water being taken from the main tank and circulated back into the main tank. This is accomplished with either hang on overflows or with built in overflows. This is where teh term 'reef ready' comes into play. What this means is the tank is built with built in overflows or at the very least has bulkhead holes already cut into the glass for an overflow and maybe even return plumbing. By no means is a reef ready tank limited to reef tank setups. There are freshies or even those whom are only keeping a FO tank that take advantage of sumps, wet/dry filters or refugiums and thus can utilize the built in overflows and return plumbing.

 

[StrongBad]

Awesome, thanks for the clarification. I guess I need an anemone then