What is a "matured" reef tank?

[whatcaneyedo]

As a general rule I like 1 year. Algae, bacteria, microfauna etc go through cycles and take time to build up and stabilize to match the bioload of the tank which continues to increase as the live rock cycles followed by the addition of fish and inverts. To me achieving a mature and stable system is not about constant temp, salinity and major trace element dosing, and intense lighting... its algae, bacteria and microfauna. Now if you can get matured live rock from an established system you can cut down on that time but for someone starting from scratch with rock fresh out of a shipping cooler its going to be a waiting game.