A simple solution for sps keeping idea.

[dzhuo]

- Daily / Every other day
Inspect Tank for any anomalies (aka stare at tank)
Test Alk (Hopefully this will be cut down to weekly soon)
Feed fish
Add Oysterfeast (when I remember)
Troll RC, and a few online vendors for interesting new corals (lol)
Day dream of opening up shop again (and remembering why I got out of it in the first place)

That's a lot more realistic but if you cut out your fantasy of opening a shop (which most people don't) and really isn't part of the system, troll RC (we all do), test alk daily (excess and not necessary but fine if you really feel the need), you end up basically feeding your fish and corals daily. And that's about it.

Once you get into the weekly or monthly routine, the tasks diverse sharply from there. For example, I don't run GFO, carbon, filter sock, kalk, or any addictives besides 2-part so there is nothing to clean or replace. On weekly basis, I do have to fill my ATO and empty the skimmer. Occasionally, I take out a bunch of marcos. On a monthly basis, I do water change from the sump and suck out debris as I see them.

That pretty much sums up my tank. The only regular routine missing is the occasional checking of alk, cal and mg (usually once a month but once you get these down pass the initial guess cycle, the need cuts down considerably) and refill the 2-part addictives (usually once every ~3 months).

There are many ways to run a tank and most people chose to run it more complicated than it really needs to be.

 

[dzhuo]

I enjoy watching my tank. And I also enjoy doing some maintenance for the tank everyday. Sometimes I even try to think of something to do to the tank. This is my hobby! If people don't like the chore they should drop out of it. This is my 2 cents.

You are completely missing the point. The idea of running a tank simple isn't because we are lazy, it's because you don't want to add unnecessary complexity and instability to the system all the time. If you are constantly "playing" with your tank trying out a gazillion different things (running GFO, switched to carbon, later try out carbon dosing and then suddenly bio-pellet is cool while you are at it, LED seems nice and the next new salt sounds incredible with this new company releasing a must-have addictive, etc. Believe it or not, that's how a lot of people run their tanks these days. That's my definition of not a simple system. It has nothing to do with the equipement, it's the owner who chose to run a complicated system) , the fish, corals and the system as whole will constantly have to adjust for the changes and would have the spend more energy to grow. It's not a coincidence that a mature system (also most stable) would yield the best result.

 

[barjam]

Hello. I would love to get some feedback on a KISS(keep it simple stupid) method of reefkeeping for sps. I am thinking of starting a new sps dominated reef with 1x 400w 14k metal halide supplipmented with 2 t5's. Flow will be a moded mp40. It will be a 30 gallon tank and I was wondering if I could bypass all the doising of elements and kalkwasser in the top off by just performing a 10 gallon water change a week? Along with good husbandry and a decent skimmer could I have thriving sps colonys. Thanks!

At a very minimum you will have to supplement calc/alk (daily at least) somehow. I think everyone here is assuming that you realize this is a given but I wanted to make sure.

I went with 2 peristaltic dosing pumps on a timer dosing diy 2 part.

 

[barjam]

That's a lot more realistic but if you cut out your fantasy of opening a shop (which most people don't) and really isn't part of the system, troll RC (we all do), test alk daily (excess and not necessary but fine if you really feel the need), you end up basically feeding your fish and corals daily. And that's about it.

Once you get into the weekly or monthly routine, the tasks diverse sharply from there. For example, I don't run GFO, carbon, filter sock, kalk, or any addictives besides 2-part so there is nothing to clean or replace. On weekly basis, I do have to fill my ATO and empty the skimmer. Occasionally, I take out a bunch of marcos. On a monthly basis, I do water change from the sump and suck out debris as I see them.

That pretty much sums up my tank. The only regular routine missing is the occasional checking of alk, cal and mg (usually once a month but once you get these down pass the initial guess cycle, the need cuts down considerably) and refill the 2-part addictives (usually once every ~3 months).

There are many ways to run a tank and most people chose to run it more complicated than it really needs to be.

I agree 100%. I have my tank setup that if I am busy with life I can go two months (when the diy 2 part runs out) doing nothing more than feeding once a day and cleaning the skimmer cup/skimmate container once a week.

 

[MammothReefer]

Oh dzhuo always so argumentative, everybody is wrong you're always right!

I'm testing alk 3 or so times a week now because I'm in an adjustment phase. I'm not sure if most people don't day dream of perusing a hobby as job seems like a pretty normal thing to me.

I don't use kalk or add any additives either. And, for a lot of people (I'd say most) maintaining an sps tank isn't as simple as you'd like to make it seem. Some people just seem to find a good rhythm of neglect (and I don't mean that in a bad way) that just works for them... ...or they simply don't care if a random frag RTN's now and then or don't even notice, or maybe have lost all the delicate things at this point so things just run smoothly with what's left. Most people however find that our tanks require a fair bit more attention. Sure if you tank has been running for years and you aren't adding anything new you get to a point where things just don't change you can bow out of a lot of things, but that's when people get to cocky and you see posts like "Everything is perfect why is it all dying?!". If guys like Steve West, and Tyree can have tank crashes / loose stuff so can us simpletons

That's a lot more realistic but if you cut out your fantasy of opening a shop (which most people don't) and really isn't part of the system, troll RC (we all do), test alk daily (excess and not necessary but fine if you really feel the need), you end up basically feeding your fish and corals daily. And that's about it.

Once you get into the weekly or monthly routine, the tasks diverse sharply from there. For example, I don't run GFO, carbon, filter sock, kalk, or any addictives besides 2-part so there is nothing to clean or replace. On weekly basis, I do have to fill my ATO and empty the skimmer. Occasionally, I take out a bunch of marcos. On a monthly basis, I do water change from the sump and suck out debris as I see them.

That pretty much sums up my tank. The only regular routine missing is the occasional checking of alk, cal and mg (usually once a month but once you get these down pass the initial guess cycle, the need cuts down considerably) and refill the 2-part addictives (usually once every ~3 months).

There are many ways to run a tank and most people chose to run it more complicated than it really needs to be.

 

[reefgeezer]

I just can't afford to be a slave to the tank. I like doing maintenance, but life just gets in the way. When I had the tank set-up so that everything was manual, the tank suffered when I got busy with other things. IMO simple means using equipment to reduce the extent to which your tank's health depends on you.

 

[MammothReefer]

Unfortunately things happen. Equipment fails, heaters go bad, pumps break, things need cleaning. I'm not saying this stuff happens every day but if you aren't pay attention when it does happen that's when tanks crash. My goal is to have my tank setup in a manner that somebody with little to no experience can run down a quick check list a couple times a week if I want to go out of town, or that I can leave for a long weekend without worry. 2-3 weeks, a month+ without my attention. That's a pipe dream.

 

[Allmost]

my tank is prety simple ...

flow and lighting of course, sump with a kone skimmer, and return. 40 lbs LR in 200 G system, I use tom aqualifters for dosing alk and ca++. have a PH monitor, which tells me if things are okay or not okay, [I only test KH for example when PH is off ! if PH is fine, I test for nothing]

and I spend like a couple hohurs nighly enjoying hte tank while reading something or drinking something.

clean the glass once a week. feed fish nightly.

and about 10-15 different zeovit aditives haha,

okay never mind

 

[Alex T.]

Well, the list isn't long enough. I am sure if you try a little harder, you can list:

21. Vinegar both all your powerheads.
22. Replace your broken return pump.
23. Upgrade to a larger tank.

You even have the nerve to list acclimating new arrivals as a daily routine. Amazing!

On a little more serious note. I would probably consider scraping coralline and film algae (along with feeding the fish) as a daily routine (I only need to do this every 4 to 5 days so it's not exactly daily as well) but that's about it. And I don't consider checking the health of my fish and coral as part of the routine either. That's done when I feed my fish and part of the reason why I set up a tank: So I can look and enjoy it.

If you end up having a tank and have to do all of the above as a daily (or even semi-daily) routines, you will get out of this hobby faster than you can type your next response.

Wow. So much anger. I said I "respectfully" disagree. I also didn't say that these things are done every day, but when you factor in the time to do these things over your "assumed" maintenance schedule it's quite a bit more than just dumping food in the tank every day. Also, when qt'ing anything, there is daily involvement if you run hyposalinity for fish and other ailments and pests that plague SPS corals. Weren't you the same person asking a few months back why your SPS corals were looking pale with no polyp extension only to learn that your ROX and light feedings were probably the culprit?

Responding to everyone's posts and determining a course of action was at least 10 minutes out of your day with regard to maintenance of your tank for that period alone.

Chill out. It took no "nerve" at all to post what I did, and your tone is laughable. This is a hobby. If you take it this seriously and enjoy attacking those that list their own experiences and observations then maybe it's time to practice some relaxation techniques. I was stating facts of what I and many hobbyists who keep SPS corals do to keep our tanks thriving and colorful. It's a bit more than feeding fish, as many newbies to SPS can attest. But you didn't like that. Oh well....life goes on. I look forward to your "no time needed whatsoever" posts in future threads.

Have a nice day.

 

[dzhuo]

Wow. So much anger.

No anger at all. After you have been a RC member for close to a decade and seen the countless silly-ness debates, nothing angers you. Really.

Weren't you the same person asking a few months back why your SPS corals were looking pale with no polyp extension only to learn that your ROX and light feedings were probably the culprit?

Absolutely. And that's a classic example of a complicated system which I no longer run.

I look forward to your "no time needed whatsoever" posts in future threads.

And I will look forward to your gazillion endless daily tasks of how a SPS tank should be run thread.

Have a nice day.

I always do especially when I can actually go home to feed the fish and enjoy the tank without endless tasks to worry about.

 

[dzhuo]

Unfortunately things happen. Equipment fails, heaters go bad, pumps break, things need cleaning.

Equipement failures are irrelevant with respect to how you run your tank. If you have a faulty heater, it will eventually fail regardless if you do carbon dosing or not, for example. This is part of problem every hobbyists face regardless your tank is simple or not.

However, if you do have to spend a lot of time handling equipement failures then I think there is definitely room for improvement.

 

[Logzor]

Getting back to the OP's question, regular water changes cannot fully keep up with the demand of your stony corals. Randy Homes Farley discusses this in his reef chemistry two-part articles.

In my system I need to content with a 1 DKH per day drop, if I waited 7 days to raise that my corals would be in trouble.

I run a Litermeter III two-part doser, it's nearly maintenance free and has been working great for years. So long as you test weekly and raise your dosing as needed, it's really simple, I just re-fill the 5-gallon buckets of two-part a couple times a year.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

I believe my tank to be pretty simple. I have 2 10w par30 bulbs, and an AC70 HOB filter with chaeto and chemipureE. I do a 1g water change about 3-4 times a week depending on how I feed, which takes me 10 minutes to baste the rocks and do the WC. I top off in the morning, and at night as needed.
I dont dose anything yet, because I dont know what my parameters are. The corals are encrusting and growing well, and I dont expect huge swings with the frequent water changes. It is simple, not TOTM kind of material, but it looks great and is showing me good results.

A few of those corals are new, so they kind of look out of place right now but in a couple months they will fit in nicely. Also, with decent trimming they will fill out well.

And the tank is 4 gallons BTW.

You need to leave some room for growth!

 

[Tommy Tang]

Well, the list isn't long enough. I am sure if you try a little harder, you can list:

21. Vinegar both all your powerheads.
22. Replace your broken return pump.
23. Upgrade to a larger tank.

You even have the nerve to list acclimating new arrivals as a daily routine. Amazing!

On a little more serious note. I would probably consider scraping coralline and film algae (along with feeding the fish) as a daily routine (I only need to do this every 4 to 5 days so it's not exactly daily as well) but that's about it. And I don't consider checking the health of my fish and coral as part of the routine either. That's done when I feed my fish and part of the reason why I set up a tank: So I can look and enjoy it.

If you end up having a tank and have to do all of the above as a daily (or even semi-daily) routines, you will get out of this hobby faster than you can type your next response.

what lights do you run over your tank?

 

[MammothReefer]

Equipement failures are irrelevant with respect to how you run your tank. If you have a faulty heater, it will eventually fail regardless if you do carbon dosing or not, for example. This is part of problem every hobbyists face regardless your tank is simple or not.

However, if you do have to spend a lot of time handling equipement failures then I think there is definitely room for improvement.

It's not irrelevant. If you don't pay attention to your tank and do the necessary maintenance your equipment will more likely fail, or you won't catch what could be a small incident before things spiral out of control.

Taking the time to test even when things "look" good, making sure your equipment is all in good order on a regular basis is in important for long term stability of your tank. These are things that prevent disaster down the road. Trust me I know from experience. Good quality equipment still fails. Reactors/Dosing pumps get clogged, tubes can leak, heaters break, return pumps fail, ato's stick, fish die and get wedged into things, algae clogs things up, skimmers pumps get gummed up with crap, propellers in even the most expensive tunze and vortechs fail now and then.

But you already know all this you've been running the same tank since '02 without a single loss! :ape:

 

[dzhuo]

what lights do you run over your tank?

I run a pair of 250W Radium with BlueWave.

 

[dzhuo]

It's not irrelevant. If you don't pay attention to your tank and do the necessary maintenance your equipment will more likely fail, or you won't catch what could be a small incident before things spiral out of control.

No. It's irrelevant in the sense that you have to do this regardless of how you run your tank. It does not make your tank simpler or more complicated. If your light bulb blow up, you have to change it whether you are running carbon dosing or not. If your heater is malfunctioning, you have to change it whether you run a skimmer or not. If your ATO is empty, you have to fill it whether you keep SPS or not. All these basic routines are necessary regardless how you chose to run your tank but they shouldn't be something you have to handle on a daily basic.

Paying attention to the tank is a given. That's why we chose to keep a tank in the first place: So that we can look at it.

You choose to run your tank complicated. It's not a requirement.

But you already know all this you've been running the same tank since '02 without a single loss! :ape:

02 is when I joined RC. I really have no idea how long I have been running tanks (both fresh and marine) before that.

No. I have killed fish and corals over the years. If you haven't, it just means you haven't stay in this hobby long enough but I have no idea why this has anything to do with this discussion?

I am guessing you are implying that you have an elaborated setup and you have not lost anything?

 

[MammothReefer]

No I'm implying that you come off rather abrasive and over opinionated. We've been down this road before You also make a lot assumptions about how people do things and tend to talk down to people. Those who live in glasses houses shouldn't throw stones.

Is my tank over complicated? Does the addition of filter socks being the only major difference in our systems a cause to label my tank "over complicated", or maybe that I need to re-dial in my alk to match a recent growth spurt in my tank a cause for to be labeled "over complicated" .

No I have never claimed not to have things die on me. I openly speak of tanks crashing and troubles I've had over the years I don't hide it like some people. See any of my build threads on this user name or my prior.

Do the things you have to do "regardless" not count as maintenance, and husbandry? Because I'm pretty sure when I tore down my tanks and took a break I didn't have to do or worry about anything reef related. All those things are apart of tank maintenance and husbandry. To assume all the little things are a part of maintenance is just silly. Do I top off manually, do I have an ATO? How big is the ATO Jug? What Type of ATO system do I have, how do I have it plumbed in? Do I have my RO/DI fill my ATO bucket w/a float valve or fill it up manually when needed. Is my float valve working, does it need to be cleaned, is my bucket dirty, are my hoses slimy, do they need to be replaced.. it goes on and on. All these choices/decisions create different levels of maintenance/attention required for our tanks, and that's just in regards to ATO. Pretending you like don't do anything but casually toss some food in as you walk by your tank every other day is really misleading to a lot of people as some people have this weird obsession with making it seem like everything is "no big deal" and requires no effort at all. The purpose these forums is for people to congregate and discuss how we keep our tanks, exchange thoughts and ideas around a central community of like minded people not to blow people off with this elitist "pssh I can do it without even looking at my tank so the rest of you smut be idiots attitude", It's not helpful.

On a side note you say these things happen regardless of the tank you run. I disagree you can get away with a lot if you run a softie or fowlr tank you'd be surprised. Top off one a week, tap water, no dosing or carbon reactor. Water changes bah what's that.. maybe once every 6 month, carbon I guess the tank is looking a little yellow... :ape:

 

[Allmost]

are we really arguing about this ? lets just stop, and not reply unless we have something for the OP.

lets focous on daily dosage, feeding, cleaning. that's it.

If I had 5 hours free every night, I would spend it looking at my fish, and corals, and equipments, but that' why I have them, to look at them and enjoy them, so looking at them doesnt count on maintanance. nither is me touchign the floor as I walk in after work to be sure no floods.

so for me ....

besides daily feeding, I dose alot of KZ additives, so my set up is not easy. nor simple, I have alot of problems when I go out of town.


my other 65G SPS tank, IS EASY, cause its in the basement of my parents, and has a 75 G Fuge on it. I do nothing to that tank, auto feeder for the 3 fish, and a calcium reactor. water changes, once in a blue moon, I change the water ... [top off, tap water]

 

[MammothReefer]

are we really arguing about this ? lets just stop, and not reply unless we have something for the OP.