FarmerTy 215-gal No Water Change SPS Tank
- Thread starter FarmerTy
- Start date
Thank you!
The Oregon Tort usually runs about $50/USD at the swaps but I see it online for $80-$120 often. The rest like the ORA Hawkins echinata and ORA Chips are usually in the $30-40 range. Unnamed corals I usually see them in the $10-$25 range, depending how nice they are.
The Oregon Tort usually runs about $50/USD at the swaps but I see it online for $80-$120 often. The rest like the ORA Hawkins echinata and ORA Chips are usually in the $30-40 range. Unnamed corals I usually see them in the $10-$25 range, depending how nice they are.
biggles
Premium Member
Thanks for the info mate, i reckon those prices are bloody reasonable compared to a lot of online sellers. How long have you had the OT growing in your system if i can ask as i believe they are relatively slow growers and those frags look very decently sized.
Btw, i hope i'm not derailing things and i don't mean to make this a selling thread as i know it isn't, otherwise i wouldn't be talking to you..........
Btw, i hope i'm not derailing things and i don't mean to make this a selling thread as i know it isn't, otherwise i wouldn't be talking to you..........
MrineLfRlz
Active member
Awesome tank!
Please tell me what is your secret to no water changes whats your equipment do you dose can we see under the hood sump or fishroom exc...
May we see everything please
Please tell me what is your secret to no water changes whats your equipment do you dose can we see under the hood sump or fishroom exc...
May we see everything please
Sure, I'll snap a picture in the morning. It really isn't anything spectacular.
Tank is maintained with a large skimmer, CaRX, biopellets, GFO, and carbon. I dose aminos about 2x/week and feed my fish like there's no tomorrow. I don't use filter socks, vacuum the sand, or even vacuum out the sump ever.
To me, water changes become unnecessary once nutrient management and supplementation of trace elements have been achieved.
I consider myself a lazy reefer. Why do water changes at all if the two goals of water changes, nutrient reduction and replenishment of trace elements, can be achieved via other methods? Sure, I understand there are a myriad of elements that are not being replenished by the CaRX but whatever they may be, my old 125-gallon didn't require it for 3 years and my current 215-gallon hasn't required it yet either so far(2 years).
Am I delusional to think this might work forever? No, I feel like eventually there might be a trace element that will need to be added to the system... Something I can't test for and don't even realize the importance of until it is depleted... But until then, I'm pretty happy not doing water changes for a few more years.
Tank is maintained with a large skimmer, CaRX, biopellets, GFO, and carbon. I dose aminos about 2x/week and feed my fish like there's no tomorrow. I don't use filter socks, vacuum the sand, or even vacuum out the sump ever.
To me, water changes become unnecessary once nutrient management and supplementation of trace elements have been achieved.
I consider myself a lazy reefer. Why do water changes at all if the two goals of water changes, nutrient reduction and replenishment of trace elements, can be achieved via other methods? Sure, I understand there are a myriad of elements that are not being replenished by the CaRX but whatever they may be, my old 125-gallon didn't require it for 3 years and my current 215-gallon hasn't required it yet either so far(2 years).
Am I delusional to think this might work forever? No, I feel like eventually there might be a trace element that will need to be added to the system... Something I can't test for and don't even realize the importance of until it is depleted... But until then, I'm pretty happy not doing water changes for a few more years.
As promised! I'm never going to win a prettiest sump award but...
Main things that have worked for me for 5 years with no water changes between my former tank and current one are:
1) CaRX - must-have for rock solid alk and Ca levels. Mine also keeps my Mg in check pretty well and dare I say, some other trace minerals from the melting of the media. Something you don't get with 2-part in my opinion.
2) Aggressive nutrient removal via monthly GFO (phosphate) and carbon (organics) changes, running a good amount of biopellets (nitrates), and an over-sized skimmer at roughly 2x the stated capacity. My Reef Octopus is rated for 500 gallons... my total water volume is about 250 gallons.
3) Make sure that RO/DI is giving you pure water! I change all my filters and DI resin every 6 months like clockwork. I've had outbreaks of cyano, diatoms, dinos, and other microalgaes just letting the filters sit too long. When RO/DI water is the main addition to your tank daily for years, let's make sure its pure.
4) Test, test, test! I'll admit it, I'm a testing fool! Blame the former scientist in me. In the initial, as you prolong your time between water changes, monitoring nutrient levels is vital. As you see peaks and spikes associated with nutrient levels disappear, you can slowly omit water changes. It's easy to dial in your CaRX immediately, set it and your alk/Ca stay pretty locked in. But running biopellets, heavy skimming, and GFO usage gives you all these peaks and valleys in nutrient levels. As things start balancing out and your bioload stabilizes as well, you'll see little change in nutrient levels and at that point is when I cut the cord and stop doing water changes... granted I keep monitoring levels to make sure it stays stable.
4) Feed like there is no tomorrow! My tank gets fed 5 times a day and a heavy feeding at night. We're talking animal planet special on night dives over coral reefs feeding... the water is drowning in mysis, worms, pellets, flakes, nori... Etc. Just make sure you ramp up the feedings slowly. Don't start dumping 5 cubes into your system and think that's not going to affect your nutrient levels at all. I'm a firm believer in heavy import, heavy export for my reefs.
Hope that helps!
Main things that have worked for me for 5 years with no water changes between my former tank and current one are:
1) CaRX - must-have for rock solid alk and Ca levels. Mine also keeps my Mg in check pretty well and dare I say, some other trace minerals from the melting of the media. Something you don't get with 2-part in my opinion.
2) Aggressive nutrient removal via monthly GFO (phosphate) and carbon (organics) changes, running a good amount of biopellets (nitrates), and an over-sized skimmer at roughly 2x the stated capacity. My Reef Octopus is rated for 500 gallons... my total water volume is about 250 gallons.
3) Make sure that RO/DI is giving you pure water! I change all my filters and DI resin every 6 months like clockwork. I've had outbreaks of cyano, diatoms, dinos, and other microalgaes just letting the filters sit too long. When RO/DI water is the main addition to your tank daily for years, let's make sure its pure.
4) Test, test, test! I'll admit it, I'm a testing fool! Blame the former scientist in me. In the initial, as you prolong your time between water changes, monitoring nutrient levels is vital. As you see peaks and spikes associated with nutrient levels disappear, you can slowly omit water changes. It's easy to dial in your CaRX immediately, set it and your alk/Ca stay pretty locked in. But running biopellets, heavy skimming, and GFO usage gives you all these peaks and valleys in nutrient levels. As things start balancing out and your bioload stabilizes as well, you'll see little change in nutrient levels and at that point is when I cut the cord and stop doing water changes... granted I keep monitoring levels to make sure it stays stable.
4) Feed like there is no tomorrow! My tank gets fed 5 times a day and a heavy feeding at night. We're talking animal planet special on night dives over coral reefs feeding... the water is drowning in mysis, worms, pellets, flakes, nori... Etc. Just make sure you ramp up the feedings slowly. Don't start dumping 5 cubes into your system and think that's not going to affect your nutrient levels at all. I'm a firm believer in heavy import, heavy export for my reefs.
Hope that helps!
MrineLfRlz
Active member
Thank you very much for sharing!
The info on most everything i have for my system is in my signature area except i will be going back to t5 lighting and hopefully before the end of this year i will get a calc. reactor going my alk. isnt stable enough with dosing 2 part and the more i read of how solid calc/alk is with one i want one even more!
The info on most everything i have for my system is in my signature area except i will be going back to t5 lighting and hopefully before the end of this year i will get a calc. reactor going my alk. isnt stable enough with dosing 2 part and the more i read of how solid calc/alk is with one i want one even more!
makers marc
New member
Tybota,
So, when you started using biopellets did you notice any bacterial "white fuzz growth" all over your DT and live rock? I did when I used vodka, I wonder if its b/c I accidentally overdosed for one week (put in 8ml instead of .8ml), but I read that bacteria has to grow somewhere so there's no way to control where if you carbon dose.
So, when you started using biopellets did you notice any bacterial "white fuzz growth" all over your DT and live rock? I did when I used vodka, I wonder if its b/c I accidentally overdosed for one week (put in 8ml instead of .8ml), but I read that bacteria has to grow somewhere so there's no way to control where if you carbon dose.
That's definitely signs of an overdose. The beauty of biopellets is that the bacterial growth is contained within the confines of a reactor and the effluent is either directly plumbed to the skimmer or in its vicinity. Thereby, the bacteria is produced and removed from your system without affecting anything in your display.
makers marc
New member
Less precise control meaning, you dont know how much to start using? And how to adjust?
For me at least, when I was vodka dosing, if I was stripping the nutrients out too much, instead of adding 2 ml/day, I'd add 1.8 ml/day to correct.
With biopellets, if I was stripping the water too much, it was hard for me to remove a specific amount of biopellets the same way you would with a volumetric dose like vodka. Do I remove 20 pellets and hope that lowered the removal of nutrients? Only point I was making there.
I'm trying to distract people from his destructiveness! Shhhhh!!!
