Filter-less 37g Cube Build

[theyammieguy]

I think it all depends on the attention you give your tank.
Stay on top of the water changes, scraping the glass, siphoning crap when possible and you should have success.
Slack off and it will go down hill, quick.

Love the tank, BTW.

 

[jenjen]

My 55g is filtrationless - no sump, fuge, skimmer etc. Just a tank and some powerheads. I decided to go this route because the tank sits in my dining room and I wanted clean lines (ie: nothing hanging off the tank). It sits on my china cabinet, so no room for a sump. I'm up to 5 months with no issues except some hair algae which is starting to receed.

I find the contrast between this tank and my other tank refreshing. Looking forward to following your progress.

 

[gkb]

jen*, I have a couple of questions.

How much water are you changing? I was considering a gallon or two a day.

Are you running a DSB? I am debating here.

What are the inhabitants of the tank? You can see my plans above.

Do you have desirable algae in the tank? If so, what types and quantities? I have ordered some, but am curious.

Is there anything you find that will not survive in the tank?

Any pictures you could share?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[jgrog76]

Your tank should be fine. I have a 50 gallon tank that has been running fine now for 2 years with only a small fuge and a return pump. I do have to powerheads for added flow. I change maybe 5 gallons a month. I have been using additions of baking soda to keep the alk up and sealab #28 blocks for CA. This goes against almost all recomendations on this forum. I know when it is time for a water change because I start to see small amounts of cyano, I add add baking soda when my plate does not extend fully during the lighting period, and I add a #28 block when it is gone. My growth is nothing to brag about, but everything grows fast enough for me. About every 6 months I get my water tested just to see what is happening long term. My nitrates have never been detectable. I keep two 12" rbta, 2 tomato clowns, 2 yellow tail damsels, normal crew of hermits and assorted snails, lps, zoas, chalice, and a few montis. I think the main key to my success is not over feeding fish or corals. Most fish in nature live on the brink of starvation. It takes me about 3-4 months to use 1 stick of cyclopeze. I am still on the same small container of freeze dried shrimp that I feed to the rbtas after a year of keeping them.

 

[jenjen]

jen*, I have a couple of questions.

How much water are you changing? I was considering a gallon or two a day.

Are you running a DSB? I am debating here.

What are the inhabitants of the tank? You can see my plans above.

Do you have desirable algae in the tank? If so, what types and quantities? I have ordered some, but am curious.

Is there anything you find that will not survive in the tank?

Any pictures you could share?

Thanks,
Greg

I change about 5gal a week, but with the HA I've upped that to 2x 5gal a week and it's getting under control.

I have about a 5" sandbed if it's level but it varies from 4"-6" in spots thanks to my pistol shrimp. So technically no, not a DSB.

Inhabitants:
pair of Clarkii clowns
Pistol shrimp/YWG pair
Tailspot blenny
(going to add a wrasse, but haven't yet)
various snails & hermits, conch
Corals are all low light softies:
zoanthids
clove polyps
GSP
Toastool leather
couple of mushrooms

I haven't done well with filter feeders so far (have moved out a clam & a lg feather duster), but it's a young tank and I assume this will change. I haven't added any algae's as of yet, but do plan to once the tank matures.

Current parameters:
ammonia=0
nitrate=0
calcium=380
sg=1.025
temp=79

Still working through the HA but here's a couple of pics.

 

[gkb]

A brief update for anyone following along.

The tank is cycling. The tank is cycling. The tank is cycling. A bit monotonous, no?

I added one more small bag of sand. The sandbed is now near 1 inch all the way across. I decided against a DSB, for previously mentioned reasons.

I added a bit of rock from my primary tank, to get at least some biology in the tank.

I floated a couple of large shrimp heads for a couple of days, and ammonia is stable at about 1.5ppm. I can't believe I am saying this, but I will be so excited when the nitrite test comes off of 0.

I did replace the Maxi-jet with a Korallia. It is a bit more attractive, broader flow, and a little more energy efficient.

I built a light diffuser out of black eggcrate. It is much less ugly than I expected. I will add screen over this initially, when the lights come on "for good." I will continue to seek a less powerful and less blue lighting solution, perhaps a 70w or 175w halide.

I ordered a number of macroalgae frags from lareefs.com. I just got them today, and they are nice. Louis at lareefs has been a great person to work with, and has sent some excellent corals and macros. The macros are currently living in the sump of the 125g, with a spiral 6500k bulb from Home Depot for lighting. They have the chaeto, some bugs, and a hermit crab to keep them company in the meantime.

I did acquire a couple of nice mushrooms and a Bowerbanki which will likely inhabit the tank, along with the critters I mentioned previously. I also put an order in for a world-class Ricordea (Florida). However, it won't be ready for a few months (Yes, I have ordered a living creature that hasn't even been born yet. Go, figure.). He/she/it will most definitely go in the new tank. Additionally, I have a green base Rhodactis Indo. on hold, and am considering a Dendro (I should have a rock ledge to put it under, and feeding it may serve as a food source for the remainder of the critters. The peppermint(s) can clean up the larger leftovers, if they don't steal the food out of the Dendro's mouth before it even gets a chance to eat).

As before, pretty boring stuff so far. I will take some more photos when the nitrites drop (if they ever show up), rockwork is in place, and macros and "tester" mushroom are in-tank.

 

[jenjen]

Any updates? You must be nearing the end of the cycle soon. Also, what macros did you end up with?

Not sure I'd add a dendro to a filter-less tank unless you can remove it to feed it.

 

[aykim2188]

What are the dimensions of your 37 gallon cube? Also what are the dimensions of the stand...is there space to fit a sump underneath? I am buying this exact setup from someone else and I wanted to know more about it.