Aqua Keepers
New member
Looks great. I love the upgrades. I'm lookig foward to seeing your results with the BM250 after you add more fish as I am building a 125 BB SPS and looking at the 200 vs 250. I want to keep a high bio load.
Kong's Restored BB (90g)
- Thread starter King-Kong
- Start date
Trigeek
Member
Kong,
Corals are looking great. Nice healthy looking tips in all of the pictures. Have you thought about keeping your fish population where it is now for a while and adding more later? The reason I ask this is because of the removal of some your LR and recent change (or is it not that recent?) to this type of system.
Also, are you running any type of phosphate removing media, carbon, filter sock, fuge etc. or just using your kick-a$# skimmer and flow?
Corals are looking great. Nice healthy looking tips in all of the pictures. Have you thought about keeping your fish population where it is now for a while and adding more later? The reason I ask this is because of the removal of some your LR and recent change (or is it not that recent?) to this type of system.
Also, are you running any type of phosphate removing media, carbon, filter sock, fuge etc. or just using your kick-a$# skimmer and flow?
plyle02
Active member
Thanks again Kong!
I just removed all zoos, rics, and other colonizing softies to the fuge, and have managed to sell them all locally. In addition, I was able to remove about another 30lbs of LR, out of about 75lbs. So I am slowly removing LR from the system which does warrant a new scaping. I guess I am waiting for the SPS to get larger, and as they do I will remove more LR. I don't use anything on the bottom, and try to keep the glass clean. It is amazing how much better my corals look since the removal of sand. I also just upgraded to a Euro-Reef cs6-3 recirculating skimmer, which is about 3x that of my old skimmer. I will keep you posted, and maybe I can snap a few pics, and get your feedback/ advice.... Thanks again Kong!
Perry
I just removed all zoos, rics, and other colonizing softies to the fuge, and have managed to sell them all locally. In addition, I was able to remove about another 30lbs of LR, out of about 75lbs. So I am slowly removing LR from the system which does warrant a new scaping. I guess I am waiting for the SPS to get larger, and as they do I will remove more LR. I don't use anything on the bottom, and try to keep the glass clean. It is amazing how much better my corals look since the removal of sand. I also just upgraded to a Euro-Reef cs6-3 recirculating skimmer, which is about 3x that of my old skimmer. I will keep you posted, and maybe I can snap a few pics, and get your feedback/ advice.... Thanks again Kong!
Perry
King-Kong
New member
Well, I think our bacteria populations can double every 8 hours (or something like that, I dont remember), so I dont really have any fear of issues related to dropping a ton of fish in (Nothing happened when I dropped in 10 threadfins, though every day I lost 1 or 2). Remember, without a giant colony of bacteria in a sand bed, I have nothing that can "crash" or get angry at me for not being consistant. The extra ammonia would probably make my corals happy by quickly boosting their bacteria populations.
The system is really as simple as it gets. I cant wait to see where I stand in the next year, because if so, I think itll really be a testament to how "simple" these systems can be. I dont run carbon, GFOs, filter socks, a fuge, etc. I am even going to take a hiatus from water changes, and see how that goes. I'm only cleaning my skimmer regularly, feeding heavy 2-3x a day (mysis, flake, formula frozen, pellets), and enjoying the scenery.
It's just a huge skimmer, and great flow not allowing ANYTHING to settle in the display tank. Throw saturated kalkwasser through topoff to help a bit w/ phosphates and replenishing Alk/Ca, and that's it.
The corals actually got their dark colors from the bump in nutrients due to me going from aprox. 6 fish, to aprox. 12 fish and feeding heavy. That, coupled with all the detritus I STILL had in the display (due to the improperly setup faux-sand slabs) lead to a good amount of fertilizer for them. Now that the boards are properly setup, I want to be sure I dont slip back into an environment that is too nutrient poor, hence my need for more fish!
The system is really as simple as it gets. I cant wait to see where I stand in the next year, because if so, I think itll really be a testament to how "simple" these systems can be. I dont run carbon, GFOs, filter socks, a fuge, etc. I am even going to take a hiatus from water changes, and see how that goes. I'm only cleaning my skimmer regularly, feeding heavy 2-3x a day (mysis, flake, formula frozen, pellets), and enjoying the scenery.
It's just a huge skimmer, and great flow not allowing ANYTHING to settle in the display tank. Throw saturated kalkwasser through topoff to help a bit w/ phosphates and replenishing Alk/Ca, and that's it.
The corals actually got their dark colors from the bump in nutrients due to me going from aprox. 6 fish, to aprox. 12 fish and feeding heavy. That, coupled with all the detritus I STILL had in the display (due to the improperly setup faux-sand slabs) lead to a good amount of fertilizer for them. Now that the boards are properly setup, I want to be sure I dont slip back into an environment that is too nutrient poor, hence my need for more fish!
Trigeek
Member
I'm very interested in this type of system and husbandry. Love the clean look. I have a DSB, fuge which I also love but is a totally different type of husbandry. Keep this thread going through good and bad (hopefully no "bad" will happen!!!) and it will be a valuable learning thread for all. I'm subscribing, you've peaked my interest.
King-Kong
New member
My ricordia have actually done really well in the BB tank without feeding them. It just requires a good fish population. Same goes for my LPS (brain, favia). As long as there is a healthy amount of fish, I think they randomly catch food, and poop, plus prosper from their healthy zooxanthellae populations. There's nothing inherent about BB that says they cant prosper.
Good work on removing that extra rock!
Also, not having anything on the bottom gives you two great strengths: 1) you can fairley easy razor blade away any corraline that grows, you can always have an ultra clean looking setup, and 2) you def. have no issues anything getting stuck underneath or between boards!
Good work on the skimmer.. let it skim wet, and be sure you get that poop to it!
Looking forward to pics.
King-Kong
New member
Just as an FYI, my GF has a 30g tank in our dining room that I setup for her, and I consult on it for her. It is a DSB tank, no fuge, no skimmer, t5 lighting... so I am open minded when it comes to theory. She does all the maintenance and picks all the corals/fish and dictates the layout. I just give her advice
.She houses lots of softies and LPS in it, and was instantly able to grow montipora caps better than I ever was.
Thanks for the support, though, and I will try my best to keep the thread updating with any worthwhile changes
Aqua Keepers
New member
I've read some BB guys, if set up right, getting away with 5% water changes every couple of months
Trigeek
Member
I'm with you on the whole "open minded" thing. The BB v DSB debates are ridiculous because both can work with proper management. I'm running a DSB, so following someone with a BB will be great for me. Who knows, maybe someday I'll go the way of BB (or even a reverse UGF like Paul B. runs!!) and having some experience, though vicarious, will prove to be very helpful I'm sure!! This hobby isn't a pi$%^ng contest for me. Although my way is working for me, other methods are very intriguing and I really enjoy following others in their journeys. I've enjoyed following melev's thread and Paul B.'s thread because they share everything, not just their best pics/times. Any system has its challenges and it's helpful to know how others have tackled 'em.
Dubbin1
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10290237#post10290237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by King-Kong
You mean the before with all the hair algae?
I mean the one where it had all of the rock work. Now it just looks like a fancy frag tank. Don't get me wrong, the corals are AMAZING but I personally don't like the way it looks now. Of course its YOUR tank so it doesn't matter a lick what I think
plyle02
Active member
Kong,
Here is my recently re-scaped pics. I like the true bb approach, and will be there soon. Thanks again, any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Perry
These pics taken today, 2 days after the new scaping. Thanks Kong for the nudge(LR removal)
Here is what my tank looked like a few days before LR removal, and all other non-sps corals. I really like the open space now, and will probably remove about another 20lbs or more with in the next coming months, as my corals fill out........
Here is my recently re-scaped pics. I like the true bb approach, and will be there soon. Thanks again, any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Perry
These pics taken today, 2 days after the new scaping. Thanks Kong for the nudge(LR removal)
Here is what my tank looked like a few days before LR removal, and all other non-sps corals. I really like the open space now, and will probably remove about another 20lbs or more with in the next coming months, as my corals fill out........
Aqua Keepers
New member
Me likes the new scape Perry. You might wanna change your flow a bit as it looks like you got a lot of stuff settled on the bottom still.
MountainReef
Premium Member
I dont know much about the specifics of BB tanks but not having any substrate isn't it important to have more rockwork in order to colonize sufficient beneficial bacteria growth?
It looks really nice I am only wondering how long it will sustain itself without a crazy amount of water changes?
It looks really nice I am only wondering how long it will sustain itself without a crazy amount of water changes?
Froggy
Reef "Hobbyist"...right!?
It is my understanding that minimal rock in a BB tank is beneficial as it allows for proper circulation. Set up that way with HEAVY flow to keep detritus in suspension to be removed by the skimmer. Rocks piled up will only build up detritus etc. over time. BB tanks also use large oversized skimmers to remove organics in the water before they are broken down. Any settling ( should be minimal if flow is set up correctly) can be syphoned out as part of regular maintenance.
I do not currently run a BB tank but am considering it when I upgrade my 75 to a larger tank so BB experts please correct me if my info is wrong. I am still learning the approach before I apply it to the new tank in the future.
King-Kong
New member
Starboard or a cutting board material only does 1, maybe 2 things, that I can think of:
1) protects the glass (but most tanks have tempered bottoms, and would require a lot of force to break)
2) reflect some light back up towards the underneath of corals.
oh.. and a third reason, which was mostly why I did it... while im busy looking at my fish and corals, I like having a white bottom
Going with just glass, however, will allow you to keep the bottom in pristine condition.
King-Kong
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10290585#post10290585 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dubbin1
I mean the one where it had all of the rock work. Now it just looks like a fancy frag tank. Don't get me wrong, the corals are AMAZING but I personally don't like the way it looks now. Of course its YOUR tank so it doesn't matter a lick what I think
I dont know.. I've seen a lot of frag tanks in my day, and I've never seen any that came close to looking like this. I think if you saw it in person, you'd change your tune a bit
