Reefing_Toronto
Active member
I’m not sure. I’ve just never run a tank without one before. Since I still only have one fish I may try and just use water changes.
Reef Casa Studio 12 Rescape!
- Thread starter Reefing_Toronto
- Start date
vlangel
Premium Member
I think your reasoning is good. With only 1 fish you probably can get away with only water changes, especially when everything looks so good. If you start to see nuisance algae then maybe it's time.
I do not run a skimmer and I have 9-10 fish in a 56 gallon that I feed heavy. I do have a lot of macroalgae that are out competing nuisance algae and my tank is coming into it's 7th year so it's well established. I do a 10% water change weekly too.
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
The Reef Casa Studio 12 has been up and running for about 4 months now and I have to say that I've been nothing but happy with this little tank. I really like how simple it has been to set up and maintain. Water changes are a breeze with a tank this size and the precut filter floss makes it so easy to keep the water nice and clean.
I've added the media basket and that has certainly helped to organize my chemipure and other filtration. I am considering upgrading to the Sicce pump but I'm hesitant to mess with the success I have had so far.
I'm really happy with how all the corals are growing. I had a few issues with blastos at the beginning but I think that was my fault for putting them in too much light. I can't get over how great the torches are looking, considering how much trouble I have had growing torches in the past. The easy SPS corals are growing, although I think I need to move one of the forest fire montiporas out of the way of the NY Knicks torch.
I'm not sure where to go from here.. the top top ledge definitely needs more corals but I'm not sure whether I frag something out of my bigger tank or get something encrusting like a cyphastrea to give that ledge some colour. I think the sandbed is full, especially once the acans start to grow.
I've added the media basket and that has certainly helped to organize my chemipure and other filtration. I am considering upgrading to the Sicce pump but I'm hesitant to mess with the success I have had so far.
I'm really happy with how all the corals are growing. I had a few issues with blastos at the beginning but I think that was my fault for putting them in too much light. I can't get over how great the torches are looking, considering how much trouble I have had growing torches in the past. The easy SPS corals are growing, although I think I need to move one of the forest fire montiporas out of the way of the NY Knicks torch.
I'm not sure where to go from here.. the top top ledge definitely needs more corals but I'm not sure whether I frag something out of my bigger tank or get something encrusting like a cyphastrea to give that ledge some colour. I think the sandbed is full, especially once the acans start to grow.
Yes to cyphastrea but it might need to be lower down. I love how they can encrust over anything. You need a plating monti in there for a different shape.
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Getting some really good polyp extension on my sps corals. Granted I’m not trying to keep acros in this tank but the birdsnests, montipora and anacropora are all doing well!
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Very nice!
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Thanks for the encouragement!
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
No real changes to the tank this week, just moving a few things around here and there so I thought I would do a reflection post instead. I think a good title for it would be "The Beauty of Simplicity"
First off, a disclaimer, everyone's choices for how they set up their tank is a very personal and individual choice, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. My thoughts are just that, my thoughts, not a criticism of anyone who chooses a different route to reefing success.
I have run a number of tanks in the time I have been in the hobby and have had success and setbacks with all of them. RIght now, in addition to the Studio 12, I am running a Red Sea Reefer 200xl with an Apex, Radions, AI Nero wavemakers, dosers, basically the whole nine yards. Messing around with the gear is something that I enjoy and it's part of the fun but in that tank I have also had both success and failure. While it's looking pretty good right now in the last year I have lost: a) more acros than I care to count b) a torch coral c) zoas and d) a Hollywood Stunner Chalice. My conclusion here is that high end gear can be lots of fun and help make the hobby easier but is no guarantee of success. I lose corals in this tank not because my equipment is sub par, but because I'm still learning.
Similarly, I have had both success and failure in the Reef Casa tank. I have a beatiful torch garden, thriving Rockflower anemones and easy SPS corals that are doing very well. However, I have lost blastos and zoas in this tank too. I check alkalinity manually once a week and add a bit of All For Reef when it's low. I've never once checked any other parameters other than salinity. I am running the Halo light, which is a great light but not in the same league as a Radion. I don't have any wavemakers and am using the stock return pump. Basically I am keeping it simple!
I think my conclusion here is that gear is part of the fun of the reefing hobby but there is a law of diminishing returns at play. I lose corals not because of my gear, but because of my skills and I have success when I pick the right corals for the right tank, not because of my equipment. The Reef Casa Studio 12 is the perfect example of "simple is beautiful."
First off, a disclaimer, everyone's choices for how they set up their tank is a very personal and individual choice, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. My thoughts are just that, my thoughts, not a criticism of anyone who chooses a different route to reefing success.
I have run a number of tanks in the time I have been in the hobby and have had success and setbacks with all of them. RIght now, in addition to the Studio 12, I am running a Red Sea Reefer 200xl with an Apex, Radions, AI Nero wavemakers, dosers, basically the whole nine yards. Messing around with the gear is something that I enjoy and it's part of the fun but in that tank I have also had both success and failure. While it's looking pretty good right now in the last year I have lost: a) more acros than I care to count b) a torch coral c) zoas and d) a Hollywood Stunner Chalice. My conclusion here is that high end gear can be lots of fun and help make the hobby easier but is no guarantee of success. I lose corals in this tank not because my equipment is sub par, but because I'm still learning.
Similarly, I have had both success and failure in the Reef Casa tank. I have a beatiful torch garden, thriving Rockflower anemones and easy SPS corals that are doing very well. However, I have lost blastos and zoas in this tank too. I check alkalinity manually once a week and add a bit of All For Reef when it's low. I've never once checked any other parameters other than salinity. I am running the Halo light, which is a great light but not in the same league as a Radion. I don't have any wavemakers and am using the stock return pump. Basically I am keeping it simple!
I think my conclusion here is that gear is part of the fun of the reefing hobby but there is a law of diminishing returns at play. I lose corals not because of my gear, but because of my skills and I have success when I pick the right corals for the right tank, not because of my equipment. The Reef Casa Studio 12 is the perfect example of "simple is beautiful."
vlangel
Premium Member
Well said, Reefing_Toronto! I have tried multiple approaches in my 25 years of reefing and have settled in with your "simple is beautiful" method. It is working well for my reef as well.
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Can’t say no to that !More pics please
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
I added an Ink Bird temperature controller this week. I have one on my larger tank and I figured it would be a good backup in case my heater thermostat ever malfunctions (which from what I understand is a “when” not an “if”). The wiring in my cabinet is also starting to look a bit messy but the thought of taking it all apart and redoing it is a bit overwhelming!
I added a honeycomb lepastrea to the top ledge. I am going to see how it responds (there may be too much light) and if it does well I may get a couple more colour morphs and have them cover the entire ledge and take out the two small sps corals that are up there. In hindsight I think that ledge is too big because it creates a pretty big unusable space under it because of shadows. Does anyone know of any corals that will do well in almost total shadow ?
I have figured out the manual dosing requirements for the tank and a considering getting a dosing pump or perhaps replacing my single head pump with a dual head pump and doing both tanks with one.
Apart from that no real changes. Everything is still doing really well and the diatoms on the rock-work are finally burning off. Still thinking about adding one more fish but don’t want to mess with the nice little balance that seems to have established. Loving this little Reef Casa tank ! They have a stand available now that I’m thinking about but I’m concerned about moving the tank even if I take out the water, move it and quickly replace the water.
I added a honeycomb lepastrea to the top ledge. I am going to see how it responds (there may be too much light) and if it does well I may get a couple more colour morphs and have them cover the entire ledge and take out the two small sps corals that are up there. In hindsight I think that ledge is too big because it creates a pretty big unusable space under it because of shadows. Does anyone know of any corals that will do well in almost total shadow ?
I have figured out the manual dosing requirements for the tank and a considering getting a dosing pump or perhaps replacing my single head pump with a dual head pump and doing both tanks with one.
Apart from that no real changes. Everything is still doing really well and the diatoms on the rock-work are finally burning off. Still thinking about adding one more fish but don’t want to mess with the nice little balance that seems to have established. Loving this little Reef Casa tank ! They have a stand available now that I’m thinking about but I’m concerned about moving the tank even if I take out the water, move it and quickly replace the water.
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
This week was a week of a bit of re-organization. When I set this tank up I promised myself I wouldn't make the mistake of putting small corals too close together to make the tank look "full" right away. I was going to give them space to grow, knowing that over time the tank would fill in. And, of course, I put some of the corals too close together initially and now have to move them around, In particular the hammer corals were crowding each other and needed to be spaced out. I also have a feeling that my 2 torches are going to need moved around in the not too distant future as well to prevent them from shading each other too much. The corals on the sandbed are getting larger too and a few may need to be rehomed back to my larger tank.
I have been dosing AB+ in both my tanks to try and encourage my hard corals to grow and colour up a bit better and have gotten a bit of an algae problem in both tanks. I've never dosed or fed before because I've always run into this issue and even though I'm using about 1/4 of the recommended amount it didn't take long for some algae to pop up. I removed most of it manually and added an emerald crab to both tanks and hopefully that will get it under control. I plan to increase my water change volume slightly and stop feeding for the time being.
I think I am going to go forward with my plan to place a couple more encrusting corals on the top ledge to add a bit more colour and texture. I still think I need another fish in the tank but I'm not sure what. It has to be small and peaceful and easy to feed! any ideas?
I have been dosing AB+ in both my tanks to try and encourage my hard corals to grow and colour up a bit better and have gotten a bit of an algae problem in both tanks. I've never dosed or fed before because I've always run into this issue and even though I'm using about 1/4 of the recommended amount it didn't take long for some algae to pop up. I removed most of it manually and added an emerald crab to both tanks and hopefully that will get it under control. I plan to increase my water change volume slightly and stop feeding for the time being.
I think I am going to go forward with my plan to place a couple more encrusting corals on the top ledge to add a bit more colour and texture. I still think I need another fish in the tank but I'm not sure what. It has to be small and peaceful and easy to feed! any ideas?
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Last edited:
Legit rockflower.
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Thanks ! It was hiding for a few months but has decided to come out finally!Legit rockflower.
