n240sxle91
Premium Member
Ok, this update comes MUCH later than I had originally planned, but it's an update none the less! It's long, and I'm sure some/many of you will find it boring! That's ok, hopefully someone will benefit from it. If nothing else it's been kind of like journaling for me. 
A little over two years ago I started a new 360 gallon aquarium (400g system). I intentionally wanted to understock it, and I wanted to keep the system pest free and nuisance algae free.
First let me say that when I say nuisance algae free I don't mean completely free of algae. I understand that some will grow just from spores in the air. I'm talking about nuisance algae that hitchhikes with fish, rocks, livestock, coral.
So, I've had saltwater aquariums for about 18 years, and over those years every setup I've had ended up getting both pests, and nuisance algae. Sure I QT fish, but didn't QT cuc, LR, coral, or things like that. Of course every time I ended up with flatworks, hair algae, and a number of other pests. Ugh. When I setup this new system I decided something had to change. I decided I wanted to try my hand at starting with a sterile system and only introducing what I intending on introducing. Here is what I did, and the results after two years.
RULE # 1 of my new aquarium - NOTHING ALIVE GOES INTO THE AQUARIUM WITHOUT BEING IN QT FIRST! I'm not talking just fish and coral. This rule is for anything, and everything, that is alive.
For the first time ever I started with skipping LR. I love LR, and I love all that it brings to a system. However, I do NOT love the pests it brings along for the ride. So, I skipped the LR and went with dry rock. I cleaned it up really well, and gave it an acid bath. I then let it soak in RO water to make sure everything was good to go. For the same reason I skipped LR I of course skipped live sand too.
Once the rock and sand were in I used ammonia to start the cycle process. I followed the guidelines that others have used for this part. It worked perfectly fine.
After the system was cycled and ready for livestock I moved my then 16 year old (now 18!) pair of clownfish into their new home. I also had a flame angel, coral beauty, and a majestic angel that had been in QT for 8 weeks that were ready to join the clownfish in their new home.
To add some biodiversity to the "sterile" aquarium I ordered some copepods, amphipods, and a mix of beneficial algae. HERE is where I really changed it up. In the past I would have dumped that into my aquarium. Not this time. See RULE #1.
When I first did this I caught some flack for it. People said that this was probably going too far. That no matter what I did I was going to get nuisance algae and/or pests in my aquarium. My response to that was.... maybe.... but maybe not.
Ok, after two years of following RULE #1 I can report back that I have yet to have one single pest, or nuisance algae outbreak. Again, let me clarify this. Of course I had some algae. Even a completely sterile saltwater aquarium will grow algae from the dust in the air. However, I never once got hair algae, or any other type of nuisance algae outbreak.
Now, before you give me too much credit and say that the pests and nuisance algae are probably in my aquarium, but that my husbandry skills are so good that they don't show up, let me tell you that they aren't! Not proud of this, but it's true. Our kids take up so much of our time that the fish tank goes without water changes for WAY too long. Even so, I've never had nuisance algae/pest problems because they are not IN the aquarium.
To wrap things up, I am not saying this method is for everyone. However, it does work! With the wide variety of macro algae and little critters (copepods, amphipods...) available we can now select what we want in our tanks instead of throwing LR in and hoping for the best. This method worked great for me, and after 2 years I can honestly say that it can work for anyone who wants to take the time.
OK, sorry for the MASSIVE post. If you made it to the end I'm impressed!
Thanks for reading!
A little over two years ago I started a new 360 gallon aquarium (400g system). I intentionally wanted to understock it, and I wanted to keep the system pest free and nuisance algae free.
First let me say that when I say nuisance algae free I don't mean completely free of algae. I understand that some will grow just from spores in the air. I'm talking about nuisance algae that hitchhikes with fish, rocks, livestock, coral.
So, I've had saltwater aquariums for about 18 years, and over those years every setup I've had ended up getting both pests, and nuisance algae. Sure I QT fish, but didn't QT cuc, LR, coral, or things like that. Of course every time I ended up with flatworks, hair algae, and a number of other pests. Ugh. When I setup this new system I decided something had to change. I decided I wanted to try my hand at starting with a sterile system and only introducing what I intending on introducing. Here is what I did, and the results after two years.
RULE # 1 of my new aquarium - NOTHING ALIVE GOES INTO THE AQUARIUM WITHOUT BEING IN QT FIRST! I'm not talking just fish and coral. This rule is for anything, and everything, that is alive.
For the first time ever I started with skipping LR. I love LR, and I love all that it brings to a system. However, I do NOT love the pests it brings along for the ride. So, I skipped the LR and went with dry rock. I cleaned it up really well, and gave it an acid bath. I then let it soak in RO water to make sure everything was good to go. For the same reason I skipped LR I of course skipped live sand too.
Once the rock and sand were in I used ammonia to start the cycle process. I followed the guidelines that others have used for this part. It worked perfectly fine.
After the system was cycled and ready for livestock I moved my then 16 year old (now 18!) pair of clownfish into their new home. I also had a flame angel, coral beauty, and a majestic angel that had been in QT for 8 weeks that were ready to join the clownfish in their new home.
To add some biodiversity to the "sterile" aquarium I ordered some copepods, amphipods, and a mix of beneficial algae. HERE is where I really changed it up. In the past I would have dumped that into my aquarium. Not this time. See RULE #1.
When I first did this I caught some flack for it. People said that this was probably going too far. That no matter what I did I was going to get nuisance algae and/or pests in my aquarium. My response to that was.... maybe.... but maybe not.
Ok, after two years of following RULE #1 I can report back that I have yet to have one single pest, or nuisance algae outbreak. Again, let me clarify this. Of course I had some algae. Even a completely sterile saltwater aquarium will grow algae from the dust in the air. However, I never once got hair algae, or any other type of nuisance algae outbreak.
Now, before you give me too much credit and say that the pests and nuisance algae are probably in my aquarium, but that my husbandry skills are so good that they don't show up, let me tell you that they aren't! Not proud of this, but it's true. Our kids take up so much of our time that the fish tank goes without water changes for WAY too long. Even so, I've never had nuisance algae/pest problems because they are not IN the aquarium.
To wrap things up, I am not saying this method is for everyone. However, it does work! With the wide variety of macro algae and little critters (copepods, amphipods...) available we can now select what we want in our tanks instead of throwing LR in and hoping for the best. This method worked great for me, and after 2 years I can honestly say that it can work for anyone who wants to take the time.
OK, sorry for the MASSIVE post. If you made it to the end I'm impressed!
Thanks for reading!
