Who runs the simplest system here?

[brianr24]

ATO?

THat's one thing I could never go without again. Especially on a smaller tank.

Naa I had one years ago I think a snail burned up the motor I forgot exactly what happened but the motor burne up. I just top off every day or other.

 

[jlmawp]

9-gallon with a simple pump that has a built-in sponge filter. That’s pretty much it.

It’s been 3 years now on this tank and I still like putting the time in to keep it clean and healthy, which I think is more time than those with more equipment, unfortunately.

 

[JMetaxas]

You need to tell your daughter to worry about her own Carbon footprint and when she's an adult, she can live in a grass shack with no heat.:hmm4::hmm4::hmm4:

You pay for her college and she's telling YOU what to do??

My end goal is carbon footprint. I want to double the size of my tank, but keep the power usage the same. Not because I can't afford it, but because my daughter, who I put through college, now thinks she's smarter then me and asks some hard questions about my hobby.

Goes something like this:

Dad, don't you think it's best to leave these organisms on the reef?
Honey, those critter's are tank raised, the corals are frag's grown out from other Hobbiest tanks, same process that happens when storms hit a reef.
But dad, what about the power usage and the carbon footprint?
No different then you getting in your car and driving over to see dear ol dad.
But dad, I have to have a car to get to work, and come see dear ol dad, but you don't NEED a reef tank.
Kids! Roll of eyes. :spin2:

Nobody talks about this side of the hobby. Even BRS's latest blog on the best reef lighting for a reef didn't even include in their equations power usage.

 

[Fourstars]

First off she’s an adult now. And it was an honest conversation between two adults. I did not help pay for her college so she could agree with all my decisions, nor to have the same values as me, but to be a freethinker. I know it’s a hard inconvenient discussion to have, but do try to keep up.

 

[tkeracer619]

Just bring her on over to my house... She'll never look at your tank the same way :lol:

On the scale of things I'd say you're already on the low side of things. But, if you're trying to double up to a 500gal tank I can tell you now... in Colorado depending on if you have a swamp cooler or air conditioning LEDs may not save you anything in electricity. It takes a lot of power to bring the temp of the tank up to acceptable levels. What you save in lighting costs will mostly be lost in heating costs.

 

[Fourstars]

I just read your signature! I'm just trying to get to a 150 gallon tank at this point. I'd love to see your setup sometime, but i think i'll not invite my kid. She can be really Downer.

 

[Timfish]

10 years. 4 small powerheads. No sump/refugium, no skimmer, no reactors or autodosing, no ato. (Baking soda or CaribSea's aragamite added occasionally with water changes.) 5%-10% water change every 2-3 weeks, evaporation is replaced at the same time (and I'm using tapwater).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCQSVdqBQA

And here's a system with just a sump:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OBtbZVhHQ-g

 

[Fourstars]

The tank has been set up 10 years that way? That sure is impressive and encouraging as I'm moving in that direction.:beer:

 

[IowaReefer]

I have a 60 cube, no sump, HOB skimmer, HOB refugium for cermedia pellets, a couple power heads, Chinese LED black box, and a heater. Essentially unchanged setup for 10+ years and keep everything from finicky fish to acropora to softies to anemones.

PM me if you want more details.

 

[Reefheart]

10 years. 4 small powerheads. No sump/refugium, no skimmer, no reactors or autodosing, no ato. (Baking soda or CaribSea's aragamite added occasionally with water changes.) 5%-10% water change every 2-3 weeks, evaporation is replaced at the same time (and I'm using tapwater).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCQSVdqBQA

And here's a system with just a sump:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OBtbZVhHQ-g

Impressive tanks, Tim and you kept them for that long.

Now that's truly simple and low maintenance in every sense of the word.

But do you have prune the soft corals often to avoid them overgrowing your other corals?

 

[PuckHucker]

If I was in your shoes, I would put together the most power hungry system possible. Then put together a nice sciencey presentation with graphs and everything showing how plant life requires carbon dioxide, and you are actively saving the rainforest.

My kind of response^

Darn kids think they know everything

 

[PuckHucker]

Currently running about 155 gal Frankenstein system with nothing more than t5s, a bit of led and a bit of extra flow. Have a nice skimmer but don't run it because I don't need to yet. ATO, couple heaters and that's about it. I like simple too

 

[Pslreefer]

Who runs the simplest system here?

180 with the diy miro 8 bulb t5, drains into a 8 gallon algae barrel that's gravity fed into a cryptic 40g food grade tub as a refugium filled with rock, sand and an eshopps psk-300skimmer, ato with a 10g reservoir, no heater, 2 jebao ow powerheads with a mag 9.5 return pump.

Just a budget minded simple setup.

 

[Pslreefer]

Who runs the simplest system here?

10 years. 4 small powerheads. No sump/refugium, no skimmer, no reactors or autodosing, no ato. (Baking soda or CaribSea's aragamite added occasionally with water changes.) 5%-10% water change every 2-3 weeks, evaporation is replaced at the same time (and I'm using tapwater).



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-eCQSVdqBQA



And here's a system with just a sump:



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OBtbZVhHQ-g

Looks great!

I really want to go skimmerless but the majority/all of tanks that I have seen , keep lps and softies. Do you have any acro dominated mixed reef tanks no skimmer?

 

[Reefheart]

Looks great!

I really want to go skimmerless but the majority/all of tanks that I have seen , keep lps and softies. Do you have any acro dominated mixed reef tanks no skimmer?

There is a thread on another forum about a skimmerless acro tank but they perform water changes weekly and replace filter pads every couple of days, so I'm not sure if thats better or worse.

 

[Fourstars]

SPS do better and have better color without a skimmer on the tank. The current thought on running a reef is mainly driven by equipment manufactures to increase their bottom line. Of course, if your lazy, or insist on a large bio load and/or sand bottom, and/or avoid your tank maintenance then a skimmer is a must.

 

[shred5]

I might be in this category. I have a 100+ gallon horse trough/rubbermaid tub.
It has liverock and some marcos growing in it for nutrient control and that is it.

I have a ATO on it. I dropped in a heater and some circulation pumps.

Honestly the best system I have ever run since my early days in the hobby in the late 80's early 90's.
Growth and color is off the chart.

It has me rethinking things since this was a hold tank for corals till the new system is done. Stuff has been in there almost a year now.

 

[Turtlesteve]

Looks great!

I really want to go skimmerless but the majority/all of tanks that I have seen , keep lps and softies. Do you have any acro dominated mixed reef tanks no skimmer?

I'm focusing on SPS / Acros in my skimmerless system....so far so good.

 

[Timfish]

Looks great!

I really want to go skimmerless but the majority/all of tanks that I have seen , keep lps and softies. Do you have any acro dominated mixed reef tanks no skimmer?

. . . The current thought on running a reef is mainly driven by equipment manufactures to increase their bottom line . . .

I have to agree with Fourstars. Feldman, et al, published research on skimmers a decade ago showing little difference between skimmer brands/design AND provided two different potential metrics for skimmers so they could be compared just like we can compare gph/lph for pumps and PAR for lights. The skimmer manufacturers still haven't made any attempt that I can see to provide us consumers with any objective way to compare skimmers.

My tanks tend to be heavy on the zoa, Euphilia, Sinularia and Sarcophyton since when I started these are what did well under 40 watt T12 fluorescent bulbs and I'm still growing the same corals. As far as adding acros or montis I don't have any more of a problem than adding new types of zoas or chalices or Euphilia. If you want an example of acros grown without skimmers may I suggest Steve Tyree.

 

[Timfish]

Impressive tanks, Tim and you kept them for that long.

Now that's truly simple and low maintenance in every sense of the word.

But do you have prune the soft corals often to avoid them overgrowing your other corals?

Thank you! All corals need to be dealt sooner or later with when you keep systems for decades. The Xenia and GSP is obviously thinned out the most often.