Reef keeping, now I am so confused!

lukep · #1 03-05-2012, 03:59 AM

Hey guys so I need some help from some senior reef keepers. I believe I have found an odd ball reef setup! So I started keeping a reef about three years ago. It started out wonderful. And of course got harder and harder to keep coral healthy. I tried everything, Metal Halides, Reef salt over cheap salt, coral snow, water testing out the wazoo, Salinity, T5HO lighting, flow changes, small water and massive water changes, distilled water, tap water, I ran a sump and then no sump, carbon and no carbon, floss filtration and then just live rock, neo vit, skimmer and no skimmer and the list goes on. And just to verify not all of this was done in one month it was a slow progression changing one thing at a time. So back to what I have now. I totally sold that setup confused, broke and ****ed at reef keeping. But I got the bug back and a bunch more ideas. So I purchased a 28 jbj Nano used from kijiji with corals and some fish and liverock. I went simple, so simple I didnt think it would work. Liverock only with coral and fish, no filtration other then liverock and the pump circulating water, no skimmer, no sand bottom and just cheap salt and 5 gallon water changes every two weeks and I change water from the bottom of the aquarium getting all the gunk. I placed a airation stone in the back sump to supply air because I dont have a skimmer running. I only feed the fish a few pellets once a day and shredded raw shrimp once a month. Low Low food sources creating less waste. One nano pump full time and one alternating. I also have a pretty good seal on the back sump so no water evaporation hardly at all. creating less salinity variation. Lights on eight hours a day, they are the power compact ones with the nano kit. And well something amazing has happened to this tank I do nothing to hardly at all, about the same maintenance as a cichlid tank. And walla! The corals are spreading and growing out of the tank almost, I have the largest mushroom I have ever seen and the anemones are doing great and growing. Was I seriously way over doing the other coral tank!?!? This seems way to easy. Or were the way overdosing on coral food and other items and sand creating the biggest nitrate, phosphate trap slowly ruining my old setups. All I know is if it had been this easy I would have never bothered with all that other stuff. I had a shelves full of supplements and calcium and coral snow, and everything you could imagine. This is so cheap! I just feed two things pellets and the odd shredded shrimp. And I never emptied a skimmer yet! I was emptying skimmer waste once or twice a week before.

lockrookie · #2 03-05-2012, 04:24 AM

your old system may have had something causing yur grief that youcouldnt figure out. copper maybe leached out of somethingits always a mystery but i agree simple is easy. thereis no point inquestioning what happened just enjoy what you have created. past is past. and im happy its workingout fro you now

eli@fijireefrock.com · #3 03-05-2012, 04:33 AM

glad to hear you are enjoying your new and must say improved system as I always thought the simpler the easier to maintain,everything you have should thrive with no problems as long as you keep up with the maintenance and don't over stock your system.
cheers

FishyFishy! · #4 03-05-2012, 02:31 PM

Totally agreed. Some of my nicest setups have been the simple ones. I had a skimmerless Biocube 14 with only cheato, LRR, and chemi pure-elite in the fuge part, and it was amazing. Never touched the thing and it was just perfect.

I think most times there is definitely some root cause of issues that most people are un-aware of, such as leaching. You never really know where live rock is coming from and what has been on/in it and the tank. Something was probably leaching into your old system

globaldesigns · #5 03-05-2012, 04:38 PM

I like you have had coral issues over the past couple years... Currently I run a skimmer, cheato, LR and LR rubble in the refuge/sump area. NO CARBON!!!

I do my weekly water changes, and watch my parameters, and can say things are easier and seem to be improving.

I use to do Zeo, pellets, and every other thing. I keep it simple and am now using Prodibio, with some nice results from it. Corals are actually starting to color up, brown is dissappearing.

So I do recommend the simple method. Just my 2 cents from someone who has wasted alot of money in this hobby.