SkimmerLess Experiment Week2(Natural Systems)

druluv

druluv

Member
I Have embarked on a journey few will take. I'm going to attempt to start a full scale reef tank with just a refugium system.
I'll update you guys once a week with pics and a status of how the tank is doing:
Experiment Details Started 4/16/04:
Tank Specs:
180 Gal - Custom Design w/ two overflows
45 Gal refugium- Live Sand & Miracle Mud & Fuge Creatures (Dual Returns)
fuge creatures: (These Creatures Keep the fuge clean from algae, and detritus)
I add photoPlankton to help with the critters offspring.
sand bed clams
Baby Bristle Worms
MicroHermits
Nerite Grazers
trocus grazers
turbo grazers
Strombus Grazers
Nassarius Snails
Bubble Bee Snails
Amphipods
spaghetti Worms
mini-Hawaiian Reef Brittle Stars
Filtration:
One Fuge custom built System
Live Rock (display & Fuge - Fullied Cured for a year (Tonga Branch, Fuji, Marshall)
No mechanical
Pumps:
return : mag 2400 Pump 2200 Gph
powerheads: via aqua 3600 - 1000 gph
Salt:
Tropic Marin
Calcium Supp:
B-ionic Calcium Buffer System - ESV - every day - 30ML of both to help Coraline production
Neilisen Reactor -PM -using EVS KALK - Top-off hook-up to a float switch - dosed by aqua-medic dosing pump
Reef Advantage Calcium - twice Bi Weekly
Reef Builder - twice bi weekly(If needed)
Water Supply - Kent Max deluxe ro/di filter
Weekly water changes - Nutri-seawater (Natural Live Ocean Saltwater)
Lighting
4 160 watt uri bulbs - ice cap ballast(2) (3 Actinic and 1 10K)
MH 400 Watts- Coming Soon
Nite Light - Coming soon
Temperature Control -
1 50 watt heater
1/2hp chiller Pacific coast -coming soon
Water Parms
Coming Soon - Don't have all the tests yet.
Notes:
Live Stock: Date status
Fish:
Yellow tang med - 4/07/04
Blue Regal med - 4/15/04
maroon clown tiny - 4/15/04
neon gobie - med- 4/15/04
Kole Tang- 4/20/04
yellow pymgy angel - 4/20/04
Neon Blue Gobie-4/22/04
Coral:
Soft
tiny soft frag elegant toad?- 4/15/04
tiny green finger - 4/17/04
ToadStool Leather - 4/22/04
LPS
Fox Coral - 4/20/04
Bubble Coral White - 4/22/04
Candy Cane - 4/22/04
Button Coral - 4/22/04
Plate Coral Orange - 4/22/04
Polps
Green umbrella Mushroom - 4/20/04
Green ricordea Mushroom - 4/20/04
Zoo - 4/20/04
Mushroom rocks - 4/20/04
Clams
Dersa Clam - 4/22/04
SPS
Montipora Encrusting Orange - 4/22/04
Leaf Plate Montipora - 4/22/04
INVERTS:
clump ball sponge - 3/15/04
sand sifter star - 4/15/04
blood red cleaner shrimp - 4/17/04
cleaner shrimp- 4/17/04
hermit crabs
Sand sifting cucumbers - 4/19/04
various Snails -
Sally Light Foot - 4/20/04 - Good algae eater
sand sifting crabs - always addding
Cleaner Clams -
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone -
Future Out Look:
Next Week My shipment of corals are coming in and Chiller
Tank Status:
Week two of the experiment:
I have added different assortment of corals and reef safe fish. So far my water chemistry is pretty clean. I don't check for NH or NO2. However, my NO3 is undectable on salfert test kit.
The fuge is coming along nicely. The critters are growing, reproducing, and doing their respectful job.Here are a couple pics. Please understand that camera is only a 1.3 mega pixs. So i'll try my best.
 
neowind

neowind

Member
I wish you luck on your experiement. Most people will shun your decision but hey try new things see what happens. Personally I have never used a skimmer, fuge, or sump. I have had saltwater for 3 years and have not had any problems yet. Not saying I recommend that or anything just what I have done. But hopefully your experiment will go very well and you will learn something good.
 
druluv

druluv

Member

Originally posted by GreatfullReefer
Pic 2 looks like a pin cushion to me?
Pin Cushion Urchin ?
 
sagxman

sagxman

Member
Pic 2 is what my LFS called an Encrusting Branium. I have one. They're really neat. Look like a brown type of star polyp with a differen't type of growth formation.
 
druluv

druluv

Member
Thanks for the post Neo. If every thing goes well then I'll probadly try a skimmerless frag tank.
I'm getting real good coraline growth as well as good polyp extension in the coral. I think that fact their is no skimmer is helping with this. In my fuge I noticing that their a little creatures growing in the sand. These type of fauna probadly gets pump in to main tank to feed the coral.
As far as my coraline algae growth for some reason light purple is dominating. On one rock light purple is starting to over grow my beautiful dark purple. I also want to add a strain of red and pink. I think ipf has these strains on plugs that they sell. I think a good way of introducing coraline strains is by introducing Turbo Mexican Snail(the big snail). Coraline seem to grow on there snails easily.
 
phreakemup

phreakemup

Member
I wont shun ur decision at all!! LoL I've been running skimmerless for over a year now, fugeless for 7 months... My levels are 0 across the board (contrary to everyone's belief.) I do weekly WC's of 5 gallons on my 40 breeder (Yup, 40 breeder!) and I have a closed loop system, running by a mag 12... I do intend however, to finish up w/ the fuge, and get that running shortly, but for the time being, things are working out for me as well..
How much do u feed weekly??
I have a 40 breeder, w/ 55-60 lbs of LR (lost count) and a bare bototm (the tank, not me!) The Closed loop is fed to 2 spray bars, in the back bottom corners, to keep detrius from settling, and also fed from the sides themselves, alternated by a SCWD.....
Good luck w/ u adventure!!!
Phreak
 
druluv

druluv

Member

Originally posted by PhreakEmUp

How much do u feed weekly??
Phreak
Thanks for the encoargement: Skimmer crowd do not understand us.
It may be their lost
The Coral:
I haven't really feed them as yet. Some are able to catch what I feed the fish own there own.
I do use life - Bio Plankton - Green Water for the sand bed infuana.
The Fish : mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, water fleas
 
phreakemup

phreakemup

Member
Ur welcome!!
Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong w/ having a skimmer on the tank, they actually give one a piece of mind, knowing that if in some instance, u get a bio load spike (dead fish, too much food) the skimmer might keep it in check, until u are aware of the problem... A skimmer is a very valuable piece of equipmnet for a reef tank, in many reason, it can ever take out some medications... I choose not to have a skimmer, for the same reason I choose to have an above tank fuge, I like doing things that are outta the norm.. Having a skimmer on the tank, will actually keep things even mor stable, and like I said, piece of mind... Good luck, and dont underestimate the power of one dead fish, in a skmiierless tank, I have had an NH3 spike, on one occasion, from a single fish, that I noticed missing, and presumed the brittle star got to b4 decay... Lost a frogspawn, and bubble coral, but everything else bounced back quickly..... Good luck, like I said, and dont forget, w/ a skimme rnot on the tank, the tank needs even more attention!!
Phreak
 
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