Why does my reef work?

[lucky?]

I have a 125 gal reef with about 125 #'s live rock 14 corals most lps, a 6 in sohal, 5 in gold stripe, 5 in foxface, 4 in flame angel and 4 damsels. It has been going good for 14 months. I only have a wet dry filter and 1 powerhead. No skimmer, no uv sterilizer, and no fuge. I got into this hobby last year and thought my set up was fine, but reading everyone elses setups I just don't understand why I don't have any problems. Any thoughts?

 

[murph145]

i had no probs on my old 100 with an undergravel plenum filter system using canisters and i ran a small POS skimmer after a while and kept my corals pretty happy....
softies like nutrients lps can deal with them but sps like CLEAN water lol

 

[kalied20]

Do you do water changes? Do you clean out your filter regularly?
That is about all I do on my 24 gallon, and I have just a sponge filter with carbon in below it. I do 20% water change every two weeks and feed.
Just depends on how you take care of your system. I am moving up to a 90 gallon this month. I got it setup and everything. I am just waiting for a couple of paychecks to fill it up. I am going to run a 29 gallon sump/fuge under it, but mostly for growing food for the tank. I don't plan on running a skimmer right now, but could depend on how the parameters stay stable.
Sounds like you are doing well....I would worry about it just always keep on top of it.

 

[praisethel]

enjoy being problem free. add some rocks or a difficult animal if you need some trouble.....

 

[kidwicked]

and this my friends is why 90% of people regularly over exaggerated on what can and can't be done..

 

[windmill]

I have no clue why your reef works........but if I were to venture a guess I'd say your lucky.
Proof, yet again, that sometimes things that shouldn't be done can be done and with sucess.

 

[lucky?]

I change 35 gallons about every 4-5 weeks, I have to hose out the debris from the foam pad in the filter and the overflow sponge, and wipe algae off the glass about once a week, which takes about 20 minutes total. I'm thinking of upgrading to a 240 gal, if I do I figure wiping down the glass will take longer. So I'm researching refugiums and skimmers, but don't know how much they would help?

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Lucky?
I change 35 gallons about every 4-5 weeks, I have to hose out the debris from the foam pad in the filter and the overflow sponge, and wipe algae off the glass about once a week, which takes about 20 minutes total. I'm thinking of upgrading to a 240 gal, if I do I figure wiping down the glass will take longer. So I'm researching refugiums and skimmers, but don't know how much they would help?

they can and will work. BUT can you say that it wont work even BETTER if you did have a skimmer and or fuge? what you have a bare bones reef system without all the bells and bows. although i know that the missing items will help you with continued success a system can be run without them.
i ran my first system for over a year with nothing but a HOB filter and NO lights. i changed the water in in like twice the entire time and never had a problem. in it i had fish, shrooms, zoanthids. leathers, some of which i still have today. so yes you can and many people do run bare bones system. it is just not considered ideal. toss in a few hard to keep fish and corals and you will see the limits of this type of system

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by KidWicked
and this my friends is why 90% of people regularly over exaggerated on what can and can't be done..
It's not over exaggerated....There are cases and instances where it can be done.....It has to do with husbandry and bioloads......and as pointed out lps are more tolerant of water quality than SPS.....Try the same with a dominated SPS tank.......you'll need a skimmer.....

 

[acrylic51]

Matter of fact I remember yesterday reading an old thread don't remember what forum, but a very good past member here KIP had some detailed thoughts on that subject and I'm sure if you do a search you could find it, but if you think KIPs' thinking is off base or his comments on the subject why did his tank make Tank Of The Month on Reef Central last month.....

 

[ags]

If you polled all the members of SWF.com who have had a tank up and running for more than 2 years you would probably see some pretty diverse maintenance schedules and reef keeping philosophies. But at the same time there woulud also be a lot of general consistencies as well.
The real answer is that there is no ONE right way to keep a tank. However, there are a few generally accepted and followed principles that all tank owners follow to some degree.
If you are having success stick with it. However, keep in mind your tank is still pretty young.

 

[a sea k]

My guess would be patience and common sense. It is truly amazing how far these two items will get you.