ecobalance
lifetaper
bullet proof
My 75 low maintance tank
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brady816
Well-known member
lets see a full tank shot..
Scooterman
Well-known member
Looks nice, please show us the details & explain why/how you got it to be a low maintenance, alway something people want to see & hopefully learn something new.
ecobalance
lifetaper
full tank shot one more try
tried this last time but it didn,t work,and by low maintance i ment choosing corals that don't mind a little nitrate
tried this last time but it didn,t work,and by low maintance i ment choosing corals that don't mind a little nitrate
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
wwouu dood you got nice coraline 
.
very pretty fish you got there too .
.very pretty fish you got there too
.
Scooterman
Well-known member
good to see someone make the point that not all coral are high maintainence. zoa's, rics, mushrooms and leather corals can all cope well if the water is not upto tip-top condition and if the right light is there for clams they will equally get their food from nitrate.
ecobalance
lifetaper
as for stoney
And to add to this on the stoney end of things,i have found fox,bubble,trumpet,and hammers all do better in less than perfect water.Nitrates of 40 or less dont seem to be an issue,unless they are causing algae problems.
And to add to this on the stoney end of things,i have found fox,bubble,trumpet,and hammers all do better in less than perfect water.Nitrates of 40 or less dont seem to be an issue,unless they are causing algae problems.
Scooterman
Well-known member
Lots of coral will survive in a nitrate water but comparing that to high demanding sps isn't the same, softies, Lps & a few sps are more forgiving. Distinguishing the difference between these corals & their individual needs requires lots of homework. Growing thriving corals is another story, also you can't keep everything in a glass cage & expect them to all fair well over time.
As far as low maintenance & bullet proof time will show that, If you keep the bio-load minimal maybe but probably there are lots of things that can cause problems. If you elaborate on your tank & take pictures It would be helpful to see how you get such a low maintenance/bullet proof tank, I'm sure If it is that great we all could learn from what you did & are doing to make it like so.
As far as low maintenance & bullet proof time will show that, If you keep the bio-load minimal maybe but probably there are lots of things that can cause problems. If you elaborate on your tank & take pictures It would be helpful to see how you get such a low maintenance/bullet proof tank, I'm sure If it is that great we all could learn from what you did & are doing to make it like so.
Do I see caulerpa in there? If so, aren't you afraid that it may overgrow the tank? Not only that, but if it goes sexual, don't you risk the chance of nuking everything in the tank?
Is this tank modeled after GARF's "bullet proof tank" ?
Is this tank modeled after GARF's "bullet proof tank" ?
ecobalance
lifetaper
Higher algaes
T he way to make sure algaes such as calupera,is to simply pull a little out once or twice a week.With this method i have never had a incedent of it going sexual.I think algaes add a bit of realness to a tank,and are great nutrient sinks.There are actually three varities of cauleapra.Saw blade,feather,and a blueish one.The other algae you see is Halimedia,which is a good indicator of calicum levels,but thats for a differant thread.
T he way to make sure algaes such as calupera,is to simply pull a little out once or twice a week.With this method i have never had a incedent of it going sexual.I think algaes add a bit of realness to a tank,and are great nutrient sinks.There are actually three varities of cauleapra.Saw blade,feather,and a blueish one.The other algae you see is Halimedia,which is a good indicator of calicum levels,but thats for a differant thread.
logiktest
Well-known member
I like the way a little macroalgae looks in the display. Do you suppliment for calcium? I notice you seem to have a lot of coraline in that tank. Under those lighting conditions, do you think the halimedia is demanding of calcium?
How often do you do water changes, and how much do you change?
ecobalance
lifetaper
Water changes
Water changes are the key to success,in my oppinon.I change about 20 to 40 % a month depending on the nitrates.The thing is,i have found that weather it is my sps tank or my mixed tank[The 75]trying to maintain perfect water quality by not feeding enough is not the best path to sucsess.It is prety easy to have a tank with mushrooms,soft corals such as star polyps,sps such as accapora,montipora,to name a couple,and lps such as open brain,frog spawn,hammers,bubbles, and even flower pot and galaxia,if you pay close attention to placement,and feed regulary.How? you ask| Well to start a good skimmer,a refugium that is long enough to accomadate a decent sandbed and macro algae growth,a phosphate reactor to help with the excess phosphates that will be a result of appropiate feeding,plenty of circulation[in tank]and religously keeping up with water changes.As for placement.Keeping stoney corals near power heads or out puts and researching lighting needs for each,and soft corals mid tank seems to work for me.Corals such as Hammers and trumpets,galaxia and hammers should be fed by hand with power heads off at least 2 to 3 times a week.As for calicum and strotamine,and other trace elements that is up to the pearson and what kind of regimin they want to endure.I prefer to use the simple kalk drip method,and occasional strotmin suppliment on the about half of what the bottle says approach.The only thing left is water changes regulary,with quality ro/di water and salt from a trusted manufacturer.I use Kent,but there are other that are just as good or better.Keep up with macro harvesting,either in tank or sump,and carbon should be used in either a canister or reactor that doesn,t allow by pass about 3 to four days a month.This seems to work for me,and i never worry about weather im feeding to much or to little.[my fish sure don't seem to mind]and my corals look healthy and full.I'm sure there are things i didn't cover or might of overlooked like testing.That surely would take a few more lines than i feel like typing.Hope this answered a few of the Question's.
Water changes are the key to success,in my oppinon.I change about 20 to 40 % a month depending on the nitrates.The thing is,i have found that weather it is my sps tank or my mixed tank[The 75]trying to maintain perfect water quality by not feeding enough is not the best path to sucsess.It is prety easy to have a tank with mushrooms,soft corals such as star polyps,sps such as accapora,montipora,to name a couple,and lps such as open brain,frog spawn,hammers,bubbles, and even flower pot and galaxia,if you pay close attention to placement,and feed regulary.How? you ask| Well to start a good skimmer,a refugium that is long enough to accomadate a decent sandbed and macro algae growth,a phosphate reactor to help with the excess phosphates that will be a result of appropiate feeding,plenty of circulation[in tank]and religously keeping up with water changes.As for placement.Keeping stoney corals near power heads or out puts and researching lighting needs for each,and soft corals mid tank seems to work for me.Corals such as Hammers and trumpets,galaxia and hammers should be fed by hand with power heads off at least 2 to 3 times a week.As for calicum and strotamine,and other trace elements that is up to the pearson and what kind of regimin they want to endure.I prefer to use the simple kalk drip method,and occasional strotmin suppliment on the about half of what the bottle says approach.The only thing left is water changes regulary,with quality ro/di water and salt from a trusted manufacturer.I use Kent,but there are other that are just as good or better.Keep up with macro harvesting,either in tank or sump,and carbon should be used in either a canister or reactor that doesn,t allow by pass about 3 to four days a month.This seems to work for me,and i never worry about weather im feeding to much or to little.[my fish sure don't seem to mind]and my corals look healthy and full.I'm sure there are things i didn't cover or might of overlooked like testing.That surely would take a few more lines than i feel like typing.Hope this answered a few of the Question's.
Scooterman
Well-known member
Well for once I agree with most of that
I have an even easier system to maintain, no sand, no fuge to deal with, feed heavily, little algae ever, no reactors, no carbon & just recently I turned on my skimmer as It has been a while since I did a WC. I agree that one thing common with either approach, doing RO/DI water, wc's are the most beneficial thing to do to keep your tank healthy, I also do WC's according to what I see & time since my last change, I'll do anywhere from 20% to 100% If necessary but most of the time I go about 20 to 30 gallons for my total water volume of 150 gallons, once a month. Now with that said I have a low bio-load because I like keeping it simple, easier for me to keep up but If I wanted I could ramp it up easily & do me WC's!
I have an even easier system to maintain, no sand, no fuge to deal with, feed heavily, little algae ever, no reactors, no carbon & just recently I turned on my skimmer as It has been a while since I did a WC. I agree that one thing common with either approach, doing RO/DI water, wc's are the most beneficial thing to do to keep your tank healthy, I also do WC's according to what I see & time since my last change, I'll do anywhere from 20% to 100% If necessary but most of the time I go about 20 to 30 gallons for my total water volume of 150 gallons, once a month. Now with that said I have a low bio-load because I like keeping it simple, easier for me to keep up but If I wanted I could ramp it up easily & do me WC's!
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