What do you want to see??

What side by side comparison would most interest you?

  • Lighting

    Votes: 9 37.5%
  • Water changes

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Flow

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Salt

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (PLEASE COMMENT)

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Sand vs Bare Bottom

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Cycle - Dry vs Live Rock

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Total voters
    24

TX_REEF

Kessil Fanboy
View Badges
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
2,502
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good day friends! I recently got a promotion and have a couple dollars to waste, so I’d really like to buy a couple AIO tanks (thinking reef casa) and literally set them up side by side (with a barrier for light spillage prevention), and then document both here and on YouTube. My desire is to have both tanks as identical as possible, including livestock, and directly observe and document the differences in results while isolating a single variable at a time. My initial thoughts on potential are flow (gyre vs wave pump, or high vs low flow), lighting (different but comparable LED fixtures, LED vs T5, etc) water changes (none vs weekly, or weekly vs monthly, etc), salt brand type, and even temperature. Please let me know what variable most interests you, and within that variable which “x vs y” options within that category you’d like to see! Also open to livestock suggestions, especially coral frags and or anemones, keeping in mind that I’d be buying 2 of the same for this purpose. To help you decide, here is the tank I’m planning on getting 2 of for this little adventure: https://reefcasa.com/product/18-gallon-all-in-one-aquarium/?currency=USD

Also feel free to follow me on YouTube (TX REEF) and Instagram (TX.REEF) for video footage once the project is underway.

Thanks in advance!
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
91,953
Reaction score
203,090
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
side by side - Test Kits
 
OP
OP
TX_REEF

TX_REEF

Kessil Fanboy
View Badges
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
2,502
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also please make some suggestions for what uniform livestock you’d like to see in each tank - I’m thinking micromussa, birdsnest, candycane, xenia or GSP since I have some that I could frag.
 

Dmmz

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 2, 2013
Messages
1,432
Reaction score
1,892
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just do them all then we don't have to decide
 

crazyfishmom

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 29, 2023
Messages
1,306
Reaction score
1,758
Location
North Andover
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also please make some suggestions for what uniform livestock you’d like to see in each tank - I’m thinking micromussa, birdsnest, candycane, xenia or GSP since I have some that I could frag.
Since this is an experiment… I might suggest considering the typical canary in a coal mine corals. The birdsnest is a great Coral for that. How about Duncans, some zoas, something like that?
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2021
Messages
6,359
Reaction score
7,659
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Lighting using the same LED fixtures with similar PAR but different spectrums (one more blue and one more white) with some of the really common corals and fish would be interesting; you could eventually compare how both tanks' inhabitants compare not only growth-wise but also visually by changing both tanks to the same light settings for a side by side comparison (first to both being either blue or white, then to the other).

No (intentional) water changes vs weekly water changes would also be really interesting to see though.
 
OP
OP
TX_REEF

TX_REEF

Kessil Fanboy
View Badges
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
2,502
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Since this is an experiment… I might suggest considering the typical canary in a coal mine corals. The birdsnest is a great Coral for that. How about Duncans, some zoas, something like that?
I do have some orange bam bam zoas that are doing well in my display, so that’s a contender. Thanks for the idea
 

Jim Gomoll

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
388
Reaction score
604
Location
Colorado Springs
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I think seeing which lights perform the best would be interesting!
Check out Noopsyche lights. There are alots of post out there on these budget lights that grow all coral types.

 
OP
OP
TX_REEF

TX_REEF

Kessil Fanboy
View Badges
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
2,502
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Check out Noopsyche lights. There are alots of post out there on these budget lights that grow all coral types.

thanks! yes, I am aware of NooPsyche. Once we decide which reef variable will be the first project, I'll do a new poll to decide which brands to pit against each other.
 
OP
OP
TX_REEF

TX_REEF

Kessil Fanboy
View Badges
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
2,059
Reaction score
2,502
Location
Texas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like Lighting wins - I’ll be making a new poll for which 2 brands of lights will face off over 2 otherwise identical Reefcasa 18 gallon AIO tanks from Reefcasa.
 

Looking for the spotlight: Do your fish notice the lighting in your reef tank?

  • My fish seem to regularly respond to the lighting in my reef tank.

    Votes: 7 77.8%
  • My fish seem to occasionally respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • My fish seem to rarely respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • My fish seem to never respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I don’t pay enough attention to my fish to notice if they respond to the lighting.

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • I don’t have any fish in my tank.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top