65 gallon - Ocean liverock - No QT - No dosing
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D9ohsoar
Community Member
I needed to hear this. Thank you!!
D9ohsoar
Community Member
Thank you and I just reached out to you for more insight.
OP
OP
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
One fun way I add diversity to my tank is by buying wild collected corals that happen to be on decent sized pieces of liverock. You can usually find some zoas or shrooms on a rock larger than a baseball in your LFS.
OP
OP
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
Thanks! If I can offer any assistance going forward let me know. I would say the best advice I could give is to start your tank with real live rock. Pay the extra money for some great stuff like KP aquatics and you will already be so far ahead of the game. If you have any specific questions please ask me.
Dani305
Active Member
I have a tank, very new, up and running. Didnt start it with live rock, but did start it with ocean water, and rock. If that makes any difference.
I am currently doing a fish in cycle, I know... I know.. my bf insisted that it would be okay, and it has been. I do know that the tank should have cycled alone, but alas we are here. First we got some crabs, and snails. Had them for a few days, and were feeding the tank pellets. Then got a yellow damsel and 2 emerald crabs a few days after that. Now have a blue tang, and a midas goby, and a cleaner shrimp. As well as some small corals.
Anyways, I have been feeding the fish, and I went to the LFS and they told me that my ammonia was a bit high. I forgot that I should be dosing 1 time a day Genesis from polyplab, so I started that on sunday. Yesterday looks like we started going throught what people call the ugly phase... I posted pics in my build thread.
Im going to test my water when I get home with my API kits to see if theres been any movement on nitrates.
Considering my situation, would you say I am going in the right direction?
My skimmer, and my clean cheato refugium kit is being delivered today so we should have that running by tomorrow.
OP
OP
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
Since you're well on your way I would suggest slowing down and investing in some live rock from a place like KP aquatics. Just ad a couple of pounds to your system in order to bring in some much needed diversity. This will help your tank find a natural balance a lot faster.
Paul B
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Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I love this and natural is always better. I think the biggest problem in this hobby is that we are afraid to run our tanks naturally. Most people resist adding things straight from the sea. They worry about pests, diseases, Godzilla etc.
I don't get it and always want my tank to look natural.
If you do any SCUBA diving you can see that 99.9% of our tanks look nothing like the sea and just about all of them are lacking biodiversity from the sea.
It's easy for me because I live by the sea and I throw in just about anything I find. But when I didn't, whenever I would buy a coral, I would ask the guy to also give me some "mulm" in the far corners of his sumps. That stuff adds biodiversity.
Fish are also much healthier in a diverse tank where they have tight hiding places where another fish can't get in to eat them. Even though we don't have predators in our tanks, fish don't know that and need to feel safe. If we can see the fish, they can see us and most of us are not that good looking.
I don't have the nicest tank on here by far, but I think due to the bio diversity and the aquascape that I copied feel from my many years of Diving my fish are very "happy" and healthy which allows them to only die of old age and maybe Rap music.
This was my tank 25 or 30 years ago. I think it looked the most natural then. There wasn't much coral for sale but I found things I could add that enhanced the natural looking aquascape.
Then it evolved into this. This is I think 2 years ago. It looked better in the past.
OP
OP
Sump Crab
Valuable Member
You, and your methods, have been an inspiration to me throughout my many years in reef keeping. I’m approaching 20 years in the hobby and have seen this evolution towards dry rock, bac in a bottle, sterilized tanks slowly take hold. I feel so bad for the majority of reefers who struggle just keeping a tank free of algae and capable of supporting life. Thankfully I feel as if I am starting to see trends in the other direction. People who are frustrated are starting to wade through the propaganda to see how people like you and me are able to “break all the rules” yet able to maintain reefs longterm. Hell my oldest fish is around 12 years old and I’d bet he has outlasted a couple million people in the hobby who just get frustrated and leave due to an ugly, unhealthy tank. If only they had started with REAL live rock! Maybe most of them would still be around.I love this and natural is always better. I think the biggest problem in this hobby is that we are afraid to run our tanks naturally. Most people resist adding things straight from the sea. They worry about pests, diseases, Godzilla etc.
I don't get it and always want my tank to look natural.
If you do any SCUBA diving you can see that 99.9% of our tanks look nothing like the sea and just about all of them are lacking biodiversity from the sea.
It's easy for me because I live by the sea and I throw in just about anything I find. But when I didn't, whenever I would buy a coral, I would ask the guy to also give me some "mulm" in the far corners of his sumps. That stuff adds biodiversity.
Fish are also much healthier in a diverse tank where they have tight hiding places where another fish can't get in to eat them. Even though we don't have predators in our tanks, fish don't know that and need to feel safe. If we can see the fish, they can see us and most of us are not that good looking.
I don't have the nicest tank on here by far, but I think due to the bio diversity and the aquascape that I copied feel from my many years of Diving my fish are very "happy" and healthy which allows them to only die of old age and maybe Rap music.
This was my tank 25 or 30 years ago. I think it looked the most natural then. There wasn't much coral for sale but I found things I could add that enhanced the natural looking aquascape.
Then it evolved into this. This is I think 2 years ago. It looked better in the past.
Paul B
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Reef Tank 365
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Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I totally agree. I cringe when I see a tank with all dead, white rock and notice some expensive angelfish or tangs in there with that blank look on their faces. (after you keep fish for decades and spent more time under water than above it, you will notice this)
Then unfortunately you see them on the disease forum looking for some medication to cure that their aquascape actually caused.
Bacteria in a bottle? Like seriously!!!!!!.
I don't get the idea of dead rock. People will spend $350.00 on a controller and buy cheap dead rock. They may as well go to Home Depot and buy cinder blocks for a couple of bucks to put in their tank as it is exactly the same thing.
Maybe they can smash a few holes in the cinder blocks to make a cave.
I have no idea what real live rock costs but whatever it costs, buy it. Forget hitchhikers. They will die out on their own. I throw everything from the sea in my tank and have no hitchhikers I don't like.
I don't think you and me break all the rules. We originally made the rules, then someone invented the internet and people made up new rules that don't work.
I am done ranting for now.
Then unfortunately you see them on the disease forum looking for some medication to cure that their aquascape actually caused.
Bacteria in a bottle? Like seriously!!!!!!.
I don't get the idea of dead rock. People will spend $350.00 on a controller and buy cheap dead rock. They may as well go to Home Depot and buy cinder blocks for a couple of bucks to put in their tank as it is exactly the same thing.
Maybe they can smash a few holes in the cinder blocks to make a cave.
I have no idea what real live rock costs but whatever it costs, buy it. Forget hitchhikers. They will die out on their own. I throw everything from the sea in my tank and have no hitchhikers I don't like.
I don't think you and me break all the rules. We originally made the rules, then someone invented the internet and people made up new rules that don't work.
I am done ranting for now.
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