Doing things right avoiding the unneccessary...

[thall17]

I have a Biocube 32 stock with the addition of some reef bar LED lights (8 months) Fish and Coral and a 75 Gallon w/sump/skimmer/dual nicrew 100 lights (3 months) fish and coral.

I love the coral and want it to thrive/grow....

I am not opposed to spending some money, just don't want to buy things uneccessarily...

1. Water changes - I was doing weekly 30% on the Bio Cube but have pretty much stopped and tank/numbers seem to be doing well. Should I continur with the water changes? Have not done 1 on the 75 yet...

2. Testing - Some say don't chase numbers. I had been testing like every other day...but have gone to maybe weekly tests- been using the API with a couple Hannah, looking to get th majority of the Hannah testers

3. Dosing - Not oppsoed but currently do not - Manua;/Automate ?? Recommendations

4 - UV - Recommendation

5. Copepods - Yes/No

6, ATO - ?

7. Other automation that has benefited you

Thanks for the help!!

 

[RWReefer]

+1 for ATO. I enjoy the peace of mind with that one.

 

[Biokabe]

Water Changes
Keep doing them. If you're needing to make a post like this here, you're not yet ready to go without water changes. You can probably dial back on the % though - 10-20% weekly should be enough.

Testing
Don't chase numbers, but don't live in ignorance of them either. The most important test is the eye test: Does your tank look alright? After that, you should test the following parameters at least every couple of weeks, and keep a log of the results of the tests: Nitrates, Phosphates, Alkalinity, Calcium.

You're looking to keep your parameters within certain levels: Nitrates should be between 5-25 ppm, but it's alright to exceed that number depending on your livestock. Phosphates should be about 1% of the nitrate number, but if you have sufficient CUC they can be higher while still maintaining a healthy reef. Alkalinity should be between 7-11 dKh, and calcium should be around 450 ppm.

Replace the API tests ASAP, they are notoriously hard to read and somewhat inaccurate. Personally I will only use Hanna checkers for colorimetric tests, but that's because I have a difficult time accurately judging the color on the water sample. So I have the Hanna checkers for Alk/Nitrate/Phosphate, and use Salifert for Calcium and Magnesium (since they're both easier to check by eye).

Dosing
Dose when your water changes are no longer enough to keep your post-water change alkalinity at your desired level. Don't dose for things you can't test for, and don't dose when water changes are enough to maintain your levels. Dosing is usually reserved for two scenarios: Heavily stocked tanks where regular water changes are no longer enough, and tanks where you have discontinued regular water changes.

If you're going to dose, you should automate it. The whole point of dosing is to regularly supply your tank with the elements it needs, so you really shouldn't be skipping days with it. The exception would be if there's something that you only occasionally need to dose.

UV
IMO, worth it for the larger tank, difficult to implement for your Biocube. UV can be a bit of a pain to set up if you don't start your tank with it, and it's not strictly necessary. If you want to pursue it, I'd start a dedicated thread asking for advice, or just do a lot of research on it.

Copepods
Initial seeding is fine. If you started your tank with live rock you likely already have more than you think.

You shouldn't be regularly adding copepods to your tank, it just isn't cost-effective. Ideally you should seed your tank with them and then that initial population should reproduce within your tank at whatever levels your tank can support.

ATO
Absolutely. 100%. Why are you running a tank without an ATO? If you don't already have an RO/DI system that should be the first thing you buy. An ATO should be the second. Get the Tunze osmolator for both systems - the full version, not the nano. This is a solved problem, and you should take advantage of the solution.

Other Automation
Get an autofeeder with a feeding chamber. This makes a world of difference when it comes to fish health. The feeding chamber/tube allows you to use freeze-dried foods in addition to pellets/flakes, and it drastically decreases how much food gets flushed down your overflow. If you can justify it and have the right set up for it, the Avast Plank is fantastic. You don't need to go that level though - Eheim makes an autofeeder that's almost as good for about $30, and a separate feeding tube will probably run you another $30-$40.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would suggest that weekly water changes is the proactive way of running a reef. Water changes is also the best time to blast your rocks and remove detritus from the system. Good husbandry practice goes a long way.

Depending what kind of corals, you can get away without testing. But when you see coraline start growing, better start testing, coraline will consume alk and calcium and eventually send your corals on a downward spiral.

Testing will determine the need to dose or not, its not a question we can answer. Test every day for a week, see how much alk your tank consumes, maybe you should dose and maybe not, the test will tell.

I've never had a uv, I don't think its necessary but IDK

Copepods will hitchhike into your tank on everything wet that comes in. You can add them if you want to help set up the population, but not necessary.

ATO is an absolute must, especially if you ever want to leave your home for vacation.

Auto fish feeders are also a must if you want to take a vacation.

Inkbird is great to maintain your heater and avoid any heater malfunction.

 

[mcarroll]

There is or was a Biocube UV filter wasn't there?

If not that, there are several pico-sized UV's on the market....it will be a matter of looking up what other BioCube folks have implemented in the past.....zillions of BioCubes out there, so hopefully won't be too much searching.

If you plan on being intensive on fish, it's not a bad idea IMO. The other common use is vs algae (dino's in particular, but others too). Most folks have algae blooms, but not everyone needs UV to combat it. Algae is a weaker use case than the anti-parasite use case for fish IMO. (Also IMO, your tank is too small to be fish intensive....be happy with one fish, or even just corals+inverts.)

If the tank has a tight lid like the stock BioCube, ATO can be optional. If your tank is open, ATO is almost mandatory unless you aren't doing corals.

Manual dosing is probably all you'll need on a tank this small, but dosers are cheap these days, so they're much easier to justify than in the old days.