Is less more? Micromanaging vs Lassiez Faire

When it comes to managing your reef tank......

  • Less is more

    Votes: 245 76.6%
  • More is better

    Votes: 75 23.4%

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4FordFamily

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Where do you fall on the spectrum of more testing, automation, and “helicopter parenting” your tank? Reef and fish.

Personally, I don’t really test much, I’m pretty laid back and let “nature take its course.” I do my water changes, and that’s about it. I nitrate test and water change about once a month. Sometimes I dose two part, but as unscientific as my dosing is I figure I’m better off not doing anything. I overskim immensely (but also overstock my fish immensely). I have ample light, and check salinity once per month. Nothing is automated, not even ATO (but that may change soon).

Of course, I don’t keep difficult coral. Hammer, frogspawn, torch, zoanthid, other polyps, leathers like devils hand, cabbage coral, and toadstool, mushrooms, star polyps, yellow polyps, xenia, anthelia, candy cane, sometimes a monti cap or two, and at one time a bubble coral is really about it. I have kept clams for a good amount of time this way, and bubble tip anemones. So, I realize I’m not dabbling in “needy coral”, either.

As far as fish, I quarantine and prophylacticly treat everything properly.

I’d love to see tank pics by those that automate and test frequently, and those more like me!

So what’s better?
 

Crabs McJones

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Where do you fall on the spectrum of more testing, automation, and “helicopter parenting” your tank? Reef and fish.

Personally, I don’t really test much, I’m pretty laid back and let “nature take its course.” I do my water changes, and that’s about it. I nitrate test and water change about once a month. Sometimes I dose two part, but as unscientific as my dosing is I figure I’m better off not doing anything. I overskim immensely (but also overstock my fish immensely). I have ample light, and check salinity once per month. Nothing is automated, not even ATO (but that may change soon).

Of course, I don’t keep difficult coral. Hammer, frogspawn, torch, zoanthid, other polyps, leathers like devils hand, cabbage coral, and toadstool, mushrooms, star polyps, yellow polyps, xenia, anthelia, candy cane, sometimes a monti cap or two, and at one time a bubble coral is really about it. I have kept clams for a good amount of time this way, and bubble tip anemones. So, I realize I’m not dabbling in “needy coral”, either.

As far as fish, I quarantine and prophylacticly treat everything properly.

I’d love to see tank pics by those that automate and test frequently, and those with reefs that do not!
I'm kind of the same, I don't really test alot. Maybe once a month to make sure things are in check. I have almost no automation whatsoever other then my auto top off. I don't have a controller. My kessils run off of a WiFi app but that's as advance as I get lol.i have a mixed reef with a couple sps but nothing advance by any means. I do have a quarantine system set up, and I keep the fish in it for 4+ weeks before entering the display tank. I don't treat the qt tank unless a fish is showing an issue (which it should in most cases in less than 4 weeks) even my water changes are manual. I have a bunch of 6 gallon buckets that I lug around the house. No automatic mixing station for this guy! No dosers either. A 10ml syringe is my dosing unit lol.
 
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4FordFamily

4FordFamily

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I'm kind of the same, I don't really test alot. Maybe once a month to make sure things are in check. I have almost no automation whatsoever other then my auto top off. I don't have a controller. My kessils run off of a WiFi app but that's as advance as I get lol.i have a mixed reef with a couple sps but nothing advance by any means. I do have a quarantine system set up, and I keep the fish in it for 4+ weeks before entering the display tank. I don't treat the qt tank unless a fish is showing an issue (which it should in most cases in less than 4 weeks) even my water changes are manual. I have a bunch of 6 gallon buckets that I lug around the house. No automatic mixing station for this guy! No dosers either. A 10ml syringe is my dosing unit lol.
You have me there, I do mix in a big brute and pump up to the tank. @HotRockTarBaby is helping me run hose through the wall for my water top off for the tank so I can automate the top off more or at least not have to lug jugs up from the basement. I’d love to see photos. I just moved and most of my stuff was lost prior to my move (power outage for a week my father watching my tanks somehow didn’t notice) but I’ll try to post some tomorrow!
 

Crabs McJones

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You have me there, I do mix in a big brute and pump up to the tank. @HotRockTarBaby is helping me run hose through the wall for my water top off for the tank so I can automate the top off more or at least not have to lug jugs up from the basement. I’d love to see photos. I just moved and most of my stuff was lost prior to my move (power outage for a week my father watching my tanks somehow didn’t notice) but I’ll try to post some tomorrow!
I'll snap some photos tomorrow. Everything is off and sleeping right now:D and as far as automation, that's not to say I don't want an apex or reef keeper or a tank controller of some sort, it's just not in the budget unfortunately..so if anyone out there is feeling extremely generous!;Hilarious;Hilarious
 
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4FordFamily

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I'll snap some photos tomorrow. Everything is off and sleeping right now:D and as far as automation, that's not to say I don't want an apex or reef keeper or a tank controller of some sort, it's just not in the budget unfortunately..so if anyone out there is feeling extremely generous!;Hilarious;Hilarious
Hahaha! I don’t think I’d know what to do with all of that. I have 3 Hydra 52 HDs on the 180 gallon, a Prime HD on my Reefer 170 and a prime HD on my Reefer nano— I guess that’s some “automation” I guess!
 

Maritimer

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I run a water change on Kingston & Zoey's Reef every couple of weeks, so salinity gets tested at least that often ... and I've found it to sometimes drift lower, so I know it's something to keep an eye on. I make RO/DI into a 32 gallon Brute barrel, which sits atop a dolly designed for them, then roll it across the kitchen to an outlet I can plug a powerhead into. Salt gets mixed there over a 12-24 hour period, until it tests at the SG I want, and then the five-gallon buckets go to work. Five buckets down the drain, hold six and seven, then (more slowly) move water from the barrel and pour it into the reef.

ATO by Tunze, and I'm very glad to have it. Lights are "black boxes" on old-school household timers.

I do try to run a battery of basic tests (pH, Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium) when I've got both the time and the energy ... which might not come out to more than a couple of times a month. I have been dosing kalkwasser ... through a "Little Dripper", which is marketed for reptiles and balanced on the edge of my sump. It keeps a moderately steady drip for almost 24 hours, though it does like to be adjusted at about 12. Skimming by Deltec, 24/7. Tried growing Chaetomorpha - and though it grew well in the 65, it rapidly became extinct in the 220. Two bags of carbon / GFO hang in the flow in the sump - one gets changed every couple of weeks or so.

Somehow, a clam, montiporas, zoanthids, stylos, and even acros seem to be growing and doing well!

When it comes to fish, I'm a bit more aggressive. Every new fish goes into the QT, and gets treated for flukes with General Cure, bacteria as needed with Furan-2, Metroplex and Kanaplex, and observed for a couple of weeks. At any sign of stringy white poop, the General Cure (along with Focus) goes into everyone's food twice a day - and that applies to the reef as well as the QT. Even if ich or velvet don't show up, Coppersafe does. Been through that one time, and one time too many.

For feeding, the morning meal consists of one cube of frozen food from my "blister-pack" rotation, which includes things from San Francisco Bay, Hikari, Ocean Nutrition and the like, along with odds and ends like Cyclopeez. (There's a shop near here that had some in - not sure how that happened!) _and_ one roughly cube-sized chunk from my "premium" rotation; LRS Reef Frenzy, Fish Frenzy and Herbivore Frenzy, and Rod's Food Original and Herbivore formulae. Those get melted into RO/DI in a cup, and dropped into the flow of the return in roughly three portions, spaced a half-hour or so apart. If I'm home at midday, they may get a smattering of mixed pellets and flake - more to give the fish something to chase than to provide a bulky feeding - or a frozen clam with nori on a clip, which they can nibble on throughout the afternoon. Evening meal is the same as the morning, but with the addition of a few drops of Selcon.

Filter socks get changed out about 1.5 - 2X per week - one at a time, rather than all three at once, which I'm hoping will help keep nitrates somewhat stable.

~Bruce, pretty sure he could be doing it "better" . . . but it's somehow working.
 

dbl

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I'm a cross between automation and then letting things run its course. Between the ATO and the rock solid GHL dosing pumps using the Red Sea Foundation A, B and C, plus the four colors, I let the tank do its thing. The last time I tested was September 20th (I do log my test results) because I wanted to see how things had settled after the disaster known as Irma.

I haven't done a water change in an embarrassing long time. I simply fill the ATO reservoir every couple of weeks and change the socks once a week. I even started making those so I can just toss the dirty ones. I change the GFO and carbon once a month whether it needs it or not! I do keep the glass clean (all three sides) simply because I hate dirty glass.

I don't get hung up on the occasional sighting of algae as it always seems to work itself out. I don't worry about corals bumping in to each other with the only exception of when I tore it all apart for the removal of rouge RBTA's. I figure it's survival of the fittest. Probably a little too cocky and setting my self up for failure, but I've gotten to the point by looking at the corals (while I clean the glass) to see if something is off.

So the bottom line is I no longer really do much on a regular basis. I don't get hung up or fret it when coral "x" doesn't open up or have PE for a couple days. I've had better luck letting things work it out on their own. Best advice I've ever received is keeping my hands out of the tank and I really try to heed said advice.

I have a truly mixed reef. I did lose a lot of SPS colonies and some fish to the aforementioned Irma event, but hopefully that is not a regular occurrence. Apparently 89 degrees for 5 days isn't a good thing...who knew.

I actually took a cell phone picture last night, albeit it it was late and things were looking a little blue, but here is a basically ignored, mostly automated tank slowly recovering from a rather traumatic event a few months ago.

20171221_181144.jpg
 
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4FordFamily

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I'm a cross between automation and then letting things run its course. Between the ATO and the rock solid GHL dosing pumps using the Red Sea Foundation A, B and C, plus the four colors, I let the tank do its thing. The last time I tested was September 20th (I do log my test results) because I wanted to see how things had settled after the disaster known as Irma.

I haven't done a water change in an embarrassing long time. I simply fill the ATO reservoir every couple of weeks and change the socks once a week. I even started making those so I can just toss the dirty ones. I change the GFO and carbon once a month whether it needs it or not! I do keep the glass clean (all three sides) simply because I hate dirty glass.

I don't get hung up on the occasional sighting of algae as it always seems to work itself out. I don't worry about corals bumping in to each other with the only exception of when I tore it all apart for the removal of rouge RBTA's. I figure it's survival of the fittest. Probably a little too cocky and setting my self up for failure, but I've gotten to the point by looking at the corals (while I clean the glass) to see if something is off.

So the bottom line is I no longer really do much on a regular basis. I don't get hung up or fret it when coral "x" doesn't open up or have PE for a couple days. I've had better luck letting things work it out on their own. Best advice I've ever received is keeping my hands out of the tank and I really try to heed said advice.

I have a truly mixed reef. I did lose a lot of SPS colonies and some fish to the aforementioned Irma event, but hopefully that is not a regular occurrence. Apparently 89 degrees for 5 days isn't a good thing...who knew.

I actually took a cell phone picture last night, albeit it it was late and things were looking a little blue, but here is a basically ignored, mostly automated tank slowly recovering from a rather traumatic event a few months ago.

20171221_181144.jpg
That’s a beautiful tank! Thanks for sharing!

I am not opposed to automating things with high ROI and less risk — I always worry about things being overdosed suddenly when technology fails— I’m not sure why I worry so much when most of my coral isn’t very expensive!
 

revhtree

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Honestly the less I do the better the reef seems to be!
 
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4FordFamily

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Honestly the less I do the better the reef seems to be!
I am the same, but I don’t know if I’m just justifying my own laziness! :D
 

revhtree

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I am the same, but I don’t know if I’m just justifying my own laziness! :D

Well I do more but it seems like it's better when I do less! LOL! If you looked at my tank room you would say I do WAY MORE than I should. People that see that room ask if all that's needed to keep a reef tank! LOL!
 

Daniel@R2R

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I love automation. I don't test as often as I should. I wasn't sure which button to push in the poll. LOL
 
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4FordFamily

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jsker

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I am almost totally automated but still find less is better
 
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jsker

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Wouldn’t mind automating water changes. Lol

That is next, I have been waiting for a certain piece of equipment to be released and I will start the AWC:)
 
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4FordFamily

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That is next, I have been waiting for a certain piece of equipment to be released and I will start the AWC:)
All seems so risky... yet useful!
 

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Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 71 53.0%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 68 50.7%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 34 25.4%
  • None.

    Votes: 30 22.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.7%

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