Lets put the Serious Reefs' 90/10 Method to the test

[Kodski]

Hello Everyone and Welcome!

I'm sure some of you know already but for those of you that don't here is a little introduction about where this comes from. Ryan Batcheller founder and former owner of Bulk Reef Supply started a new venture called Serious Reefs. Personally, I love what Ryan has done and continues to do for our hobby. I've been watching his videos since Ryan put out the first build series titled "How to set up a saltwater aquarium" where he and Reed set up a 40 gallon breeder. It's crazy to think that was 14 years ago! To put that into perspective, I'm currently 30 years old which means I've been watching Ryan for almost half of my life! Though, I will mention I've only had a saltwater aquarium for about the last 5 of those years. I spent nearly 10 years dreaming of the day where I could have my very own saltwater aquarium. Its safe to say, I'm now a life time reefer but maybe not what most would consider a pro reefer yet. I've been a member of the Serious Reefs Patreon page for some time now and I really enjoy what Ryan is doing. There is a ton of great information, discussions, and experiments that anyone can tell Ryan puts his heart into. One such topic of content is a guide to reef keeping that Ryan has called the 90/10 method.

To quote Serious Reefs:

"Serious Reefs developed the 90/10 Method to give nearly everyone a straightforward path to a beautiful reef tank with minimal effort. The idea is simple: choose the highest-success option at every decision point so that 90 percent of people reach the finish line, and do it using roughly 10 percent of the effort and complexity typical of hobbyist approaches."

I had a crazy thought a few weeks ago, with how popular Ryan's previous build guides/series have been I don't think anyone has tried and recorded their journey following along with Ryan's methods. I'm sure part of that was driven by product influence, where not everyone agrees with or sees why certain products are used. I'm sure another part is because there was never really any "options" where reefers could build their own requirements or wants into the methods. In Ryan's new journey, he makes it a point that no products are sponsored or hold any obligation to be used. Ryan uses a product that simply works and follows the 90/10 rule of thumb, even favoring some budget friendly choices along the way. Ryan also points out areas where there are options or choices for the reefer to make for themselves, referring to these as "audibles."

In short, I love it. I think Ryan is going to once again take the culmination of what our community has learned over the years and put it into an interesting and digestable format that when followed will produce results anyone can be proud of. I also believe along the way Ryan will challenge and test our preconceived notions and methods within the hobby. I'm excited to follow his journey, but like many others, I also want to know if it works for us average reefers without years and years of experience. So lets put Ryan's 90/10 method to the test!!

*please forgive me, I'm going to be doing a lot of copy and pasting from the Serious Reefs website to save a lot of typing.*



I will be make decisions and sticking to the following;

Core Principles of the 90/10 Method​

• Ease over complexity: Favor systems and choices that are easy to maintain.
• Highest probability choices: At every turn pick the option most likely to succeed for a wide range of people.
• Minimal gear, maximal results: Use only what’s necessary and reliable.
• Predictable inputs: Start with clean, controllable source water and predictable salts.
• Weekly testing and small, consistent actions: Dilution first, consistent water changes, and weekly checks trump complicated chemistry juggling.

I am going to format my thread here to follow the build series in order as Ryan ordered his video series.
MY 90/10 Method will be as follows.

Tank Type:
The tank will be the 90/10 Method's recommended Softie/LPS tank.
Tank Size:
I will be using a standard 40 breeder aquarium. This falls within the 90/10's 35-75 gallon recommendation for tank size. I also believe this
Source Water:
I have a BRS 7 stage 150gpd RO/DI system paired with a Aquatic Life Smart Buddy booster pump. For a water mixing bin, Ryan recommends a 'white' brute trash can. This is where I'm going to call my first audible. I already have a 32 gallon gray brute mixing station set up. I'd love to buy $300 worth of white brute cans, but I, and I'm sure many others cannot justify that cost. This does not mean, I'm going to ignore Ryan's reasoning for the white brute cans though. Ryan's whole point of the white brutes is to ensure you can spot any purity issues with your fresh saltwater. I think a white 5 gallon bucket for my water changes will do a close enough job of allowing me to spot any issues with my salt mix that Ryan's thought process will still align with my audible. I will combine this with using good quality salt, to ensure minimal contaminants and also minimal crud deposits on the mixing bin. I will be using Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt as recommended by the 90/10 method. I must admit, I'm a bit nervous to switch back to this salt as I was one of the reefers that had an issue with their Turkey batch that ended up wiping out most of my corals. I know that is an issue of the past though, so I am willing to give it a try.

Substrate:
The 90/10 method recommends actual live sand to increase micro biome. It is recommended if not 100% live sand to mix some the live sand with "kind of live sand" for an introduction of that micro biome to the tank. I have looked into TBS live sand and I'm willing to risk any potential pests, but I cannot justify the cost. For 15 lbs of live sand it costs $135 for the sand and $58 for shipping for a total of $192. Lets say I just want to add a little live sand. The smallest/cheapest package is $63 that gets you 2lbs of sand and 4 lbs of live rubble/rock. That is still $121 (shipped) for 2 lbs of sand as the 90/10 method doesn't recommend using actual live rock due to the potential of introducing pests. With pricing like this, I feel that we are driving new reefers or even budget minded reefers away. So this is where I will call my second audible. I choose to do this for two reasons. 1) I can't justify spending that much money on sand, or micro biome if you put it that way. 2) I don't think there are many people who WOULD spend that much money on sand. For every 10 reefers that follow the 90/10 method, I just can't see more than 1 or 2 of them actually following through with this part of the method. That being said, I understand why Ryan chose live sand for this method and am a bit conflicted by choosing not to follow this recommendation because I do view it as going against one of the core beliefs. Referring back to the core belief

• Highest probability choices: At every turn pick the option most likely to succeed for a wide range of people.

So all of that said I feel a bit obligated to try and share my experience without the true live sand part. I will be using 1 40lb bag of Ocean Direct "kind of alive" sand. I will plan on taking extra time for the biome to cycle, and will seed the aquarium with pods. I think this is a more budget orientated path that most reefers would take but also achieve similar long term results.

Rock:
I am going to follow the 90/10 method to a 'T' here, so to quote;

For rockwork we prefer a functional dry aquascape. We keep the rock away from the back glass, build smaller functional structures instead of one large stack, and use epoxy and super glue to make everything stable yet movable. This approach offers several advantages:

• Cleanability: individual pieces can be cleaned and siphoned behind—no long-term detritus traps.
• Better swim paths: moving rock off the back and forward increases linear swim distance which can let smaller tanks comfortably house active fish like tangs.
• Portability: modular pieces are easier to disassemble, transport, or temporarily containerize for relocation or large maintenance tasks.
• Reduced nuisance growth: dry rock limits introduction of surface photosynthetics compared to wet ocean live rock that often arrives with a variety of algae.

Dilution over filtration:
I will follow the recommended 10% weekly water changes. The nice thing about a tank this size, I only have to change 4 gallons a week! No skimmer, no mechanical filtration. I will be running a Seachem Tidal 35 on the tank only for surface skimming and to have an area to run carbon and GFO media.

Control phosphate:
I will follow the recommended target range of phosphate that is 0.05 to 0.1 ppm. I will be using the recommended Hanna Low Range Phosphate checker along with GFO or a GFO like resin product to control high phosphate levels.

Softy and LPS flow:
I will do my best to create the recommended shifting currents as opposed to chaotic and random flow. I plan on using two gyre wavemakers to achieve this.
Maintain temperature:
I will be using a titanium heating element that is controlled by an Inkbird temperature controller.
Lighting, estimate don’t guess:
For lighting I will be using a Kessil AP700 that I have laying around, using a cheap killawatt meter to tune the light to the recommended 1 to 1.5 watts per gallon favoring a 75% blue/violet, 25% white color balance. If you haven't heard of or seen Ryan's experiment where he tunes a bunch of different LED lights using a killawatt meter that alone is a reason to try Serious Reefs patreon for a month.

Chemistry:
I will be using BRS bulk 2-part to maintain Major Elements. I will be using water changes and Tropic Marin A- and K+ to maintain trace elements. I will follow the 90/10 method's recommendation of dosing manually but automating dosing with a doser once elements stabilize in consumption.

Evaporation:
The 90/10 method recommends starting day 1 with an auto top off and I will do just that. I think there might be a challenge with running an ATO in the display but I have a few ideas to help maintain stable salinity. I will be using a DFC ato from amazon, but my ATO container will not be very large so that in the event of a malfunction no serious harm would follow.

Testing:
I will follow the recommended guidelines. To quote;

• Test weekly for nitrate, phosphate, calcium, alkalinity, and salinity. These are the bedrock of reef water chemistry.
• Magnesium is less volatile; monthly testing is usually adequate after an initial settling period.
• ICP tests are useful occasionally as a comprehensive audit of trace and major elements.

Target ranges to aim for:

• Calcium ~430 ppm ±20 (so roughly 410–450 ppm).
• Alkalinity ~9 dKH ±1.
• Magnesium ~1350 ppm ±50.
• Salinity 35 ppt ±1 (act sooner if you drift more than 1 ppt).
• Nitrates 2 - 20 ppm The 90/10 sweet spot is to target the low end and act to trend back if you drift upward: feed less, improve filtration, or increase water change frequency.
• Phosphates 0.05 - 0.1 ppm using GFO media to maintain levels
• Clear Blue Water is an easy visual test: do water changes into a white bucket and the water should be crystal blue. If it’s yellow or dingy, increase water changes or use activated carbon.

Utilitarians:
Instead of trying to eliminate every organism that might appear, the 90/10 method builds a community that keeps nuisances in check. To achieve this, I will be utilizing a well thought out stocking list of inhabitants.

• Algae I'm unsure of how I feel about even a small tang in a 40 breeder, for that reason I'm leaning towards going with a lawnmower aka algae blenny for general algae grazing. I will also be adding an assortment of snails favoring stomatella snails in general. I will likely add a few emerald crabs into the mix to round out algae control.
• Cyano, Dinos, Diatoms As mentioned earlier in the substrate section, I plan on adding assorted pods to the tank.
• Control Pest Anemones This is a battle I fight in my main display tank with aptasia, so I will be making a serious point to limit any pests coming into the tank but also take preventative measures. I wish a copperband would work in a 40 gallon tank, but again more than likely the tank isn't large enough. I will likely turn towards peppermint shrimp or an aptasia eating file fish.
• Small coral and fish predators I plan on stocking the tank with a yellow banded possum wrasse and potentially a talbots damsel or two for flatworm and nudibranch control.
• Keep Sand Clean I will be adding one or two of my favorite invert, a fighting conch once there is an established food base in the sand. I would also like to add a sand starfish and sand sifting gobies, but have heard that they are not viable to keep long term. I will research this more to make an educated decision. If I cannot add those animals, I will add in Nassarius snails to aid the conch in keeping the sand clean.

Ryan, if you ever see this, I want to thank you for what you do to push this community and hobby forward. Many of us, including myself, look up to you as a mentor.




I plan on documenting everything thoroughly and as consistently as I possibly can. Over the next day or two, I plan on putting together a finalized equipment list as well as a proposed stocking list for the tank. I'll be posting progress as I make it, large or small. Throughout this build, I encourage (friendly) discussion about this method and my "audibles" as well as look forward to your thoughts!

With that being said, lets begin!

 

[Kodski]

Tank Cycling

"The traditional view of cycling a reef tank was focused almost entirely on ammonia and the nitrifying bacteria that convert it to nitrate." The 90/10 Method instead aims to cycle our tanks biome, purposefully cultivating beneficial organisms that help to combat the "ugly stages."

Core approach: use ultra‑live sand as the biome donor​

Ryan believes that "the simplest, most reliable way to seed a natural biome is with ultra-live ocean sand from the ocean." Ryan chooses live ocean sand to seed the biome with over live rock because of the potential for unwanted pests and algae. To quote Serious Reefs' on live sand;

• Introduces fewer algae and parasites because sand in the ocean is constantly turned over.
• Is more affordable and widely available than good live rock.
• Delivers the essential microfauna we want without a heavy load of unwanted hitchhikers.

The method encourages 100% ocean live sand, but calls out a budget audible for 10 to 20 percent live ocean sand and 90 to 80 percent your traditional "live" sand. Ryan specifically calls out Ocean Direct Live sand because he has done DNA testing on this sand in the past and was pleased with the overall biodiversity it contained. Ryan does mention additional ways to biome cycle a tank, but goes on to point out that this is the most consistent and reliable method.

I will be adding live sand and potentially some rubble rock to seed the new tank. I will be choosing to see the tank from either Tampa Bay Saltwater, Florida Pets or Indo-Pacific Sea Farms. I will be aiming for roughly 10% live ocean sand, but I do question how 10-20 percent came to be. If I go with Indo-Pacific Sea Farms or Florida Pets for my live ocean sand, they do not offer larger quantities for purchase so I will likely fall short of the lower goal of 10% live ocean sand. I do think, the net effect of this will be that the tank takes a little longer for the biome to cycle.

Step‑by‑step 90/10 biome cycle (first eight weeks)​

This is the outline for what the first 8 weeks of life in the tank should look like. I plan on following this as closely as possible.

Preparation (24-72 hours before sand arrives):

• Finalize system design and ensure all equipment is installed and running.
• Fill and run the tank with all pumps and heaters on for 1 to 3 days with no lights. This gets the tank operational and prevents photosynthetic slimes from growing ahead of the biome introduction.

Day 1 — Add the sand:​

• If using 100 percent ultra‑live sand, add it directly. Tampa Bay Saltwater is the source of ultra live sand we trust but there are other good options out there.
• If using an ~80% ocean‑direct base, place that first and then layer 20% ultra live sand on top — do not mix aggressively. We do not want to bury the organisms on the ultra live sand.
• Let the tank sit with no light for one week to let the biome migrate throughout the tank.

Again, I will not be using 100% live ocean sand in order to keep the cost down a bit.

Day 7 — Dim lights and start water changes:​

• Turn lights on for a short, dim period: about 4 hours per day at roughly 0.5 watt per gallon, ~25-50 PAR, or visually about half of your goal intensity. We want very low par that starts the process but doesn't feed the slimes.
• Begin weekly 10 percent water changes. Removing 10 percent will not strip the tank of its biome but will prevent nutrient build up that fuels ugly outbreaks.

I will be using a killawatt to estimate PAR from my light. I also plan on experimenting with AI to some degree to see how accurate AI can be with setting up lights.

Day 14 — First fish and pods:​

• Test ammonia . If 0, add one hardy fish (clownfish or similar). If not zero, wait another week and retest.
• Now that you are feeding the tank and lights are on. Order live copepods; do not add pods before some signs photosynthetic growth exists or pods may starve.
• Increase light to eight hours per day at the same low 0.5 watt per gallon low intensity.

I don't want clownfish in this tank, so I'll have to come up with an alternative first addition. I'm thinking a firefish or cardinal. I will try to source pods locally, but I have a suspicion that the tank just wont be ready for pods at this point. Guess we will have to wait and find out!

Day 21 — Add utilitarian fish:​

• Add a second fish focused on algae control if tank size allows (tangs, bristletooth species, etc.).
• Settle on a stable lighting target of approximately 1 watt per gallon or a PAR range near 50 to 150 for LPS tanks. Lower end of that range will produce fewer slimes and algae.

As much as I'd like to add a small tang, I think I'd like to stick with a fish that I don't have to try to catch and rehome at some point. Another issue I have with adding a tang is adding a tang as the second fish. Tang in my experience are quick to claim territory and not be so friendly with new additions. This is an issue I'd rather avoid if possible. I'm thinking a lawnmower aka algae blenny as a substitute for a tang.

Day 28 — Cleanup crew and another utilitarian:​

• Add your cleanup crew (snails, crabs, cucumbers, stars) when you begin seeing small amounts of film or algae so they have something to eat and won’t starve.
• Buy cleanup crew locally when possible; mortality is often lower and you can inspect animals before purchase.
• Keep observing the tank rather than intervening at the first sign of slime.

Depending on where I get my live sand from, I may already have some form of a small cleanup crew. As far as a utilitarian fish, I was thinking along the lines of some kind of pest control. Most likely a wrasse, I'm hoping I can find a banded possum wrasse. I love the goofy little guys. Some cleanup crew members that I want to add includes, emerald crabs, nassarius snails, micro brittle stars, tiger conch, and stomatella snails.

Weeks 5–7 — Add one utilitarian fish per week and observe​

• Examples of utilitarians by week: purple/yellow tang early, bristletooth or smaller tangs, filefish that eat aiptasia, peppermint shrimp, and coral parasite hunters like certain wrasses.
• Make sure your tank is large enough for the desired fish. For most of these fish tank length is more important than total gallons. A four foot wide tank is adequate for most. Three foot wide tank for juveniles. A few are ok in smaller tanks.
• Hold off on adding corals until the tank is stable and slimes are under control.

I really feel like a 40 gallon is pushing the size limit for tangs. I'll continue to contemplate this decision I'm sure. If I did add a tang it would be a very small white tail or square tail and get rehomed within a two year period of time. Elliot from Marine Collectors did not recommend Tomini Tangs for smaller tanks as they are a longer bodied tang that tends to grow faster than some other tangs. Elliot instead recommended the white tail or square tail as they tend to be a stockier body shape and also grow at a slower pace.

As for other utilitarian fish, I will be adding an aiptasia eating filefish, and a few more wrasses. Being a 40 gallon tank, there just isn't that many utilitarian fish I can realistically add. Overall, I don't plan on having a ton of fish, but I would like it to not look barren. I also would like to take the approach that I can always add more fish to add nutrients to the tank once corals begin to act as a nutrient export.

Week 8 — Typical outcomes and next steps:​

• About half of tanks will show effortless success with basically no ugly stage — ready for coral addition.
• Roughly 40 percent will see light slimes or dusting for a week or two that resolves naturally as predators establish. Try not to interfere with this process and let it play out.
• About 9 percent may develop heavier slime growth; the simple cure is a one‑week lights out to starve photosynthetics, then resume lights.
• One percent or so may need a stricter blackout (two weeks) and, if necessary, restarting the biome cycle from the beginning. We can influence nature but we can not control it.

We will see which of these this tank will fall into. I do love Ryan's saying that we can influence nature but we can not control it.


In summary, here is the weekly expectation.

• Day 1: Prep tank and equipment; keep it running without light for 24–72 hours. Add ultra‑live sand; keep lights off for one week.
• Day 7: Dim lights 4 hours/day at low intensity; start weekly 10 percent water changes.
• Day 14: Test ammonia and add a hardy fish if safe; order and add copepods.
• Day 21: Add utilitarian fish weekly; increase light to target 1 watt per gallon (or ~50–150 PAR for LPS).
• Day 28: Add cleanup crew once small amounts of film/algae are present.
• Week 5+ Observe. Add utilitarian fish and inverts.
• Add coral only when slimes are controlled and the tank is stable.

 

[Kodski]

Saved for Future

 

[Kodski]

Some progress was made today. The wife wants the tank to go where a curio cabinet is currently occupying in our dinning room. Got the cabinet emptied out and ready to move today.

I made some progress on the tank itself too. I got the tank pulled out of my garage and cleaned up. It’s a new tank but it’s been sitting in my garage for a few months at this point. So it was covered in sawdust. I also taped up the back panel and prepped for paint.

I’m using rustoleum matte black spray paint.

By doing a nice light first coat it helps promote adhesion of the paint to the glass.

Second coat was a little heavier with emphasis on getting paint under the black trim as much as possible. I also changed the direct of my painting from horizontal back and forth, to a vertical back and forth. I change directions with each coat. This helps ensure overlapping coverage.

A third coat is sprayed and drying currently. I will likely spray one more and pull the tape directly afterwards. Then I will let it dry overnight without disturbing it.


Tomorrow’s goal is to remove the curio cabinet from the dinning room and move the stand into place. Hopefully I will be able to have pictures of a tank on a stand by the end of the night tomorrow.

 

[AquaNanoNZ]

Cool idea of making a thread and document what happens. Ill be following along to see how this progresses

 

[Indiana Reefin]

Awesome thread! Thanks for doing this! I will be following along

 

[Kodski]

Well, the first learned lesson of what I’m sure are many. After the fourth coat of paint I made the decision to shine a light through the back glass and check for any spots I missed.

I’d say that there was a few areas that the paint was a little thin! I ended up doing two more coats of paint using the light to help guide my coverage and pulled the painters tape off. Finished product, drying overnight.

 

[Kodski]

Cool idea of making a thread and document what happens. Ill be following along to see how this progresses

Thanks for the kind words! Please be sure to chime in with your thoughts along the way!

 

[Kodski]

Awesome thread! Thanks for doing this! I will be following along

Of course! I thought it would be a fun journey not only for myself but the Reef2reef community! Please be sure to chime in with thoughts and suggestions!

 

[AgentKooper]

Interesting, following along.

I’m curious what the 90/10 method recommends regarding tank cycling and how long to wait before adding CUC, fish, and corals.

 

[Kodski]

Interesting, following along.

I’m curious what the 90/10 method recommends regarding tank cycling and how long to wait before adding CUC, fish, and corals.

Stay tuned! I will be adding that information in Post #2 either today or tomorrow!

 

[skey44]

Excited for your build! Following.

 

[Kodski]

Excited for your build! Following.

Thank you! Make sure to chime in with your thoughts along the way!

 

[oakcityreefer]

Watching. I too am a fan of Ryan and now Serious Reefs.

 

[Kodski]

Watching. I too am a fan of Ryan and now Serious Reefs.

Thanks for following along! Is there a part to the method you’re most interested in seeing play out?

 

[Kodski]

Well I didn’t make as much progress as I had hoped tonight but that’s ok! Progress was made nonetheless.

Got the old Curio cabinet/China hutch the wife wanted gone all cleaned out. Turns out there was a lot stuffed in there!

I listed it for free on marketplace place and then proceeded to move it out of the house to where someone (hopefully soon) will come pick it up from.

Cleaned the floor and walls quick and had to stop there. Tomorrow night I’ll move the aquarium stand into place and get the tank set into place. So here is where we are left.

On a more… ugh note. The wife does not like the blue we painted our dinning room anymore. Unfortunately I don’t disagree with her and now would be the time for paint before the tank gets wet. I told her we need to decide by the end of the week.

 

[oakcityreefer]

Watching. I too am a fan of Ryan and now Serious Reefs.

Thanks for following along! Is there a part to the method you’re most interested in seeing play out?

I’m currently working on getting a cycle started. Interested in seeing how that works doing the 90/10

 

[NanoSteam]

Following along.... i'm also following Ryans 90/10 build.

 

[Kodski]

Let me ask you all a question. Let’s call it the question of the week.

At what point is budget more or less of a priority over chance of success?

I’m beginning to question the decision to not use live sand. I firmly believe it’s a price many are not willing to pay, but I also firmly believe that it will greatly increase chances of success across the board for most reefers.

Aside from those two reasons I also feel like I’m cutting the 90/10 method short by removing a minor component of the method. Can it really be considered the same method at that point?

I’d love to hear all of your thoughts and opinions on this!

 

[Rocco's Reef]

This is awesome! I too have been watching his series and will be following along with some "audibles", mainly in tank size.

Let me ask you all a question. Let’s call it the question of the week.

At what point is budget more or less of a priority over chance of success?

I’m beginning to question the decision to not use live sand. I firmly believe it’s a price many are not willing to pay, but I also firmly believe that it will greatly increase chances of success across the board for most reefers.

Aside from those two reasons I also feel like I’m cutting the 90/10 method short by removing a minor component of the method. Can it really be considered the same method at that point?

I’d love to hear all of your thoughts and opinions on this!

I've been thinking about this as well. While I think the live sand would be the best option, I don't really like the look of it. From pictures I've seen, it just looks like a bunch of crushed shells. So, I've decided to go with Tropic Eden Miniflakes, another "audible". I am planning to actually get live sand and some rubble rock from TBS and use it to cycle the tank, will probably end up moving the rubble rock to the sump and might put the sand in my refugium, not sure though.