Matt's natural reef

[Matt Carden]

4ppm is a bit much. I think 2ppm in 24 hours is standard. If your tank can digest 4ppm in half a day that's great.

Part of why I dosed 4 is because some of my rock dried out while changing my water so that rock may need to cycle.

 

[vlangel]

Thank you for the Information about my fish list.

Your tank is amazing! I love how you have algea patches growing on your sand. Looks like it would in the real world.

I want my tank to look like something you would see snorkeling or diving. I also want it to be easy without a lot of testing. LOL, I am lazy that way but I am good about husbandry and water changes, although this tank is not demanding in those areas.

 

[Matt Carden]

Have you seen @Paul B build thread? He has broken bottles and metal chains to make it look real world. I haven't been diving but I would like to someday. I want to be at a point where I just have to worry about dosing, maybe 6 water changes a year. Actually enjoy the art of our creations.

 

[count krunk]

i'm curious what exactly you mean by natural reef. No QT and feeding premium foods?

 

[vlangel]

Have you seen @Paul B build thread? He has broken bottles and metal chains to make it look real world. I haven't been diving but I would like to someday. I want to be at a point where I just have to worry about dosing, maybe 6 water changes a year. Actually enjoy the art of our creations.

Yes, I have followed Paul B's tank ever since I discovered the internet. I like the naturalness and the longevity of his tank. I like a lot of his ideas and he has definitely had influence on my breeding experience. No glass bottles or chains however.

 

[Matt Carden]

i'm curious what exactly you mean by natural reef. No QT and feeding premium foods?

My goal is to create as complete an ecosystem with diversity of bacteria, micro and macro algea, CUC, fish stocking and corals that will prevent the need for Mechanical or chemical filtration or additives to control nuisances that arise.

I don't plan to QT my new arrivals be it fish, snails, corals, mud, etc.

My plan for feeding is to make my own frozen food using clams, mussels, feeder fish, worms, crickets, etc. Anything that may have bacteria in their guts as Paul does.

 

[Matt Carden]

12 hours after restarting my tank from a 99% water change:

74°F temperature
1.020 Salinity
3 ppm Ammonia API
5 ppm NO2 API
40 ppm NO3 API
100 ppm NO3 Salifert
6ppm PO4 API
>3ppm PO4 Salifert

Before my 99% water change I tested NO3 with my Salifert test kit and the results were green. When I tested my PO4 with my Salifert test kit it was always clear. This is why I bought the API test kits, to verify the results. I have to wonder how high my Nitrates really were? 1000ppm? More? After a 99% water change I am reading 100ppm NO3! I dosed Potassium Phosphate several times before I stopped waiting for my API phosphate kit to arrive which is why my PO4 is so high.

 

[Matt Carden]

So the reason for the problems that I've had with my extremely high NO3? When I started my cycle I made a really big oops. I got myself confused by a certain person that says that in a cycle, you don't need to test to know you are cycled. Time and water is all that is needed. Well I somehow got it in my head that during this no testing phase of a cycle I had to administer 1ppm ammonia daily. Then when I did the calculation for ml to cup I somehow came up with 1oz. So I decided to dose it up to 2ppm daily so 2oz would make 1/4 cup. So I added 1/4 cup ammonia for about a month before I smelled ammonia in my house. I then stopped dosing ammonia and accessed what was going on. I figured out that 1/4 cup is 12ppm ammonia. The good thing is my tank can process ammonia so I didn't sterilize the bacteria. So it may take more water changes and time to get my tank where it needs to be.

 

[count krunk]

another reason i like to toss a deli shrimp in for 1-2 weeks and let it go. Much simpler haha

 

[Matt Carden]

I think it would have worked if I had actually dosed 1ppm daily for 30 days. I will have to try it next time. I have a 36g acrylic bowfront that I will setup eventually.

 

[Matt Carden]

i'm curious what exactly you mean by natural reef. No QT and feeding premium foods?

I was just reading an article by
Ronald L. Shimek Ph D
Reef Aquaria as Ecosystems
"I plan for this article to be the first of a series discussing marine reef aquaria as ecosystems and how we should manage them using an ecosystem or holistic approach, as opposed to the micromanagement philosophy that seems inherent in most reef aquarium husbandry. I suppose this more inclusive approach comes naturally to me; after all, I am a professional ecologist and, to me, such an approach simply seems natural. Nonetheless, to the average aquarist whose familiarity with ecosystem management is fleeting at best, such a management proposal must seem daunting.

Well, it shouldn't be. Actually, what this kind of management means is that we let the organisms do most of the dirty work, whilst we aquarists sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labors."

This is pretty much exactly how I've already answered your question but probably better worded. Here is the link
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/rs/feature/index.php

 

[count krunk]

thanks for the link. I too, have been influenced by Paul b since my days on reefsanctuary starting back in 2007 (hence the username, not quite as young anymore). My breeder will also be following the natural approach

 

[Subsea]

Well I finally finished my stand by putting the doors on today!

Very nice craftsmanship. Very elegant looking build. Kudos to your start.

 

[Subsea]

I was just reading an article by
Ronald L. Shimek Ph D
Reef Aquaria as Ecosystems
"I plan for this article to be the first of a series discussing marine reef aquaria as ecosystems and how we should manage them using an ecosystem or holistic approach, as opposed to the micromanagement philosophy that seems inherent in most reef aquarium husbandry. I suppose this more inclusive approach comes naturally to me; after all, I am a professional ecologist and, to me, such an approach simply seems natural. Nonetheless, to the average aquarist whose familiarity with ecosystem management is fleeting at best, such a management proposal must seem daunting.

Well, it shouldn't be. Actually, what this kind of management means is that we let the organisms do most of the dirty work, whilst we aquarists sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labors."

This is pretty much exactly how I've already answered your question but probably better worded. Here is the link
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/rs/feature/index.php

Your reef keeping philosophy is as mine. Things are in place that make this hobby easy, inexpensive and fun. I say let’s use natural systems wisely. We are all connected and live in a holistic relationship with each other. Avatar may have meaning for some. Nature took billions of years to implement the details and is very efficient at the use of energy & food.


We will be in harmony on Dr Ron’s phylisaphy of sandbeds. We disagree on depth of sand-bed. I see no need for abundant sand depth to perform nutrient recycling of live food for feeding a tank.

Be careful during a new tank set up. Some of the responses I get from my 25 year old tank will not be attainable in a new tank. The biofiltration of a mature reef tank is difficult to overestimate. I saw BRS TV video where 8 Oz of fish protein were feed everyday to a mature 160G SPS tank with a 25G algae filter.

 

[Matt Carden]

On Saturday I received a box from IPSF. I ordered the mix and match special with some snails, a pod kit, bristle worms, live sand activator, mud, and nitrifying bacteria. They threw in an Ultra Green Polyp Toadstool Leather.

View attachment 20190126_173911.jpg

 

[Matt Carden]

Well my crystal clear newly changed water with semi high nitrates and PO4 didn't fare too well against my new additions from IPSF! I got home from work last night and my tank was yellow. The glass, the rock, the sand, the water! The good thing is I knew that I could order some snails. I have a quick crew from reefcleaners.org coming Thursday to do some cleaning. I'll just keep the lights off til for now to reduce the growth. I'll post pics when I get home.

 

[Matt Carden]

My yellow algea is only noticeable under my white channel. When I turn on the blues, nothing. Also my Toadstool doesn't look good.

 

[Matt Carden]

I received a box of rock today. I got 17 lbs of premium live rock from gulfliverock.com I have never bought live rock before so I don't know how it compares to others. First off it came in a plastic bag with paper towel on top of the rock and enough water to cover the rocks. The rock was shipped with a heater pack and was still warm when it arrived. This rock was definitely in the Ocean curing for awhile. I'm not sure of the quality of the base rock used. Some of the pieces were oddly shaped. Here's the pics.

 

[Matt Carden]

I saw what looked like Apstasia on my new live rock. For now I will do nothing. If it starts to get out of control, I will get a nudibranch and/or CBB.

Edit: maybe I should just kill what I find.

View attachment 20190202_183615.jpg

 

[Matt Carden]

I picked up something orange that fell out of my live rock onto the floor without gloves and added it to my tank. It felt like something stung me. I immediately went to wash my hands and put on some nitrile gloves to add the rest of my shipment of live rock. I discovered it later and it ended up being a starfish. I will wear gloves whenever I touch anything in my tank from now on.