New YouTube Video BRStv Investigates-Reef-A-Palooza NY 2022 Presentation

[Reef A Palooza New York]

Today, we're kicking off @ryan_brstv BRStv Investigates YouTube Series on the Biome cycle, a new way of looking at the micro fauna that live in our aquariums! Is micro biome diversity more important than balance? Why does eliminating one pest immediately lead to another? Ryan is answering all these questions and more, and we will never look at our reef tanks the same way again!

 

[HuduVudu]

@Paul B @atoll @ReefGeezer @90's reefer @sixty_reefer @Subsea @Lasse @Hans-Werner

 

[sixty_reefer]

Thanks for the tag looking at the video should be interesting.

 

[X-37B]

I will check this out today. Thanks.

 

[atoll]

@Paul B @atoll @ReefGeezer @90's reefer @sixty_reefer @Subsea @Lasse @Hans-Werner

My philosophy is to follow mother nature, help her to help you. Mother nature has all the answers and it is her who will teach us the way to keep healthy corals and fish. The equipment we use, foods and additives, lighting and filtration I believe will be developed more and more to minic her ways which is the best way. Mother nature is the number one professor and the giver if life. Tune into her and you won't go far wrong after all she has had millions of years to perfect her ways.

 

[HuduVudu]

My philosophy is to follow mother nature, help her to help you. Mother nature has all the answers and it is her who will teach us the way to keep healthy corals and fish. The equipment we use, foods and additives, lighting and filtration I believe will be developed more and more to minic her ways which is the best way. Mother nature is the number one professor and the giver if life. Tune into her and you won't go far wrong after all she has had millions of years to perfect her ways.

I know the video is kinda long I am still winding through and I am almost done, but this is what he is showing. With testing. I think you will be shocked with how much confirmation of what we do as sucessful long term aquarists.

It is a good watch and I would hope that you would spend the time. Also it is a good way to help newbs understand the ideas that we try to present. One link and then done.

I would hope @atoll that you see me as advocating for a natural approach. I have been doing this for 40 years and far and away the best approach is the natural one. One thing that I find myself doing is speaking in metaphors to newbs, but new people need actual practical experience to understand what I have taken many years to learn. Providing testing and actual examples helps bring the point home to someone who is new, and showing with pictures how and what is happening is amazing. I am not going to start a YouTube channel I really don't want to be in front of a camera, but I would like for other people to understand how this really works so I can benefit from a diverse and sucessful hobby. There is so much to learn about managing biomes and biological systems. Are medical system doesn't seem to reflect this. To this end, I insisted on my brother having a salt water aquarium when he went to med school. We as customers really aren't getting the whole biology thing and because of this we aren't asking from the people that serve us in the medical community things that make us better.

Anyway give it a watch it's worth it.

EDIT: Around 1:06:00 He talks about NSA, shocking what he says, and I for one am glad he said it.

 

[ReefGeezer]

@Paul B @atoll @ReefGeezer @90's reefer @sixty_reefer @Subsea @Lasse @Hans-Werner

First, let me say I am happy to be included in the group you listed. Thanks for the tag. Coincidentally, I watched video right after lunch. It popped up on an email notification this morning. I must admit to scanning through it a little though. I don't think my boss would appreciate me watching a reef video for a whole hour! I'll watch it this weekend in detail to see what Ryan's found that was new. In any event, it's great to see something come out that might help reefers of all levels, particularly newbies, start to think differently.

 

[HuduVudu]

First, let me say I am happy to be included in the group you listed. Thanks for the tag. Coincidentally, I watched video right after lunch. It popped up on an email notification this morning. I must admit to scanning through it a little though. I don't think my boss would appreciate me watching a reef video for a whole hour! I'll watch it this weekend in detail to see what Ryan's found that was new. In any event, it's great to see something come out that might help reefers of all levels, particularly newbies, start to think differently.

Yup best not to do on work time.

It is well worth the watch. It is nice to see Ryan growing as a reefer. I must say I am pretty shocked and I didn't expect it of him of all people but there it is right before my eyes. I am at the NSA part and he pretty much admits that it was a failure. Will everyone get the memo ... probably not, but I guess that is just how information works its way to the rest of the world.

 

[atoll]

Just finished watching the whole thing thanks hudovudo. Much of what Ryan says in his talk and discovered mirrors my own thoughts as per my first post above.

As an example I have some had cyno and some dinos on my sand for a couple of months and I did absolutely nothing directly to combat them. They just wasted away, gone, the tank itself took care of them for me, or is that for itself. My tank diversity dealt with them now I have none of the uglies at all.

My tank is now 2 years old with stock transferred from another smaller reef tank then more added. My reefscape was designed from the off for my fish and coral not for my eyes and anyway a successful tank will look nothing like what reefscape you created in the first place some 2 years down the line.

My fish I believe are happy in their glass box away from the many predators they would encounter on the reef. That's not to say I don't have lots of diversity in my choice of fish, I most certainly do.

Many people choose not to believe those you have tagged on here @HuduVudu probably because they have been brainnwashed into thinking you must do this and that,QT etc. Perhaps sucked in by advertisements and at some of the experts who have a vested interest in selling products.

Ryan's talk was a breath of fresh air, seems his shackles have been removed and free to tell it as he now sees it. Hopefully we may see more changed their long held beliefs and ideas on reefkeeping and realise perhaps there are other ways, better ways. We can but hope.

 

[14 foot reef]

What a great presentation.....Kudos Ryan for your passion, this proves BRS is not about the money.

 

[sixty_reefer]

My thinking right now is why spend so much money to find out that copepod eat diatoms, that’s the only thing I could take from the presentation. Snails eat diatoms also and are normally introduced earlier in the cycle for those reasons, I was hoping for more, it started well although there was no answers. The information that was beneficial was never tested or at list not mentioned on the presentation.
To me is just a marketing video no useful information could be taken from the presentation with all due respect.

 

[ScubaFish802]

My thinking right now is why spend so much money to find out that copepod eat diatoms, that’s the only thing I could take from the presentation. Snails eat diatoms and it’s common knowledge, I was hoping for more, it started well although there was no answers. The information that was beneficial was never tested or at list mentioned on the presentation.

He said why about 30 second after, his reasoning was add 1 jar, and maybe a few months it clears up and everyone has doubts.. but add $400 of pods and clear it up in a week and there's no questions left

 

[sixty_reefer]

He said why about 30 second after, his reasoning was add 1 jar, and maybe a few months it clears up and everyone has doubts.. but add $400 of pods and clear it up in a week and there's no questions left

Snails do the same job for way less $$$ regarding diatoms, wend I started the video seemed promising regarding dinoflagellates and Cyanobacteria although it ended like it started, no probable justification and it seems that the message was just let it ride.

 

[Garf]

Snails do the same job for way less $$$ regarding diatoms, wend I started the video seemed promising regarding dinoflagellates and Cyanobacteria although it ended like it started, no probable justification and it seems that the message was just let it ride.

I thought he was talking about pods eating dinos, but without a source of diatoms the pod culture suffers.

 

[sixty_reefer]

I thought he was talking about pods eating dinos, but without a source of diatoms the pod culture suffers.

From my understanding from the presentation only effective against diatoms, for the other ones they are going to do a new test for next year regarding bacteria as that’s their new current suspension. Will look forward to see if it ever gets released as it will influence the sale of some products if it gets proven that bacteria has a influence in diminishing those nuisances.

 

[atoll]

I think what he was saying is forget the lotions and potions and let biodiversity do the job by reaching a biodiversity balance which is what I try and aim for as much as is reasonably possible. Nature has all the answers.

 

[Jedi1199]

I am 22 minutes into this video but it seems to be reflecting exactly what I have been doing all along. Perhaps I have blindly blundered into the right mix in my own tank, but the results are clear enough.

So many posts are made that a new tank "must" be sterile. Fully washed sand, live rocks and if you don't do that the stars will fall and space will contract to a singularity ect ect.

Let me share my experience.

I started my 55g build with a dry rock NSA scape. I also used 2 large pieces of rock from an established tank. I also used a 5g bucket of sand from the same established tank for my substrate. I never washed it or did anything to it.. it went straight from the previous owner, to my tank as is. It DID have a bit of a rotten egg smell to it that I did not notice until I was dumping it into my new tank.

Did I blunder into sucess with this? I kinda think I did!!

Never had a Dino issue. never had a Cyano issue. I did have a GHA/Bryopsis issue at about the 6-7 month mark. 1 treatment of FluxRx and that was gone and has never returned. I have had a few small spots of bubble algae, but that is also gone. If that is a result of the emerald crabs, or microfauna I am unsure. The fact is that these nuisance algae issues that many have to deal with have simply not been an issue for me.

If I have a copepod population in my tank, it is not of my design. I haven't introduced them intentionally...

This has me wondering if I really want to wash out the sand from my tank before adding it back into the new upgrade?? Could I inadvertently be removing all of the micro stuff I NEED?? Did my adding of unwashed used sand at the start actually help my tank skip all of those issues that so many deal with?

To be honest, my initial thought is I don't want all that black goop in my new tank. Is this a mistaken thought? I wonder...


If I want as seamless of a transition as possible, and given that my tank has so far never had an issue, would I want to remove ANYTHING from my old tank? Including the dirty substrate? It has worked so far, why would I take it away?

I guess it is a gamble either way I go with this. Do I go with the accepted format of being as sterile as possible and then figure out later how to deal with the issues that will inevitably arise? Or do I use the dirty nasty sand from my old system and hope to blunder into sucess again?

In all honesty, seeing ALL of the threads from people who are fighting all of these nuisance algae issues, I am inclined to go with what worked for me before.

I have always been one to buck the "rules" and do my own thing. This has led me to more success in my life than I can even calculate. That said, I do have a level of concern here as I have so much on the line if I am wrong. I could potentially eradicate a healthy system including 15 fish and well over 100 corals. This is a high stakes table I am playing at here folks.

Is a couple hours of washing sand worth the potential loss of an entire system? Is not washing the sand actually a healthy benefit to a new system?

I am a truck driver, not a scientist. These are questions well above my paygrade!! I only have my experience as a lifelong aquarist to draw upon here.

My instinct says, go with what worked before!! Use the dirty nasty sand as is. It will after all be muddled with 80 pounds of fresh sand.

I did my best to save as much water as I could from the existing tank. I also have what is in the 2 canister filters as well as all of the bacteria present in the filter media to easily skip-cycle the new build. but do I have what I need to skip the uglies phase if I were to sterilize the existing substrate?

Have we been misled all along about this? Is a sterile setup actually what we want? Is it actually better to start with a "dirty" tank?

I can only draw upon my own personal experience of course. But I am leaning towards the latter. If in fact the reality is that what we have been led to believe all along is actually not really true, or at least only partially true...?? Should I be the one to test this hypothesis?

Since I assume most of you are not in the process of upgrading tanks today, and I am... I suppose I am the natural lab rat for this.

If you have made it this far through this long post, I assume you are interested in my results. I will post them in my build thread as I discover them.

Build Thread - My new 135 build!!

As many of you know, I have a 55g mixed reef tank that I have been running for about 16 months. This is an exceptionally beautiful tank, and I am so very proud of what I have accomplished with it so far! Unfortunately, as my experience and knowledge has increased, so has my desire to add...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[atoll]

@Jedi1199
Over 2 years ago I was doing the same thing moving from a Reefer 250 to my D-D 1500. I simply took everything from the reefer and put it into the D-D then added more rock later from somebody who was breaking down an old tank. I had a GHA issues with nuitrent released from the extra rock but I eventually overcame it. Would I do the same? You bet.

 

[ying yang]

EDIT: Around 1:06:00 He talks about NSA, shocking what he says, and I for one am glad he said it.

I watched all the wonderful videos over the last 6 years and decided to smash up my rocks and make an nsa aquascape but then kept reading/watching videos and then knew an nsa would look cool at begginning but then get changed as corals got added,but main thing was fish needed sleeping spots/places to hide if getting chased/bullied/and the fish could lose line off sight with each other and just they can have their own little piece off territory so decided against full nsa but still incor Incorporated over hangs/under hangs/swim throughs and lots if caves /passage ways even for small cuc to get through lol

Anyway about 15 months now and no problems with my fish,not had any real issues with algae like I see others tanks covered with algaes,coraline algae completely covered my wavemakers and half the plastic overflow box and lots of circles off it on the rocks so my ugly stage not so ugly unless I've got it to come ha ha
Tank full off 8 different pods thar I can see

Edit: also never siphoned my tank,just use cuc to keep it stirred up with nass snails, conches,pistol shrimp.

 

[Jedi1199]

@Jedi1199
Over 2 years ago I was doing the same thing moving from a Reefer 250 to my D-D 1500. I simply took everything from the reefer and put it into the D-D then added more rock later from somebody who was breaking down an old tank. I had a GHA issues with nuitrent released from the extra rock but I eventually overcame it. Would I do the same? You bet.

I have 50 pounds of new dry rock I have been "curing" for 3-4 weeks now. I simply tossed them in a brute can, and filled it with the waste water from my tank on water change day. I ghost fed this can daily (about 1/2 tablespoon of my reef mix of food) for all this time and 2 days ago, removed all of the rocks shook off as much dust as I could and put them into a new can of fresh clean saltwater.

I have not fed this can since I did this. Later today, I will be placing all of this rock into the new tank.

I know full well that the rocks from the existing tank, much of which is covered with encrusting corals, will easily skip-cycle the new build. This has never been a concern.

The idea of the microfauna that would potentially be killed or washed away if I wash the substrate, is a concern.

By the same token, the idea of a spike in harmful nutrients is also a concern. Again, I am playing a high stakes game here. I have probably $10,000 worth of fish and corals in this build.

My issue arises due a time limit. I have until bedtime on Sunday to complete this transfer.

I would rather not leave all of my stock in these totes for an undeterminable time while I allow the tank to stabilize.

I am fully confident that if I use the substrate from the old tank as -is, that I will be able to complete the tank transfer with no issues. Again, the concern is time. Will I be able to use the dirty substrate and get the project finished within the time frame I have?

While typing this I had a thought... Do I NEED to add ALL of the dirty substrate at once? Could I possibly add it to the tank in segments? Maybe 1/2 at first and then in 2 segments later? Hmmmmmm. I could save all of the beneficial micro stuff, and avoid any nutrient spikes??

This seems to be a fair compromise?