eekimov1981
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2025
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Stockholm
- What state or country do you live in
- Wisconsin
Hi everyone!
I’ve been in and out of the reefing hobby for quite a while, but this time I decided to take a completely different approach .. something more experimental and minimalistic. I thought it might be interesting to share it here and keep a proper record as it evolves.
What’s the idea behind it…
I don’t like fish!
I love corals, and I’m much more passionate about the chemical side of the hobby than about trying to recreate natural ecosystems.
Since the tank was going to be corals-only (no fish), I decided to go for an ADA-style marine aquarium, using a canister filter instead of a sump and skimmer. It’s cleaner, more discreet, consumes less power, poses less risk of flooding — and above all, it’s much quieter.
The tank is installed in my kitchen, so it adds to the pleasure of enjoying it while eating — without the constant humming of 10+ pumps in the background.
At the time of writing this thread, the tank is one year old.
Tank age: 1 year
Dimensions & volume: 90 × 45 × 40h cm display, approx. 150 L total water volume (Ultra Clear Vision glass)
Lighting: Two tired old Kessil A350W Tuna Blue LEDs bought years ago from a Romanian clearance sale. This is the very first Kessil model, quite experimental, and unfortunately nowhere near today’s advanced models.
I also have a full T5 setup ready with excellent reflectors, ballasts, and active cooling for the cathodes via Arduino , but I haven’t used it yet. If I move toward SPS corals, I’ll activate it.
Water parameters: Currently not monitored, except for salinity — I’ll explain why later.
Ca / KH / Mg maintenance: Not required yet, I only add magnesium chloride occasionally.
Salt & water changes: Red Sea Black Bucket salt, around 10% weekly.
Mechanical filtration: JBL e902 canister filter + Sera Siporax (2 liters).
Sand & rock: Red Sea’s finest-grade sand (10 kg), artificial branch rocks plus 4 kg of live branch rock.
Coral feeding & coloration:
KZ Sponge Power, KZ Coral Snow, KZ Coral Vitalizer, KZ Pohl’s Extra, KZ Amino Acids.
Nitrate & phosphate control: DIY carbon-source mix based on Red Sea NOPO-X.
Flow: JBL e902 canister + Jebao RW-8.
Water sterilization: None.
Skimmer: None!
Originally, I used a small Innovative Marine Ghost Skimmer , beautiful little unit , but it eventually broke down.
A skimmer has two main purposes:
Since this is a fishless system, there’s very little organic load.
Sump: Nope.
Inhabitants: Various soft corals and polyps, and a single anemone.
I’ve been in and out of the reefing hobby for quite a while, but this time I decided to take a completely different approach .. something more experimental and minimalistic. I thought it might be interesting to share it here and keep a proper record as it evolves.
What’s the idea behind it…
I don’t like fish!
I love corals, and I’m much more passionate about the chemical side of the hobby than about trying to recreate natural ecosystems.
Since the tank was going to be corals-only (no fish), I decided to go for an ADA-style marine aquarium, using a canister filter instead of a sump and skimmer. It’s cleaner, more discreet, consumes less power, poses less risk of flooding — and above all, it’s much quieter.
The tank is installed in my kitchen, so it adds to the pleasure of enjoying it while eating — without the constant humming of 10+ pumps in the background.
At the time of writing this thread, the tank is one year old.
Tank age: 1 year
Dimensions & volume: 90 × 45 × 40h cm display, approx. 150 L total water volume (Ultra Clear Vision glass)
Lighting: Two tired old Kessil A350W Tuna Blue LEDs bought years ago from a Romanian clearance sale. This is the very first Kessil model, quite experimental, and unfortunately nowhere near today’s advanced models.
I also have a full T5 setup ready with excellent reflectors, ballasts, and active cooling for the cathodes via Arduino , but I haven’t used it yet. If I move toward SPS corals, I’ll activate it.
Water parameters: Currently not monitored, except for salinity — I’ll explain why later.
Ca / KH / Mg maintenance: Not required yet, I only add magnesium chloride occasionally.
Salt & water changes: Red Sea Black Bucket salt, around 10% weekly.
Mechanical filtration: JBL e902 canister filter + Sera Siporax (2 liters).
Sand & rock: Red Sea’s finest-grade sand (10 kg), artificial branch rocks plus 4 kg of live branch rock.
Coral feeding & coloration:
KZ Sponge Power, KZ Coral Snow, KZ Coral Vitalizer, KZ Pohl’s Extra, KZ Amino Acids.
Nitrate & phosphate control: DIY carbon-source mix based on Red Sea NOPO-X.
Flow: JBL e902 canister + Jebao RW-8.
Water sterilization: None.
Skimmer: None!
Originally, I used a small Innovative Marine Ghost Skimmer , beautiful little unit , but it eventually broke down.
A skimmer has two main purposes:
- Oxygenation — which in my case is handled by a JBL CO₂ diffuser connected to the canister’s intake.
- Removing dissolved organic compounds — which I handle via resins and various filter media.
Since this is a fishless system, there’s very little organic load.
Sump: Nope.
Inhabitants: Various soft corals and polyps, and a single anemone.
