skimmerless tank with no water changes

[4FordFamily]

Here is that 180 I spoke of, now with about 75lbs of rock removed: still pretty full.

 

[jared graves]

180 had 220 lbs or better in DT and another 40 in sump. 3.5" sand bed.

Fed maybe once per day as much as fish ate in 5 mins.

well I have a larger pound to gallon ratio of live rock and i feed what they eat in a min or two every other day. prewashing brine shrimp cube and then feeding slowly so none gets taken into the sump. that's probably your difference right there.

 

[jared graves]

also your live rock looks like very large pieces I use lots of smaller ones for more surface area for bacteria.

 

[jared graves]

not everything is opened up since lights just came on

see how many separate rocks I have in these pics.

 

[Russ265]

I'm not sure it would have to do ALL in part with LR to gallon ratio (although it is our first line of defense). Both of you have a higher ratio than I, yet I still dose 1/2 ml daily no3 to maintain nitrate.

FordFamily made a great case for stagnant parts of a tank that could cause fouling.

 

[jared graves]

I'm not sure it would have to do ALL in part with LR to gallon ratio (although it is our first line of defense). Both of you have a higher ratio than I, yet I still dose 1/2 ml daily no3 to maintain nitrate.

How many/what fish do you have?

 

[jasonandsarah]

not everything is opened up since lights just came on

Maybe it's just me but this doesn't appear to be over 200+lbs of live rock?

180 lbs display
100 lbs sump first chamber, dsb in that chamber as well.

ats second chamber (wont grow algae yet)

i do have gfo that i will run for a couple hours on the weekend if po4 climbs above .04

here is a photo a few months ago when cycle completed. ill take a more recent shot when i get home.


gif uploader

Have you added more rock? I know this is a bigger tank but still 180 lbs of live rock? Seems more like 60lbs?

 

[Russ265]

How many/what fish do you have?

Stocked on the light side admittedly

1 Yellow Tang
1 Regal Tang
1 Melanarus Wrasse
2 Mandarin Dragonets
1 Watchman Goby
1 CBB

 

[jared graves]

Maybe it's just me but this doesn't appear to be over 200+lbs of live rock?

Have you added more rock? I know this is a bigger tank but still 180 lbs of live rock? Seems more like 60lbs?

I have to agree where did you get your number on your live rock?

 

[jared graves]

Stocked on the light side admittedly

1 Yellow Tang
1 Regal Tang
1 Melanarus Wrasse
2 Mandarin Dragonets
1 Watchman Goby
1 CBB

how many gallons is your system?

 

[Russ265]

here is the assembly of just the arch outside of the tank using 1/2 acrylic rods. these are boulders lol

 

[beaslbob]

I ran a 55g with no skimmer, no water changes for 9 years with a heavy bioload with nitrates (api kit) and phosphates (salifert kit) unmeasureable.

Also ran a 29 g with no skimmer no water changes for 4 years. Again nitrates/phosphates unmeasureable.

IMHO the answer to what to skimmers remove is coral (and macro) food.

my .02

 

[Russ265]

how many gallons is your system?

just a 55 gal.



im kidding.
just a ton of space to fill. 265.

84wx30hx24l

 

[jared graves]

So that is a very light bio load compared to my 90gal

 

[Russ265]

So that is a very light bio load compared to my 90gal

yeah. taking it slow until i see things i like :) for now im dosing no3

 

[jared graves]

yeah. taking it slow until i see things i like :) for now im dosing no3

hey i respect that! don't just go out and buy fish just to stock your tank.

 

[Velocity]

thanks people think I'm crazy but i say let nature do its job!

honestly - these people on the board know what they are talking about so please don't take this the wrong way

I had a tank back in 2006 100 gal - I used a 250MHL setup, no skimmer, a 30 gal sump and NEVER used any chemicals and to top it off I used tap water and NEVER any issues and my tank looked great

I would not advise this lol

 

[jasonandsarah]

Here's my 75g and I estimate there to be around 75-100 lbs of liverock? Am I under estimating it?
I know it's not a 265g! Lol just wondering?

 

[jared graves]

honestly - these people on the board know what they are talking about so please don't take this the wrong way

I had a tank back in 2006 100 gal - I used a 250MHL setup, no skimmer, a 30 gal sump and NEVER used any chemicals and to top it off I used tap water and NEVER any issues and my tank looked great

I would not advise this lol

I know everyone has there way of doing it so no offense to anyone on the board who disagrees! What kind of coral did you have in your tank? Sps?

 

[jared graves]

Here's my 75g and I estimate there to be around 75-100 lbs of liverock? Am I under estimating it?
I know it's not a 265g! Lol just wondering?

It's really hard to tell just looking at a picture. Can you post a few more pics from the sides?