SPS Lagoon without protein skimmer

[Jacek56]

Hello everyone,

That was my old system, not very user friendly.

piin by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
image-573c80495e03c0fcd7c25a53475da2c5fd96bfcc942d8b935fecb3b8d9210441-V by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

I started present system ( 230cm x 150cmx 60cm, 1700ltr in total) in December 2015, with two BK250 and biopellets reactor because my first system was little bit complicated.
Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
_IGP0176 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

Equipment is kept in the panel which is a part of display tank.

Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

The whole system was relatively easy to run but corals were not happy. Last year when for the first time I saw system run without skimmer I could only say WOW. So I decided to give a trial.
Overflow box was modified to two stage mechanical filtration.
Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

Biopellets were replaced with KZ zeolite reactor, additional LR and ceramic bed was added and here we go. Anniversary one year without skimmer is coming next month. Why I am so proud of this, because I was raised as a aquarist that skimmer is one of the most important machinery in sea water aquarium. I think that is very important for shops and manufacturers of this kind of equipment but not for us.
This year aquarium view.
Image 09.04.2017 at 18.18 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
Image 09.04.2017 at 18.16 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
Obraz 09.04.2017, godz. 18.12 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

fullsizeoutput_dc by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
fullsizeoutput_cf by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
fullsizeoutput_e1 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
fullsizeoutput_e5 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

 

[Tahoe61]

Fantastic reef.

 

[bellasdad0911]

Nice!!!!

 

[seastar]

A Morrish Idol!!!! Such a gorgeous fish! Beautiful system, wow.

 

[Jacek56]

Thank you guys

 

[Donovan Joannes]

Amazing result. Looking gorgeous. I hope in one year time from now I can get the same result as yours. I am skimmerless for few months now. Crossing fingers

 

[tmb22]

Wow, such a beautiful reef! Well done. Love the open look. What are your nitrate levels at? I imagine they're a bit elevated without using a skimmer. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Jacek56]

Amazing result. Looking gorgeous. I hope in one year time from now I can get the same result as yours. I am skimmerless for few months now. Crossing fingers

Keep your system clean, good water turnover (10xvolume of the display), do not over feed your fish, let the biology does job for You and you will enjoy your aquarium

 

[Donovan Joannes]

Keep your system clean, good water turnover (10xvolume of the display), do not over feed your fish, let the biology does job for You and you will enjoy your aquarium

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Jacek56]

Wow, such a beautiful reef! Well done. Love the open look. What are your nitrate levels at? I imagine they're a bit elevated without using a skimmer. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you.
Nitrate levels are undetectable with Salifert test but algae are doing very well in my tank.

Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

 

[Jacek56]

Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
Untitled by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr
_IGP2142 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

 

[cFloor]

Wow, amazing reef!

 

[revhtree]

Gorgeous!!! ME LOVE!

 

[Jacek56]

Thank you.;Happy

_IGP2131 by Jacek Kowalski, on Flickr

Idol loves to nip tips as you can see on the picture.

 

[CoralWealth]

Looks great!

How far off the top are your t5s and how long do you run them each day?

What is your alk and calc?

Also what flow do you have? I could only see one gyre plus whatever the return is pumping

 

[mochaclownlover]

Awesome tank!!

 

[Jacek56]

Looks great!

How far off the top are your t5s and how long do you run them each day?

What is your alk and calc?

Also what flow do you have? I could only see one gyre plus whatever the return is pumping

T5 are 15cm above water level. I run them 8h each day + I run 4xKessil from 0900-2200.

Alk is kept around 7 and calc around 420. Tomorrow is "the test day" and we will see. I run DIY ca reactor dastaco type therefore these parameters are quite stable.

Return pumps do the trick. They are located in the panel and they are acting as circulating pumps as well as return pumps (red dragon 6500 ltr/h + 8000 ltr/h) in addition I got gyre 17500 + jebao 20000 ltr/h.

Awesome tank!!

Thanks

 

[Scorpius]

Cool tank. I could never get away without my protein skimmer. I don't do very many water changes. Do you?

 

[Jacek56]

WC every two weeks 70 ltr when I am away from home. When I home I do wc weekly 35 ltr.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Wow this tank is superb! Very well done. So beautiful it has me thinking of a lot of questions, so here are a few. How long have these corals been growing? We're they fragments or wild/maricultured? What are your phosphate levels sitting at on average? I didn't see the dimensions of the tank and back chamber? Also, your saying that there is no other filtration other than zeolites? No refugium? Are you pumping the zeolites to keep them clean and are you supplying the tank with any carbon source?
The main thing i find that is different is the flow seems to be very low compared to most tanks. I would love to see a video with some food floating in the water so we can get an idea of how much the water is moving. Everything's growth patterns are amazing so I am guessing the water is moving better than I would think.
Again amazing job and great coral placement and selection!