Hello everyone,
This is my first thread here, sadly it is not an actual build thread but I have been thinking of some ideas and trying to find the faults in my plan. I really love the aesthetic and functionality of a minimalist reef, less equipment to fail right?
The animal that brought me into the hobby was Tridacna clams and with aqua-cultured crocea clams popping up I think now is the time to finally keep one. To accompany my clam I would like some of the easier sps such as seriatopora, stylophora, pocillopora and montipora. Finally I think a little trapezia crab would act like a king in a throne of corals and in a nano tank I would get to better observe the symbiotic relationship. I can picture all of these things on some nice established ton branch that allows lots of negative space for design and flow. I have decided to skip fish because they would have the highest bioload in the tank and I would rather directly feed foods that coral can eat rather then rely of the fish waste. After some research I found that the creatures I am trying to keep need foods like microplankton all the way up to zooplankton so I think a few different liquid suspensions like Brightwell aquatics zooplanktos-s 50-300 micron should suffice. I will occasionally feed the crab a piece of mysis or some other meaty food depending on if he has enough food from the detritus, mucous and trapped foods alone.
So my current plan for equipment is either a 60u (20.5 gal) or 45u (9.3 gal) UNS tank with some contact paper as a background to keep the clean illusion. I have really grown to dislike the plain black background, in my opinion partially opaque looks more natural. A simple glass lid should largely cut down on evaporation and lessen swings of salinity. For flow a MP10 wave maker that you can find used and in good condition, which looks nice and hopefully has enough power and features to keep everything flowing as the corals fill in. I have been quite excited for the launch of Ecotech's versa dosing pumps and I think they would work well as an auto water change system. I have a few options for lights depending on which size tank I go with. I coud use kessil a80s, ai primes or possibly find a used ecotech radion. Any reliable heater with a temp sensor hidden behind the rock work should do. I think keeping the tank at 74 degrees should allow better oxygenation since I am using a lid. Jake Adams from reef builders says that when he keeps sps at lower temps he sees better coloration most likely due to the higher available oxygen and the higher ph because of it.There should be less temp swings at a lower temp because with the AWC I would like if I didn't have to heat it so it would only be about a 3 degree difference instead of 7 or 8. However minuscule it may be it also uses less electricity to keep the temp lower.
That should cover lighting, flow, heat and most chemistry. I am most concerned about salinity swings from the AWC and I really dont want to make even more clutter with an ATO. The great thing is as the corals are consuming more calcium I can just increase water changes. AWC seems like the best route because the fluctations are more gradual and I wont risk getting air into my clam. Not to mention I only have to run two tiny clear tubes into the tank.
With just estimated pricing I am at $600 with just the equipment alone not to mention the at least $100 clam and other inhabitants or test kits, foods, rodi filters, and salt.
If you have any suggestions on how to make this more sustainable or less expensive please let me know, I am a student after all
This is my first thread here, sadly it is not an actual build thread but I have been thinking of some ideas and trying to find the faults in my plan. I really love the aesthetic and functionality of a minimalist reef, less equipment to fail right?
The animal that brought me into the hobby was Tridacna clams and with aqua-cultured crocea clams popping up I think now is the time to finally keep one. To accompany my clam I would like some of the easier sps such as seriatopora, stylophora, pocillopora and montipora. Finally I think a little trapezia crab would act like a king in a throne of corals and in a nano tank I would get to better observe the symbiotic relationship. I can picture all of these things on some nice established ton branch that allows lots of negative space for design and flow. I have decided to skip fish because they would have the highest bioload in the tank and I would rather directly feed foods that coral can eat rather then rely of the fish waste. After some research I found that the creatures I am trying to keep need foods like microplankton all the way up to zooplankton so I think a few different liquid suspensions like Brightwell aquatics zooplanktos-s 50-300 micron should suffice. I will occasionally feed the crab a piece of mysis or some other meaty food depending on if he has enough food from the detritus, mucous and trapped foods alone.
So my current plan for equipment is either a 60u (20.5 gal) or 45u (9.3 gal) UNS tank with some contact paper as a background to keep the clean illusion. I have really grown to dislike the plain black background, in my opinion partially opaque looks more natural. A simple glass lid should largely cut down on evaporation and lessen swings of salinity. For flow a MP10 wave maker that you can find used and in good condition, which looks nice and hopefully has enough power and features to keep everything flowing as the corals fill in. I have been quite excited for the launch of Ecotech's versa dosing pumps and I think they would work well as an auto water change system. I have a few options for lights depending on which size tank I go with. I coud use kessil a80s, ai primes or possibly find a used ecotech radion. Any reliable heater with a temp sensor hidden behind the rock work should do. I think keeping the tank at 74 degrees should allow better oxygenation since I am using a lid. Jake Adams from reef builders says that when he keeps sps at lower temps he sees better coloration most likely due to the higher available oxygen and the higher ph because of it.There should be less temp swings at a lower temp because with the AWC I would like if I didn't have to heat it so it would only be about a 3 degree difference instead of 7 or 8. However minuscule it may be it also uses less electricity to keep the temp lower.
That should cover lighting, flow, heat and most chemistry. I am most concerned about salinity swings from the AWC and I really dont want to make even more clutter with an ATO. The great thing is as the corals are consuming more calcium I can just increase water changes. AWC seems like the best route because the fluctations are more gradual and I wont risk getting air into my clam. Not to mention I only have to run two tiny clear tubes into the tank.
With just estimated pricing I am at $600 with just the equipment alone not to mention the at least $100 clam and other inhabitants or test kits, foods, rodi filters, and salt.
If you have any suggestions on how to make this more sustainable or less expensive please let me know, I am a student after all
