Anyone live by the old school ways???

[pezgal]

Thank you. Sorry about your MS. My wife has it over 20 years.

100% of the profits go to MS research and I get Zippo.
But my wife has MS so there is little else I can do.
It says somewhere near the front of the book that Noobs shouldn't read it or their head will explode.
It is opposite what almost everyone does now, but very few of them were here as long as me so I know the old school ways that we invented at the beginning.

Let me know what you think of it.

Almost halfway through, I'd be all the way through except my boyfriend already feels that I like my tank better than him.... So far my head hasn't exploded it is actually reassuring and confirming of many opinions I have but don't feel confident about given my inexperience. I also grow lots of plants and there are many commonalities between horticulture and aquaria. My I pester you with questions once I am done? I admire your experience and perspective.

 

[HaveFishWillTravel]

I haven’t done a water change in 4 years in my heavily stocked with corals and fish mixed reef. I do have ALOT of rock and a skimmer which I believe are very important. First time in 35 years I’ve tried the no water change regimen.

I love the idea of no water changes and your aquarium shows me that it is possible. It’s not because I don’t want to do them, it’s more because I think there must be a way to find a balance where you don’t need to do them. Obviously, you found it. Nicely done!

 

[Paul B]

Almost halfway through, I'd be all the way through except my boyfriend already feels that I like my tank better than him.... So far my head hasn't exploded it is actually reassuring and confirming of many opinions I have but don't feel confident about given my inexperience. I also grow lots of plants and there are many commonalities between horticulture and aquaria. My I pester you with questions once I am done? I admire your experience and perspective.

You can ask me anything you like and I will try not to make your head explode. But you probably discovered I don't think like many modern day aquarists.
PM me as my answers may cause arguements.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Very old school for me and honestly Ive never enjoyed my tank more. I only run a skimmer and water change every 2 weeks now. Tank is mostly Chalices , Zoa's , Blasto's , Monti's and Lobo's

 

[therman]

They were fun and challenging aspect of this setup! They are custom designed and built LEDs mounted in the ceiling (floor) under the upper balcony. I used 5000K and 6500K Cree XP-G2 and Blue and Royal Blue XP-E2 LED stars and 16° optics which gives about 400-500 PAR at the surface even thouth they are just shy of 5 feet away from the surface. Here's a short video showing their location:

Very nice. I pondered this many times, would even be interested in even tighter optics for vaulted ceiling mount. Would you be willing to share where you found the narrow optics for XP series?

 

[Timfish]

Very nice. I pondered this many times, would even be interested in even tighter optics for vaulted ceiling mount. Would you be willing to share where you found the narrow optics for XP series?

Carclo optics from LEDsupply.com I've got a PDF for building a canon that will put out roughly 500-600 PAR @ 30" for about $150 - $200 in the works. It's using the same LEDs, drivers and works off 12 to 32 vdc like the above fixtures. It can be used with either PMW, 0-10 volt or 5K pot for dimming. Higher PAR levels can be achieved by placing more LEDs closer together. I've sent one to Dana Riddle for evaluation and will include his review with it. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Beth Villmow]

Old school reefer here. My basics are based on the "Berlin method".

I still use Kalkwasser, skimmer, rock and sand. I don't dose anything except occasionally some Phosphate when my Montipora pale a little. I haven't tested for anything in a year. I do water changes weekly, 10 gallons in a 240 gallon system just for trace elements.

I don't have a controller, but do use a electronic ATO system.

I've used Instant Ocean since the beginning in 93.

I do use LED lights, cheap chinese black boxes.

Love your giant toadstool! I had a peach one for a long time and then swapped my tank from 55g to 75g. It just slowly died off after that. Tried lots of things but nothing worked. I was so bummed! Yours looks great though!

 

[jda]

In the end, everybody runs by the old school ways. Chemistry and biology has not changed since people started to keep reef tanks.

 

[Mark]

What qualifies as new school?

Protein Skimmers, ATS/refugiums have been around since the 80's. 2-part dosing has been around since the 90's.

In my case, I guess I'm "new school" when it comes to lighting(LED's) and powerheads(Gyres). I don't do carbon dosing or AWC.

 

[Flippers4pups]

What qualifies as new school?

Protein Skimmers, ATS/refugiums have been around since the 80's. 2-part dosing has been around since the 90's.

In my case, I guess I'm "new school" when it comes to lighting(LED's) and powerheads(Gyres). I don't do carbon dosing or AWC.

Controllers, filter rollers, automated water changes etc....,

 

[Mark]

Controllers, filter rollers, automated water changes etc....,

Ah yes, filter rollers. I wouldn't call controllers new school. The Neptune Aquacontroller came out 20 years ago. I have my old Aquacontroller 3 laying around somewhere.

 

[Paulie069]

i'm with ya,live rock ,skimmer ,ph monitor,running ice cap 660's t 12 vho's ,some bulbs still from 1990's
N i like "sticks"

My man very sweet

 

[Devaji]

What qualifies as new school?

Protein Skimmers, ATS/refugiums have been around since the 80's. 2-part dosing has been around since the 90's.

In my case, I guess I'm "new school" when it comes to lighting(LED's) and powerheads(Gyres). I don't do carbon dosing or AWC.

I often ponder this very question...
for me its comes down to biology process getting as much natural biodiversity in the tank as you can and not so much gear.

on my new tanks i will try to use as much aqua cultured LR/LS as possible add live bac, feed live foods add mud and dirt and NSW to get it.

I will not QT I know I know..

for filtration I will under skimm but run an ATS
use carbon when needed and UV
I will do small AWC for the 1st year or so to get the tank mature. once mature I will slowly reduce the amount.

I will run a controller because why not use tech to notify use of problems?

so am I old school? IDK but I think I am old school with a modern twist?

 

[Timfish]

Air bubbles have been around for a century if not longer. Live rock and live sand have been around since the 50's and I'd say are old school. Questionable in my opinion would be wet/dry's and skimmers from the late 80's.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Ah yes, filter rollers. I wouldn't call controllers new school. The Neptune Aquacontroller came out 20 years ago. I have my old Aquacontroller 3 laying around somewhere.

Water parameters controller/ testing automation.

 

[vanpire]

Carclo optics from LEDsupply.com I've got a PDF for building a canon that will put out roughly 500-600 PAR @ 30" for about $150 - $200 in the works. It's using the same LEDs, drivers and works off 12 to 32 vdc like the above fixtures. It can be used with either PMW, 0-10 volt or 5K pot for dimming. Higher PAR levels can be achieved by placing more LEDs closer together. I've sent one to Dana Riddle for evaluation and will include his review with it. I'll keep you posted.

I would love to see (pay for) the PDF when you do put one out and follow your instructions.