Coral Only Reef tanks

[Grey Guy]

Does anyone keep a coral only reef tank? It seems to me that it would make reef care, feeding and maintenance a lot easier. What are your thoughts?

 

[ZoWhat]

A DT with no fish in it looks like downtown streets on an early Sunday morning....quiet, abandoned and no signs of movement/life

 

[MNFish]

My kids love the fish, I love the coral, so all my tanks have both and I find fish to be good tour guides, and efficient nitrate producers.

 

[Spare time]

You'd have to feed the corals a lot to make up for the lack of fish waste products. You would also not have the benefits of fish that eat algae, pests, etc.


It is possible, but given that the fish actually help the corals, plus are fun to watch, it is not very common.

 

[Dkmoo]

Its actually not as easy as you think bc the lack of nutrient as others have mentioned.

 

[workhz]

I’ve got 4 fish in a 90. Kinda thinking I won’t be adding any more. 2 clowns, a tomini and a fridmani. Definitely light on fish.

 

[Grey Guy]

A DT with no fish in it looks like downtown streets on an early Sunday morning....quiet, abandoned and no signs of movement/life

When the wind is blowing there is lots of movement. I’ll admit that an
lps tank might look kind of static, without any fish.

 

[Grey Guy]

Its actually not as easy as you think bc the lack of nutrient as others have mentioned.

Worrying about having enough nutrients will be a brand new experience for me.

 

[Montiman]

I have run some propagation systems where I didn't want fish per say but I always found that some tangs for algae control, a copper band for aiptasia and a wrasse to eat various parasites were welcome.

Fish are your friends.

 

[ScottR]

As others mentioned, nutrients. You’d have to test for nitrates and phosphates and dose them to keep enough in the water column. But other things to worry about are the things that salt can’t give like amino acids, vitamins and so forth. Fish food and poop provide a lot of the things they need but you’d need to get around that without fish. Perhaps having inverts like shrimps will allow you to feed the tank and provide the corals what they need.

 

[Gqch]

colorful fishs are part of the reef, they adding movement to the reef tank. also fish wastes(nutriens) are very important to corals health especially soft corals and some lps coral.

 

[MaxTremors]

I view this sort of the same as using dry rock instead of live rock. A reef tank just isn’t a reef tank without fish, just like it isn’t a reef tank without all the microfauna and biodiversity that comes with live rock.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I’ve got 4 fish in a 90. Kinda thinking I won’t be adding any more. 2 clowns, a tomini and a fridmani. Definitely light on fish.

You and I, are kin lol....I have 5 ( Yellow Tang, Ocellaris, Three Stripe Damsel, all of them 18 years, and Coral Beauty , Eibli Angels), in my 90 for many years, I could add more but............it works as created. I don't want to mess with the balance. But definitely OP you need a fish or two imo......

 

[dwair]

Worrying about having enough nutrients will be a brand new experience for me.

Its not easy. Adding enough of that can quickly get expensive because you are mainly going to be dosing it.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Its not easy. Adding enough of that can quickly get expensive because you are mainly going to be dosing it.

And tricky.....to say the least....throw a couple fish in there to make life easier....

 

[fish farmer]

There are people who run reef jars successfully without fish.

 

[Grey Guy]

I am totally flabbergasted. The last time I was here over 2 years ago, I don’t remember any talk about the necessity of phosphates and nitrates for coral growth. Now it is a big thing to be so concerned about. Is this just another passing trend or a major break through in coral care. When did this idea start? I know that plant life and algae thrive on nitrate but I don’t see how this applies to other living organisms. Is it the symbiotic bacteria in the coral that is now eating fish poop?
Maybe the human race will learn to do the same.

 

[fish farmer]

I am totally flabbergasted. The last time I was here over 2 years ago, I don’t remember any talk about the necessity of phosphates and nitrates for coral growth. Now it is a big thing to be so concerned about. Is this just another passing trend or a major break through in coral care. When did this idea start?

Phosphates and nitrates are a nutrient like many other things. They just need to be in balance in your tank so you don't bottom out and don't go too high for excessive algae growth or other problems.

 

[Grey Guy]

Phosphates and nitrates are a nutrient like many other things. They just need to be in balance in your tank so you don't bottom out and don't go too high for excessive algae growth or other problems.

Where can I find the science and research for this? I am ready to learn. I have to know why things work the way they do.

 

[jdiefenbaugh]

I have kept a lot of coral propagation tanks (100 - 1k gallons), but always use at least 1 herbivore and something for aiptasia (usually raccoon or CBB). I'm not sure why everyone is jumping on the nutrient dosing bandwagon, either. IMO, it isn't necessary at all. Had 10 or so of these tables, some are 15+ years old with 2 fish in each, and the corals did just fine.