coral only tank

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

If I wanted an intro to saltwater tank keeping, could I start a coral only tank? It would have hardy corals, cleaner animals (shrimp, hermits, snails, and maybe a starfish), but probably no fish. If I wanted to do this, could someone outline everything I need, equipment-wise, in order to have a successful tank? Thanks so much!

Tahoe61 · Jul 7, 2016

Sure I have kept only coral tanks.

Heater, flow, appropriate lighting (you get what you pay for), skimmer optional but strongly encouraged. Sand, rock, saltmix, test kits (calcium, alk and magnesium. Refractometer, or hydrometer. Supplements for Ca and alk and mag.

Getting the supplements is not a must have immediately, a water changes will replace elements. A refractometer over a hydrometer is preferred..

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

What about sumps and refugiums? Are they necessary? What do they do? And how would I set them up?

Tahoe61 · Jul 7, 2016

It's better to have a sump or refugium, set ups vary greatly, I will let other address that.

You could also consider an AIO system (all in one). The back compartments act as a sort of sump. Pumps, and heaters, automated top off lines go in back in these types of tanks. JBJ, Nuvo, Biocube are a couple brand names.

BoneXriffic · Jul 7, 2016

I feel like have no fish you may want to undersize a skimmer? @Tahoe61 has a good idea about the AIO, they would be great for this. My only concern, keeping po4 and no3 up. Coral loves the fish poop.

brandon429 · Jul 7, 2016

all agreed. I have a coral only set up that is in a flower vase and its from 2006 and only an airstone and heater runs it + water changes, they can be that simple. larger volumes are more appealing for starter tanks, gives room for temp and salt errors. and eventual fish.

the best start is buy live rock, the best most purple they have, transport it wet to a waiting reef tank running and set, put it in the tank, and run that just as live rocks and water for a couple weeks checking levels consistency for the big items like temp and salt etc. then add some corals and snails etc when ready/.

you could also start with dry rock and mature it yourself, its a choice of various pros and cons

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

If I get the JBJ all in one with a light, heater, powerhead, bio filter, mechanical filter, and protein skimmer, do I need a sump in addition? Or can I just put all of that stuff in the back of the tank and forget about a sump and refugium?

NewbieSeth · Jul 7, 2016

I'm still fairly new to the hobby... 6month in but I wish I woulda got a sump. Helps a ton to have a good sized refugium to help keep nutrients low. Nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) shouldnt get too high unless you are feeding corals a lot but if fish are to ever be put in it makes a huge difference. Plus I like the idea of hiding all the equipment outside of the display. My next tank will def have a sump. Just added filtration and makes it easier to hide a lot more equipment like dosers and things that can be really helpful with corals. I planned on a fish only tank and within a month I bought a coral and now I'm hooked. Better to anticipate future needs now and go big. Added water volume from sump helps to keep params in check much easier

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

NewbieSeth said:
I'm still fairly new to the hobby... 6month in but I wish I woulda got a sump. Helps a ton to have a good sized refugium to help keep nutrients low. Nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) shouldnt get too high unless you are feeding corals a lot but if fish are to ever be put in it makes a huge difference. Plus I like the idea of hiding all the equipment outside of the display. My next tank will def have a sump. Just added filtration and makes it easier to hide a lot more equipment like dosers and things that can be really helpful with corals. I planned on a fish only tank and within a month I bought a coral and now I'm hooked. Better to anticipate future needs now and go big. Added water volume from sump helps to keep params in check much easier

I thought I read somewhere that refugiums can actually be detrimental?

Tahoe61 · Jul 7, 2016

I am on my 6th JBJ with no sump. A sump is not detrimental as long as you preform the routine maintenance, just like a display.

First image is my last 30 gallon, second my JBJ 20, and now I am working on a 45 gallon.

If you want to keep sps it behooves you to get a skimmer other wise it can be done without a skimmer. Lighting and water quality will be the biggest factors. Not over stocking the tank with fish is key.

mcarroll · Jul 7, 2016

Everything can be detrimental if you do it wrong. That sounds glib, but it is no joke.

Coral-only is my preferred "beginner tank". Fish are hands-down more difficult to manage in just about every way you can think of.

On top if that, almost every fish you will kill (zero uncertainty) will be wild caught.

By contrast, every coral you're likely to consider is going to be a tank raised frag. Eminently replaceable AND sustainable.

Further, i've never had a coral jump out. Corals are un-picky about food.

Unfortunately, you will not save any money on the equipment. A coral-only tank requires, if anything, more equipment than a fish-only tank.

I would stay away from most "beginner corals". This includes most softies.

Instead, spend time learning about corals enough so that you at least have a taste and know what you'd like.

Take plenty of time with your first coral to learn the ropes.

Stocking the tank too fast is possibly the worst beginner mistake you can make.

NewbieSeth · Jul 7, 2016

I spend an hour or more at the LFS to buy one coral. I usually have an idea of what coral I want but if I see something cool I have my phone out researching before purchasing. Saved me from buying that weed called Xenia lol. Take your time and research every coral before you buy it

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

If the tank I want already has room for skimmer, powerhead, filter, etc...what does the sump do that the rest of that can't? I guess it adds extra water volume, so more aeration and stuff, but if all of that's closely monitored...it's not really necessary is it?

NewbieSeth · Jul 7, 2016

The main thing is having extra water volume makes params stay more constant. More time to react. If your ammonia were to start to increase the extra 20g gives you a lot more time before it becomes dangerous. Just as an example

sharkbait-nemo · Jul 7, 2016

That's true, but I feel I could manage that by monitoring everything and NOT overstocking.

mcarroll · Jul 9, 2016

I think I forgot to mention that I had a coral-only system for my first few years....loved it.

Wish that I'd gotten some advice to stay away from beginner corals and to take more time to learn what I really liked...but other than that it was great.

I now have three 1" Barnacle Blennies in my system...which is about 100 gallons total and has two displays: 50 gallons and 38 gallons. The Blennies live in the rocks of the 50 gallon. Great fish and apparently quite long-lived for such a small fish. I've had them for about 5 years now...and they were wild caught, but I'd have to guess they couldn't have been more than 1-2 years old (or less) when I got them.

NewbieSeth said:
The main thing is having extra water volume makes params stay more constant.

Most people overstock to such a degree that I'm not sure how "extra" their sump water can reasonably be considered. Thinking that way seems more like a mind-trick.

In theory a sump is supposed to carry the same volume of water as the display (ideally with a third equal volume on hand), so even in an extremely conservatively stocked system, almost every sump you'll find a picture of is actually under-sized - just barely adequate.

That said, I do not overstock, but I do still find a sump to be useful. Maybe not on the next tank though...

sharkbait-nemo said:
That's true, but I feel I could manage that by monitoring everything and NOT overstocking.

A sump can be handy - and if you have the space, etc....why not - but you are right that it's not necessary.

You're also right that it takes some extra discipline to pull off a tank without one - there aren't many examples of "monitoring everything and NOT overstocking." (Buying new animals is cool.)

But, if you do pull it off, in the end it's actually easier to maintain a system with a lighter bio-load - potentially bordering on self-sustating if you really want and take the time to get the balance right. So any worries about "going sump-less" are misplaced. (You may, however, find that adding some sensible fish down the road will make things easier than keeping a coral-only tank - they will make that balance easier to achieve IME.)

For what it's worth, the beginner-folks who add the fully loaded sump and sometimes dose vinegar/a carbon source from day #1, only to stock up all their corals or multiple fish in one buy, or even over just a few months...are the ones who need to worry. If more of those folks would read more posts before starting, it's easy to see how that pattern plays out....and it's not with a tank of the month award.

Any plain tank with a Tunze Reefpack filter system would be the chosen setup for my next tank setup. A DIY-kit for an all in one system.

They come with a skimmer, filter and more in nice, but non-descript housings - generally smaller than a drain box you'd see in most sump-based systems.

They have a new "super nano" sized one that's tiny, as well as the old nano and full size....each has slight different feature sets around the skimmer and filter:

The 100...