'Low tech' 5 gallon reef?

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! I am curious...is it possible to have a 'low tech' 5 gallon reef, with only occasional water changes? Here is what I was thinking of doing;

Filter - 80 GPH internal filter. As I was planning on the live rock doing most of the biological filtration, I was going to reserve the filter for activated carbon (or a synthetic equivalent) and mechanical filtration.
Light - ABI tuna blue bulb, 12 watts, about 12 inches above the tank. I would love to shoot for 50-100 PAR at substrate level, but I am not picky about the exact level so long as I can keep the tank from becoming algae infested.
Food: No more than .15 ml dry food a day most days. Not sure how I would divide out such a small portion of frozen food...may use baby brine shrimp in place of frozen food.
Top offs: Daily or as needed.
Trace nutrients; 1 ml seachem marine trace, twice a week.
Water changes; 1 gallon, once a month
Sessile organisms; Red macroalgae (exact species TBD), Ricordea mushrooms. Others TBD
Non-Sessile organisms; TBD (invert only?)

How does this sound? Any changes you guys would recommend? Thank you

 

[brandon429]

Here’s at least one direct model to consider.

Welcome to Ecoreef Zero, population 1 | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Forget everything you know about reef tanks – this is a coral tank. What you see is the very limit of what a coral needs to survive and thrive, neatly packaged into a setup we call Ecoreef Zero.

reefbuilders.com

 

[brandon429]

We have pico reefs that were five years old when that article was written, still kicking it’s a good long term reef option. With enough resolve you can age it to 1% of home reef age levels.

the slog is this: feed directly, heavily, then change water. X10,000 intervals and before you know it, poof a twenty year old reef.