New reef tank without sump and skimmer

[xOqTah]

Hey, im new here. I already have a tank, but it didn't go very well, many species died, such as corals and fish. I think this was due to overpopulation, I put like 7 fishes (including tanks) in 100 liters. Now i know a lot more of reef and I want to make a shallow reef without sump and skimmer. Can you give me your best tips? So far I plan to do water changes every 2 weeks and nice flow. Help me with your best warnings, i want a really succesfull tank. And im planning only to keep: 2 clown fishes, 1 mandarin, soft corals and lps in 100x40x35 centimeters

 

[Spare time]

You can do a hang on back filter with some mechanical filter and carbon (plus potentially a pinch of gfo if phosphates become an issue) and thats all you need. However, a sump will make your life easier.

 

[Timfish]

Do your water changes. Use redundacy for water movement. be patient, Use maricultured or wild live rock and live sand. Use urchins for algae control. be patient. Use steel straws to remove nuisance algae with water changes (5-10% weekly), be patient, use appropriate lighting levels for the corals selected, keep an eye on pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, be patient.

Here's a system similar but larger than yours. It was maintained for 15 years before being dismantled.




I've been using a combination of straws and urchins for years to control nuisance algae. Here's how this technique is applied on larger reefs:

To Save Corals in an Oahu Bay, First Vacuum up Invasive Algae, Then Apply Sea Urchins | response.restoration.noaa.gov

response.restoration.noaa.gov

Here's some more links for your perusal:

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

 

[Spare time]

Do your water changes. Use redundacy for water movement. be patient, Use maricultured or wild live rock and live sand. Use urchins for algae control. be patient. Use steel straws to remove nuisance algae with water changes (5-10% weekly), be patient, use appropriate lighting levels for the corals selected, keep an eye on pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium, be patient.

Here's a system similar but larger than yours. It was maintained for 15 years before being dismantled.




Here's some more links for your perusal:

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

The kid's laughter is adorable lol

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

I have a 7g nano with a HOB and no skimmer. 50% water changes every week and so far so good!

 

[lil sumpin]

No sump and skimmer is completely doable, as previously mentioned you’ll have to be diligent about water changes and pay close attention to nutrients. While softies and LPS will enjoy slightly higher N and P, it’s still good to not let them creep too high or sink too low. It’s great that you don’t want to overstock your tank, if I were you I wouldn’t put a mandarin in there. It will quickly deplete any population of copepods in your tank.

 

[Steven Garland]

I have never ran a sump,and ran a skimmer once. Not something you always need.

 

[Oldreefer44]

new tanks and Mandarins do not go together. Maybe several months in when you have a very lively copepod population which will need to be maintained to keep one fed in that sized system.

 

[exnisstech]

I recently set up a similar tank. A 29g with an aquaclear 110 hob and a jebao power head. I did get a jump start using live rock with corals from my stock tank where I store rock. My plan is to leave it running as my observation tank for new arrivals. As far as skimmers go I have 3 other tanks running with no skimmers.

 

[get-salty]

No sump and no skimmer.. first thing i thought of is an AIO - All In One tank or a tank with a HOB - Hang On Back filter. Sure that is a thing.. shouldnt be difficult and challenging at all. Good luck and have fun !

 

[Tamberav]

Hey, im new here. I already have a tank, but it didn't go very well, many species died, such as corals and fish. I think this was due to overpopulation, I put like 7 fishes (including tanks) in 100 liters. Now i know a lot more of reef and I want to make a shallow reef without sump and skimmer. Can you give me your best tips? So far I plan to do water changes every 2 weeks and nice flow. Help me with your best warnings, i want a really succesfull tank. And im planning only to keep: 2 clown fishes, 1 mandarin, soft corals and lps in 100x40x35 centimeters

It’s pretty simple, get some good live rock
And good flow and the water changes ofc.

You technically don’t need any sort of filter except flow and rock.

That’s actually what my fish and corals have been living in the past few months while I work on an upgrade. Just a tank of rock, water, heater, power head and light.

 

[Northern Flicker]

I run a regular Aqueon 60g breeder with no sump, no skimmer. Rarely do water changes.

No hang on back filter either - I don't run carbon and I prefer no mech filtration.

For equipment I have 3 wavemakers + 1 Eheim surface skimmer. Lighting is T5HO hybrid with Hydra 32s.

I grow SPS without any issues.

My keys to success are lots of rock + lots of flow + lower end stocking on fish.

 

[SanFernandoValleyAIOReef]

I run a regular Aqueon 60g breeder with no sump, no skimmer. Rarely do water changes.

No hang on back filter either - I don't run carbon and I prefer no mech filtration.

For equipment I have 3 wavemakers + 1 Eheim surface skimmer. Lighting is T5HO hybrid with Hydra 32s.

I grow SPS without any issues.

My keys to success are lots of rock + lots of flow + lower end stocking on fish.

Wow, can you post a video of you tank? Was thinking of doing the same with 40breeder, just light heater and wakemaker expect i planned on doing 10% weekly or 20% every 2 weeks water change

 

[Northern Flicker]

Wow, can you post a video of you tank? Was thinking of doing the same with 40breeder, just light heater and wakemaker expect i planned on doing 10% weekly or 20% every 2 weeks water change

Sure

Here is a vid from a few weeks ago; I run my lights quite white but this video was takin during the ramp down at night.

This tank was supposed to be a drilled 75g but I needed a tank ASAP so picked this up as a temp solution. At this point I am kind of just rolling with it. I like having a skimmer and I like hiding the equipment but don't want to fix what aint broken