I remember when reverse undergravel filters and trickle filter/coil denitrators were what everyone used, and the Berlin method was just being introduced (skimmer/live rock/"I forget #3"). I've struggled with reef tanks, taken several hiatuses, and am now back with a much easier to maintain setup.
1) Algae, to me, is the primary reason tank ease-of-maintenance and effectivenes-of-filtration has improved so much over the last decade or so. I remember when Adey's algae scrubbers were pretty much mocked by everyone, and it was all about how big of a skimmer and how much live rock you could put into a system. Now, it seems like you sneeze and you hit 3 reefers who are running a refugium, reactor, or scrubber. When I was running a Berlin system with a downdraft skimmer, I wasn't able to control nutrient levels nearly as easily as now - For a $30 LED crow bulb, a handful of chaeto in the sump, and a clip-on bulb mount, I can literally keep my nitrates and phosphates low enough that I haven't run a skimmer since a week or two after the tank was set up years ago. All you have to do is have some relatively fast-growing algae, give it light, and sit back and enjoy. Unless it's Caulerpa, which metastasized in an old tank of mine and killed everything. I hate Caulerpa.
I saved a link to this article -
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/upflow-algae-scrubber-uas.240710/ because it's cheap and effective, and you can stick it in back compartments of nano reefs.
2) Skimmers -
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/1/aafeature was a mind-altering article for me. Experiments showing that an airstone driven or venturi skimmer works roughly as well as a needlewheel or downdraft skimmer costing 5-10x more?! Apparently, skimmers remove 20-35% of dissolved organics, and that's it. You pay for convenience, quality of build, ease of adjustment and cleaning . . . but not really performance?! I remember using an old HOB Amiracle 3" limewood airstone skimmer on a 20 gallon tank, and it . . . skimmed really well! I even remember an article about filling the body of an airstone skimmer with bioballs (andusing a ceramic long lasting airstone) so the bubbles would slow down, hit the bioballs and break into smaller bubbles, and leave a very calm air/water interface for foam production. I do think that skimmers have benefits (gas exchange, improving pH, a backup safety mechanism), but I no longer think that they are essential to maintaining a healthy reef tank. I'm one of the 10% of members (according to a poll on here) who don't run a skimmer. Tank looks great. It'd probably do well with a skimmer, too. I will admit to having a small Tunze in the garage "just in case", though. ;-)
3) Filter socks -
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/brstv-investigates-what-do-filter-socks-do-for-you/ was another amazing video for me. 30% reduction in nitrates and phosphates by rinsing your filter socks twice a week? That's a shockingly effective (to me) way to control nutrients that is also incredibly low cost. I admit that I took my filter socks out because my Chaeto refugium takes up the slack and I'm lazy, but how many articles on nitrate/phosphate reduction don't mention this really simple and effective technique?
4) Anything by Randy Holmes-Farley. I was a chemistry major, so anything chemistry based appeals to me. I also really like how he's evidence based in a hobby where so much is conjecture and hyperbole. One of my rules (which I do occasionally break!) is to not be on the side of someone arguing with Randy. I really don't like being wrong, so this works pretty darn well!
-https://
www.reef2reef.com/ams/nitrate-in-the-reef-aquarium.10/
-https://
www.reef2reef.com/ams/phosphate-in-the-reef-aquarium.9/
5) Lastly, test kits - because how do you know what your nutrients actually are without accurate test kits?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...s-salifert-api-hanna-triton-awt.234660/page-3 is another favorite of mine, and led me from API to Elos to Salifert (and Hanna for their copper tester in another thread!).
6) Partial water changes - I'm also in the camp that says that what they put back in (or the unseen things that they take out) are more important than nitrate/phosphate reduction, because they simply aren't very effective at that.
I realize that there are many different ways of reducing nutrients in a tank, and that many people have different ways of doing things. That's fine. I do think that we should be as evidence based as possible when there is good evidence to guide us, and that simple, cheap, and reasonably effective trumps a heck of a lot.
My biggest problem is my daughter's freshwater tank, which is a disaster. I find freshwater tanks to be a lot harder, because unless you have plants (algae filtration, essentially), I have no idea how to effectively reduce nitrates. It's also got a ton of detritus in the gravel because I have no idea what kinds of critters help with that (as opposed to nassarius snails, which I really like). It's kind of sad, really, when I can keep corals in a reef but I can't keep my daughter's tank from looking like a disaster. I do have a high output LED strip for her tank, though, so with some plants I hope to turn things around.
Wish me luck! Darn freshwater :-D
) I actually think its important for new reefers to know this, so they can address the bad habits that are usually the core of the issue in the first place.
