Reef Tanks with Heavy Bio Load

[Peach02]

So my tank is about 100g total water volume. With about 22 fish total. Mostly small and a bunch if wrasses and a few tangs. I keep a good variety of corals from acropora to acans and euphelia, some leathers and soft corals. I run an oversized skimmer, vodka dose and run a big calcium reactor... my nitrates are about 5and phosphates are about 0.15 I stopped running gfo and noticed my corals are alot more colorful. I rely on the fish to feed the corals and when I feed them I sometimes broadcast feed the coral as well.

What fish do you keep?

 

[Greenreef75]

Sure, acrylic 450, lots of fish and corals …..

1. Setup
   1. Lighting - 4 XW30 Radions; 5 Kessil 360; 5 Kessil 160
   2. Plumbing - Basement sump/fish room; PanWorld 250 main pump; misc. Panworld pumps for reactor, etc.
   3. Filtration - no mechanical; GAC, GFO and polyfilter; sulfur reactor; large skimmer; ATS; RDSB; mangroves; large UV
   4. Aqua scaping - see photo
   5. Flow - 4 MP60; MP40; 2 RPM; Vectra/oceans motion closed loop
   6. Heat exchanger for heating and cooling
2. Maintenance
   1. Water parameters - alk 9.5; Ca 425; Mg 1350: PO4 0.2; NO3 20-30
   2. Hardware maintenance - normal periodic maintenance
   3. Dosing for both major and minor trace elements - large CaRx; dosing of three part to offset alk loss from sulfur reactor; judicious dosing of Fe and K.
   4. Feeding
      1. Regimen for fish - 3-4 times per day; nori, pellets and multiple frozen
      2. Regimen for corals - no specific feeding
      3. Type of food used
3. Livestock
   1. Fish
      1. How many - over 100
      2. What size - 60 are small (mostly damsels); 40 are larger tangs, angels, anthias, etc.
      3. Compatibility - all mostly reef safe
   2. Invertebrates - magnifica anemone; a few rock anemones; spiny lobster, misc, crabs
   3. Corals
      1. SPS - over 80 different colonies
      2. LPS - some euphyllia, mostly chalice
      3. NPS - none
4. Challenges
   1. Nutrient export
      1. Water change - not much, about 10% monthly
      2. Refugium/Algae Scrubber - DiY ATS; some chaeto, though growth is poor
   2. Growth - generally fine, if slowed a bit by higher NO3 (hopefully sulfur reactor will help)
   3. Corals - I will lose a colony occasionally; usually a consequence of shading or incursion; otherwise no systemic issues
   4. Fish - system has ich, which limits certain fish; is managed.
   5. Nuisance Algae - none in the display (too many mouths)
   6. Introducing new livestock - rigorous QT for fish; just dip for inverts.
   7. Making changes to the setup - constantly, though never right before a trip.
5. Celebrations:
   1. Share our successes
   2. Show off your tank and livestock - day 1 and day 700 ... thereabouts

What’s the time between the two pictures

 

[Todd1white]

1. Setup - 180g - 36" deep custom corner tank w/50g sump 14 months old, 1st time s/w tank
   1. Lighting - 36" Aquatic Life t5 Hybrid 4 ATI bulbs - 2 x Radion xr30w Pro G4
   2. Plumbing - Custom/Nothing special flex plumbing
   3. Filtration - 2 x skimmers - 4 x marine blocks/floss - fuge w/chaeto, kessil h380, tunze ecochic - manifold to 2 x UV & GFO reactor
   4. Aqua scaping - 250 lbs Live Rock mostly scaped on back wall 1-2" aragonite sand
   5. Flow - 2 x Maxspect Gyres~80% & 2 x Neptune WAVs ~ 60%, could probably use one more on back wall
2. Maintenance - 50g w/c weekly with 1:1 blend of Red Sea Coral Pro & Blue Bucket
   1. Water parameters - Trident controlled for Alk 9.9, Cal 450, Mag 1350. No3 25-40, Po4 0.07-2.2
   2. Hardware maintenance - Cleaned flow @ 6 mos, about to change UVs and remove to deep clean 2 skimmers
   3. Dosing for both major and minor trace elements
      1. Manufacturer
         1. Entire Red Sea Mixed Reef Recipe from the start, (3 months ago I started blending their salts for lower Alk). Using Apex for 4 x DOS, 2 x DDR, and direct from bottle dose NoPox & Trace Colors.
   4. Feeding
      1. Regiment for fish - 6am & 6pm LRS Reef/Herb/Fish Frenzy and a mix of Black Worm & other pellets, 2 sheets of Nori in the afternoon
      2. Regiment for corals - Broadcast feed nightly Red Sea Reef Energy A&B, twice weekly BeneReef,
3. Livestock
   1. Fish
      1. How many - 28 total fish, most added in first 4 months
      2. What size - Large Moorish Idol, CBB, 4 Tangs-Clown/Kole/Purple/Regal Hippo 3-4", Mandarin, Flame Hawkfish, 5 clowns, pair Orchid Dottybacks, 5 chromis, 5 Yellowtail Damsels, 5 Talbots Damsel
      3. Compatibility - As most were added close together it's a peaceful tank. The clown tang gets rambunctious every now and then.
   2. Invertebrates - Loads of Hermits, nassarius/turbo snails. 1 tile starfish, 3 brittle starfish
   3. Coals
      1. SPS - I keep killing them but I keep trying,
      2. LPS - Zoas and Gonis grow well. Elegances fill the bottom, a few favia do ok, a couple of torches, leathers
      3. NPS - Gorgonians do ok
4. Challenges
   1. Nutrient export - a constant battle, but this weekend I'm putting in a Korallin Bio-Denitrator that I'm hoping will help
      1. Water change - 50g weekly
      2. Refugium/Algae Scrubber - Fuge but mostly for pods for the mandarin & CBB
   2. Growth - Fish are fat and happy, corals have been a struggle but getting better
   3. Corals - I want to be able to grow SPS, but I'm running out of room
   4. Livestock - Can't get anymore, too many now
   5. Nuisance Algae - Since the "new tank uglies" not too bad now. had to treat for cyano twice, I dose 15Ml Nopox
   6. Introducing new livestock - nope
   7. Making changes to the setup - Bio Denitrator, maybe consolidate skimmers to one Maxspect AeroAqua soon
5. Celebrations:
   1. Share our successes - I got an Apex after 10 months and things are stabilizing
   2. Show off your tank and livestock

 

[ca1ore]

What’s the time between the two pictures

Noted in the post, day 1 and nominally day 700.

 

[Bfoot]

I have ran a freshwater and a reef tank with very high bio loads. The one thing nobody has mentioned (and I learned the hard way), is there better be a plan in place in case of a power outage. (We had a storm knock out power for a few days but didn’t cause any other damage for us.) Heavily stocked tanks crashed fast. Lightly stocked tanks made it through

 

[schooncw]

Following this very interesting thread!

 

[chris jones 105]

30 gallon JBJ AIO Definitely A heavy bio load, Aquamedic dosing pump, Auto aqua ATO, little refugium in one side of the over flow, filter sock on the other. Use all ESV B IONIC Products. Change 10% water every now and then, (when ever I think it needs it) 9 fish, 5 shrimp, 3 crabs, many serpent stars, one big brittle star.Hermit crabs, snails. XR30g4 ecotec light, 2 ,24" blue plus t5, 12 hour light schedule .. pretty simple set up. ( ULM For sure)

 

[chris jones 105]

Front view

 

[MikeyG]

Sure, acrylic 450, lots of fish and corals …..

1. Setup
   1. Lighting - 4 XW30 Radions; 5 Kessil 360; 5 Kessil 160
   2. Plumbing - Basement sump/fish room; PanWorld 250 main pump; misc. Panworld pumps for reactor, etc.
   3. Filtration - no mechanical; GAC, GFO and polyfilter; sulfur reactor; large skimmer; ATS; RDSB; mangroves; large UV
   4. Aqua scaping - see photo
   5. Flow - 4 MP60; MP40; 2 RPM; Vectra/oceans motion closed loop
   6. Heat exchanger for heating and cooling
2. Maintenance
   1. Water parameters - alk 9.5; Ca 425; Mg 1350: PO4 0.2; NO3 20-30
   2. Hardware maintenance - normal periodic maintenance
   3. Dosing for both major and minor trace elements - large CaRx; dosing of three part to offset alk loss from sulfur reactor; judicious dosing of Fe and K.
   4. Feeding
      1. Regimen for fish - 3-4 times per day; nori, pellets and multiple frozen
      2. Regimen for corals - no specific feeding
      3. Type of food used
3. Livestock
   1. Fish
      1. How many - over 100
      2. What size - 60 are small (mostly damsels); 40 are larger tangs, angels, anthias, etc.
      3. Compatibility - all mostly reef safe
   2. Invertebrates - magnifica anemone; a few rock anemones; spiny lobster, misc, crabs
   3. Corals
      1. SPS - over 80 different colonies
      2. LPS - some euphyllia, mostly chalice
      3. NPS - none
4. Challenges
   1. Nutrient export
      1. Water change - not much, about 10% monthly
      2. Refugium/Algae Scrubber - DiY ATS; some chaeto, though growth is poor
   2. Growth - generally fine, if slowed a bit by higher NO3 (hopefully sulfur reactor will help)
   3. Corals - I will lose a colony occasionally; usually a consequence of shading or incursion; otherwise no systemic issues
   4. Fish - system has ich, which limits certain fish; is managed.
   5. Nuisance Algae - none in the display (too many mouths)
   6. Introducing new livestock - rigorous QT for fish; just dip for inverts.
   7. Making changes to the setup - constantly, though never right before a trip.
5. Celebrations:
   1. Share our successes
   2. Show off your tank and livestock - day 1 and day 700 ... thereabouts

That's beautiful