Saltwater and corals

[Tang namo]

I was wondering if you have a 20 gallon tank with only saltwater. No rocks , no sand , no skimmer, no filter. Just bare. Salinity good. Temp good. WaveMaker is good. Can I put corals in and just keep on doing 25% water change every three days?

 

[lapin]

They will need food

 

[tzabor10]

I was wondering if you have a 20 gallon tank with only saltwater. No rocks , no sand , no skimmer, no filter. Just bare. Salinity good. Temp good. WaveMaker is good. Can I put corals in and just keep on doing 25% water change every three days?

That is not recommended. Your sand and rocks hold a tremendous amount of beneficial bacteria that keep the water stable and healthy for life.

 

[Serpentman2024]

That’s a pretty sterile environment. Sounds ok for a QT but not long term.

 

[Tang namo]

That’s a pretty sterile environment. Sounds ok for a QT but not long term.

Target feed the corals and 25% water change every 3 days. I like to try it with some cheap easy bulletproof mushroom corals. What you guys think.

 

[Spare time]

Why?

 

[JTP424]

I would recommend a HOB filter or a Canister, you can use the output as your wavemaker, and you can throw some media in there to ensure beneficial bacteria.

I would look into how to make a frag tank as that basically sounds like what you're making.

I don't think people are saying it WON'T work, just trying to give you the best success.

 

[Spare time]

You will at least need snails. Otherwise algae will just takeover.

 

[Tang namo]

Amonnia level won't go up due to water change every 3 days. Target feed once a week. The mix saltwater have perfect parameters anyway so I don't see a problem with it.

 

[JTP424]

Amonnia level won't go up due to water change every 3 days. Target feed once a week. The mix saltwater have perfect parameters anyway so I don't see a problem with it.

Probably be a bit costly on the overall saltwater usage, but it's your wallet!

I think we're all saying it's not an ideal situation, but if you feel like you can make it work, give it a shot, be sure to have a good ammonia test kit and let us know how it goes. Be an interesting test and I'm sure we would be interested in the results!

 

[Tang namo]

No filters. It's an experiment not to have nitrogen cycle because of water change amonnia won't build up so I don't need those beneficial bacteria.

 

[Tang namo]

Why?

It's just a challenge to make the cheapest coral tank. Only heater and a small wavemaker and a 20 gallon tank. Everybody do water change anyway so why not try it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you have another tank that you can get the water change water from? Raw salt water is prone to issues related to lack of organics, phosphate, and bacteria. One is excessive tendency to precipitate calcium carbonate, and the other is trace elements that may have very different bioavailability/toxicity and tendency to precipitate.

 

[Readywriter]

I was wondering if you have a 20 gallon tank with only saltwater. No rocks , no sand , no skimmer, no filter. Just bare. Salinity good. Temp good. WaveMaker is good. Can I put corals in and just keep on doing 25% water change every three days?

Sure could. If you put a sump underneath it to hold all the rocks and sand and filtration. Could your idea work? Yea but it would be extremely wasteful and if you are doing constant water changes, will the salinity always be precise? Not to mention, would you consistently do those constant water changes? I think everyone here will agree that you might keep it going for a while but eventually you would get tired of it.

Furthermore, as far as experimenting goes: it could work, or it could not, odds are in could not's favor. So, why do an experiment like that with living creatures where the more likely event is that they suffer?

now, if you want to go the cheapest possible. Filter sponge + cheap powerhead.

 

[Tang namo]

This is all that it takes.
Change my mind. I will do it with ten gallon tank to minimize the water change cost.

 

[Tang namo]

Do you have another tank that you can get the water change water from? Raw salt water is prone to issues related to lack of organics, phosphate, and bacteria. One is excessive tendency to precipitate calcium carbonate, and the other is trace elements that may have very different bioavailability/toxicity and tendency to precipitate.

No. I'm going to mix it myself. We will see what will happen. I'm gonna be posting a day to day development including specially params.

 

[JTP424]

No. I'm going to mix it myself. We will see what will happen. I'm gonna be posting a day to day development including specially params.

Excellent! Get a build thread started!

 

[Tang namo]

All test kits that I need for this adventure.

 

[Tang namo]

Excellent! Get a build thread started!

No this not a build thread. It's an experiment that if it succeed everybody will benefit.

 

[slav621]

Changing your water every 3 days will be expensive and annoying. I don't see anyone wanting to do that. The more established you make your tank the less work/$.