WV Reefer's 12 Gallon Long and Dirty: Home of The Worm

[StinkyBunny]

3 hours ago, jack1978 said:

True. 

Then jealous. 

Then a threesome. 

I'm down for that, but you run the camera. 😄

[j.falk]

Hi Christy @WV Reefer - As much as I would like to read through all 97 pages of this thread, unfortunately I don't have that kind of leisure time on my hands...but I did have a few questions for you:

 

1.  Have you encountered any issues as far as water quality using the no skimmer, filter, or sump method?

 

2.  Did you ever go through a period where your tank was overrun by nuisance algae?  If so, what did you do to remedy the situation?

 

3.  How often do you feed the tank and what are your preferred foods?

 

4.  What made you decide to try the dirty method of reef keeping?  Was the idea based upon a freshwater planted tank?

 

5.  Does the tank have an open top?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I love the idea of your set up and I'm very curious about what made you decide to set it up like this and what type of downfalls (if any) you have experienced by using this method.  A few years ago, I set up a 27 gallon cube tank with the idea to run it how you are running this tank...but it started leaking water all over my floor so I tore it down and abandoned the idea.  My current tank is a 20 gallon tall and I'm using a Aquaclear 50 for filtration with floss and carbon running in it.  I'm considering taking the filter off of the tank and seeing how things go but I have some trepidations about doing so.

[j.falk]

On 9/30/2019 at 3:41 PM, mcarroll said:

Your water company may do specific treatments for this or that (storm overflows - more bleach;  downstream leaks - more phosphate to plug it; etc) and it'd be worth asking them about any stuff like that which might be predictable.  (They can't predict the non-predictable stuff...which may be a concern too.)

^ That is exactly why I will never use tap water in my saltwater tank.  Once upon a time I had a 75 gallon planted tank at my apartment and I would change the water on it once every two weeks using tap water.  Well, one Sunday I did the usual water change and within minutes all of my fish were dead due to the chemicals they were adding into the water during that time period.  It was heartbreaking watching all the fish that I had for years without any problems die within minutes.  After that I tore my tank down the same day, listed it on Ebay and sold it.  Didn't set up another tank until ten years later...

[WV Reefer]

1 minute ago, j.falk said:

Hi Christy @WV Reefer - As much as I would like to read through all 97 pages of this thread, unfortunately I don't have that kind of leisure time on my hands...but I did have a few questions for you:

 

1.  Have you encountered any issues as far as water quality using the no skimmer, filter, or sump method?

 

2.  Did you ever go through a period where your tank was overrun by nuisance algae?  If so, what did you do to remedy the situation?

 

3.  How often do you feed the tank and what are your preferred foods?

 

4.  What made you decide to try the dirty method of reef keeping?  Was the idea based upon a freshwater planted tank?

 

5.  Does the tank have an open top?

 

Sorry for all the questions but I love the idea of your set up and I'm very curious about what made you decide to set it up like this and what type of downfalls (if any) you have experienced by using this method.  A few years ago, I set up a 27 gallon cube tank with the idea to run it how you are running this tank...but it started leaking water all over my floor so I tore it down and abandoned the idea.  My current tank is a 20 gallon tall and I'm using a Aquaclear 50 for filtration with floss and carbon running in it.  I'm considering taking the filter off of the tank and seeing how things go but I have some trepidations about doing so.

I don’t blame you for not reading it all 😂

 

The only water quality issues, if I would even call it that, is that obviously the water doesn’t look as polished without a filter. That’s not something that bothers me but I know some people can’t deal with any “floaters” in the water. 
 

I have never had any crazy algae in this tank beyond the new tank uglies other than a patch of cyano here and there which was usually because I was messing with the lights or flow. I feed lightly and know that one thing affects the other so I take my time. 

The first time I had cyano I was freaking out and used a small aqua clear filter to suck it up while blowing it off the rocks .......but now I know that it’s not a big deal and just suck it out with a water change. 
 

I tend to let algae grow on the back wall most of the time. It doesn’t bother me and gives everyone something to graze on. 
 

I feed about 1/2 a cube of various types of frozen food once a day. I have Rods Food, mysis, chopped clam, squid, and a few others that I rotate in and out. 
 

I do not feed the corals but I do stir the sand throughout the week which I feel gives them anything extra they might want to munch. 
 

The tank does have an open top but with both lights sitting right on the rim it almost acts as a canopy.  
 

I’ve had an aquarium of some sort for over 20 years and during my research to start this tank I just knew there had to be an easier way. I don’t want my tanks to be a job. 
 

Reefing dirty is easy...... the hard part is letting go. 🙂
 

 

 

[jack1978]

On 10/30/2019 at 5:42 PM, StinkyBunny said:

I'm down for that, but you run the camera. 😄

You weren't invited. 

[StinkyBunny]

2 hours ago, jack1978 said:

You weren't invited. 

Sorry, I'm the star, we don't have a lens strong enough if you were the star. 😛

[j.falk]

3 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

...the hard part is letting go. 🙂

Thank you for your insight, I appreciate it!  👍

[WV Reefer]

3 minutes ago, j.falk said:

Thank you for your insight, I appreciate it!  👍

Anytime. 😊

[ECLS Reefer]

1 hour ago, StinkyBunny said:

Sorry, I'm the star, we don't have a lens strong enough if you were the star. 😛

You mean a filter.

[StinkyBunny]

8 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

You mean a filter.

No, I meant lens.

[jack1978]

12 hours ago, StinkyBunny said:

Sorry, I'm the star, we don't have a lens strong enough if you were the star. 😛

You'll also need an xray technician to find my tongue. 

[jack1978]

11 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

You mean a filter.

I'm beginning to not like you any more ...... or maybe Imngrowing more fond of you.  Its hard to tell at this point.

[WV Reefer]

This one will be at the surface soon....... decisions will have to be made. 
 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

26 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

This one will be at the surface soon....... decisions will have to be made. 
 

 

What is it?

[WV Reefer]

3 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

What is it?

My large cup

[Tamberav]

Interesting to see how the tap experiment turns out. If I move back to Duluth MN, I want to try a tap tank. The tap tasted good there and had a TDS of 30-35 when I tested it. Pretty damn good! The main reason I would like to try it...is because I don't like how much water RODI filters waste.

 

Someone on another forum kind of got blown up for wanting to try tap... bunch of naysayers!

 

One time I was told to pull my sand out of my cold water tank because I collected it from one of the great lakes and it will have copper!! Then I pointed out that I have been using that sand for YEARS..... pfft... no one on nano-reef ever gave me shit about it. 

 

Can't learn anything new without trying. 

[pmang6]

3 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

This one will be at the surface soon....... decisions will have to be made. 
 

 

 

How do you even go about fragging something like that?

[Tamberav]

Also as a confession, if I am tired and lazy and my ATO is running dry... I will top of my tank with untreated tap that probably has chlorine in it. My tank has yet to catch on fire or explode. 🔥

 

 

 

Warning: Do not try this at home! Death or injury could occur to your corals. This stunt was performed by a professional idiot. 

[pmang6]

1 minute ago, Tamberav said:

Also as a confession, if I am tired and lazy and my ATO is running dry... I will top of my tank with untreated tap that probably has chlorine in it. My tank has yet to catch on fire or explode. 🔥

 

 

 

This thread always has me wondering how many millions of dollars have been spent on equipment, additives, tests etc that are either unnecessary or wholly counterproductive....

[Wonderboy]

Sorry, but if you don't laugh, you'll cry about that. It's almost always been about the money...

[WV Reefer]

4 hours ago, pmang6 said:

 

How do you even go about fragging something like that?

I’ve been trying to come up with a plan for that. 

[WV Reefer]

4 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Interesting to see how the tap experiment turns out. If I move back to Duluth MN, I want to try a tap tank. The tap tasted good there and had a TDS of 30-35 when I tested it. Pretty damn good! The main reason I would like to try it...is because I don't like how much water RODI filters waste.

 

Someone on another forum kind of got blown up for wanting to try tap... bunch of naysayers!

 

One time I was told to pull my sand out of my cold water tank because I collected it from one of the great lakes and it will have copper!! Then I pointed out that I have been using that sand for YEARS..... pfft... no one on nano-reef ever gave me shit about it. 

 

Can't learn anything new without trying. 

So far so good. 🤞🏻
 

But everyone freaks out when I tell them about the tap water. 😄

[kimberbee]

17 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

So far so good. 🤞🏻

That's great!! 

 

I'd consider tap water too, like Tamberav, I don't like how much waste ro/di makes. We're surrounded by farm fields though and I could never be sure if/what pesticides they use.

[j.falk]

4 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Interesting to see how the tap experiment turns out. If I move back to Duluth MN, I want to try a tap tank. The tap tasted good there and had a TDS of 30-35 when I tested it. Pretty damn good! The main reason I would like to try it...is because I don't like how much water RODI filters waste.

 

Someone on another forum kind of got blown up for wanting to try tap... bunch of naysayers!

 

Can't learn anything new without trying. 

In the book Clownfishes by Joyce D. Wilkerson she states that tap water is just fine if you are doing a fish only tank...but I'm curious about the affects of tap water on corals?  It would be an interesting experiment to try on a small tank.

[seabass]

13 minutes ago, j.falk said:

but I'm curious about the affects of tap water on corals?

You can't make any generalized statements about tap water.  The quality varies from city to city, and can vary from day to day (with seasons, storms, or even maintaining fire hydrants).  Some tap water is fine to use, while others are not.  The livestock we choose to keep can also matter.

 

We can always say that RO/DI water is safe to use.  This is why we see experienced people always recommending it.  With all these recommendations, there are people who have no idea that tap water can be a valid option for some.

 

There is a product (again, not suitable for all) which doesn't require wastewater, and can make filtered water almost as quickly as tap: https://www.amazon.com/Kold-Ster-il-Filtration-System-Small/dp/B001EHHXPS

This is basically a sediment filter, carbon filter, and Poly Filter pads.