Been out of Reef Tanks for ~9 years - Best rundown on "How To"?

[Grif]

Howdy all, As you can see by my join date, I've been into reef tanks a while, but I've been "out of it" for almost 10 years. I had one too many flood, and the Mrs. had had it. I had tried Nano's briefly, and what I understand is that the tech behind the hobby has developed to where floods and constant monitoring are less of a feature of the systems/technology today. Can anyone point me to some resources on setting up a low maintenance system?

My biggest issue is with my kids out of the house these days, being gone for a couple weeks happens, so I know I'd need a substantial topoff system, but is that gonna get in the way (the being gone part, I know how to solve the evaporation issue)?

[KMitch]

Bulk Reef Supply has some great YouTube videos to help you get caught up on how far the hobby has advanced. Like you, I was in almost 10 years ago and can't believe how far we've come from compact florescent bulbs and the like!

 

You can absolutely setup a tank to run without you being present, though it's probably easier done with a mature tank. Too much variation in a new setup.

[Mrod1!]

What kind of issues caused your floods- ato, sump flooding, etc?

 

nowadays there are cameras, leak detectors, check valves, etc

 

however if your running a sump make sure with a power outage you have room to handle the excess water there.  you can also drill a hole in the return to help as a backup, not let your return be too low in the main display, etc. 

 

Was it ato related- maybe tubing was in sump water?  Maybe ato container was higher than where dumping water?

 

point is lots of advancements in technology but many floods seem to be related to power outages or ato siphon issues. If you let all know the types of issues you had maybe some can help with specific tips, especially those who also travel a lot. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[headonkey1]

I'm in the same boat here. Actually worked in a SW custom install business in college 15 years ago. 

 

Just set up a JBJ 12g Nano Cube for my daughter last week and she loves it! It's amazing how much has changed now with LED lighting and super quick tank cycling. 

[mcarroll]

@Grif Videos may be entertaining if you have time to kill, but that's about it.  (There's definitely better entertainment on YouTube.)  Personally, I can't recommend spending your learning time on reef videos....just gonna pick up a lot of bad advice.

 

If you need to learn reefing, read more books, magazines and journals....and ask questions here.

 

For online reading material, you should dig through the archives at reefkeeping.com and whatever is left of the advancedaquaria.com archives (since it's been "integrated" with reefs.com).

 

If you haven't been through the Nano Reef Library, that's a worthy stop as well!

[Bio-Cube 32 Bryan]

What tank are you wanting to get, Griff?

[Grif]

On 3/30/2020 at 6:55 AM, Mrod1! said:

What kind of issues caused your floods- ato, sump flooding, etc?

 

nowadays there are cameras, leak detectors, check valves, etc

 

however if your running a sump make sure with a power outage you have room to handle the excess water there.  you can also drill a hole in the return to help as a backup, not let your return be too low in the main display, etc. 

 

Was it ato related- maybe tubing was in sump water?  Maybe ato container was higher than where dumping water?

 

point is lots of advancements in technology but many floods seem to be related to power outages or ato siphon issues. If you let all know the types of issues you had maybe some can help with specific tips, especially those who also travel a lot. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My issue was the overflow would "run away" into the sump (below the tank) and cause an flood.  My understanding is that many of the new Nano systems are "all in one" and don't rely on a sump or a refugium (sp?), and maybe a decent system with an oversize ATO might allow me the ability to be gone for extended periods of time.  I ran fish-less systems (love coral, fish just seem to create waste).  The Red Sea system that seems to be so popular might work, but the light is up so high that I'm worried the Mrs. will be annoyed by the light spilling all over the place, but as a woodworker, I figure I can 'hood' the light a little so that it isn't washing the whole room in light all the time.

[Grif]

1 hour ago, Bio-Cube 32 Bryan said:

What tank are you wanting to get, Griff?

The Red Sea all-in-one's look promising......

[Coastie]

Red Sea, Innovative Marine, and CadLights all make some pretty high end AIOs.  There are also advancements (least I think they're advancements) in overflow designs to hopefully help prevent floods, but an AIO might help you get back in the missus good graces 

[Grif]

Yeah, I'm thinking an AIO with an oversized ATO might allow me to be away (after it's mature) for more extended periods.  Kids are all out of the house now, so a week away here and there is part of the routine.  After the flooding concern, that's my biggest, because the Mrs. has grown accustomed to being able to be away for days on end, and even put the kibosh on a cat or dog for that exact reason.  I see 3 days away as a commonly held 'max, with a huge ATO could that be extended to 7 days with lights on a schedule and few/no fish (I'm really into the tanks for the coral, less so the fish)?  

[mitten_reef]

41 minutes ago, Grif said:

Yeah, I'm thinking an AIO with an oversized ATO might allow me to be away (after it's mature) for more extended periods.  Kids are all out of the house now, so a week away here and there is part of the routine.  After the flooding concern, that's my biggest, because the Mrs. has grown accustomed to being able to be away for days on end, and even put the kibosh on a cat or dog for that exact reason.  I see 3 days away as a commonly held 'max, with a huge ATO could that be extended to 7 days with lights on a schedule and few/no fish (I'm really into the tanks for the coral, less so the fish)?  

I’ve gone away for 4-5 day wknd with a 5-gallons bucket of top off water. Came home with some water left in it. And I have a 3-ft long, 30-gallon tank Innovative Marine 30Long. So yeah I’d say it’s feasible. 
Evaporation is, primarily, relative to your room condition and how much surface agitation you have in the tank. 

[mcarroll]

9 hours ago, Grif said:

Yeah, I'm thinking an AIO with an oversized ATO might allow me to be away (after it's mature) for more extended periods.  Kids are all out of the house now, so a week away here and there is part of the routine.  After the flooding concern, that's my biggest, because the Mrs. has grown accustomed to being able to be away for days on end, and even put the kibosh on a cat or dog for that exact reason.  I see 3 days away as a commonly held 'max, with a huge ATO could that be extended to 7 days with lights on a schedule and few/no fish (I'm really into the tanks for the coral, less so the fish)?  

On top of the ATO, if you're keeping stony corals, they will probably need an auto-doser.

 

With an auto-feeder for the fish, dosers for the coral, and an ATO for the tank, you SHOULD be able to leave the tank for as long as your reservoirs hold up...which you can hypothetically calculate for any length of time.

 

This would be less true for newer tanks or tanks that otherwise are having issues.  They are more likely to require tank keeper interventions to keep running.  (I almost left my system alone for approximately 5 years with just refilling those reservoirs...mostly no worse for the wear.)