You are very welcome. This post was aimed at newer reefers and I will be very glad if it helps in any way. "Stability" has long been the mantra of coral keepers and I think this system is a great example of what stability can achieve without all the bells and whistles.
Absolutely. It is amazing. I have a 43g Cube and want to do something similar but I am terrible at putting my ideas into words or pictures. This certainly gives me something to strive towards.
Is this achievable with 2 Red Sea led 50, 1 ai prime and orbit marine r34? All lights are getting 50w each on a 52 gallon tank- 45 gallon display? I always struggle with lighting on my tanks and I’m not sure if I’m overdoing it or not.I want to share a reef I have maintained over a decade. This 100 gallon cube is super simple and is maintained with water changes only. I don't dose anything. No 2 part, no traces, no carbon source. 15 gallon water changes every two weeks, a skimmer, and some mechanical filtration. Coral growth rate is slow but no coral health issues at all. The largest Acropora colony is about 12" across. I'm sure there are many minerals and elements that are limited or non existent in-between water changes. But the corals keep good health and color, and seem to grow when the building blocks are available.
There are fish in the tank, but hid when I shut off the pumps for pictures. Tomini Tang, Flame angel, scopas Tang, 6 Line Wrasse, and 2 clowns.
Corals includes Acropora, Montipora, Galaxea, Caulastraea, Echinophyllia, Euphyllia, Fimbriaphyllia, Discoma, Sinularia, and lots of GSP. I trim out the softies when the overgrow, and I think this acts as a nutrient export.
There is one Radion XR30 Pro over this tank. If you are overdoing the light, the coral will tell you. There will be light colored bleached spots on the coral. Especially if you see light colored spots on the top of the coral, but normal coloration at the bottoms and sides.
Usually it’s corals not getting enough lights but It could be being lazy and not doing water changes on time. On water changes what would you recommend for my 52 gallon? 10 gallon every two weeks or 5 gallon every week?
My best tip is to buy coral that is already adapted for our reef tanks. Join Facebook groups or local clubs or reach out to people on R2R. All the coral in this tank is tried and true. If you see ORA in front of a coral name, it will probably grow well. Other than the Hellfire Torch, there is no expensive coral in this tank. You can probably get frags of everything in here for $5-20 bucks and it will grow better than anything imported from the ocean. Work with easy coral first, then branch out ( pun intended).
I personally aim for 25% every two weeks.
Beginners definitely get bombarded with complicated advice. This hobby can be a complex as we make it. There are many corals that wouldn't do good in this tank, and we can devise complicated systems for keeping those. But I do feel bad for people just getting into the hobby who just want a easy reef tank and get lost in the weeds. As a service company owner, I see it all the time. From well intentioned bad advice to advice designed to pick pockets, it is tough to sort through.
Thank you. This is a client's aquarium that I maintain. Simple with few points of failure is important when I service tanks like this twice a month. If something breaks, nobody will really even notice to call me before it's too late.
