Cali Kid Corals

Overcomplicated tank? Nah, that's just old school!

Darkxerox

Darkxerox

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Guy has 30+ years in the hobby and you can see it with all the DIY modified equipment, regimens, etc. that he runs. Might try his skimmer pump trick when I get a bigger tank, but you can see the thought that goes behind each choice they went over in the video. Runs @Thales and @under_water_ninja level nutrients too (you can see the minds of the newbies in the comments blowing up!)
 
Darkxerox said:

Guy has 30+ years in the hobby and you can see it with all the DIY modified equipment, regimens, etc. that he runs. Might try his skimmer pump trick when I get a bigger tank, but you can see the thought that goes behind each choice they went over in the video. Runs @Thales and @under_water_ninja level nutrients too (you can see the minds of the newbies in the comments blowing up!)
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So what’s their thoughts on nutrients? Everything online says you want them low as possible, but not zero. From this video his seems higher?

Some have said mine are way to high, while others say they are fine.

My corals look good and are currently still growing. My only concern would be could this become a issue for me over a longer time frame (meaning should I seek to actively lower the phosphates) or should I just continue as I have been (as the corals sps, lps, and softies are looking good.) My current approach is more towards keeping things stable.

I have very minimal algae growth - I have to look for 10 mins to find the tiniest strands of gha. Coralline alage growth seems stalled out as well. My asterinas were eating it faster than it was growing, added a harlequin shrimp 2 weeks ago so there population has greatly dwindled. I'm looking out for visible signs of coralline growth returning.

I haven't tested nitrates in over 6 months as I don’t have a test kit for them, but I I'll probably pick up a kit to test for them maybe once a month.
 
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MichaelB said:
So what’s their thoughts on nutrients? Everything online says you want them low as possible, but not zero. From this video his seems higher?

Some have said mine are way to high, while others say they are fine.

My corals look good and are currently still growing. My only concern would be could this become a issue for me over a longer time frame (meaning should I seek to actively lower the phosphates) or should I just continue as I have been (as the corals sps, lps, and softies are looking good.) My current approach is more towards keeping things stable.

I have very minimal algae growth - I have to look for 10 mins to find the tiniest strands of gha. Coralline alage growth seems stalled out as well. My asterinas were eating it faster than it was growing, added a harlequin shrimp 2 weeks ago so there population has greatly dwindled. I'm looking out for visible signs of coralline growth returning.

I haven't tested nitrates in over 6 months as I don’t have a test kit for them, but I I'll probably pick up a kit to test for them maybe once a month.
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Definitely watch Rich's presentation he gave at High Tide and at our holiday swap a couple years ago:

It's more important that your tank is stable, corals look healthy and are growing (something that you're observing now even with "not perfect" levels) plus algae isn't taking over. Many experienced reefers keep high levels (personally my nitrate runs 15-25 ppm and phosphate 0.3-0.8ppm) with healthy corals. But they also don't fluctuate quickly.
 
Darkxerox said:
Definitely watch Rich's presentation he gave at High Tide and at our holiday swap a couple years ago:

It's more important that your tank is stable, corals look healthy and are growing (something that you're observing now even with "not perfect" levels) plus algae isn't taking over. Many experienced reefers keep high levels (personally my nitrate runs 15-25 ppm and phosphate 0.3-0.8ppm) with healthy corals. But they also don't fluctuate quickly.
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Will definitely check it out
 
@MichaelB The best thing that ever happened to my tank was that I stopped paying attention to everything posted online, particularly on R2R.

Pick a couple trusted reefers who you know have successful tanks, get to know them locally, absorb info, learn what to apply to your own tank or what to simply file away as knowledge.

The fact is that you can be successful many ways, with many different water parameters. Learn what your tank likes and let it settle in and grow without getting in the way too much.
 
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derek_SR said:
@MichaelB The best thing that ever happened to my tank was that I stopped paying attention to everything posted online, particularly on forums.

Pick a couple trusted reefers who you know have successful tanks, get to know them locally, absorb info, learn what to apply to your own tank or what to simply file away as knowledge.

The fact is that you can be successful many ways, with many different water parameters. Learn what your tank likes and let it settle in and grow without getting in the way too much.
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Yes this is me trying to be a sponge soaking up information. Lol don't worry about me doing anything rash because of information I came across. I'm content with my tank currently, just trying to stay informed and proactive at the same time. The discussion from the other thread just sparked me to wanna know more about both view points of higher and lower Nutrients. The posts here seemed to be the next level of what we discussed in the other thread and got me more intrested in Diggng into the topic especially after seeing the tanks on the videos. Hence my questions here. I'm still of the mindset where I'm looking at how the corals react to the differences over going by the actual numbers. While trying to figure out the approximate nutrient range to stay in where they are happy and growing. I'm also looking into the subject of dosing options especially for the newer tank, I'm strongly considering attempting the sps dominated route for it.
 
derek_SR said:
@MichaelB The best thing that ever happened to my tank was that I stopped paying attention to everything posted online, particularly on forums.

Pick a couple trusted reefers who you know have successful tanks, get to know them locally, absorb info, learn what to apply to your own tank or what to simply file away as knowledge.

The fact is that you can be successful many ways, with many different water parameters. Learn what your tank likes and let it settle in and grow without getting in the way too much.
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Advice posted on a forum: Ignore advice posted on forums

Reminds me of the liar paradox: “Everything I say is a lie”

lol
 
For the record, my last tank was a technological marvel. Two UV sterilizers, Skimmer, Multiple reactors, and every automation known to mankind. Easily 20K in technology alone, and it in no way was any easier than my current tank that runs with no skimmer, no reactors, no additives, and automation only for light schedules and heaters.

It's still less than 8 months old and has experienced some issues with algae that are clearing up quickly now, but no other major issues. Mike suggested tweaking the light schedule, and that alone seems to have balanced everything. It's probably only averaged a water change a month.
 
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