Opinions..?

[Mad Tart]

I have been reading this book on Reefs and how to set up a good reef tank. The author suggests that eggcrate and LR is the best way to go. He goes on to state that LS is not great because you will have to go through every 2 weeks and pick up all your LR to clean the LS.. oh the 2" MAX LS?? this is not what I have picked up from reading BB's.. Is this author just a bit antiquated or does everyone really disturb their reefs here and there to clean everything off?? Also it states that you should use a prefilter along with the skimmer.. isn't that a bit redundant?


Thanks for your help :-}

Miss Confused

 

[2poor2reef]

What is the publication date of the book? The hobby changes quickly. Actually, it is still true that a sand bed that is not populated with critters will be problematic over time. Nobody I know vacuums sand or "lifts" live rock to remove detritus from the sand bed. We all go out and hire critters to do that for us. Works very well.

I once used live rock supported on eggcrate over a bare bottom. It worked extremely well in my high-energy reef crest biotiope. That system turned over 60 times per hour and there was no way sand was going to stay in place so there are situations where a sand bed doesn't work well. But for the average tank they work very well indeed.

 

[Alf3482]

Well If that's correct I'm doing it all wrong for to long! NOT :lol: I have never cleaned my sand bed the critters do it for me. I have never moved rocks and my DSB in 5 tanks range from 3.5 to 6" deep. Check the copy date sounds a little old to me. HTH

 

[Mad Tart]

sorry should have posted that in the first place.. I checked the date instantly thinking maybe it was a bit outdated but the copyright on this edition is 1-5-02.. Being new to marine tanks I don't know when advancements have been made but this seems pretty recent. Basically I'm looking at setting up a 55 half reef/macro tank and I want the most natural and self sufficent filtration system I can get. I have heard of people using no skimmers.. how does one acheive that? and is that a bad idea?

The author saying no more than 2" LS i thought was way off and the same with the disturbing the tank for ritual teardown cleanings.. had to ask yall!

Any comments about this subject is much appreciated

Thanks again!

Miss confucious

 

[Alf3482]

Ok here is a 55 gal link to it in my sig as well con't tank setup and specs. While I do not recomend skimmerless to a beginner This tank Is skimmerless and it is 2.5 years old. there is a sump/refugium on this tank to handle the nutrient removal, this is the natural way of nutrient removal along with a good water change schedule. this tank has never had a skimmer on it. I do not dose any thing other than Kalk and a home made Alk buffer when needed. The Tank Is set up with a 6" DSB and 70 to 75 lbs LR. HTH