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Location
Queens, NY
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Has anyone here heard of or can link (hint, hint...) me to more websites where a reef aquarist has kept a SPS/LPS dominated reef tank using no skimmer on a large scale? By large I mean anything bigger than a 65g.
:scratch:
 

jhale

ReefsMagazine!
Location
G.V NYC
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you can do the steve tyree thing and make a large zone for sponges and worms.

I think it's possible to run no skimmer, but you need to devote a lot of water volume to a fuge area, and keep the bio load in the display tank low.

go to http://www.reeffarmers.com/ and look at the farmed sponge page.
 

Wes

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Raleigh, NC
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you can do the steve tyree thing and make a large zone for sponges and worms.

i have purchased from steve tyree directly a few times and it always arrives looking like crap and half dead...They take a few months to recover. Tyree corals i have gotten from fellow hobbyists always arrive looking great.

Out of all my Tyree corals, the ones that arrived to my place in the worst condition are from the man himself grown in his tri-zonal skimmerless tank. :shhh:
 

bigbris1

Re-reefer
Location
Manhattan
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I am running my Oceanic 40L skimmerless (sold the remora) & it is a challenge. So far, since my fuge is in a 13.3 gal sump (fuge is approx 8 gals) I have had an algae outbreak & cyano. Now that I have added GAC & phos-zorb & the chaeto is growing like crazy, hopefully things will even out.

I've even had to start straining the frozen foods I feed. I run my fuge on a 24/7 light schedule (by force) & so far so good. I look to adding a phosphate reactor in the near future.

Of course, my tank is lit w/260W PCs & of my 40 odd spcies of coral I only have 2 SPS which is negligible.
 

inline6

Advanced Reefer
Location
Queens, NY
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I am running my Oceanic 40L skimmerless (sold the remora) & it is a challenge. So far, since my fuge is in a 13.3 gal sump (fuge is approx 8 gals) I have had an algae outbreak & cyano. Now that I have added GAC & phos-zorb & the chaeto is growing like crazy, hopefully things will even out.

I've even had to start straining the frozen foods I feed. I run my fuge on a 24/7 light schedule (by force) & so far so good. I look to adding a phosphate reactor in the near future.

Of course, my tank is lit w/260W PCs & of my 40 odd spcies of coral I only have 2 SPS which is negligible.

bris, do you dose any additives ex. 2 part and mg?
I personally find the type of setups we have to be alot more stable if you monitor your alk and cal.
 

bigbris1

Re-reefer
Location
Manhattan
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I dose Randy's 2-part using baking soda for the ALk & ESV Calcium Chloride for the Ca everyday. I think I'm going to have to test for MG as a recent study showed IO is low in this dept. so water changes might not be cutting the mustard.
 

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Location
Queens, NY
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BTW Sharn, you wanna give away any of your Xenia? :)

Sure, why not! Some of them are easy to detach right now, they're attached to some halimida algae. Be forewarned these are some of the most aggressive I've come across, more agreesive then my anthelia. PM me your info.
 

drperetz

No more big tanks
Location
New York
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...

i still think that with a skimmless set up its important to run carbon.
I am planning a self circulation nano 24-35 gallon max without a fug, but will have several srains of algae, sponge, and other live stock that will take care of my nutrients in the water column. I feel like the dutrius with out the skimmer tends to build up somuch it creates a phosphate issue.
 

inline6

Advanced Reefer
Location
Queens, NY
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29   0   0
i still think that with a skimmless set up its important to run carbon.
I am planning a self circulation nano 24-35 gallon max without a fug, but will have several srains of algae, sponge, and other live stock that will take care of my nutrients in the water column. I feel like the dutrius with out the skimmer tends to build up somuch it creates a phosphate issue.

I forgot to mention that I do run carbon, what is really perplexing is that I'm really pushing the fish stocking limits of my 58g with no measurable ammonia, nitrates, nitrites. Not sure about phosphates tho. I do 5g water changes every week (sometimes twice). Tank is going on for about 2.5 years now. Just wondering when I should start to remove some of the fish :fishhit:
 

drperetz

No more big tanks
Location
New York
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...

I have seen several skimmless tanks and i'll tell u, if u are planning to have a lot of live stock, forget about ur water conditions. Skimmless setup means that ur reef has to have a natural balance where u have to figure out for ur self when stocking reached its limit.
just my 2 c
 

jhale

ReefsMagazine!
Location
G.V NYC
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no matter what there never should be any measurable ammonia or nitrites in an established tank. If there are then something is very wrong :eek:

sharn as long as the tank looks healthy I would not worry about it. keeping up with your water changes sound like that is the key to your success.
 

drperetz

No more big tanks
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
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...

J whats up, are u saying that even if u do water changes any can be successful?:approve:

Just something I tought of, if ur water parameters are messed up sometimes even water changes cant fix anything....,
 

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