reef tank no water changes.

[NanoReefer]

i decided i was going to try to make a completely self sustaining 10 gallon reef. no water changes. i have been going succesful for 4 months!!! 2:1 baserock to live rock ratio. 20lbs live sand, and a 10 gallon tank 4x18 watt t5s. i have a cool damsel, cant remember name. hammer, 14 zoa frags, shrooms, 4 sps frags a few hammers and frogspawn. filtration 2 penguin 100s, 1 is refugium with chaeto, sand, and lr rubble. and other is used to run carbon. 30 lbs live rock. feeding phytoplankton, and cyclopeez mix. upgrading to a 37 where i will be running hob aquafuge, hang on skimmer, and 250 watt halide pendant pretty stoked.-sam

 

[little_fish]

Cool! Lets see some pics!

Also what are your calcium, alk and other levels at?

 

[NanoReefer]

i only test ph haha. ill get some pics on

 

[RyanG]

You should probably definately be testing for nitrates. It'll be a cool thing if you get it self sufficient.

 

[NanoReefer]

yeah its really close, i dont want to feed, im trying to get enough copepods to feed the damsel

 

[RyanG]

Not to sound like a doubter but I don't know if you'll ever get enough pods to sustain a fish. I wish you all the luck in the world though.

 

[NanoReefer]

yeah i know what your sayin, but ill sure as hell try!

 

[Smitty]

Good luck...keep us updated with your progress.

 

[NanoReefer]

will do, im trying to post pics using photoshop but i cant seem to do it haha

 

[Cathic]

That my friend will be hard. Good luck.

 

[NanoReefer]

 

[Beastlyness 22]

I got a 10 to guy. After only 6 months my one clown seems to feed pretty good on pods. I still feed him as I was given some advice to do so, but I think it would be pretty easy to do.

 

[little_fish]

I suspect if you stop feeding him hes going to get pretty skinny after a few weeks.

Also, you really should test your calcium, alk and other levels. Waterchanges arent only to remove the bad stuff, they are to put back in the nutrients corals need to grow.

 

[Smitty]

If you're having problems posting pics, try uploading them to photobucket.com...that's the site most of us use.

 

[Northstar24]

I dont see how you could have a reef tank and not do water changes. If you have corals, you're going to need Cal /Alk / Mag and one of the easiest ways to replenish that is through a water change schedule. I cant imagine that dosing all the things you need to dose would end up less expensive than normal water changes....

That being said, its interesting to see someone pushing the envelope for the hobby

 

[NanoReefer]

no dosing or waterchange:) going steady for 4 months

 

[Cathic]

I will have to see pictures of what is actually in your tank. It is improbable if not impossible that you can not dose or perform a water change not to mention TO's, and the water still have essential elements Iodine Calc Mag required by corals and inverts. Perhaps doing it with fish only no inverts or CUC, but even then your tank will slowly bleed out.

 

[Sir Alex]

You cold get a calcium reactor to keep your calcium going...

This would probably work on a FOWLR, but a reef just needs so many different things...

 

[Cathic]

That would make it non self sustaining. unless he means food only?

 

[Jmck]

The thing is, corals will use up all different types of nutrients, including calcium and magnesium. But there are other trace elements that will end being diminished including iodine. I would say you will see some growth for a short period but without dosing the tank you will not see significant if any growth in the long term.

But good luck, i dont doubt that your damsel will live, but your corals and inverts will struggle.