people love protien skimmers

[new2scrub]

every time i say that i have started to run an ATS people on-line and in person tell me to run my skimmer also. so far my system has responded well to the ATS only approach. but only time will tell for sure. how come all of the so called "experts" can say i one breath "you dont need a skimmer for a nanno reef" but "you MUST have a skimmer for a large reef"??????????

[SantaMonica]

Because they don't know how skimmers work. Also, they think that because lots of people do something, that it's best.

[mrbncal]

I have a 75 w/ 30 gallon sump and ran w/o a skimmer for over a year BEFORE I found out about ATS'. There were some things that didnt do well, but anenomes and zoas, most lps did great montis and a few acros grew fine w/o a skimmer. Bubble algae and hair algae did great also. Since I started running a screen covered in algae my tank has never been healthier. Its been 6 mos or so maybe 7, I have NO hair algae and the bubble algae is losing ground. Almost gone completely. I feed a ton of frozen and oyster feast. I should probably back off some feedings but the coco worms love life and the gorgonians are growing, so why change anything.

[SantaMonica]

Good to hear, especially the gorgs. If they are totally non-photo, then know you are feeding a lot.

[mrbncal]

Thanks SM. I am so glad I found your post way back on another forum. I wanted to mention that I have done some water changes since the ATS startup. I think the gorgs release a toxin that some corals are sensitive to, so I try to keep an eye on things and when they start to look stressed I change about 35-40% of total system volume. I have a 55 gallon barrel that I can close off and drain, mix the new water in, then open teh valves back up and Im done.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0706ReefTank0083.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0318ReefTank0286.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0318ReefTank0259.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0318ReefTank0263.jpg

This is 3 weeks after setting up my horizontal version. . . . Already less glass cleaning
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0318ReefTank0243.jpg

Bad picture but trying to show polyp extension
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0706ReefTank0090.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0706ReefTank0085.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/mrbncal/ReddingReef/2010_0706ReefTank0087.jpg
^^This is a terrible pic but I wanted to show it. There were only two heads when the scrubber was placed in service. This pic is after 4-5 mos. Everything is growing like crazy. The slimer is much larger than the before shot above. You wont believe the growth of the birdsnest when I get that pic taken. Also I have never ever been able to keep a bubble coral alive more than a few months. The one above is going on 5 mos in the tank and its growing. I will work on getting a new full tank shot. I am very pleased withthe results after 6 mos of use.

[SantaMonica]

Very nice. I would worry about the "stuff" coming from gorgs... any organics coming from corals are quickly eaten by bacteria, and the bacteria are quickly eaten by the corals.

BTW, if you are brave you can try to keep a blueberry gorg... they have never been kept alive by anyone, not even public aquariums.

[mrbncal]

Yeah I have read up on those. THere is a nice little one at the lfs here but it just seems pointless. You are right about no one being able to care for them long term. There are plenty of others that are easier, I will keep this site up to date with my successes . . . . and failures.

[new2scrub]

looks nice

[sklywag]

Great looking tank. I'm jealous.

Newtoscrub. You're going to run into people spouting how to or how not to do a lot of things. One thing I have noticed in a lot of forums is how often people change the brand of skimmers they use always looking for that bigger better skimmer. And how often companies keep changing design of their skimmers. It would seem out of all the manufacturers. They would have all come to a final design that is most effective and that would be the end all be all. But then it would be hard to keep selling products.

Take SMs' scrubber for example. Designed it. Built it. And sells it. From what I can tell there hasn't been any complete redesign of it. Came up with a design that works and done. A good design to perform a simple task(IE filtering) may need some tweeking to fit different needs(space or layout) but doesn't need to be constantly changing to perform its single task.

People need to reassure themselves that the $400 they spent on their skimmer was worth it.

The new trend is LEDs. Not cheap. Yet people are still running their prehistoric halides and doing just fine. I don't own an Iphone.

mrbncal. How about some details of your set up?

[new2scrub]

I hear ya :)

[mrbncal]

mrbncal. How about some details of your set up?

Sorry it took so long to reply. Thanks for the interest, the tank in the pictures is a 75gal RR AGA. I am currently running 3 - 150 watt 14K DE SPS/BlueLife bulbs and 2 - 54 watt T-5 w/ reflectors in 420 and 460 wavelengths. Algae scrubber is in the 30long glass sump and water is returned with a Rio pump at 360 gal/ hour. Along with the return two modded MJ 1200's circulate the display.

In the sump I have a refugium section from before I set up the scrubber. Have left it in place with mangroves planted in 3 inches of mud and aragonite and a piece of liverock. Its fun to watch things grow in there, and handy to have a place to put things that I dont want in teh display. Kind of a holding cell . . . In the display there is apprx 3/4" of oolitic sand on the bottom and prolly 100 pounds of fiji and tonga branch. To much rock really. But now things are kinda grown on and I hate to disturb them to make more room. . . . but its coming . . . would like to have more room for new corals.

I use Bulk Reef Supply two part for calc/alk and Kents Iodine supplement. I think I am going back to lugols after this is gone. Things just seem off. I have been reading on here about Iron, so I will be adding that supplement soon. Also I would like to try the Mrs. Wages in the top-off water trick. Seems easy enough after reading about it on here.

Tests that I use at home:
N and P have been 0's for a couple of months now.
Low calcium at 350+/-10. Tested once a month.
Ph is monitored 24/7 and runs 7.9 (early am)to 8.3(couple hours after lights on).

Feeding is random. I use what ever the store has. I like to feed frozen cyclops, mysis, plankton. Recently started using PhytoFeast. Like that stuff, corals seem to react quickly. Going to try OysterFeast also. Anenomes, acans, and anything large enough to eat it get chopped up pieces of scallop. A squirt of the phytofeast and two random cubes every other day and scallops once a week. Quarter sheet of nori twice a week.

Fish:
Tomini Tang
Yellow tang
Coral Beauty
Orange tailed damsel
black perc
Nigripes clown (in refugium now)

Misc:
Cleaner shrimp
Boxer (pom pom)crab
black cucumber
3 clams

Tank is mostly LPS cuz thats what I like the most. Wall hammer, Frogspawn as well as branching types of both. Always looking for cool colors. One large S. gigantea, several mini carpets one maxi mini. a couple colorful flower nems. Several colored lobos and wellosyphylia, symphyllias and a lithophyton, couple color varieties of challice. Various maze corals. Whenever I find a colorful soft coral I buy it. Zoas, clove polyps etc.



Sps; green slimer, ponape birdsnest, blue polp birdnest, tri color valida, a blue tip acro and a plume berry(?) tort (haha idk), i am not much for names. Thats what the LFS called it. Its very cool reddish purple and another red acro. Several varieties of plating monti; purple, blue polyp. purple rim, orange.

Wow, talk about a rambler. Was that one long run-on sentence or what. You guys will definately think twice about asking me something again. :lol:

Mike

[sklywag]

Ha. I read every part of it. I just picked up some WM two part. I never dosed anything. Like you have read about dosing iron on here as well as other things. I don't and haven't done a water change since Jan. so I'm assuming I'm low on somethings. Especially since I've seen what little coraline I have along my sand line is starting to disappear. I picked the WM brand due it seemed to be the deal that day. Tank is happy and growing. Lets hope I made a wise decision.
Again, very nice display.