Yeah, I still got it.

[Anonymous]

Nice...but where are the lights?

Single 400 watt Iwasaki in a custom stainless steel fixture.

 

[Anonymous]

Get a picture of the lights too!

IBTM.

 

[Anonymous]

Nice grow out system. What is it exactly that you got? Skills?

You got it. I haven't built a coral system in 2 years. Hence the "still". Amazingly enough, I've been designing and building systems for public aquarium display, quarantine, aquaculture and experiments for seven years now, and this is the first one that when I switched it on, it worked perfectly.

(put me on the list for a cervicornis frag )

Permits please?

 

[Anonymous]

Get a picture of the lights too!

I will tomorrow! I promise.

 

[Anonymous]

IBTM.

If somebody were to say Jesus and Mohammad were homosexual lovers, would that prevent a move topside?

 

[Anonymous]

I’ve been waiting for the ultimate evolution of the “Spanky-Alfalfa” style reef tank to go public.

LOL. Don't hold your breath. Jerel and I don't agree on everything For example, he thinks I'm out of my mind for using only point source lighting on Atlantics. Also, I never fell for the whole DSB thing. He did. Better yet, he fell for it after he'd been doing it successfully the other way for decades. :roll: I'll never stop giving him grief about that. All that aside, he's been in the game a lot longer than I have, and I owe a lot of what I know about closed systems to him (and this was long before he ever the ever controversial starboard bomb dropped on the hobby community).

I understand that ‘hyperactive’ wet skimming removes most waste products before they break down, and some wastes after they break down, but is there an applicability of this approach (without any LR) to the average hobbyist tank?

Why not? If you like the look. Live rock filtration, if you're running it as a bacterial filter (and not algal) works great, if you have a high bioload (ie, any fish).

Will this approach work without occasional large batch replacements of water?

Absolutely. The whole idea is to keep the water as clean as possible with the fewest breakdown products as possible at all times. This tank will probably not get any frequent or large water changes.

Will this approach work if one feeds the animals anything at all?

Define animals?

Will this approach work with systems with less than say 500 gallons volume?

This culture vat is about 100 gallons.

 

[Anonymous]

HOw do you keep the water from spilling over the side when it's tipped like that?

I Thought that was funny Rover...

me, too. i can't imagine why galleon ignored it... :wink:

It doesn't spill because I prayed real hard .

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, IBTM

 

[Anonymous]

IBTM.

If somebody were to say Jesus and Mohammad were homosexual lovers, would that prevent a move topside?

Nah, you'll probably have to tell us which was the top and which was the bottom in order to really sink it in..

 

[Anonymous]

IBTM.

If somebody were to say Jesus and Mohammad were homosexual lovers, would that prevent a move topside?

Nah, you'll probably have to tell us which was the top and which was the bottom in order to really sink it in..

Dude, wasn't it Jesus who was always turning the other cheek? I'd say He's a catcher, for sure.

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice setup! My wife and I will be moving soon and we will be upgrading to an 8' tank. We will have a 58 gallon seahorse tank, a 55 gallon Bangaii breeding tank, a 30 gallon black percula clown tank, and our large tank. We might have to hang on to the 135 that we currently have and use it as a coral prop tank. We currently sell or give away about $1500 in coral frags each year and donate the money to chairty. A dedicated propogation tank would allow us to make even more money and keep our main tank a little more full.

Andrew

 

[Mihai]

One more question: do you feed your corals? what?
M.

 

[Anonymous]

One more question: do you feed your corals? what?
M.

No.

 

[Anonymous]

I’ve been waiting for the ultimate evolution of the “Spanky-Alfalfa” style reef tank to go public.

LOL. Don't hold your breath. Jerel and I don't agree on everything For example, he thinks I'm out of my mind for using only point source lighting on Atlantics. Also, I never fell for the whole DSB thing. He did. Better yet, he fell for it after he'd been doing it successfully the other way for decades. :roll: I'll never stop giving him grief about that. All that aside, he's been in the game a lot longer than I have, and I owe a lot of what I know about closed systems to him (and this was long before he ever the ever controversial starboard bomb dropped on the hobby community).

Glad to hear that you and Jerel aren't actually the same person, LOL. However I'd like to see a pic of you and Jerel side by side to prove it to me for certain. :lol: I'm still laughing about the big broo-ha-ha the 'Bomber' starboard tank stirred up. It was so retro as to hit a lot of people as being new. The only real new things about the 'Our Gang Reef' was running a BB with much higher flow rates, wetter skimming, and bringing back the UV. Lots of us old farts who have been running BB tanks for years really enjoyed the fireworks. I've had 6 bags of SouthDown in the garage collecting dust for four years because I kept thinking DSBs would eventually start failing. I've been thinking sandbox for the kids lately.

I understand that ‘hyperactive’ wet skimming removes most waste products before they break down, and some wastes after they break down, but is there an applicability of this approach (without any LR) to the average hobbyist tank?

Why not? If you like the look. Live rock filtration, if you're running it as a bacterial filter (and not algal) works great, if you have a high bioload (ie, any fish).

Ah, bingo! high bioload = having fish

Since most of us have the stray fish in the reef tank, and since we occasionally feed them I guess we need to have additional media (such as LR) to house bacteria?

Will this approach work without occasional large batch replacements of water?

Absolutely. The whole idea is to keep the water as clean as possible with the fewest breakdown products as possible at all times. This tank will probably not get any frequent or large water changes.

Will this approach work if one feeds the animals anything at all?

Define animals?

I was thinking about actively feeding sessile critters. I suspected that having fish would be considered a high bioload and probably wouldn't work in the BB, non-LR vat.

I do think that your coral prop vat is neat. Keep us informed on its progress.

Thanks,
-Lee

 

[Anonymous]

Do you think (or have evidence that) the UV is doing anything beneficial?

 

[Anonymous]

Do you think (or have evidence that) the UV is doing anything beneficial?

Breaks down organic compounds and destroys bacteria. In closed systems, I could care less about the beneficial bacteria in the water when there is the elevated potential for bad ones. I want them all dead. I run UV at a flowrate that allows 100,000 uW. Closed system water is dirtier than most people give it credit for. I want to do everything in my power to keep any pathogen from gaining any sort of edge. Most of these corals were collected from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and are irreplaceable.

 

[Anonymous]

Skimmer after breaking in overnight...

 

[Anonymous]

As promised, 400 watt Iwasaki in Stainless Steel pendant. Remote core/coil ballast.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised more of you aren't questioning this.

Bare tank. Clean, sterile seawater. Wet skimming. UV. Strong lighting. No liverock. Add only SPS type corals that we know do perfectly well on bacteria and light. Nothing else. Will you have to feed?

corals will get their carbohydrates from zoox and culturing bacteria. However, they don't just need carbon. They need nitrogen and phosphorous as well. Their cells need it, their zoox need it, and the bacteria they eat need it. We know that the bacteria can pull the nitrogen out of thin air. Where does the phosphate they need come from? Will it have to come from added food?

 

[Anonymous]

HOw do you keep the water from spilling over the side when it's tipped like that?

I Thought that was funny Rover...

Thought it was hysterical.

Galleon probably eats good food. He can do anything.