Hello...I just got a great deal on a 75 gal. setup...currently I have a 37gal FO tank and just started to introduce live rock...never had a reef tank...has anyone tried sally's bullet proof reef aquarium that's on garf's site...they use no filtration...just 2 powerheads,live rock, 1 blue moon & 2 triton 40W flour. tubes and claim to have sucess...would appreciate any input Denny
sally's bullet proof reef setup...does it work?
- Thread starter crete456
- Start date
:welcome:
First of, I should say that I personally don't think a lot of GARF or it's guarantees that hinge on buying certain (ahem) products when sucess in reefkeeping is really just a combination of knowledge, patience and lots of time and money
. That having been said I'll try and answer your question strictly from an appraisal of what you listed as far as a setup.
What you have to consider when designing a tank is what type of animals you plan of keeping, and will the tank you described be adequate to keep them not just alive but thriving. That should be the goal of any reefkeeper. The setup you mentioned, with the exception of the lighting would work for the less light/water quality demanding corals, and a lighter fishload (bioload).
First off, the filtration/water quality issue. The lack of mechanical filtration isn't a magic trick :lol:, for the most part people use the live rock as a biological filter. Only two powerheads for water flow? In a 75 it's possible, depending on what type of PH you have and what critters you are planning on keeping. Some don't mind lesser flow, some only thrive in higher flow.
You didn't mention if you were planning a sandbed (if you are using one if so how deep?) which does make a difference as to both biological filtration and bioload. The lack of a skimmer for excess nutrient export is IMO a problem with that setup. The skimmer allows you to have a higher bioload, and/or keep the water quality up as well.
The lights they describe are (IMO again) pretty much inadequate for most corals, especially in a 75 gallon. Her setup is predicated on a 55 gallon (which is less deep so more light would penetrate it) and says herself that they upgraded the lighting "after a year": Again, the key idea here is not to have your corals survive, but thrive.
http://www.garf.org/BulletProofReef/won ... ullet.html
The best overall advice I can give is to continue to learn, ask questions and to set up the most complete system NOW, rather than 6 months down the road having to buy new lights because the ones you have aren't doing the trick. Plan you tank around the most demanding inhabitant you want to have. That alone saves big money down the road.
First of, I should say that I personally don't think a lot of GARF or it's guarantees that hinge on buying certain (ahem) products when sucess in reefkeeping is really just a combination of knowledge, patience and lots of time and money
. That having been said I'll try and answer your question strictly from an appraisal of what you listed as far as a setup.What you have to consider when designing a tank is what type of animals you plan of keeping, and will the tank you described be adequate to keep them not just alive but thriving. That should be the goal of any reefkeeper. The setup you mentioned, with the exception of the lighting would work for the less light/water quality demanding corals, and a lighter fishload (bioload).
First off, the filtration/water quality issue. The lack of mechanical filtration isn't a magic trick :lol:, for the most part people use the live rock as a biological filter. Only two powerheads for water flow? In a 75 it's possible, depending on what type of PH you have and what critters you are planning on keeping. Some don't mind lesser flow, some only thrive in higher flow.
You didn't mention if you were planning a sandbed (if you are using one if so how deep?) which does make a difference as to both biological filtration and bioload. The lack of a skimmer for excess nutrient export is IMO a problem with that setup. The skimmer allows you to have a higher bioload, and/or keep the water quality up as well.
The lights they describe are (IMO again) pretty much inadequate for most corals, especially in a 75 gallon. Her setup is predicated on a 55 gallon (which is less deep so more light would penetrate it) and says herself that they upgraded the lighting "after a year"
: Again, the key idea here is not to have your corals survive, but thrive.http://www.garf.org/BulletProofReef/won ... ullet.html
The best overall advice I can give is to continue to learn, ask questions and to set up the most complete system NOW, rather than 6 months down the road having to buy new lights because the ones you have aren't doing the trick. Plan you tank around the most demanding inhabitant you want to have. That alone saves big money down the road.
- Location
- Connecticut
I've never done a salt water setup but can say that that definitely isn't too promising from what I've read just about everywhere else.
If you are at all interested in a smaller setup take a read at a post I wrote and had answered months back. It helps break down a bunch of the newbie stuff I went through:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight=
I've read probably 4 books, and thousands of posts on multiple online forums. That was my very first thread so it can help see questions/answers as they were progressed from a newbie standpoint.
I still haven't started a tank but am planning this week
Good Luck
If you are at all interested in a smaller setup take a read at a post I wrote and had answered months back. It helps break down a bunch of the newbie stuff I went through:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight=
I've read probably 4 books, and thousands of posts on multiple online forums. That was my very first thread so it can help see questions/answers as they were progressed from a newbie standpoint.
I still haven't started a tank but am planning this week
Good Luck
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