I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on the hobby. Specifically, I want to share some of my personal opinions on how I think we over complicate this great hobby.
For example, I hear so often how people are stressed out about very tiny drops in Alkalinity and Calcium and fretting about keeping these numbers extremely high. I also constantly see different products that claim to raise a huge assortment of different parameters; parameters that we often do not know their affect on reef organisms.
I personally feel that a lot of reef tanks would be a lot healthier if owners focused on getting quality lighting, pumps, powerheads, and doing frequent water changes instead of fretting about tiny changes in parameters and getting a ton of expensive and often not necessary equipment.
I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be, but I have always kept my reef tanks using very simple and effective equipment and I have had good success. In fact, the 34 gallon mixed reef tank I keep now runs with no skimmer, no dosing, and no reactors, UV sterilizers or huge refugiums. My only means of filtration is a bag of carbon and gfo, and a 10 to 15 gallon water change every week and a half.
Now I know I do not have the fastest growth rates in my corals, but they are all healthy. LPS, soft corals, and SPS are doing well. A variety of SPS including Purple Stylophora, Montipora Digitata, Setosa, and Capricornis, two species of Birdsnest, and an Acropora have all encrusted and started to grow.
I just feel that people would enjoy their tanks more if they slowed down a bit and didn't worry about a bunch of different parameters and equipment so much.
I know my tanks are not the best out there, but they have all been very low maintenance and enjoyable for me. I also believe that they are proof you can keep a variety of coral without really large amounts of dosing and keeping track of a ton of different parameters.
Some pictures of my current and past tank setups
For example, I hear so often how people are stressed out about very tiny drops in Alkalinity and Calcium and fretting about keeping these numbers extremely high. I also constantly see different products that claim to raise a huge assortment of different parameters; parameters that we often do not know their affect on reef organisms.
I personally feel that a lot of reef tanks would be a lot healthier if owners focused on getting quality lighting, pumps, powerheads, and doing frequent water changes instead of fretting about tiny changes in parameters and getting a ton of expensive and often not necessary equipment.
I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be, but I have always kept my reef tanks using very simple and effective equipment and I have had good success. In fact, the 34 gallon mixed reef tank I keep now runs with no skimmer, no dosing, and no reactors, UV sterilizers or huge refugiums. My only means of filtration is a bag of carbon and gfo, and a 10 to 15 gallon water change every week and a half.
Now I know I do not have the fastest growth rates in my corals, but they are all healthy. LPS, soft corals, and SPS are doing well. A variety of SPS including Purple Stylophora, Montipora Digitata, Setosa, and Capricornis, two species of Birdsnest, and an Acropora have all encrusted and started to grow.
I just feel that people would enjoy their tanks more if they slowed down a bit and didn't worry about a bunch of different parameters and equipment so much.
I know my tanks are not the best out there, but they have all been very low maintenance and enjoyable for me. I also believe that they are proof you can keep a variety of coral without really large amounts of dosing and keeping track of a ton of different parameters.
Some pictures of my current and past tank setups
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