How to start a saltwater aquarium by KAZ Vorpal

"Easy to do, with a deep sand bed"

How I did it:

I have maybe ten kinds of soft coral, a wide range of invertebrates (which are my favorite part), a foxface rabbitfish (silliest English fish name, ever), a Dori and a Nemo for my kid, a pigmy angelfish, scooter blenny, sponges, macro algae, a gorgonian, and more, in my 70 gallon reef tank.

And I have no artificial filtration.

Instead of buying insanely expensive filtration equipment, and then having to change the water every week because NO mechanical filtration is adequate, I chose to set up a deep sand bed. 
That's where the sand on the bottom is sugar-fine, and is at least six inches deep in at least part of the tank. Six inches of sand in the front may not be pretty, so I made a sloping sand bank from back to front, highest on the back corners.

The high sand creates an environment for anaerobic bacteria, which keeps nitrate pollution in my tank at almost zero...and that's with no filter, at all...no refugium, no protein skimmer, nothing.

I change perhaps ten percent of the tank, once per month, just to keep fresh minerals in steady supply. 

Lessons & tips:

  • Build a deep sand bed, instead of wasting money and effort on mechanical filtration.
  • Larger tanks are easier to keep healthy than smaller.
  • Don't worry about aptasia, micro stars, algae, fireworms, and other things outdated aquarists used to claim are "bad", unless you're just obsessed with having a sterile-looking display tank. These are all a healthy part of a tank, and attacking them just spreads them, as well as stressing out all of the fish.


 

Oct 20, 09:32AM PDT | 0 comments | 7 cheers


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KAZ Vorpal has gotten 7 cheers on this entry.

 

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