Who runs the simplest system here?

[Fourstars]

So I'm from the old school berlin method of reef keeping. I'm thinking of setting up a large tank with no overflow, bare bottom, and with hang HOB skimmer. I do plan on setting up a automated water change system to change a few gallons a day. My goal is to setup a system with as few plugs as possible. And yes I'm finally going to move to LED not because it's better then Halide or t5, but for the power savings. How simple is your system? KISS

[bdesign]

New here, so not sure I should be piping in... haha

BUT, I bought a used 56g high from Craigslist and went to the LFS with ZERO knowledge and the pro there told me to KISS.

I walked out with a HOB filter, LED Strip lights, & heater.
I've since added a wave pump and a LOOP system that controls the lights and pump and a second HOB filter because why not.

I'm about 5 months in or so and have had absolutely negligible fluctuations in water parameters.

[reefgeezer]

I have 2 observations: 1) The extent of KISS you can get away with is relative to your expectations; & 2) 5 months is a very short period in reef time.

[Fourstars]

Originally Posted by bdesign

New here, so not sure I should be piping in... haha

BUT, I bought a used 56g high from Craigslist and went to the LFS with ZERO knowledge and the pro there told me to KISS.

I walked out with a HOB filter, LED Strip lights, & heater.
I've since added a wave pump and a LOOP system that controls the lights and pump and a second HOB filter because why not.

I'm about 5 months in or so and have had absolutely negligible fluctuations in water parameters.

I appreciate all input, i'm sure you'll have long term success as long as your religious about maintenance

[mcgyvr]

Not as simple as my last setup but..
80G reef tank 40b sump.. sand/rock and 1 Icecap Gyre powerhead
Sump only houses my skimmer that I've set to fill the cup every month or so now..
Basically no water changes for 1.5+ years now..
No heaters (house set at 70 in Winter/78 in summer)
Only dose alk/cal and hand dose mag and manually top off fresh every 4 days..
6 fish and corals.. Fish are just fed pellets from an Eheim Autofeeder..

Sufficient bacterial populations do all the work for me..

[hkgar]

It ain't me

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6hZDDjrEkt3BVTbE9

[Turtlesteve]

My question would be, is the end goal simplicity or financial savings?

My entire equipment list:

90 gallon display (home built stand/canopy)
20 gallon sump (off the shelf aquarium with no compartments).
return pump
2x LED lights (the chinese black box)
2x heaters (fail-safe in case one sticks on)
One wavemaker (chinese make)
Auto-topoff float switch & pump, 13 gallon reservoir

I am not claiming success yet as I'm only 7 months in.

As a side note, the only functional purpose of the sump is to hide the heaters and float switches. If this system works out and I ever need another new tank, it will be undrilled and I will hide all this stuff behind a false wall.

[manateemark]

I try to keep my system simple, but with redundancy and quality equipment. I'm willing to go for a LED/T5 hybrid, skimmer, overflow, sump, apex, MP40's, and dosing pump. Everything is simple to me, but to those not in the hobby then perhaps it's not so simple. I think it also depends on the expectations for the tank. Is it going to be LPS/SPS mixed reef tank, FOWLR, softies, or SPS dominant? All of these different styles are going to have different effects on what you can get away with. I remember my 30L tank, which was FOWLR, HOB filter, heater, and 1 powerhead. Didn't need to go crazy with everything because I had a much more limited budget than today.

[Green Chromis]

My system is pretty simple to run, as I have a Skimmer, a Calcium Reactor, a Profilux Controller, a Chiller, a Closed Loop System, a Return Pump, a Fuge, a Sump, GFO and Carbon Media Reactors, and Mitra LX 7206 LED Lights. This may seem like there is more equipment then needed, but this tank is very simple to maintain, and only takes a few hours a month to maintain. It is not so much the amount of high quality equipment you have, as it is about how much time you spend per day, week ,month on your system. I plan on this summer to add an automatic water change system to my tank, with about 600 gallons of fresh NSW being changed every month as this will decrease my weekly time spent on water changes. Oh, I also have an Auto Top Off on my tank.

[Fourstars]

My end goal is carbon footprint. I want to double the size of my tank, but keep the power usage the same. Not because I can’t afford it, but because my daughter, who I put through college, now thinks she’s smarter then me and asks some hard questions about my hobby.

Goes something like this:

Dad, don’t you think it’s best to leave these organisms on the reef?
Honey, those critter’s are tank raised, the corals are frag’s grown out from other Hobbiest tanks, same process that happens when storms hit a reef.
But dad, what about the power usage and the carbon footprint?
No different then you getting in your car and driving over to see dear ol dad.
But dad, I have to have a car to get to work, and come see dear ol dad, but you don’t NEED a reef tank.
Kids! Roll of eyes.

Nobody talks about this side of the hobby. Even BRS’s latest blog on the best reef lighting for a reef didn’t even include in their equations power usage.

[Crooked Reef]

5 gallon tank with live rock, sand, heater and circulation pump. No lights and the only permanent resident is a small mantis shrimp. She doesn’t allow roommates. The two bigger tanks are a bit more complicated.

[laverda]

My simplistic tank was a JBJ 12 gallon SPS LPS tank. I added a second light in the hood better fans, arefugium in back chamber, a heater and an external fan. For flow I incorporated a modified SQWID directly to the return pump and the original out put and a second one near the lower left of the tank, giving a nice alternating flow. I did add an old aqua controller to controll the heater primarily as it would cause wild temp fluctuations. The controller also controlled the fan and lights as the tank was on my desk at work. It required almost no attention once I added the controller. Once a week I would change 2 gallons of water during a work break. That was pretty much all I had to do to it.

[Turtlesteve]

My setup (90 gal) draws about 500 watts, and the lowest I could reasonably envision for this size system would be about 350-400 watts. I'm not sure what your target is though. Years ago I ran more like 1500 watts with halide lighting and a bunch of accessories.

I'm not so politically inclined to worry about my carbon footprint, but I am cost sensitive and power is expensive in South Carolina (we're getting stuck with the bill for the Sumner nuclear debacle).

Steve

Originally Posted by Fourstars

My end goal is carbon footprint. I want to double the size of my tank, but keep the power usage the same. Not because I can’t afford it, but because my daughter, who I put through college, now thinks she’s smarter then me and asks some hard questions about my hobby.

Goes something like this:

Dad, don’t you think it’s best to leave these organisms on the reef?
Honey, those critter’s are tank raised, the corals are frag’s grown out from other Hobbiest tanks, same process that happens when storms hit a reef.
But dad, what about the power usage and the carbon footprint?
No different then you getting in your car and driving over to see dear ol dad.
But dad, I have to have a car to get to work, and come see dear ol dad, but you don’t NEED a reef tank.
Kids! Roll of eyes.

Nobody talks about this side of the hobby. Even BRS’s latest blog on the best reef lighting for a reef didn’t even include in their equations power usage.

[Constantine]

I have a 55 gal that is pretty simple.
*T5 lights
*HOB Skimmer
*2 Power heads
*Heater

I started with really good Fiji live rock though. Not sure if starting with barren man made rock needs more assistance or not since it lacks biodiversity. Does will with LPS, soft coral, and one accidental SPS. Moving to a 75 soon though!

[Constantine]

Originally Posted by Fourstars

My end goal is carbon footprint. I want to double the size of my tank, but keep the power usage the same. Not because I can’t afford it, but because my daughter, who I put through college, now thinks she’s smarter then me and asks some hard questions about my hobby.

Goes something like this:

Dad, don’t you think it’s best to leave these organisms on the reef?
Honey, those critter’s are tank raised, the corals are frag’s grown out from other Hobbiest tanks, same process that happens when storms hit a reef.
But dad, what about the power usage and the carbon footprint?
No different then you getting in your car and driving over to see dear ol dad.
But dad, I have to have a car to get to work, and come see dear ol dad, but you don’t NEED a reef tank.
Kids! Roll of eyes.

Nobody talks about this side of the hobby. Even BRS’s latest blog on the best reef lighting for a reef didn’t even include in their equations power usage.

If I was in your shoes, I would put together the most power hungry system possible. Then put together a nice sciencey presentation with graphs and everything showing how plant life requires carbon dioxide, and you are actively saving the rainforest.

[candymancan]

my 27g hex and soon moving to my nee 60g hex.. Uses just a Hob which i use for my chemical filtration for like phosguard and stuff. Then i habe just a simple eheim surface skimmer.. Its like the size of 2 or 3 fingers.. suctions to the glass and floats and just skims film off the surface. Then i have two 425gph power heads.. And i use a eheim 1060 pond pump i bougjt 20 years ago for my computers water cooling to pump tank water through a 4 liter media reactor i made with seachem denitrate.. keeps my nitrates at 0 to 5.

Id say mine is fairly simple.. no sumps. I dont think a sump is really needed TBH.. I have a mixed reef tank.. SPS LPS... leathers.. hards corals.. soft.. so forth they are all growing in size and nothing has died.

The only issue ive had is hair and red algae.. But my astrea snails and sea urchin eat it up like mad.. I recently added a filter sock with phosguard to see if thatll help. I dont want a overly complicated reef tank.. with sumps.. protien skimmers.. fajcy media reactors and stuff like that.


As for (carbon footprint lols) my 27g hex uses a 8 watt hang on back. 4 watt surface skimmer. 2 4 watt power heads. and my lights are a 4 bb 24w t5 fixture. my eheim 1060 i think uses 20 watts.. And i have s 300w heater in there its the only available heater i had its not on 24.7 so i cant calculate watts used to heat the tank . So i use about 130 watts constant power.. My 60 gallon hexagon i bougjt will use the same equipment except ill probly get another power head and a bigger Hob.. I can use the same lights and everything elss.. So honestly my tank will use under 150w of power on my 60g hex.

My biggest tank is my 135g discus tank. It has 2 internal top fin 40 filter that act as my mechanical filteds and powerheads with there spray bars or disconect of sprsy bars. They use 9w of power i think. My eheim 2217 canister is my bio media i think it uses 24w ? Then i have two 48 inch 2x T5 normal output light fixtures they use 24w bulbs i believe. And i have two new 36 inch LED fixtures that use 50w of power i think. So all together my 135 uses maybe 250w of constant power.. it alao has a 300w heater but again it isnt on 24.7.

Honestly i can only imagine what your guys electric bills are if you use 500-1000w of power for one damn tank.... Im not PC or a tree hugger but even I think thats insaine..


I dont care about carbon footprint thougj.. Sorry lol im not a tree hugger i drive two V8 jeeps one is my daily driver that is a 1989 Grand Wagoneer i get 10mpg on its carburated 360 engine.

So whatever... In the end i bet using a 30 year old Jeep puts out less carbon footprint then the manufacturing of a whole new vehicle.. especially lithium battery powered cars.

but i wont get into all that

[Fourstars]

I thought you were told it can’t be done I agree that our tanks can be so much simpler. The only filteration I use on my current tank is cheatomorpha. I think the biggest issue with power usage is people want a low maintenance tank. Probably do to everyones busy lifestyle. I rather enjoy the Daily rituals of topping off, setting the the drip, and turn on and off the lights by hand. Of course there are certain water chemistry requirements that must be maintained regardless of you philosophy. And yes, I’m one of those tree hugging, liberal, snowflakes.

[Fish559]

I tried to fit my larger (42g) system on one surge protector. I din't quite make it:
Maxpect LED (1)
Return pump
Heater
MP10 (2)
Skimmer
ATO

I also have a filter sock and a bag of carbon. That's it.

My home tank (IM 20) does run on one surge protector
Radion XR15
Heater
Return pump
MP10
Reef Glass skimmer
ATO

[brianr24]

My tank has never run better since I took everything off. I have Chinese black box cheap circulation pump and heater. 29 gallon tank
Going about 2 years like that now. Softies and lps.

[Fish559]

Originally Posted by brianr24

My tank has never run better since I took everything off. I have Chinese black box cheap circulation pump and heater. 29 gallon tank
Going about 2 years like that now. Softies and lps.

ATO?

THat's one thing I could never go without again. Especially on a smaller tank.

[brianr24]

Originally Posted by Fish559

ATO?

THat's one thing I could never go without again. Especially on a smaller tank.

Naa I had one years ago I think a snail burned up the motor I forgot exactly what happened but the motor burne up. I just top off every day or other.

[jlmawp]

9-gallon with a simple pump that has a built-in sponge filter. That’s pretty much it.

It’s been 3 years now on this tank and I still like putting the time in to keep it clean and healthy, which I think is more time than those with more equipment, unfortunately.

[JMetaxas]

You need to tell your daughter to worry about her own Carbon footprint and when she's an adult, she can live in a grass shack with no heat.

You pay for her college and she's telling YOU what to do??

Originally Posted by Fourstars

My end goal is carbon footprint. I want to double the size of my tank, but keep the power usage the same. Not because I can’t afford it, but because my daughter, who I put through college, now thinks she’s smarter then me and asks some hard questions about my hobby.

Goes something like this:

Dad, don’t you think it’s best to leave these organisms on the reef?
Honey, those critter’s are tank raised, the corals are frag’s grown out from other Hobbiest tanks, same process that happens when storms hit a reef.
But dad, what about the power usage and the carbon footprint?
No different then you getting in your car and driving over to see dear ol dad.
But dad, I have to have a car to get to work, and come see dear ol dad, but you don’t NEED a reef tank.
Kids! Roll of eyes.

Nobody talks about this side of the hobby. Even BRS’s latest blog on the best reef lighting for a reef didn’t even include in their equations power usage.

[Fourstars]

First off she’s an adult now. And it was an honest conversation between two adults. I did not help pay for her college so she could agree with all my decisions, nor to have the same values as me, but to be a freethinker. I know it’s a hard inconvenient discussion to have, but do try to keep up.

[tkeracer619]

Just bring her on over to my house... She'll never look at your tank the same way

On the scale of things I'd say you're already on the low side of things. But, if you're trying to double up to a 500gal tank I can tell you now... in Colorado depending on if you have a swamp cooler or air conditioning LEDs may not save you anything in electricity. It takes a lot of power to bring the temp of the tank up to acceptable levels. What you save in lighting costs will mostly be lost in heating costs.