Thanks for coming out tonight for the talk. My tank is a ten gallon, all glass aquarium. OK, that about wraps it up - any questions?

What? You wanted more? Alright....

I started this system sometime around December, 1998. The initial point of running this system was to house some soft corals which were shipped off in early March, 1999. During those three months, it functioned rather well considering the minimalist approach I have taken with it. Although the tank was overloaded with corals for the first three months, after shipping off the other corals (big thanks to James Wiseman for taking them), it is now stocked at a more reasonable level.

The only thing that I have purchased specifically for this tank is the lone fish - a small (about 4cm) bicolor blenny. With that exception, every invertebrate, algae - every piece of live rock - came from a previous setup. I believe that this was highly beneficial to the tank in that it prevented any drastic bacterial cycles, and minimized stress on the animals when relocating them to this new system. All hardware used on this system came from previous systems as well.

Livestock includes:

Fish - Ecsenius bicolor

Corals - Xenia sp., Capnella sp., Sinularia dura, Sarcophyton glacuum, Clavularia sp.

Zooanthids, Corallimorphs - Zoanthus sp., Ricordea florida, Discosoma sp. (2), Rhodactis sp.

Snails - Astrea sp., Stomatella sp., Cerith sp., Nerite sp.

Others - Clibanarius tricolor, Lysmatta wurdemanni, Asterina sp. (small starfish), Pteria penguin (oyster!)

Algae - Caulerpa racemosa, Halimeda sp., Unidentified Rhodophyta ("red fern")

...and a whole bunch of live rock and live sand critters.

Current water parameters:

Calcium - 410ppm (Salifert)

Alkalinity - 3.4meq/L (LaMotte)

Nitrate - 0ppm (Seatest)

Phosphate - 0.1ppm (Red Sea)

pH - 8.2 (Red Sea)

The only test I have a great deal of faith in would be the LaMotte Alkalinity test. The others simply let me know whether or not I should worry.

The tank contains about 18 to 20 pounds of live rock, comprised of two large pieces and a few little ones. Up to this point, there is only a thin layer of live sand, varying in thickness from about 1/2" to 1" across the tank bottom. In the future, I would like to add more live sand. I keep the sand to a minimum for now as I set this tank up knowing that it would have to be moved in a few months, and after just moving this February - it will need to be moved again sometime in Spring or Summer. In my experience, moving a sandbed can be very detrimental for the system, and I prefer to avoid the hassle for now. The sand does contains numerous animals... the ever present Terebellids constantly scour the surface of the sand with their tentacles, giving it a truly "live" look. Countless amphipods scurry about, and bristleworms cruise over the rock and sand.

I have actually seen the tiny Terebellid worms grab flake food, but in each such instance, an opportunistic hermit crab (or the shrimp) will steal the flakes. I have also seen the Sarcophyton capture flakes up to ~5mm in diameter with its polyps, which are then swiped by the blenny. Interesting things occur in this tank when I actually have time to watch it!

Lighting is taken care of by two 28W Power Compact lamps, a DIY setup. The lamps are on for 12 hours per day. Circulation pumps include a MaxiJet 500 and a Skilter 250 Hang On Back filter, with the skimmer portion removed. Before moving the tank, I was using a Maxijet 1000 - it was a bit much for the Capnella sp. I occassionally run a small amount of carbon in the HOB filter.

This system runs without a protein skimmer, and I do not perform regular water changes. I do, however, believe that nutrient export is a top priority. In the tank itself I keep macroalgae - Caulerpa racemosa. This is a hardy, fast growing macroalgae. It has been over a year since I first aquired the

C. racemosa, and in that time I haven't seen it "crash" or go into sexual reproduction. By allowing this algae to grow, and pruning about 1/3 to 1/2 of it every few weeks, I have maintained a system with very low nutrient levels. And, by pruning it regularly and selectively, I have prevented any major algae overgrowth problems from occurring. In the course of three months, I performed one single water change of two gallons. The only other change was done after moving the tank.

I originally added the bicolor blenny to keep on top of any nuiscance algae. There was a small patch of derbesia, about the size of a quarter, on one of the rocks I placed in the tank when I set it up. The blenny was the smallest herbivorous fish I could find locally. Since the small bit of hair algae disappeared after the first few days, the blenny now lives off of flake food and C. racemosa. I feed the tank 2 - 3 times a day, not just to feed the fish, but to feed the L. wurdemanni shrimp and the C. tricolor crabs, some of which are getting quite large.

There are baby snails of each previously listed species in the tank, and I have witnessed the Astrea snails spawning. Astreas and Stomatellas are the only ones seen at adult size at this point (nerites are getting there). I have not cleaned the inside glass in the aquarium. The snails do a great job at keeping it clean. While I do not necessarily encourage others to take this laid back approach, I do believe that less "tweaking" helps the system mature at a faster rate.

I dose limewater to replace all evaporated water. I use a simple one gallon jug with an airline and valve, and dose about 1/3 gallon per night. Currently, I am using Ball Pickling Lime for my Calcium hydroxide. To get a better grade of Calcium hydroxide, such as Wilkens, I would have to mail order. I prefer to use what is readily available now, not to mention paying $2 vs. $10+ per lb.

I usually dose 10mL of each part C Balance additive each night. This, combined with dosing limewater, has kept my Calcium and alkalinity in fine shape. Although the C Balance will slowly increase the specific gravity, it has not been a real issue. In the event that my s.g. hits 1.025 or higher, I simply remove a certain amount of tank water and replace it with limewater. The specific gravity ranges from 1.023-1.024, and does not rise so much that it mandates frequent dilutions.

I prefer to filter my tap water through a deionizing filter, but in the course of the last month I haven't done so. Before the last move, I did not have time to recharge my DI filter and had to use well water to make about 5 gallons of new saltwater for the tank. At first I was worried about adding nutrients via top off water. But, with my test kits, the only thing I could detect was some carbonate hardness (40ppm). As the caulerpa filtration is apparently more efficient than I expected, I no longer worry about nutrient build up. When I can, I'd like to get an assay done to make sure that the water here has nothing terribly wrong with it. But, at this point I am not overly concerned.

Things I'd like to do with this tank in future months.... I plan to build a "caulerpa filter" inside the HOB box. This would be a simple setup, using pieces of eggcrate as stands for the caulerpa to grow around. Lighting would be 24 hours a day, using a 13W 5000k compact fluorescent lamp. Some sedimentation does occur in the box, so I may add a thin layer of sand as well.

I'd like to make a new hood that contains a lamp for the future "caulerpa filter," and a 3" AC fan (facilitate evaporation) in addition to the main tank lamps. I have an electronic float switch setup, which I may add to this system to dose my limewater. Also, I plan on winning the lottery. While I haven't actually bought a ticket yet, I do intend to win. This will come in handy for financing future reefkeeping endeavours.

With time, the E. bicolor may well outgrow the tank. When that happens, I would probably replace it with some G. oceanops, neon gobies. May even add a small Tridacna derasa at some point. Time will tell.

Well, thank you all for coming out tonight, and if you have any flames... uh, questions that is, fire 'em off!

What has been your experience prompting you to remove the skilter's skimmer portion?

Oh boy....  First, let me say that I like skimmers. In fact, I love skimmers. I dream about running through fields, lined with skimmers. ;-)  Unfortunately, I have bad luck with hardware. In the past 2+ years, I've had skimmers leak, overflow, dump scum on my carpet, or just plain fill the tank with bubbles.  After reading up on some phycology papers, and getting a little nervy with my tank, I decided to give it a try, and to this point, it has worked great. Most small skimmers are pretty wimpy. Good skimmers like the Knop type and the Bakpaks tend to be a bit too tall.

Do you feel that a protein skimmer could operate with the algae-filter, or would they work against one another?

I think the protein skimmer would probably starve out the caulerpa filter.

What are terebellids and sarcophyton?

Well, if my spelling is right they are both inverts common to the captive reef aquarium ;-) T he Terebellids are small worms, often found in live sand or rocks.  The Sarcophyton glacuum is a "leather coral." Also, should mention... to see some recent pics of the system, point your browser to http://www.reefs.org/ops/tb/10g-399.html

Was the sand live, dead, or from a previous tank?

Live. VERY alive. I had about 55 lbs of live sand in a 10 gallon refugium on a previous tank.

What, in your opinion, accounts for the caulerpa's stability?

A number of things... stable water chemistry, stable amounts of nutrient input... i .e., I feed close to the same amount each day... And the lack of "tinkering" I meantioned before. It is a hardy caulerpa to begin with, and it probably helps greatly that it doesn't have to compete with a skimmer.

Do you think that it would be helpful to cycle the tank with a skimmer and then establish the algal filter when the tank has stabilized?

Sure. That is definitely a good use for a skimmer. I f you are willing to do a little work, I'd think it's also possible to cycle with macroalgae. A preferred way to do it would be to plumb an external "caulerpa filter" lit 24 hours a day, to keep the water quality up.  Another possibility, I think Ron Shimek talked about this at one point? Is to use phytoplankton in a similar method.

W hat are the tank dimensions?

Standard AGA. 20"x10"x12" high.

Do you think --skimmer starves caulerpa ---in 30 gal + 10gal refugia/calerpa filter?

It really depends on the load on the system, the amount of nutrient input... I prefer to stock my tanks lightly with fish.  It certainly is beneficial to have a refugium, so I would try it if it's an option for you.

24 hours a day, don't you feel that is a bit much, in the ocean there is a ni g ht period?

The ocean is "filtered" by ....endless means. Your tank, on the other hand, is very limited. I prefer the 24 hour/day light (on the "caulerpa filter"), mainly to keep up the dissolved oxygen levels via photosynthesis.   This also keeps the pH from dropping at night, as photosynthesis stops in the main tank.

Troy - what is your secret formula for winning the lottery?

Karmic wealth. I 've saved up a whole lotta bad luck for that one moment of payoff ;-)

What other algae-control fish would you recommend aside from the bicolor and neon gobies (for a small/micro reef tank)?

I don't think the neon gobies are going to bother much with the algae...   For tanks this size, there really aren't many herbivorous fish that I know of, off the top of my head, that won't eventually outgrow the smaller systems.  I do have some pretty wild hermit crabs, though :-) Together with the snails, they keep things under control.

Do y ou have any regrets about the lights? Would you do anything differently light wise?

No real regrets, the lights work fine. I would like to try using one of the recently-made-available 70W, 10,000k metal halides on a tank like this.

Discussion after the forum was opened:

< BlackNet> question: if I was going to create a mini reef tank, say 5g at the max, what would I stock it with?

<tb> black - generally soft corals, corallimorphs, zooanthids do best

<tb> esp for the first attempt people make at smaller reefs

<BlackNet> this would be my first sw tank :) have extensive fw tanking tho

<tb> fish are optional, but feeding is_required

<BlackNet> not to fond of subjecting fish to a tank that small, sounds kinda cruel

<glenawil> tb---wil the three-way LOA ballasts Work?

<tb> glen - at this point, I would say no

<BRose> Troy: Q: How do you regulate the temp.?

<Tang> usually i've heard don't go mini for your first sw tank.

<tb> I will it to 80F, but sometimes it gets to 82F.

<tb> I plan on adding a fan to the hood soon, and I need to replace a somewhat touchy heater

<BlackNet> hmm, don't see why a mini sw tank wouldn't be good for the first sw tank.

<Gannet> tb, what I liked is that the tank is simple. You used brains, not money or gadgets.

<tb> Well.... never let it be said that it's best for a first tank

<tb> If one has studied up a little, a 10g tank will do fine for a beginner, granted they don't overstock it

<mikfla> backnet, when you have a big tank if you mess up, more forgiving, a small tank will bite you

<Tang> that's all i meant

<tb> It's also a good feeler for your future in the hobby

<BlackNet> to give you some idea in one of my fw tanks I have over 20 species of plants, no filter, dual full spectrum lights, diy co2, chemical dosing for the plants, and have established an well balanced ecosystem

<Tang> i found my 29 was quite challenging with the 'low volume,low margin for error' feel the first year.

<tb> Some people will find that the reefkeeping hobby is too taxing on them, and to back out with a larger system means a greater hit to your bank account, and greater demand from the ocean...

<Tang> extensive fw experience would help, but it's a different animal. you can't risk much on a small tank anyway. go for it

<BRose> tb, did you try using the Piccillo size skimmer on this system or go straight to the caulerpa?

<tb> black - I previously had a 20g SPS coral system. Protein skimmer, 250w halide, actinics, electronic kalkwasser top off system... I've played that game myself. This system is much less demanding due to the stocking choices.

<BlackNet> I do extensive testing on my fw for water parameters, I don't run your classic run of the mill fw setup

<tb> nope, straight caulerpa

<mmarks> tb, what do/did you enjoy more, your 20g or your 10?

<BlackNet> tb: I was considering placing dwarf seahorses in there

<tb> touch call, mmarks

<tb> I love buying truckloads of calcium and watching it be consumed

<tb> then again, I like only spending a few minutes a day on my current 10g setup ;-)

<tb> seahorses... in where?

<tb> seahorses + small system, IMO - not good.

<BlackNet> in the mini reef setup. it's all in the planning stage at this point

<BlackNet> er? been told that's the better way to go. smaller setups because they are hard animals to feed

<tb> seahorses almost always need live foods, which is a chore itself. A lot of work for keeping such a rare animal

<tb> thanks

<mmarks> tb, they say a 10 gallon is perfect for dwarf seahorse. easier to find food, you still have to feed them at least 5x a day or they starve it seems

<tb> the main problem I see with keeping them in a 10g...

<tb> circulation, gas exchange...

<tb> It is hard to get decent surface agitation in a small tank w/o having fairly turbulent conditions

<BlackNet> hmm

<tb> so, either you may be risking poor gas exchange, or smashing the seahorses back and forth against the glass

<BlackNet> so what size tank would you recomend tb?

<tb> let it be known, I've never tried it... just some thoughts on it

<Gannet> You could use a skimmer for gas exchange.

<tb> I dunno. Something with more ... front to back space

<tb> the skimmer cuts down on the live feedings though... it should atleast ;-)

<Gannet> Me, I'd use a 15 at least. I don't get 10s.

<BlackNet> that's something else that was recomended, a pair of dwarfs to a 5g tank and skim the hell out of it

<Gannet> You turn the skimmer off during feeding. :)

<chuft> I put a piece of Aqua Yum in there and the skimmer went berserk

<tb> yeah, but there's some consequences associated with that... some won't kick back in for a while

<tb> really, I'm not a seahorse guy, so... ;-)

<Gannet> It's gonne shut down from feeding anyway, more than likely.

<BlackNet> hmm, also why couldn't you just put aton of brine shrimp in there and let them eat as they want?

<Gannet> They die.

<Gannet> And they're not all that nutritious unless gut-loaded.

<tb> and, if you don't harvest them at the right time, they are basically devoid of nutrition

<Tbailey> how do you gut-load?

<BlackNet> brine shrimp is?? didn't know that

<Tbailey> I have been hatching brine for my reef

<tb> BN - have you ever done a reef, or any saltwater system before?

<BlackNet> tb: nope, just extensive fw experience

<tb> yeah

<Gannet> You gut-load brine by feeding them heavily for a few hours before feeding to the fish.

<tb> it's good that you have practiced a lot of aquaria husbandry, but I strongly recommend you atleast try keeping a coral reef aquarium before attempting to keep seahorses... please!

<Gannet> I agree.

<Tbailey> what do you feed the brine?

<BlackNet> k, that's WHY i'm here :) to get some ideas

<tb> good :-)

<mikfla> most people will not even bother with seahorse, they are hard to keep, and why kill

<Gannet> There's tons and tons of cool things you can keep that are infinitely easier than seahorse. :)