You’ve got a lot of fancy equipment and an extremely thorough routine! The amazing tank is an awesome product of all that hard work. Many folks can get away with a tiny fraction of that equipment though, but it does typically require more manual maintenance.
If you consider having a hob filter and a RODI unit to be a lot of equipment then yes. For me it’s not. I barely do water changes due to not having demanding sps or low coral. You can be successful with a softie tank. Even with sps and lps in a small tank you can get away with only water changes every week. It really comes to preference.
Did you watch the video? He had a lot more than that and for most maintenance tasks said “I probably don’t have to do it so often, but I do anyways”. All in all seemed like a lot of maintenance, can be done much simpler as you’re saying.
@@ManiacalMangoes he’s not using a HOB, yes his equipment is heavily implemented, but even without that equipment you can have a successful looking reef tank. His maintenance is entirely based on his enjoyment. He enjoys the simplicity and also like to sometimes be able to do work on it, keeps the hobby entertaining. Not everyone like to do the maintenance he does. Majority of fish keepers would like to do water changes and feed their fish, you don’t need heavy equipment to achieve that. You can even get away with not doing water changes. It depends on how much bio load you have in the tank and your feeding pattern, plus how big the tank is.
Don't let anyone fool you. It is very expensive and a lot of maintenance for a reef tank. I've had them since 1994 in various setups. I have an unlimited budget and buy the very best of everything. Yes, once the reef establishes after about 1- 2 years, it gets a bit easier, but it's still a lot of work. You can run a softie and some LPS tanks reasonably lower maintenance. Last comments, it's a very expensive hobby and is almost a full-time job for the first year if you're doing it right.
I think keeping salt is much harder and definitely more labor intensive than keeping freshwater but it definitely isn't impossible as some people try to make it out to be. The biggest lesson I learned was to keep your hands out of the tank. I don't know if it's skin oils or things just get agitated by the disruption but the less I was in the tank, the happier the fish seemed, the more vibrant the corals. Aside from light vacuuming of debris, done with a long tube, after a while almost everything was done in the sump, I only ever put hands in the tank if a coral was knocked over or some other silly reason.
Holy cow that’s a lot of expensive equipment, looks like more than my high schools science lab lol. I’d think the “ expensive “ water changes you said, would be the least of your worries after I looked up the $275 water parameter testers you were using. This is one of the reasons why I’ve never gotten into saltwater. So much expensive equipment and you could still crash your tank in 2 days and lose 10,000 worth of stuff in your tank. I think I might just have to keep watching beautiful tanks like yours and stick to my freshwater I suppose.
When back in stock, check out the Innovative Marine HydroFill Ti ATO Water Reservoir for your top up. Would sit nicely in between your tank and TV and more pleasing on the eye.
Depends on the person and passion I guess cause Wow, definitely is a lot but seems worth it. I’ve seen some keep a nice clean tank with so much less and effort
Looks awesome mate fair play. You wanna knock up another unit to house your RO Top up container, get a nice acrylic container made. The unit that houses the GHL kit is smart, nice attention to detail on it. I really like the open plan look. I'm just designing something similar on sketch up, I can't wait to start knocking it up in the workshop
i’m always torn about starting a Reef tank, and although you make this look very simple it seems like a hell of a lot of work compared to my 2 freshwater tropical tanks. Not sure if i’ll ever make the switch
Wonderful system mate. I have an All in one. No skimmer, I have learned, LoL. Skimmer is forthcoming. Your gear is impressive, but costly. The average reefer is faced with quite a cost to follow all this gear.
My local shops are Kettering, reefkeeper rugby and oceans treasure. If your moving up to Tamworth you'll be alot closer to future frags and tees reef. Both cracking shops
Dropping in a like because really awesome vid bro. Quick question if you have the time to answer....i do not own a reef tank, or any tank for that matter.....it seems the more i watch the more answers to my thoughts/questions change. U mentioned not doing a water change for 5 months? Some say 1 week, some say 3 weeks. Seems there is a lot of wiggle room regarding how one chooses to maintain their own tank. Almost seems like nothing is a stead fast rule in reef tanks. Some guys say hermit crabs etc to help clean. Forgive my very broad comment/question lots to learn i guess. Thankyou for the vid. Very cool set up and super beautiful tank!!
Running a reef tank is easy, it's just hobbyists have over complicated it, because companies make you think you have to buy tons of equipment, liquids, and powders. I know people who hardly ever water change, due to having zero nitrates, don't have a protein skimmer, and when they do water change they use tap water, not RO. They've kept a successful tank for years. Your tank is awesome, but way too much equipment for my liking, which makes the upkeep too much for what I want to do. On terms of my equipmemt, I have a protein skimmer, obviously filtration, heater, light, and a wave machine. That's it! I get to zero nitrates through vodka dosing. I refuse to spend money on powders and liquids that you can bypass for free with that's in your cupboard at home.
Cheers buddy, the fish generally keep the sandbed nice and clean. The wrasse are always stirring it up looking for food and finding somewhere to sleep. Other than that I don't touch it
For my aiptasia issue I was able to completely eradicate my aiptasia, which was almost completely coving my whole tank with a few peppermint shrimp. I think it’s best not to feed them to encourage them to eat the aiptasia. Aiptasiax and similar products simply dont work to get rid of it
saltwater really require alot of work aside from expensive equipments, keeping the water parameters i think o quite difficult if you compare it to fresh water. plus the corals need a lot of attention too. so for me saltwater is for people who have more extra time and money to spend, some time in the future when i can pour a bit more money into the hobby i would gave saltwater a try.
how often are you refilling your ato container? also why do you add vinegar to the glass cleaning solution? btw berghia nudibranch are hands down the best aiptasia treatment :)
The ATO is filled weekly. The acidic composition of vinegar acts quickly to break down the kind of film that frequently accumulates on glass surfaces. When you wash a window using a solution that contains vinegar, the results will almost always be free from streaks and sparkling clean. Plus if I drop any in the tank it's not going to do any harm 🙂
Not with Wrasse they aint lol. I was informed they are safe to add even if you have wrasse. Both times they went missing and aips didnt get eaten. I found aiptasia X and a molly miller cleaned mine up. Every system is different and every fish is different.
I've heard the same, some say safe with wrasse and some not. The way my Timor gets through my invertebrates I wouldn't risk nudis in here. I doubt they would last 5 mins 😂
with 6k of GHL dosers/computers the tank should keep itself imo. It gets harder keeping the saltwater tank without the ghl and just some regular dosing pumps.
Can you please go over all your dosing pumps and everything you dose with? I’m trying to make an ultimate set up and was going to get the triton but I’m wondering if your equipment is the way to go if I’m needing to add it more than just the 3 with the triton. Vs cost of going your way in a set up.
How's your experience with keeping Chromis? I want to get a few to get some action in the mid to upper water column but I see mixed feelings on them. Some say with odd number you'll be fine while others say you'll always eventually end up with just 1 left.
Mine have been spot on, as long as they have their own place to sleep they are ok in bigger numbers. They like to sleep within the rocks and acro colonies. I purchased 5 about 18 months ago and all 5 are still alive and doing well. If the tank doesn't have ample sleep space they will fight for territory
I used to have a nice reef setup. It was at it’s peak awesomeness and my grampas marine biologist diving friend came over and instantly said “wow, that’s unnatural.” Sad days
Love this. I want a tank in my new house but it's a big investment, I'm not sure what type of tank to take on. I love your tank it's not me I want a fish reef aquarium but you know yo s#+&
Hi , A bit offtopic, i am planning on gettting the same hybrid light fixture, do you know the size between the t5 bulbs where the LED fits? my current lights are 21.5cm and i am wondering whether it will fit. Did you use the extension kit or you kept it standard?:)
Let me summarize your video: SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO MAKE EVERYTHING EASY After watching your video I finally decided to go freshwater and never ever think of trying saltwater.
Doing a SW reef tank really aint all that much more difficult or complicated than a FW system. It is however a lot less forgiving if your a procrastinator or do something stupid, especially with the more advanced type corals and fish! You actually dont need all that high tech gear you have on your system although it definitely makes things a lot easier when its automated. More time to enjoy the tank - less time maintaining it. Choosing the right gear for your tanks inhabitants is probably the hardest part in setting up a tank.
you say it's easy but seeing all the equipment required definitely not easy buddy 😂😂😂.. being a aquarium shop keeper I can't recommend this to any of my customer unless they ready to spend time and also money 😂😂
It's not easy it's complicating, demanding of time and attention and 1 mistake away from losing everything. Like riding a bike it gets easier with experience but it's not easy
My ro di system rejects too much water and i cant reuse the saltwater (like watering the plants with it) so yeah this title is misleading. You're far better of with a regular freshwater aquarium
You’ve got a lot of fancy equipment and an extremely thorough routine! The amazing tank is an awesome product of all that hard work. Many folks can get away with a tiny fraction of that equipment though, but it does typically require more manual maintenance.
I agree, I could remove alot of the fancy equipment and still have a thriving reef tank. But it certainly makes my life a little easier
If you consider having a hob filter and a RODI unit to be a lot of equipment then yes. For me it’s not. I barely do water changes due to not having demanding sps or low coral. You can be successful with a softie tank. Even with sps and lps in a small tank you can get away with only water changes every week. It really comes to preference.
Did you watch the video? He had a lot more than that and for most maintenance tasks said “I probably don’t have to do it so often, but I do anyways”. All in all seemed like a lot of maintenance, can be done much simpler as you’re saying.
@@ManiacalMangoes he’s not using a HOB, yes his equipment is heavily implemented, but even without that equipment you can have a successful looking reef tank. His maintenance is entirely based on his enjoyment. He enjoys the simplicity and also like to sometimes be able to do work on it, keeps the hobby entertaining. Not everyone like to do the maintenance he does. Majority of fish keepers would like to do water changes and feed their fish, you don’t need heavy equipment to achieve that. You can even get away with not doing water changes. It depends on how much bio load you have in the tank and your feeding pattern, plus how big the tank is.
@@NanoTankReefer Do you use Ro water for water changes to make the new salt water?
i was considering a saltwater aquarium this video definitely made me change my mind :D
thank you
😂😂😂 your decision will save you some money , the hassle and the stress of owning a reef tank
Don't let anyone fool you. It is very expensive and a lot of maintenance for a reef tank. I've had them since 1994 in various setups. I have an unlimited budget and buy the very best of everything. Yes, once the reef establishes after about 1- 2 years, it gets a bit easier, but it's still a lot of work. You can run a softie and some LPS tanks reasonably lower maintenance. Last comments, it's a very expensive hobby and is almost a full-time job for the first year if you're doing it right.
The colouration on those corals 🙌🔥. Really enjoyed the video. 👍
Cheers Jay! I'm still patiently waiting for an update on your system 👀
@@NanoTankReefer i concour!!
I need a video on how to make a salt water aquarium
Luckily you just commented on one!
I think keeping salt is much harder and definitely more labor intensive than keeping freshwater but it definitely isn't impossible as some people try to make it out to be.
The biggest lesson I learned was to keep your hands out of the tank. I don't know if it's skin oils or things just get agitated by the disruption but the less I was in the tank, the happier the fish seemed, the more vibrant the corals.
Aside from light vacuuming of debris, done with a long tube, after a while almost everything was done in the sump, I only ever put hands in the tank if a coral was knocked over or some other silly reason.
I recommend tongs for reef keeping :) So no soap or chemicals get in there from your hands
Less than two minutes in and I’m already overwhelmed. I think I’ll stick to freshwater for now
I think I've made it sound alot harder than it is 🙈
This was a great video, very complete. Thank you for taking the time to making it, we can tell you took your time and it's appreciated.
Thank you 🙌
Holy cow that’s a lot of expensive equipment, looks like more than my high schools science lab lol. I’d think the “ expensive “ water changes you said, would be the least of your worries after I looked up the $275 water parameter testers you were using. This is one of the reasons why I’ve never gotten into saltwater. So much expensive equipment and you could still crash your tank in 2 days and lose 10,000 worth of stuff in your tank. I think I might just have to keep watching beautiful tanks like yours and stick to my freshwater I suppose.
This tank is epic
That aerial view is insane
Cheers buddy 😊
I take my hat off to you good sir . Extremely dedicated, such a beautiful tank .
Definitely encourages me to start up a reef tank .
great video very good information nice tank bro happy reefing from the Mad Reefer
Cheers buddy
Very easy when you have the money to spend like you do. If not then it does take a lot of patience and work.
You have a very nice tank my man!
Thanks man!
Great in-depth review of maintenance mate very miticulous for sure, 👍
Cheers Ste, if I don't have a good routine jobs just won't get done 🙈
Brilliant video mate one of your best imo love the little hidden auto top up
Cheers Dave!
great video very good infomation
Thank you
Love your Zoa's.👍
Great vid as always Tris. Your tank is looking stunning as always.
Thanks man 🙂
Beautiful setup!!
Cheers mate 🙂
Great video 👍
Thanks mate
Great video!!!!
Cheers Greg
When back in stock, check out the Innovative Marine HydroFill Ti ATO Water Reservoir for your top up. Would sit nicely in between your tank and TV and more pleasing on the eye.
I don't think it's available in the UK buddy 🙁 although I have considered getting something similar fabricated
@@NanoTankReefer charterhouse aquatics should have a stock replenishment within the upcoming months.
I didn't know they were coming to the UK, I'll keep a look out for one 🙂
Every day efforts lead to beautiful and healthy tanks.
Thanks!!
Do you feed the corals??(phyto,zooplankton, aminos...))
Nice video mate! Tanks looking awesome!
Depends on the person and passion I guess cause Wow, definitely is a lot but seems worth it. I’ve seen some keep a nice clean tank with so much less and effort
Great walkthrough, cheers.
Cheers mate!
Nice video and never thought about vinegar for cleaning the glass, I'll take that one away with me 👍
Cheers Andy and you're welcome 😉
Looks awesome mate fair play. You wanna knock up another unit to house your RO Top up container, get a nice acrylic container made. The unit that houses the GHL kit is smart, nice attention to detail on it. I really like the open plan look. I'm just designing something similar on sketch up, I can't wait to start knocking it up in the workshop
I'm thinking about purchasing a 250 red sea tank. How much do it cost to have a system like yours ? in dollars
i’m always torn about starting a Reef tank, and although you make this look very simple it seems like a hell of a lot of work compared to my 2 freshwater tropical tanks. Not sure if i’ll ever make the switch
Super EASY beginner tank 😅 tank looks mint, good job.
Niooce! 👍
Great video, I too am struggling with aptaisia and my peppermint shrimp isn’t interested. I’m looking forward to your video on how your solving yours
Wonderful system mate. I have an All in one. No skimmer, I have learned, LoL. Skimmer is forthcoming. Your gear is impressive, but costly. The average reefer is faced with quite a cost to follow all this gear.
Currently I have plenty of fresh water tanks but when I get my home I will get a salt water tank. Top down is insane
fantastic reef tank!...what's the brand of the lamp do you use? Do you set automatic sun rise sun set?
I'm in Northamptonshire and soon to be in tamworth. My lfs is kettering. What shops do you use.
My local shops are Kettering, reefkeeper rugby and oceans treasure.
If your moving up to Tamworth you'll be alot closer to future frags and tees reef. Both cracking shops
What are you parameters and wich products you use? How much paar for the light?
This is why i closed my salt tanks. So much routine to manage.
Dropping in a like because really awesome vid bro. Quick question if you have the time to answer....i do not own a reef tank, or any tank for that matter.....it seems the more i watch the more answers to my thoughts/questions change. U mentioned not doing a water change for 5 months? Some say 1 week, some say 3 weeks. Seems there is a lot of wiggle room regarding how one chooses to maintain their own tank. Almost seems like nothing is a stead fast rule in reef tanks. Some guys say hermit crabs etc to help clean. Forgive my very broad comment/question lots to learn i guess. Thankyou for the vid. Very cool set up and super beautiful tank!!
Running a reef tank is easy, it's just hobbyists have over complicated it, because companies make you think you have to buy tons of equipment, liquids, and powders.
I know people who hardly ever water change, due to having zero nitrates, don't have a protein skimmer, and when they do water change they use tap water, not RO. They've kept a successful tank for years.
Your tank is awesome, but way too much equipment for my liking, which makes the upkeep too much for what I want to do.
On terms of my equipmemt, I have a protein skimmer, obviously filtration, heater, light, and a wave machine. That's it! I get to zero nitrates through vodka dosing. I refuse to spend money on powders and liquids that you can bypass for free with that's in your cupboard at home.
Your tank sounds alot like my nano tank, back to basics reefing and minimal equipment and maintenance
Beautiful tank! What do you do when you go on vacation?
Man, I feel like I need a degreed for this aquarium. Clean setup. Maybe one day.
That's a lot of work even with fancy equipment
Great video and the tanks looking great! Do you have any tips for maintaining a white sandbed?
Cheers buddy, the fish generally keep the sandbed nice and clean. The wrasse are always stirring it up looking for food and finding somewhere to sleep. Other than that I don't touch it
Everything looks very neat.❤
Me: “surely saltwater can’t be that tricky”
*pops open the Breaking Bad meth lab under the tank*
Hi, great video, what do you dose and how do you find the kh director?
I'm dosing Triton core 7, the KH director is by far my favourite piece of equipment. I love it 🙂
Super Tank
What your spec of your tank lighting sir..
Yooo !!! This video was nice . Exactly what I want to do but in a 14g 👍
For my aiptasia issue I was able to completely eradicate my aiptasia, which was almost completely coving my whole tank with a few peppermint shrimp. I think it’s best not to feed them to encourage them to eat the aiptasia. Aiptasiax and similar products simply dont work to get rid of it
i have decided to use a canister filter sump seems way to complicated for me
What all elements do you dose and what brand are they?
This video was great btw, gave me a few idea on how to step up my reefing game
Great tank and great information. A little off the subject, where did you get the side cabinet that's holding your KH Director?
saltwater really require alot of work aside from expensive equipments, keeping the water parameters i think o quite difficult if you compare it to fresh water. plus the corals need a lot of attention too.
so for me saltwater is for people who have more extra time and money to spend, some time in the future when i can pour a bit more money into the hobby i would gave saltwater a try.
how often are you refilling your ato container? also why do you add vinegar to the glass cleaning solution? btw berghia nudibranch are hands down the best aiptasia treatment :)
The ATO is filled weekly.
The acidic composition of vinegar acts quickly to break down the kind of film that frequently accumulates on glass surfaces. When you wash a window using a solution that contains vinegar, the results will almost always be free from streaks and sparkling clean. Plus if I drop any in the tank it's not going to do any harm 🙂
Not with Wrasse they aint lol. I was informed they are safe to add even if you have wrasse. Both times they went missing and aips didnt get eaten. I found aiptasia X and a molly miller cleaned mine up. Every system is different and every fish is different.
I've heard the same, some say safe with wrasse and some not. The way my Timor gets through my invertebrates I wouldn't risk nudis in here. I doubt they would last 5 mins 😂
with 6k of GHL dosers/computers the tank should keep itself imo. It gets harder keeping the saltwater tank without the ghl and just some regular dosing pumps.
Can you please go over all your dosing pumps and everything you dose with? I’m trying to make an ultimate set up and was going to get the triton but I’m wondering if your equipment is the way to go if I’m needing to add it more than just the 3 with the triton. Vs cost of going your way in a set up.
The majority of the dosing pump you can see afefor the kh director and ion director. I dose Triton core 7 which only requires a 4 head doser
Triton is the best
Very nice...
nice nano. you don't use Kalkwasser?
Beautiful tank! How much money do you reckon you have in this setup?
Cheers mate, to be honest I've never totalled it up. The equipment was all purchased over the past 2 and a half years and slowly built up
If I had to guess it’s probably well over $5k usd not including corals
How's your experience with keeping Chromis? I want to get a few to get some action in the mid to upper water column but I see mixed feelings on them. Some say with odd number you'll be fine while others say you'll always eventually end up with just 1 left.
Mine have been spot on, as long as they have their own place to sleep they are ok in bigger numbers. They like to sleep within the rocks and acro colonies. I purchased 5 about 18 months ago and all 5 are still alive and doing well. If the tank doesn't have ample sleep space they will fight for territory
" easy " .. when you know what to do I suppose. 😅
Lovely setup
I really would love this set up but the maintenance always put me off and the marine fish aren't cheap, I'll stick with my cichlids
Hi amazing tank I'm just settling my 5x2x2 tank up as a upgrade can I ask what overflow system you use
Looks fabulous! But, it is way too much work for me. I'd rather sleep.
what do you dose with and how do you mix it up
I noticed the yellow coris wrasse in your tank but what is the other wrasse?
I used to have a nice reef setup. It was at it’s peak awesomeness and my grampas marine biologist diving friend came over and instantly said “wow, that’s unnatural.” Sad days
Love this. I want a tank in my new house but it's a big investment, I'm not sure what type of tank to take on. I love your tank it's not me I want a fish reef aquarium but you know yo s#+&
How do you keep the coral so brought with a white spectrum
Can anyone please tell me what the bright green sps in centre right frame is, thanks in advance :)
Electric lemonade anacropora 🙂
when cleaning parts like the pump, can you use tap water or do you recommend always using RODI water?
Hi ,
A bit offtopic, i am planning on gettting the same hybrid light fixture, do you know the size between the t5 bulbs where the LED fits? my current lights are 21.5cm and i am wondering whether it will fit. Did you use the extension kit or you kept it standard?:)
I've kept mine standard buddy, the gap between the 2 T5 units is just shy of 21.5cm. I don't think they would fit with the T5 unit off the shelf
This is amazing
Let me summarize your video: SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO MAKE EVERYTHING EASY
After watching your video I finally decided to go freshwater and never ever think of trying saltwater.
Doing a SW reef tank really aint all that much more difficult or complicated than a FW system. It is however a lot less forgiving if your a procrastinator or do something stupid, especially with the more advanced type corals and fish! You actually dont need all that high tech gear you have on your system although it definitely makes things a lot easier when its automated. More time to enjoy the tank - less time maintaining it. Choosing the right gear for your tanks inhabitants is probably the hardest part in setting up a tank.
I couldn't have said it better myself buddy! I couldn't agree more
i always thought the maintance was a fun part of the hobby
How do you control your phosphate levels?
Do I need a sump for a 20 gallon tank?
How many gallons is this?
I guess easy is a relative term.
Agreed
you say it's easy but seeing all the equipment required definitely not easy buddy 😂😂😂.. being a aquarium shop keeper I can't recommend this to any of my customer unless they ready to spend time and also money 😂😂
Wicked
How much does a tank setup like that cost
I've purchased the equipment over the past 3 years so have no idea how much I've spent in total. Sorry buddy
It´s so Over Powered :D
size of tank?
Trust but verify
It's not easy it's complicating, demanding of time and attention and 1 mistake away from losing everything. Like riding a bike it gets easier with experience but it's not easy
This setup costs a pretty penny... 🤦
My ro di system rejects too much water and i cant reuse the saltwater (like watering the plants with it) so yeah this title is misleading. You're far better of with a regular freshwater aquarium
I think you just destroyed my poor freshwater brain…
Not hard to keep peep my easy saltwater 15gallon build
running a meth lab can be much less complicated
This is what it takes huh? Its like having another job...
Seems like you need a degree in marine technology , to maintain a salt water tank
hey does the water in your Brutes ever smell funny?
I'd rather just do what father fish doea