No Filter Nano Tank - Concerns About Long Term Health and Nutrient Swings

[mushroomtank]

Hello - Long time lurker and first time poster.

I have a UNS 90B 12 Gal with approx. 12lbs of live rock, 5lbs of live sand, two power heads, AI Blade Grow, sponge filter, and Bubble Magus QQ1 HOB protein skimmer, IM Helio heater.

Ok so here is the rundown. The tank has been set up since March of this year and livestock was introduced sometime mid-march. Clowns first and then a month or so later the YWG and pistol shrimp. At some point during this time I also purchased my first coral which is the Discosoma Neglecta (I love this fella). I have been inconsistent with feeding but I am trying to stick to feeding mixed frozen foods at 5ml 2x per day, Reef Roids 2x per week, and I am Carbon dosing 1ML per day, with 10% weekly water changes with Tropic Marin Saltwater from my LFS and ATO is RODI also from LFS.

My goal originally was to run a low tech marine aquarium with some coral. However, in the last couple of months I have added more coral some of which were pretty expensive and beautiful. I really love the mushroom corals and plan to focus on collecting those and have no plans to dip into SPS for this tank. I have a chalice, blasto, and frammer for LPS and everything else is softie/mushroom.

So my question is given that I have a small volume of water and no traditional filtration system (HOB, AIO, canister) can I provide the stable environment needed to help the corals and livestock thrive? Any thoughts on this would be hugely appreciated and advice/recommendations welcome!

The tank is stocked with:
Trochus/Astrea Snails X 4
Mexican Turbo Snail X 1
Stomatella Snails X 5?
Paired Clownfish
YWG X 1
Pistol Shrimp X 1

Levels:
Ammonia: 0PPM
N02: 0PPM
N03: 20PPM
P04: .25PPM
Salinity: 1.026
Temp 77.9/78.0
ALK: have not tested/unsure where this is at.

Thank you!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Your weekly water changes are the main filtration on this small nano tank , no filters are necessary (this is how I run my own 15 gallon tank). On a small tank like this, there's not much space to add equipment, and any equipment added will be an eyesore.

If you are talking about a stable environment for the corals, for me that really means keeping the alk stable, this is really the most important parameter of all for corals, especially for lps and sps corals. You need a good tester for alk, I recommend the hanna tester.

 

[SliceGolfer]

Yes you can be successful. My IM 15g LPS tank is made up with rock, sand, and corals. I use an ATO, heater, powerhead as my return, light, and 4 head doser. No filter pads, no media, nothing is in the back of this AIO tank other than the heater and powerhead. Tank is approaching 1 year old.

 

[mushroomtank]

Your weekly water changes are the main filtration on this small nano tank , no filters are necessary (this is how I run my own 15 gallon tank). On a small tank like this, there's not much space to add equipment, and any equipment added will be an eyesore.

If you are talking about a stable environment for the corals, for me that really means keeping the alk stable, this is really the most important parameter of all for corals, especially for lps and sps corals. You need a good tester for alk, I recommend the hanna tester.

Awesome - thank you for the response! I ordered the Hanna Alk checker this weekend and am keen to keep tabs on that. Do you have any thoughts on the nano skimmer? is it needed for an extra layer of protection or should I ditch it?

Thanks again!

 

[mushroomtank]

Yes you can be successful. My IM 15g LPS tank is made up with rock, sand, and corals. I use an ATO, heater, powerhead as my return, light, and 4 head doser. No filter pads, no media, nothing is in the back of this AIO tank other than the heater and powerhead. Tank is approaching 1 year old.

Love your tank and coral selection! Thank you for the advice! I will continue to monitor and fingers crossed I can have the same success as you

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Awesome - thank you for the response! I ordered the Hanna Alk checker this weekend and am keen to keep tabs on that. Do you have any thoughts on the nano skimmer? is it needed for an extra layer of protection or should I ditch it?

Thanks again!

A skimmer removes dissolved organics from the water. Other ways of removing dissolved organics is by running activated carbon, and water changes.

A skimmer also oxygenates the water which is an added benefit, but you can also oxygenate the water by pointing a powerhead upwards to break up the water surface, this will create gas exchange.

One of the best things about this hobby is that there are several ways of doing things, there is really no one way. So its really up to you. Again, I feel that too much equipment on a small tank just detracts from the tank beauty, its my own feeling.

 

[mushroomtank]

A skimmer removes dissolved organics from the water. Other ways of removing dissolved organics is by running activated carbon, and water changes.

A skimmer also oxygenates the water which is an added benefit, but you can also oxygenate the water by pointing a powerhead upwards to break up the water surface, this will create gas exchange.

One of the best things about this hobby is that there are several ways of doing things, there is really no one way. So its really up to you. Again, I feel that too much equipment on a small tank just detracts from the tank beauty, its my own feeling.

This is my first marine tank so I am probably sacrificing some beauty and being overly cautious but totally agree - the tank looks better with less clutter.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[mushroomtank]

Mushroom Tank Update:

No major swings in params since last post. Tested Ca and Mg to get an idea of where these were at.

A couple of updates were made since the last post:

I upped my Tropic Marin ELIMI-NP to .2ml daily. I am not concerned about my PO4 levels but I feed pretty heavy and anecdotally, the ELIMI-NP seems to be keeping PO4 and NO4 in check.

In addition, I started dosing Brightwell Amino Acids .5ml daily. Overall the inhabitants are looking healthy and happy. I am looking forward to comparing pre/post photos after amino dosing for a month or two. I expect the aminos should greatly improve overall coral health and make up of any deficiencies in the water column.

ONE BIG THING THAT WAS A MASSIVE SHOCK:

My prized Jawbreaker mushroom had been looking kind of rough for a week or two. It was retracting during the day, small, and there was something going on. I lowered the lighting, reduced feeding, changed the water, changed the activated carbon. I tried the big things to troubleshoot what the issue was. Nothing was working. I did a 40% water change and waited until the next day to see if there was any improvement. Nothing UNTIL I was inspecting the Jawbreaker in the morning before the lights came on I noticed mesenterial filaments coming out of its foot...something on the rockwork or sand was irritating it. I take my tongs and gently pushed the petal to the side and under the cover of darkness was a big Stomatella snail seemingly nibbling away at my Jawbreaker. I also noticed that it looked like nibbles had been taken out of my other discos...I couldn't believe it. I did find a related post indicating that this can happen but it was still surprising and I really like the Stomys rolling around but they were banished. Just to provide some additional color to this, the jawbreaker was fully attached to a rock and in the process of putting out a baby. By the time I discovered the Stomatella was responsible for the irritation the Jawbreaker had fully detached from its rock (this is why its wearing a cone). Bad snail.

I also have Rics and Rhodis in the tank and there didn't seem to be any bites taken out of those.

TL/DR: Be careful Stomatella Snails may eat your discosoma mushrooms and have expensive taste.

NO4: 13.6
PO4= .37
Ca = 420
Mg: 1350
Alk: 9.6